August 4, 2011
Happy Birthday President Obama!
Today is the 50th birthday of President Obama. It's been a rough week for the Prez. The debt ceiling debate as left his approval rating a little bruised. Not to mention as a birthday present the Dow is down 512 points today. no bueno. I still believe he's done a remarkable job given the circumstances he came into the job with. He got a healthcare plan passed which is something lawmakers have often tried but have never been able to do. He caught Osama. He signed a troop withdrawal to bring home troops from Afghanistan. He's also dealt with more resistance from the other side of the aisle than any president ever, as well as a whole network, Fox, who's sole aim seems to be to disrespect him. Happy Birthday Mr. President.
July 25, 2011
Its the tribe y'all
Checked out the new Tribe doc today. Brought back a lot of memories. I remember buying Midnight Marauders in High School and listening to it every night for months on end. I could recite every lyric of that whole album front to back. Before this time period however I remember me and my brother being at a homeboys house looking through his tape collection when I stumbled upon "The Low End Theory". We through that joint in and I was floored. The jazz, the lyricism, the artistry, and as we called them then the 'jams'. Can I kick it, scenario, etc. I became a lifelong fan that moment. It was a pleasure watching the doc and understanding the behind the scenes dynamics to seminal moments in the career of one of the greatest hip hop groups ever. However there was vital info left out in my opinion. Like right around Beats, Rhymes, and Life how Q-tip , Ali, and the late great J-Dilla formed the production co. "The Ummah" which produced that album. J-Dilla was a legend it would of been nice for the general public to see where he got his start. The inclusion of Consequence on this album and Phife's feelings about it were also something that should have been included. Other than those omissions all in all great film for music fans and particularly fans of real hip hop done artistically from the heart. XL
May 19, 2011
Happy Birthday Malcolm X
When I was thirteen I read "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". It was a life changing defining moment for me. At that age young Jewish boys have a bar mitzpah, a ceremony that symbolizes and celebrates becoming a man. Me reading the life story of Malcolm was me becoming a man. He was a hero. He pointed out things in this world that I really needed to see and particularly at that age. He caused me to use my mind and become an intellectual threat to those only looking to see me or "my kind" shuck and jive. Now that I think of it that was around the time I decided to become a rapper as well. The power of mind and voice working in tandem is a lesson I learned from Malcolm. I should take this opportunity to chide another hero Dr. Cornel West about his stance and public abuse of Obama and encourage him to take heed the words of Malcolm when he said "There can be no Black-White unity until there is first some Black Unity". Happy Birthday Malcolm X you never really died because your spirit lives on.
King of Pop Forever
It's been a minute fam but I'm back. As the film "This Is It" plays in the background I was inspired to finish my statement on the 3 greatest music artists in history, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Prince. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop is obviously the most popular artist of all time. His star power has only gotten brighter since his untimely passing. When I was a child MJ was as the height of his fame and vividly remember how larger than life he was. I often wondered was he that big because I was a child or was he just that big in general? What I discovered was the latter. As someone in the business I analyze trends and buzz and things of that nature. And there as not been an artist since then to capture the attention of everyone from every culture no matter the individual's genre preference. R&B fans, Rock fans, Country fans, Jazz fans they all came out to buy his albums and see his concerts. Now there certainly are a lot more subgenres now than there were then. But still there arent any artists today that would capture those big 4 markets.You know what we allllll know the MJ legacy. Nuff said.
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