History!

“What up though” (c) Murs

So Last week I went to the NYC Transit Museum, with the “wife” and a very good friend of hers and now mine.  I have to say that I was not too please to go to a museum, because most of the time they are just plain boring.  Before you ask the question that I am sure is on your mind, the answer is yes, I am a Historian, but too me museums are the fast food of history, because they do not fully display their mastery of the topics(that is unless you get a guide, I would give the people who work there their credit), but for those who just go and read the posted information aren’t doing themselves or the historical facts any justice.

So we go to the museum and we got there 30mins before it was scheduled to so we got in for the FREE, so A+ to that. I would have to say that the museum trip was fantastic, it wasn’t as boring as I expected, it was dope to be able to see how the triborough bridge was built as well as the different stages of the subway.  As I walked through the museum viewing the pictures, reading the information cards, and sitting in the past and present train cars, my blackness started tingling. And I asked myself; “Where are the whites only signs, because this is history(American History), so you know that there was at some point “nigger” seating. I wonder where it is?”  Well people there were no “colored only”, or “get to the back of the train nigger” sign any where in that museum, and that infuriated me. Not because I love to see that or live to see a time when black people and all other non-white people were considered second class citizens, but because a museum is supposed to be advertising history, and unfortunately that is our(America’s) history.

So as I went through the train cars i expressed my feelings to the “wife” and friend and they were like “oh stop. does everything have to be about race?”…YES! We have never ever, ever, EVER, discussed this issue of race, and we constantly run away from any dialogue on the issue of race. And most importantly this is history, and American history no matter how generic the topic, is enriched in race. I was clearly upset about the museum’s neglect to display the whole truth, but what trumped that was the sigh from the “wife” and friend, both of which is black. And it is not like everywhere we turn in the world, they are telling us about black history. It almost never happens, we know exactly what day George Washington crossed the Delaware River, and what he ate for breakfast that day, but don’t know a damn thing about  A. Philip Randolph.

We as a people(black and non-black also), should never sigh when it comes to the negation of our history.  Though it happen all of the time, doesn’t mean we should sit back and let it happen.  Our history is deep, because it shows our strength to excel in times of turmoil, so when it is not displayed, it reduces us.  So don’t sigh, because it is nothing to sigh about.

New Post?

“I’m back, baby!  I’m back!” (c) George Louis Constanza

Hello Young World,

yes it has been along time, I blame it on the current economic crisis (why not it worked for the conservative republican, maybe it can work for me). Honestly time is the main reason for my absence, and oddly enough being out of school ideally would provide an ample amount of time to do such idol things as blog, but not in my case. Since I last spoke/written, I have successfully graduated from College(State University of New York at Oswego, to be exact), yes congratulations are warranted and accepted.  Because I haven’t written in awhile, my mind s always have been racing with ideas and thoughts that have gone unexpressed, and when they have been express not really taken in, by the people.  The cilmate that we as a society is in at the present moment as raised alot of questions, and you lucky few will have a chance to read it, so with out futher ado…*look up*

Little Brother “The Listening”

“WJLRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!  Bam the Future of Hip-hop music!”

“The year is 2002. It is the end of the jiggy era…”(c) K-os  2002-2003 was a pretty good year for hip-hop.  The Roots dropped “Phrenology“(a good roots album, but not the best) late 2002, Common put out “Electric Circus“(an album he regrets, but a pretty good experiment), Talib dropped his first solo album “Quality“, aformentioned K-os dropped “Exit“(outstanding album), as well as other albums such as “Jaylib” which was a collaboration album of two of the greatest producers Madlib and Jay Dee aka J.Dilla aka Dilla Dawg aka Pay Jay.  Besides K-os, the artist previously mentioned were underground heroes who had above surface creditals.  But there was a buzz about this new hip-hop group called Little Brother.  Little Brother?  Yes!

I remember hear about them through my man Money Bratton, and he heard it through our dude Hassaan Mackey aka Count Mackula.  Ironically, neither of us, actually purchased the album or even for that matter heard of the group in 2003, the time in which this scene was set a year later.  The funny thing about it was when Mackey told Money about them, he said you have to hear Little Brother, and Money thought that they were his actually brothers(because Mackey calls everybody his family, whether cousin, sister, or brother) so money was like wow they are fantastic.  Later he came to the realization that they were not his actually brothers. 

Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina…yes the SOUTH, was frontman Phonte, second emcee Big Pooh(adds “rapper” to big pooh later) and producer 9th Wonder.  The sound was melodic, soulful and boom bappish.  The lyrics were hard hitting, filled with metaphors and similes, creative and vivid.  Though it is not uncharacteristic for sounds like this to exist in the south, because you had artist like Outkast(and their affliates), Scarface, and especially Skillz(formerly Mad Skillz…in ”00 everybody was going crazy over the “Ghostwriter” song), but what made Little Brother different from those artist is that you can hear the influence of earlier legendary artist.  The influence that produced them are effective displayed which is the difference between them and other artist from the south.  They stood out in a arena dedicated to “Strip Club music”.

They call themselves Little Brother, because they felt that they are the little brothers of the Golden Era of hip-hop generation(86-92, i added two years, but can easily add another 2(94)).  9th Wonder’s production was/is great!  From the drums to the samples to the timing was reminisce of Pete Rock.  Phonte’s battle raps/witty lyrics are Kane-esque but in my opinion very early Mos Def like.  Big Pooh considered the sidekick or the Phife Dawg of the crew, is probably levels above most solo artist, he gets faded because of Phonte, but by no means is he the weak link(his solo album “Sleepers” undoubtedly proves that).   So the title of Little Brother is so fitting.  It is not easy to drop a classic album let alone her first album out the gate, but they managed to do so.  Here is a song that best describe who they are, and where they came from and what they want from you.  The Listening.  Cheers!

A bit bitter

I dont know what it is, but lately(and by lately i mean the past 4 years) so-called hip-hoppers has be bitter.  These new class of hip hop enthusiast makes me sick. They have no sense of history.  This is because hip-hop has became a fad, it is pop music, it is only held as the jewel it is to the most loyal.  What sparked this blog is as i stated before ive been feeling this way for some time now, but what helped is this mega concerts called Rock the Bells.  On paper, this would seem to be a dream come true, and Im sure it is, but in reality, most of the people attending this type of concerts and there because it is cool.  I dont mean cool in the sense of to me that is cool, but in the sense oh mad people are going to be there it should be a cool thing to do.  This annoys me.  Like for instance, last year i attended the Brooklyn Hip-hop fest, and though alot of the artist wasnt artist i was would ever pay to see, i planned on enjoying some hip-hop music.  I thought that everybody would be trying to do the samething…wrong, to alot of the people there it was just a social event(and it is) but its a damn near free concert with big time artist.  And when i am at a concert i am going crazy with the nostalgia, it is great to be out in public and hearing music that i either bump on the regular or havent heard in a while.  This is not the norm, because everywhere you go in public you hear the same old crappy music.  And while i am enjoying myself, im getting looks like im weird for vibing to music at a CONCERT, im not stripping, or woodstocking it, im jumping up and down and rapping along with the music at a CONCERT.  Why am i getting look at like im the idiot, you should be all doing this. If you are going to go to a concert andnot  rock out, then get the HELL out. Dont gather your friends and take a picture, unless its intermission, dont be in the front either, take that to the back, you are in my spot or another super fan. I have plenty more angst about this, but thats all for know…see you at the rock the bells this year. Ive been trying to go/not go, but this year im actually going. The Toronto show possibly because im sure i would enjoy it more if i was out of the country, than in nyc.

Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star

“Hello Everybody! Recording livvvvvvvvvve from somewhere”

This album is influential on so many levels, but I wil first explain to what it mean to me.  *This is where i start to date myself* In 1998 i was a freshmen(fresh man lol) at Benjamin Franklin Highschool, a very BLACK innercity schools in Rochester City School District…yes Rochester, NY(stand up…now sit down, please), and hip-hop was at the center of my life.  It is not safe to say that this album completely changed my life, but it had its influence.  Now ’98 is the beginning of the Jiggy era of hip-hop but hip-hop was still alittle hood, you have Jay-z dropping Hard Knock Life, DMX dropped Dark and Hell Is Hot, and a year before Mase dropped Harlem World.  This shows the complexity of the times for hip-hop, brothers didnt know whether to be thugs or flossed out playas.  I was surrounded by this music(dont get me wrong i love DMX’s first album), but thank God i transcended through this music and found my own way, lucky for me, I was already grounded into real hip hop music. 

Black Star recreated the zulu nation/native tongue hip-hop.  A almost forgotten era of the genre, was becoming a reality for the youth who only heard TRIBE, DE LA, and others via older heads.  The idea of the native tongues were more nostalgic, or even myth than an actuality.  Blackstar changed that!  Blackstar also made it possible for innercity youth to be themselves.  Lets be honest, alot of rappers project the thug or gangsta ideology, but would much rather be themselves, because it is hard to keep up that persona.  As a son of God fearing woman, there was NO WAY I could have been acting like a gangsta, let alone taken seriously.  Blackstar music was safe!  The music was playful, serious, revolutionary, witty, beautiful, soulful.  The lyrics were creative, forceful, realistic, and respectful.  This album accidently became the score of my 9th grade life.

What the Blackstar album did for the hip-hop community was to effectively produce an indie voice.  Before Rawkus Records, the most indie labels in hip-hop were thought to be a lost cause.  With the success of such albums as Soundbombing, Lyricist Lounge and others to follow, it made it cool to be underground.  At the time alot of our favorite artist and styles from the early 90s were becoming instinct or pushed to the underground, and most new artist did not want to see themselves meet the same fate, so the commerical and copy-cat theory becomes prevalent.  In layman’s term, it created a alternative to what the radios were playing.  It also created the College radio station music aka the college rap bka alternative hip-hop but mostly known as Conscious hip-hop.  Oddly enough this is a term that these esque of rappers would never be able to shake.

Futhermore, the artist themselves.  Mos Def and Talib Kweli and the best rapping duo since EPMD, and it is shown on this album.  These two fit perfectly together…*pause*.  Kweli is a metaphor, simile, punchlines, battle rapping emcee, while Mos is a melodic, witty, straight to the point, and quite frankly a smart rapper.  It avant-garde at its best.

I can go on and on how, this song changed my life and how this song made me fall in love with hip-hop, but we all can, and in others albums i probably will(wait until i get to Tribe, or Nas or Gangstarr…i will stop there), but I wanted to explain its overall influence.  And with that being said this song best explains what Blackstar was Blackstar.

peace.

Classic Albums series

Hello there.

I am planning on starting a series in which I give explanation on why I consider certain albums classics.  This series would cover the various different genres but most assurdly focus on hip-hop, because that is the genre I am most comfortable with.  Now there are differences from being a great album and a classic album and I will be displaying that, because there might possibly be albums that are better than what I would consider a classic.  Each album will be in my own opinion a classic album, not necessarily a world wide choice, though I am sure some of the albums might be what other think is classic.  To consider an album a classic, you clearly have to put it in the context of its time period, its effect on the subjects life(subject being me), its influence on music afterwards, lyrics and musical arrangement.  Units sold, money made by artist and things of that sort is irrelevent, the amount of money made does not best display your skills.  Ive always wanted to produce something like this, more so, on a larger scale, but this will suffice, and who knows one day in the future I can turn this into a book.  With that being said, stay tuned, and enjoy. The first entry will be coming shortly.

peace.

 

ps you should be following this blog: Money Bratton

“Everybody knows what the spring time is about” (c) Mos Def

This is one of the best times of the year, thats because it is stunting time.  Now before you get all holier than thou on me, everybody on this planet stunts, some just does it too much, and it becomes arrogant.  Spring time is when everybody goes out of there way to get rid of their winter bleek.  Ladies start to let the girls out, which is always a plus.  This is the time of the year where you start to debut your new kicks.  It is better than summer, because spring is the first time great kicks get displyed, and by time it is summer you have already had three months of stunting.  My first thought for this blog was to display sneakers that are planned purchases, or already purchased and set to be worn, but Ichanged my mind.  For one, why let out the secret lol, and second I dont even know for sure what pairs will get play this spring.  Plus this particular spring might be the best spring ever.  I graduate from college this spring and that is the greatest day of my life.  This is the only day I can truly say is my day, a wedding is the woman’s day, birth of children once again woman’s day, this is truly about me.  Even though I will be sharing this day with others, in my own personal life it is my day.  But even more than that, spring seems to bring out the best in people.  People seem to be alittle but more happy, excited, friendly, and this is because winter is WHACK.  Therefore, the anger, distain, ugly of winter, cause people to reflect that.  Though I am giving spring so much praise, Fall is my favorite season(I will explain why and the end of summer).  With that all being said, spring is here officially but not weatherly(not a word, but effective), so old man winter die already.

Here is the verse to the title of this blog.  Its a Medina Green song featuring Mos Def, called “Crosstown Beef”.  Mos Def

peace

Free Music Saturday

As stated before, I will keep this blog going strong. The usual plan is to personally make every mix, but this time I am sharing an album produced by the Apple Juice Kid called “Miles Remixed”. It is a fantastic album, where he as the title suggests, remixed Miles Davis.  This album was downloaded for the free, by the artist. I am not promoting piracy. So check it out I’m sure you would love it.

peace

Miles_Remixed.zip

Blogging: why don’t I blog more?

I guess the better question is why do I have a blog.  I ask this because I barely even log on to post an entry.  Though I have alot of things to say, I do not want to turn this into my personal opinion place…or do I?  The main problem with my lack of blogging is pure laziness.  There are plenty of time when I can be writing in this place for thoughts, adventures, etc, but I find it more easy to do nothing instead.  Doing nothing is DOPE! Doing stuff can be a hassle.  With that being said, I have an almost endless amount of ideas to make this blog the greatest blog on the planet, but it will probably never be achieved because of laziness.  The free music saturday plan sounds outstanding, even though there are literally no one actively following this blog, not even me, but it would be phat to be able to constantly post random mixes created my yours truly.  Posts on sneaker content is another great idea, and probably the best chase of thisblog staying alive, because the sneaker world is happening 24-7-365(sometimes 366).  There are always new collections, creation, collaborations, resurrections, etc.   My knowledge of history is vast(joking), and I can literally post something on this everyday, whether it is just my analysis, or just the topic as is, there are enough to make this blog go.  Sports are another topic that I can fill this blog with, and believe me there are plenty of more subjects to talk about.  The only problem is the laziness, it is my greatest enemy(sometimes it has been my saving grace…believe me).  But here and know I problem(probably will be broken lol) to actively keep this blog alive.  I also proclaim that I will produce active memebers, even if I have to join twitter to gain this members, because “friends” and “love ones” of mine refuse to keep up with the blog, which would push me to blog more…kidding, but I’m actually not, mad SHADE!  With all of that being said, I’M BACK BABY! (c) George Louis Costanza.

60th Year Anniversity for Adidas Originals

Here is the whole commerical of the house party, that has famous artist/musical artist/as well as athletes peppered in. Enjoy and Happy 60 years Adidas…video copped from http://www.Highsnobiety.com