dead prez: Radio Freq

First...to the homie R.E., this is not a Flashback Friday swagger jack!



But oh snap! I did not know they had a video for this song! This is one of my all time favorite dead prez songs. This may be TMI for you, but this has been my get-ready-in-the-shower song for about the last week and a half now. Before this it was Goodie Mob's "Fighting."

MAN! I was doing some cleaning aronud the crib a couple weeks ago and found my DPZ Turn Off The Radio Vol. 1 from '02. I had been looking for it for the longest because I was thirsting for this song. But then when I found it, I saw that it had a crack in it. I was like "aw dammit!" Fortunately, it still plays my favorite song, which is this one right here.

GOT DAMN! This shit is hard. One of the trillest songs ever recorded. As usual, both of them go off, especially the last few bars of stic.man's verse. But damn though, M-1 showed his ass on this song: "you wanna know what kinda nigga I am? let me tell you 'bout the nigga I'm not, I don't fuck with the cops."

The song already inspires me, but seeing this video for the first time makes me want to go out and start some shit. Hell, I might even break out my old favorite t-shirt today.

Taylor Made

[Me and Susan Taylor, circa 2002-03]

From jump...

I can't front, I've been more of a critic than fan of Essence magazine. Sad, but I'm not afraid to say its mostly been over petty shit that did nothing but expose underlying insecurities that I may not have been aware of. I wouldn't say that I would just be angered or set off by some of the things I saw in the magazine, no, most of the time it would just be shit I'd laugh and say "hell nawl" to.

You know, like those articles they'd have when they' tell their female readers: "100 Way How To Get A Man." "100 Ways To Keep A Man." "100 Reasons Why You Don't Have A Man." Most of the time I'd just look at those articles and be like "wrong, wrong, wrong." Like Dave Chappelle said, there aren't 100 ways to please any man, its pretty much 4 things: "Suck his ****, play with his balls, fix him a sandwich and don't talk so damn much."

I could go on and on about my gripes with a magazine that wasn't intended for me in the first place, but Jozen over at King-Mag.com pretty much hits all the nails on the head.

Anyways, I read that Susan L. Taylor was leaving the magazine next month. If you don't know her, she is pretty much the face of the magazine. I've gathered that to alot of Black women, Ms. Taylor is kinda held in the same regard as Oprah. Except Ms. Taylor is more low-key and appears (to me) to be more rooted in her community on a more consistent basis. Might as well say she is the "Black Oprah" if that makes any sense (it should if you feel what I'm saying).

When I read that she was leaving her post to focus more on her National Cares Mentoring Movement, I was happy for her, but saddened at the same time for some reason. I kinda felt like "damn, who are the sistahs gonna turn to after Ms. Taylor's In The Spirit column stops running?" Ever since Essence got bought out by Time Warner, people started worrying that they might go out like BET. They seem to have done a decent job in staying on course (outside of that loud-ass Suede magazine). But, with the woman who put the mag on the map and tried to keep its "Black Woman's Bible" title alive moving on, what now?

I mean, maybe I'm just tripping. Hell, I'm not even completely sure if women still read Essence like that anymore anyway. I guess I'm saying what I'm saying because I got a chance to meet Ms. Taylor about 4-5 years ago and she truly left an impression on me. She came down to Fort Valley State to give a lecture on using your college experience and degree to do more than just get a job. Although she was a woman and was pretty much expected to just give a lecture on women's issues, she spoke a bevy of things that both the men and women in the crowd could appreciate and apply to their lives.

Afterwards, she made herself available for photos, autographs and brief conversations. You can tell she was kinda tired but she still stayed until she shook every hand in the auditorium. By the time I got to her she had to have shook at least 50 hands. I didn't want to be a bother so I just shook her hand and kept it moving. But then, one of the professors who helped plan the lecture grabbed me by the jacket and demanded that I go back and really chop it up with her. So he took me back over there, formally introduced me to her and told her everything that I was doing at and for the school. She must have been impressed because she told the other folks in line to wait for a little bit and took out some time to talk to me and see what I was about.

I won't get into everything that we talked about or how she gave me her info but never responded to my calls or emails (its O.K., we're all busy people), but I will always remember her as a classy, serious, warm, stylish, intelligent, good smelling woman. Hopefully I'll cross paths with her again since her schedule seems to be a little lighter now.

Sorry for rambling, but, after reading that she was leaving, it just got me wondering. Granted, Ms. Taylor is leaving the magazine to really roll up her sleeves and get in the trenches doing much-needed community work, but I just wonder about the impact a voice like her's leaving a magazine like Essence can have. Especially when video hoes and calender models are becoming the most visible spokespeople for Black women. Hopefully Essence's young staff can keep it up. After all, as much as I'd disagree with some of what the magazine said, I'd be lying if I said it didn't have very informative and intriguing editorial besides the "How To Get A Man" nonsense. Much like women deserve to have a song like Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" amidst all the misogyny, women deserve to have Grade A reading material amidst the gossip mags and blogs out there.

Peace.

Hawks Over .500!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a lifelong Hawks fan (except for a brief stint in the post-Dominique era with the Charlotte Hornets during the Larry Johnson/Alonzo Mourning days). I've been laughed at, chuckled at and even felt sorry for. When I used to work at Rolling Out, my co-workers used think I was crazy because how I used to raise hell to get press passes to go to the games.

Well, as small as it may seem to some of you bandwagon Celtics fans, the Hawks having a winning record right now is big news to me. We haven't been over .500 this deep into the season since the 98-99 season. My team is finally starting to share the ball and cut to the basket like all NBA teams are supposed to. We beat the Miami Heat in (an unessecary) overtime last night we're on a 4-game winning streak. We have 13 wins already. Why is this such a big deal? Shied, just three seasons ago we didn't get our 13th win until the last week of the season (ooh, that shit still hurts). If the playoffs were to start today, we'd be in the 7th spot and be playing Detroit, a team I KNOW we can beat, and should have beat at least two out of three times already this season. I knew things were going to be different when we were able to beat both Dallas and Phoenix to open the season. The city is finally starting to get behind the team now too. Well, there really isn't much of a choice now, the Braves suck and the Falcons, eh...you know the story there. But, the games that I have gone too this season have been very exciting, win or lose.

Anyways, I know some of you may be thinking that I'm really tripping right now, but I don't care as of this moment my Hawks have a better record than last years Eastern Conference champs and I'm happy as hell about it. I still think we need a new coach and should give Greedy Speedy Claxton the boot, but I'm good right now. At least I see them on the court more that I do at the club nowadays.



On another note, as happy as I was to see my Hawks beat the Heat, I was saddenned to see one of my favorite players and childhood role models get injured. Alonzo Mourning went down last night after his knee buckled, coming down after trying to block a shot. He's already implying that this injury may force him to go ahead and retire. I hate to see that, I used to want to be like 'Zo growing up. In 3rd grade I used to think I was going to Georgetown University just like him. But I got introduced to reality and trouble in high school so that dream went flying out of the window.

Anyways, get well soon 'Zo! And GO HAWKS!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving!

If you need a bio or a photoshoot done, contact me at maurice.g.garland@gmail.com. Let's break bread! Oh yeah, this deal for indies only. All of you major cats are gonna have to spend some change.

The 'Roid Report

Well, males and sports fans now have their version of the Superhead book. Today the long-waited Mitchell Report on steroid use in Major League Baseball hit the streets, er, the net. So far, this has got to be the hottest read of the year!

Names! Reciepts! FedEX Mailing Slips! The Mitchell Report has it all! My eyes are burning just looking at this! 409 pages of hot, juicy steroid talk! This puts Jose Canseco's book to shame! To hell with Game of Shadows! The Mitchell Report is where its at!

Ok. Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Right now ESPN is dedicating all of their programming to what's inside of this document. They are flashing names like Clemens, Pettite, Bonds, Tejada and Gagne across the screen. I've read some of it myself and saw a gang of names like Sheffield, Justice, Bell, Santiago.

I can't say that I'm too too suprised at this. Hell, I wrote about Clemens last year. Anyone with two good eyes and half a brain could see that he was on the juice. How else can you explain how a 45-year old man can still throw 90 MPH fastballs the same way he did 20 years ago? How can you not notice when a guy sits out half a season to "get ready." C'mon man.

But, to some of the player's defense, some of them probably weren't taking "performance-enhancing" drugs. Especially Mark Prior, he hasn't been shit since 2003. Some of these cats were taking needles to the butt to heal faster. After all, they're humans, not X-Men.

Every Suspect's Probably Negro is already spinning this story. They are calling the report "flimsy" because it doesn't have quotes from the players admitting to getting injected. They are calling it "weak" because its made up of "hearsay." I mean, haven't they been operating off hearsay for the last 10 years hounding Barry Bonds? Whatever man.

I'm also laughing at how all of sudden ESPN has alot of brotha Legal Analysts. Just like on the local news, bring out the brothas to talk about the bad news.

Well, anyways, I'm about to get back to reading the Mitchell Report. Oprah should put this on her book list. Before I go, here is a trip down memory lane, when the steroid era began...Chicks Dig The Long Ball. Looks like it was more than the shoes...

Welcome Aboard The Enterprise

A couple of hours ago I realized something. I never see Black Enterprise covers being posted on various blogs, this one included. Yeah, its probably because they hardly ever have any pop culture figures on the cover. But this month they did their annual Hot List. I purchased my copy a while ago, so, its a couple of weeks old. But like I said, I hadn't seen it mentioned anywhere else, so I will.

This isssue features LeBron James on the cover. Judging from the following pages, it looks like they did a multiple cover type deal with Queen Latifah, Chris Brown & Kirk Franklin, John Legend & Wyclef and Venus Williams gracing the others. They were only selling the LeBron one in my neighborhood.

Their Hot List consisted of people that they considered to be, well, Hot. They described the list as being comprised of "ultimate achievers under the age of 40 in media, music, entertainment, and sports."

I usually like to read B.E. to unplug from the industry matrix and see Black folks doing things other than entertaining and playing sports. But hey, we have a high population in that field, at least some of us are making some good money in it, I suppose. I just hope that this doesn't become a trend. I think they should stick to featuring the bankers, engineers, doctors that we have. That's just me though. I guess there is nothing wrong with recognizing our big names in entertainment and presenting them in a somewhat different light. It probably lures more young readers away from alot of the other distractions, er, magazines on the shelves. Which is a good thing.

Anyways, next time you're at Kroger, skip past the XXL, VIBE, SLAM, KING, ESSENCE, SISTER to SISTER and peep the Black Enterprise. Get some financial knowledge and encouragement to be great...not "hot."

Eye Tunes: Mike Jones

Back sooner than we expected, and by popular demand Gangstalicious and Thugnificent are joining us again today with a new video. Today's Eye Tune comes from Mike Jones featuring Hurricane Chris, "Drop And Give Me 50."



Thugnificent says: Man, I can't stand this ninja turtle lookin' ass nigga, fuck Mike Jones!






Gangstalicious says: Who nigga?






Thugnificent says: Mike Jones.






Gangstalicious says: Yo who dat?






Thugnificent says: Mike Jones nigga! This Donatello lookin' mah fucka in the video, are you deaf, blind and dumb nigga?!?






Gangstalicious says: Haha, nah son, just doing the thing, you know, when he says his name and people be like "who?" Shit is funny son. But on the real, I like this video son. Its real gritty, nah'mean. Niggas are on the independent hustle, nah'mean. Looks like niggas went to Wal-Mart, got a camera, went outside and did their thing, knowhatimsayin'?

Thugnificent says: Nah, fuck that nigga man. This nigga is a biter. First the nigga swagger jacked the design for my Lethal Interjection chain for that bullshit Ice Age chain he be wearing. Now the nigga jacking my video ideas. I had this same idea for my "Booty Butt Cheeks" video. I told the director, "don't put the camera on me rapping, keep the camera on the hoes." I wanted a whole video where no actual rapping was being seen or done, only ass shaking. Now, look. This nigga done up and stole another one of my ideas. Fuck this nigga man.

Gangstalicious says: Yo, how you gonna get mad at this man for that? He is representing for the streets. He showing you how it really is in the streets, knowhatimsayin'? Shit is real out here, nah'mean? Niggas got problems out here nigga, for real. Niggas gotta trust niggas to go out and find hoes for the videos, then on top of that we gotta find new ways to waste money and shit, that shit is hard work, B. You the main one that's out here saying "stop hatin' and get money" and when you see a nigga out here getting money, you start hatin'. What's up with that shit son?

Thugnificent says: Nah man, its still fuck this nigga. Yeah, I tell niggas to stop hatin'. But I also tell them to stop snitching and stop biting. And this nigga is guilty of the last Thug Law. I betcha this nigga house looks like mines too. What's really got me pissed is how this nigga steals my idea and go gets the sorriest batch of ass-shakers I've ever seen in my life.

Gangstalicious says: Really son? I mean, I kinda like the selection he had. The Euro look is coming back, nah'mean. I'm thinking about getting some Natalie Portman, Hillary Swank looking females for my next joint. You know, niggas gotta keep that White Girl on them, B.

Thugnificent says: Nigga, who the fuck you been hanging around? You going Hollywood. Real niggas ain't supposed to know who Natalie Portman and Hillary Swank are nigga. We only supposed to know Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and that chick Ray J smashed on camera. You know, the worst they have to offer.

Gangstalicious says: Whatever B. Video dope son, two guns up.






Thugnificent says: Fuck this nigga man. But I like Hurricane Chris though, that's my nigga.






Gangstalicious says: Who?







Thugnificent says: Man, don't start that "who" shit again nigga.






Gangstalicious says: No, seriously B. Who the fuck is Hurricane Chris? He related to Katrina?

Eye Tunes: Gucci Mane

Hello folks! If you are a frequent REZIDUE visitor, then you already know that we are huge Boondocks fans. So when Gangstalicious and Thugnificent asked us if they could do music video reviews over here, we were more than pleased to work with them. So here it is, the first installment of Eye Tunes, where G and T will be discussing the hottest videos.

The first video up for review just hit the 'net. Its Gucci Mane's latest single, "Street Nigga." Enjoy.




Thugnificent says: Now this is what the fuck I'm talking about nigga! This is that real street nigga shit. Like my nigga said at the end, if you ain't a real street nigga, you can't fuck with this. My nigga Gucci was cooking and sacking the dope IN THE VIDEO nigga! Tell me that ain't no real street shit! If that ain't real street nigga shit, I don't know what is.

Gangstalicious says: Exactly, exactly, knowhatimsayin? The nigga had all the dope in the fuckin' video, knowhatimsayin? Real street nigga shit, nah'mean? Powder nigga. Not weed nigga, powder nigga! I'm also feeling how he said he loves all of his street niggas. I love my street niggas too! You haven't experienced real love until a street nigga has loved you, nah'mean?

Thugnificent says: I don't know about that shit you saying, I'll take love from a bad bitch over a street nigga any day, but I feel you though. I'm loving how Gucci didn't forget about the haters. You gotta floss for the haters nigga, I mean, if you don't, what is there for them to hate on, you feel me? You gotta show your grill and your watches nigga, you just gotta! And he did a good job at making the haters sick to their stomachs. Two watches, two chains and a grill nigga! What?!?! Lawd have mercy on these haters, Gucci is killing them. His chain was so atrocious they had to blur the shit out nigga! What you know about that shit nigga!

Gangstalicious says: Yes, yes, yes. I noticed that too. I also like that Gucci wakes up out of bed already baby oiled down, nah'mean? Street niggas are greasy like that, nah'mean? Can't hit the block with dry skin, knowhatimsayin'? I'm also feeling how he shot the video in the 'hood, knowhatimsayin? Real street niggas shoot their videos in the 'hood, that way if anybody thinks their lying and wants to see it for themselves, they know exactly where to look, nah'mean? I used to shoot alot my videos in the 'hood as well, but the cops started showing up all the time. I could never figure out how they'd always know where I was at. This actually kinda reminds me of my song "Tell It To The Jury," its that real, knowhatimsayin'? Now, I shoot most of my videos at the club. The only cops there are security. Not that I need security or anything like that, 'cause you know, I gets down for mine. But you know, nah'mean? Knowhatimsayin?

Thugnificent says:Fuck the police! And fuck any nigga who ain't feeling this video. Stop hatin' and get money nigga!

Oh yeah, I'm fucking with his "Hella Ones" video too nigga. Shit reminds me of my song, "Booty Butt Cheeks."

Underground Kingz

Here is a Pimp C song done before he even hooked up with Bun.

Pimp C- "Underground King"

[spotted at Cocaine Blunts comments board]

Rest In Trill

"Use Me Up"


"Tell Me Something Good"


"Its Supposed To Bubble"


"Woodwheel"

Shoulda Seen It Coming

Well, I Must Use Slurs has another job. I'm not at all surprised. But I am shocked that he will have two Black comedian co-hosts. Which pretty much means that the language is probably going to get fouler, but be dismissed with laughter. Are you going to listen?

The Coming

Heaven must have either heard my prayers, or me rapping "Thought Process" in the shower. But Goodie Mob is back! I mean, I heard about the news years ago but the word was only coming out in bits and pieces. I'd see pictures of them back hanging together and when I'd see a Goodie in the street they'd say "yeah, yeah, yeah...we back together" but didn't say much of anything else. Then, we got teased with "Hold On" on that Purple Ribbon compilation. But, that was a bittersweet suprise to me.

Mainly because I had heard that song on the radio back in 1997. It was recorded for Soul Food and got left off. I remember when they got on Hot 97.5 back when Ludacris was Chris Lova Lova to promote Still Standing, they said they was gonna put it on there and they played it. I taped the song off the radio and played it religiously for at least a month. Then, I fucked around and taped over it when they got back on the radio and played what was going to be the new single, "They Don't Dance No Mo'." I didn't sweat it at the time because I figured hey, its gonna be on the album. Well, if you own Still Standing, then you know "Hold On" ain't on there either. Sorry for rambling, but like I said, hearing it pop up on Got Purp was a bittersweet surprise.

My hopes for a Goodie Mob album increased when I got the chance to interview all four of them for a Classic Material I wrote for XXL on Soul Food. It was the first time that I heard all four of them say that the group was back together and actually recording music.

Its crazy man. Goodie Mob has been on my brain something serious for the last week and a half. First, my brother came up for Thanksgiving and asked me to burn him a copy of mine which made me have to start playing mines again. Then the homie R.E. did a Soul Food post on his blog. Then I messed around and got led to their Wikipedia page and found that I had to go in and correct some things myself (they said they got their name from some British band called The Goodie, wtf?!?) Now, I find the following videos on youtube and my homegirl Janee's (a.k.a. the Saigon killer) new blog. No lie, I was just developing an angle for a blog about Goodie Mob to post on Black Ice. I still might do it.

By now, I know, I probably talked/typed your ears/eyes off with my Goodie ramblings (no, this doesn't qualify as lame ass "fanhood" either). Sorry about that, anyway, peep the following videos of the G-Mo-B making their return official. They pretty much sum up everything I'm feeling right now in the interview.

Part One


Part Two


Part Three


Part Four

Can't Resist The Camera

So, the doctor who is supposedly responsible for the surgical complications Dr. Donda West died from decided to go on Larry King Live to talk without talking. If you want to "honor their wishes," just stay home.

[CLICK HERE TO WATCH INTERVIEW]

3 Stacks & Daddy Fat Sax

The full version of "The Art Of Storytelling" Part 4 (which will be on DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz album)has finally hit the net. The song is better than I expected. The first time I heard it was when I was actually riding with Drama and he was letting me hear the album. But it seemed like when the songs, like this one, that I really wanted to hear came on, his daughter started raising hell in the backseat, so I couldn't hear anything hardly. The second time I heard the song was at a party Drama was DJing. Usually when a new Dre verse comes on, people STFU. But no, not in the club shawty. I finally heard it with no distractions when I ran into Drama on another day.

From what I remember, this was the dopest song on the album. It also a song that was recorded on the GG album's original go-round before they had to go back and redo it after the Apphilliate's offices got raided.

I will stop talking now and post the song, peace.

[CLICK HERE]

(spotted @ Nah Right)

The Coldest Winter Ever

Mike Vick Trial Begins 11/26/07


OJ Simpson Arraignment 11/28/07


Barry Bonds Appears In Court 12/7/07


T.I. Trial Pending

If I missed anyone or anything, please feel free to add.

UPDATE: Vick's winter is already starting.

"The Kaing Ain't Dead"

T.I. is probably bored out of his mind. I've never been on house arrest, but I know what it feels like to be regulated indoors and not able to leave as you wish, its torture. Boredom and torture can be the only reasons why T.I. would release this video of him claiming that he will be "exonerated on all charges." I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think it would be a good look if my high-profile client went on the internet making statements as his trial looms in the distance. Especially after the judge has warned T.I. not to do anything "to undermine their ability to represent you." The King, in true Gangstalicious fashion (no, I'm not calling dude gay), said that he is putting his faith in God and the system. That's good to hear, but please Tip, no more videos, save the talking for the trial. Just chill out.

The Best Damn Cartoon Period

You all know that I'm not the biggest television watcher, but when I find something I like, I watch the hell out of it. Being that The Daily Show's writing and overall funniness is going down, the Colbert report is only funny 2 or 3 days out of the week and the Writer's strike is gonna have us watching re-runs for what looks like the next few months, I've had to find another show to watch religiously, and that show is The Boondocks.

I watched the entire first season and have rented the DVDs at least twice, but so far, this season has got to be the funniest ever. Too bad we couldn't have this show at the same time as Chappelle's Show. While Chappelle was funny as hell, we all know that it could go over the top and nose dive into being completely silly or fictional, which served as both its gift and curse at times. But with Boondocks, each topic it covers and every person it mocks, is never really that far removed from the truth.

The latest episode was the one that I've been wanting to see since they leaked the Season 2 preview on YouTube, "The Story of Thugnificent."



Similar to last season's "The Story of Gangstalicious" the episode revolves around a gangsta rapper character. While Gangstalicious was obviously based around an East Coast rapper, Thugnificent is based on a rapper from the "Dirty Dirty" repping for a city called Terra Belle (terrible), Georgia.

Now, if you been down with my blogs since the Myspace days you already know how dead on I thought that Gangstalicious piece was with what was going on at the time. This Thugnificent episode rings a bell too. From the moment he opened his mouth he reminded me of at least four Southern rappers. If not appearance wise, definitely behaviorally.

What makes it even funnier is the fact that show creator Aaron McGruder went as far as to get Busta Rhymes and Snoop Dogg do voice overs in the episode as Thugnificent's crew, and get them to appear as themselves (with Nate Dogg on the hook) on the hilarious "Eff Grandad" diss record. Getting people to act as caricatures of themselves has been an ongoing theme this season with folks like Mo'Nique and Snoop Dogg willingly re-acting their coon roles in the episode that mocked Soul Plane. Is it me or are they not realizing they are clowning themselves? Maybe they are and I'm just thinking too hard about what is obviously supposed to be a joke.

Damn I can't wait until next weeks "Invasion of the Katrinans" episode.

Get Down!!!

How fitting. The other rapper that makes me stop what I'm doing whenever I hear their voice. This is Dre 3000's verse on that phantom remix of Jay-Z's "30 Something." I heard about this song months ago when I interviewed Big Boi for Ozone. I forgot what I asked him, it might have been something about all the remixes him and Dre were hopping on at the time, but he told me that he was hopping on Gorilla Zoe's "Hood Nigga" remix and Dre was hopping on the Jay song. The Zoe record hit the radio months later and I only heard about the Dre verse on "30 Something" from some DJ's that I know. Then I heard it at a studio that I was doing an interview at and then again at when I was at the BET Hip Hop Awards. I finally heard it in the comfort of my own home a couple weeks ago and it had an extra verse from Ice Cube on it too. Unfortunately, it was a Greg Street exclusive and he didn't let you forget it either, so there was drops all over the shit. I came across the Dre verse by itself over at Chesing the Cool this morning and figured I'd share it with you if you hadn't heard it yet. If this guy ain't spitting the most relevant you-lil-niggas-need-to-hear-this-shit verses right now, man...

Got damn, I'm glad ya'll set it off...

[photo courtesy of ME!]

I'm close to coming to a conclusion. Andre 3000 and Ice Cube are almost the only rappers the still make me stop what I'm doing and listen whenever I hear their voice on a new song.

Cube is back with a new joint called "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It." The title alone had me intrigued and the song did not disappoint. Right now the debate is who exactly is he going at towards the end of the song. Some are saying that he is cranking up another duel with Common (did that ever get settled?). But, I don't wanna strum anything up, so just sit back and listen to the song. [CLICK HERE to listen]

I tell you, this song gave me the same feeling I got when I heard "Child Support" on the radio for the first time.

[spotted at Nah Right]

1 Down, 3 to go

If you thought the way Benzino strong-armed The Source was a good example of some good old-fashioned Boston ruthlessness, he has nothing on thier sports teams. This summer the city of Boston came up on Randy Moss (New England Patriots), Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen (Boston Celtics) and that expensive ass Japenese pitcher (Boston Red Sox), making all 3 of their professional sports franchise championship contenders.

Now tonight, 1/4 of their hostile takeover is complete as the Sox won their second World Series championship in 4 years by sweeping the literally ice cold Colorado Rockies. And with talks of these dudes trying to pick up A-Rod next season it don't look like they plan on giving up that trophy next year either.

Seeing this and how the New England Patriots are whupping up on the rest of the NFL like they stole something is really making me wonder how many crimes have been committed for them to all of a sudden just take over the sports world as they know it. I mean really, look at this shit:

-Boston Red Sox win 2007 World Series in a sweep, after facing a 3-1 deficit in the previous series

-New England Patriots start 2007 season 8-0, scoring no less than 34 points in each of their games and averaging just under 50 points in their last three victories. All of this after getting caught cheating in the first game of the season

-Boston Celtics pick up perhaps the best all-around player in basketball over the last 10 years (outside of Kobe and Tim Duncan) and the purest shooter since Reggie Miller giving them a legitimate shot to win what is already a weak Eastern Conference.

-Boston College is ranked #2 in college football and are almost certain to compete for a BCS Championship.

Hell, the only thing holding the city back are the hockey team, the Bruins who are in second to last place in their division.

Fugg that! I'm hating! Something has got to be in the water in Beantown. Either that or they putting something in everyone else's water.

About Damn Time

Well, thanks to all our petitions, phone calls and marchings, Genarlow Wilson is finally FREE! Well, at least in theory. This morning the Georgia Supreme Court demanded that Wilson be freed immediately. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, the man who appealed a ruling earlier this year that would have freed Wilson, announced that he would not appeal today's ruling. Paperwork and processes have to be done before Wilson is allowed home, which could be very soon. I'm happy, but the way this case is going, I'd like to see pictures of him sitting at home playing Xbox and drinking Kool-Aid before I jump for joy.

Well lets see here. We raised hell for Genarlow, Shaquanda Cotton and the Jena 6 (even though Mychal Bell is back in jail because of his priors). That tells me that giving a damn and doing something whether it be spreading the word, marching, donating to defense funds or flooding our elected officials' offices with letters and phone calls, does make a difference. Now, lets get into action about making sure that getting caught with nooses should be punished to the fullest extent of federal law.

Friday is shaping up to be a good day for brothas on lock down. Lets see if the magic will rub off on T.I.'s hearing today.

Buck The World

"If I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me."-Buck O'Neil

Just over a year after his death, the Baseball Hall of Fame finally honored Buck O'Neil with a long overdue spot. O'Neil, one of the Negro Leagues' biggest stars and the first Black coach in the Major Leagues fell short by two votes when he was up for special induction in February 2006. He fell short of induction into the HOF despite the fact he played in four East-West All-Star games and two Negro League World Series. He fell short despite the fact he Kansas City Monarchs to two league titles. He fell short despite the fact that he helped establish the Negro League Hall of Fame. He fell short despite the fact that throughout his career, he was one of the classiest and most endeared embassadors for the ENTIRE sport of Baseball...PERIOD.

His posthemous induction into the hall is not the first honor O'Neil has recieved after his death, he also recieved the Presidential Medal of Freedom in December 2006. The Baseball HOF will also honor O'Neil by erecting a statue of him inside the museum, and creating a Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented to a worthy recipient no more than every three years.

Here is a link to a July 2006 speech that Buck gave at one of his last public appearances, the induction ceremony for the Negro League Baseball players who were voted into the Baseball HOF. The ceremony he was left out of.

Killer Mike and The Vagina Power Lady

I am hoping there is more to come.

Touchin' What I Never Touched Before...

Well, I started blogging for XXL today. The name of the blog is gonna be Black Ice. My first post is about Big Moe and the sippin' of syrup. Check it out and by all means leave a comment on what's looking to be a very deadly trend.

"Don't Ever Say Phonte Never Did Nothing For Ya'll Niggas...lol, Enjoy!"

I mean, I know Daz already had the album title, but Phonte is really showing folks how to get Revenge, Retaliation and GET BACK!

God Don't Like Ugly

Well, Prodigy of Mobb Deep is headed to jail on gun charges. Word is that he's gonna get 3-1/2 years and um, dude isn't getting any younger. He already suffers from sickle cell so, it ain't gonna be an easy bid for him if/when he goes in.

Seeing this in the news today made me wonder if this is God's way of punishing him for his verse on "Pearly Gates" from the Blood Money album. You know the one where he said:

Now homey if I go to hell and you make it to the pearly gates
Tell the boss man we got beef
And tell his only son I'm a see him when I see him
And when I see him, I'm a beat him like the movie
For leavin us out to dry on straight poverty
For not showin me no signs they watchin over me
Yo! We a new breed in two thousand six
We don't give a fuck about that religious bullshit


I mean, I'm all for free expression (to an extent), so when I first heard the verse I ain't really trip on dude. I mean, we all have had our thoughts and questions about Christianity.

Is it the Black persons religion? Didn't Christians enslave us? Why do the preachers sound/look like pimps? Why does the U.S. government use it the way they do? Why are most elitist White people Christians, what does that mean? Why is Christianity pretty much the only religion "accepted" in the school system? You know, we've all had those types of thoughts.

But after hearing "Pearly Gates" a couple more times, I was like, damn, dude is really asking for it, playing with fire for real. Because the way I grew to interpret the song, told me that they worshiped money, not God. Shied, just sitting there listening to the verse made my head start hurting, it felt like I was gonna get struck by lightning by the end of the song.

Then, ironically, not too long after that song came out Mobb Deep was in a plane crash. In an interview Prodigy said:

"I already knew the plane was not going to crash. Our purpose is not fulfilled yet. We are here for a serious purpose and it is not done yet. I knew it was going to land safely."

"We're definitely spiritual people...but I don't believe the storytime, 'This is what it is, this is what you're supposed to believe, this is how it went down.' I don't believe in none of that shit. I believe in the Creator, that you're supposed to be a positive, good person. That shit comes back to you when you're not good. [That] you have to put positive energy in the world or you'll get negative back."

"When I was saying that shit on 'Pearly Gates' I was just being a rebel to the system that they force us [into], they force you to believe in all that shit. If you don't believe it then you're labeled as a devil worshipper. These are the same motherfuckers that enslaved us, and lied to us for thousands of years, stole our technology and raped all our ancestors, and these are the same people that said 'here this what you [should] believe [in]."

I kinda felt him on that, because, I hate religion too. Religious people are the most hypocritical people walking the earth. They just be doing shit to be doing it, and don't have a real relationship with God, on a spiritual level. But still, I can't just say I'ma whup Jesus when I see him.

Then, just last month he gets punched out in the club by Saigon. Now, he's about to go to jail on gun charges (peep how he got arrested the same month as the plane crash, October 2006, what a difference a year makes).

So, in hindsight it goes: Threaten Jesus---->plane crash---->arrest for gun---->punched and embarrassed in club---->indicted on gun charge, faces 3.5 years in prison.

Is this irony or divine order?

West Up!

THIS SONG IS STR8 FIE!

That's all I have to say right now. I'm downloading his mixtape as we speak, you do the same so that we can talk about it later. I was gonna write a long drawn out post about Terrace Martin and why I'm hoping and praying that West Coast Hip Hop (the Bay included) will finally at least take over half the game, even at the expense of the South losing some shine (I speak of the lame, redundant, buffoonish shit of course). But I'll save that for later. But for now, peep "Ridin'" by Terrace Martin featuring Snoop Dogg, Problem and my nigga Scar (yes, the Scar who used to be signed to Purple Ribbon). Download this shit, burn it on CD and pop it in the system so that you can get the full effect of this jammin ass song, computer speakers don't do it justice. In the words of my nigga Ali, THIS SHIT SLAPS! (Thanks BP)

UPDATE: Shawty Redd and Snoop been all over my blog for the last two days. Here's a joint they did together called "Sexual Eruption." Snoop is getting his T-Pain on in this one.

Prince Got That Purp!

For the past month or so I've been getting a bunch of signs saying that I need go back get up on some old Prince.

I watched Purple Rain in its entirety last month for probably the first time since it came out. I was like 5 years old back then and hardly remember anything about it except for Appolonia's breast, Clarence Williams III handing out beatdowns and Morris Day acting a damn fool. The only thing I could clearly recall about that period was that my pops had the soundtrack and that I used to jump around in the living room to "Let's Go Crazy." I was always more familiar with the soundtrack than the film itself.

A friend and colleague of mines is a huge Prince fan and every once in a while she'd be bumping some shit that I either remember vaguely (but liked) or something I am totally oblivious too (and loved). Then when we went out for drinks the other night to this dope ass lounge the DJ was playing some more Prince shit that I never heard before but loved. When I asked the DJ what album this song was on, he told me Sign of the Times. As much as I'm admitting to not knowing Prince's music like that, I know enough to know that that was the wrong answer.

Either way, I am finally starting to realize why Prince is the gawt dayum man, so I'm gonna have to out and buy up alot of his old shit. I'm kinda embarrassed that I don't know more about his music. The only explanation I have is that shied, my pops pretty much controlled the musical climate in my house when I was growing up and he didn't fuck with any Prince albums except for that Purple Rain soundtrack. I guess he wasn't cool with bumping a dude who wore ass-less pants and had no problem screaming like a damn girl. I can't blame him though, I'd probably be the same way. Anyways, I guess I just kinda carried over the dissent into my life and never got into his stuff. Plus, it didn't help that back in '99 when I used to smoke with a co-worker after work that he'd throw on that ol' World Music sounding Prince from the mid-90s when I was trying to chill. Yeah, that's automatic way to lose a listener, fuck up their high.

Anyways, I just wanted to share the above video with you. Its Shawty Redd featuring Pastor Troy, Daz Dillinger and Big Kuntry King. The song is straight fie and is supposed to be on either DJ Funky Darryl James or Shawty Redd's upcoming mixtape. The song been out for a couple months now, but the video just hit. I mean, I myself ain't with the tricking shit, but fugg it, this shit ridin'!

And to all of you Prince fans or even fellow music writers out there, please forgive me. Don't do me like they've been doing Lupe's forgetful ass.

Oh yeah, shout out to Raheem the Dream for sampling "The Beautiful Ones" first on "The Most Beautiful Girl In the World."

The Revolution Has To Be Well Informed

We're mad. We're angry. We're frustrated. We're ready to get down like Three Six Mafia.

Mychal Bell. Robert Bailey Jr. Carwin Jones. Bryant Purvis. Theo Shaw. Jesse Ray Beard. Genarlow Wilson. Sean Bell. Yeah, we've got plenty of reasons to be pissed off right now. But people, if we're gonna channel our pissed-off'ness into making change, we've got to be well informed.

Now, I know me and a couple others kinda tripped on what seemed to be fashion statement protesting. In hindsight, I can't be too mad at people giving a damn and at least being somewhat aware and proactive, kudos. But, we have to realize, that if we are going to change anything locally, nationally or globally--WE HAVE TO BE INFORMED!

Today, an email was swirling around about Shaquanda Cotton, a teenage girl in Texas who was sentenced to 7-years imprisonment for shoving a school teacher. The uproar over this case came about because the same judge tried a 14-year old White girl for arson and only gave her probation. The email was based off a press release about this injustice...that was made in March 2007. Shaquanda, similar to Mychal Bell, had already served a year in jail.

However, followers of this story would know that Shaquanda was released from jail in April 2007, weeks after the story broke. So yes, there is a shining example of what proper media coverage and voices of protest can do. But we have to be better informed!

This email, which urged to write Shaquanda letters and protest for her release came to me from at least three different people today, not to mention, it also came in the form of a Myspace bulletin from one of our more politically-minded MC's.

To the best of my knowledge, and based off my latest readings, Texas declined her appeal in July. Its not yet clear as to if she will be sent back to jail. But one thing is for sure, she is NOT currently incarcerated, she is STILL free. However, it looks like since the appeal was declined, this blemish will remain on her record.

Don't get me wrong, I don't write posts like this to make it sound like I'm saying "I know more than you!" or "I was protesting before you!" All I'm asking is if we are going to start a revolution, movement, change or whatever you want to call it, WE HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL WE ARE TALKING ABOUT!

I remember when I was really just starting to get my feet wet in writing, I had a chance to interview Chairman Fred Hampton Jr back during the whole VOTE OR DIE craze. Off top, he told me he was happy that I went through the trouble of hunting him down and contacting him for an interview. But, he also told me that he was a stickler for information and that he wasn't gonna allow me to make broad statements or ask half-informed questions during the interview. And I tell you, the couple of times that I did say some lame shit, he let me have it. (Hold on, now that I remember, I wasn't the one saying the lame shit, it was one of my bosses who was listening over my shoulder feeding me their lame-ass questions every 10 minutes) The bottom line is, those couple of times Chairman Fred got on my ass, I know it was coming from a place of love. He knew that the key to evoking any kind of change is being well informed.

So to all of US, who are about ready to start stirring some shit up and change our lives and the lives around us...STAY INFORMED! We can't afford to bring plastic knives to the gun fight.

Peace.

HOLD UP! {wait a minute}

I'm convinced. Video cameras are just as dangerous as guns, especially in the hands of dumb mahfuggas. See, when a idiot is in possession of a firearm someone is liable to get shot, killed or maimed for life. Really stupid mahfuggas often times shoot themselves. The same can damn near be said about dumb mahfuggas with cameras. Ask R.Kelly. Or, ask (please read this before moving on)Chester Stiles.

Now, before I really get into what I'm saying. Am I the only person tripping on how this dude's real name is Chester. I mean, I'm sorry for what happened and all, but c'mon now. If I am a parent, there are two things I'm not doing with my child. 1.) I'm not taking them to Neverland. And 2.) I'm not bringing them around any nigga named CHESTER!

But, cases like this proves that we need to have laws for video cameras the same way that we have laws for guns.

For instance, back in '94 the government passed the Brady Bill stating that all states had to run background checks and enact a five-day waiting period on people trying to purchase handguns. The Brady Bill expired in '98 and was replaced by an instant backgrond check program. Many states have their own processes as to how they run background checks on potential gun buyers, some are more or less strict than others. The point is, that background checks are ran on people, thus the likelihood
of dumb mahfuggas, people with mental issues and people with violent criminal backgrounds are less likely to be sold guns. Unfortunately this doesn't include the thousands of guns getting ran on the streets. But still though, the idea is there that the proper authorities are at least doing something to keep guns out of the hands of stupid people.

Shouldn't we have the same for video cameras? I don't know about you, but there are waaaaaay too many people running around with video cameras. Growing up, I used to think twice about going to certain neighborhoods to visit girls, mainly because of guns and the niggas who have them. Now, I'm more afraid of being videotaped digging in my nose or getting caught doing something I ain't got no business doing. Not that I just be out doing shit I ain't got no business doing, but still.

Unfortunately, like too many of my peers, I know what it feels like to have a weapon pulled out on them. The shit makes you feel damn near 10 different emotions at the same time. Anger, fear, anxiety, etc. I found myself to feel the same emotions, if not more when someone feels that they can just run up on you with a camera and just fuck with you for no reason, ala HITS or Tom Green.

At least with guns, most times, the only people that stand to be effected are the person behind the trigger and the person in front of the barrel. Man, these got damn cameras, man, let someone catch someone on tape doing something and put it YouTube. It fucks with all of us. Whether its idiot bloggers telling lies and misinforming people or some ignant shit getting spread or some straight up What-The-Fuckery scaring the hell out of us, idiots with cameras have a way of ingraning themselves in our conciousness. At least with guns its typically a one shot deal, literally.

Then on top of that, it seems like the stupid mahfuggas with cameras never get punished or caught, ever or at least in a timely manner, I mean, just look at Kelly and Chester. Idiots with guns get caught all the time, thus taking criminals out of society. But we still got dumb folks with cameras wreaking havoc on us all.

I don't know man, I'm really starting to feel like life would be better with more guns than cameras out on the street. I mean, cameras used to do us some good when we were catching the LAPD assaulting Rodney King. But now, cameras, with alot of help from the internet, have pretty much turned human interaction into the equivalent of writing cusswords and phone numbers on the bathroom stall.

So I guess I'll end this by asking, who scares you more?

This guy or This guy

In The Zoo

This past Tuesday I got assigned to interview Gorilla Zoe and Yung Joc for this kinda big assignment that I've been alluding to for the past couple weeks. Over the past couple years I've grown to be very familiar with the Block Entertainment camp. And no, not familiar to the point where my journalistic integrity goes flying out the window when I have to write about them (I see you Dre). Sure, I don't like each and every song that they come out with, but being around these cats at least helps me to look at their music with a more open mind.

Anyways, since I was gonna be around them, I figured I'd chronicle some of the day's events. It just so happened to be the same day that Gorilla Zoe's album Welcome to the Zoo came out. I had to review the CD recently and I was impressed. When dude sticks to his script he's on some 'Face shit, for real. I didn't care for some of the formulaic "gangster" or "club" or "ladies" songs he had on the album. Come to find out, he didn't either. But at least they were few and far between and didn't take away from the whole scope of the CD. Check it out if you haven't already. Keep an ear out for the songs "Last Time I Checked," "Battlefield" and "I Know."

Here are some pics I took and wanted to share with you all:

Greg Street, Yung Joc, Zoe and Block at the album signing at FYE at North Dekalb Mall (yeah, I know, wack location...more on that later)


Zoe and producer Chris Flame

Crazy. I used to intern at Hot 107.9 with Chris. I knew he was out in the streets doing his thing and I'd always see him around the area Zoe's studio used to be at, but I never knew that they was working together. We'd say whats up and honk horns when we saw each other but that was about it. It had been a minute since I saw dude and I ran into him on this night outside Block studios, so we was chopping it up. Then someone came up and was like "whats up Flame." I put two and two together and realized I knew the dude everybody been in the street hollering about for the last year or so. I've been name dropping this dude in my articles not even realizing I know dude. I'm slow.

Zoe outside the studio, telling everyone he loves them and to "take yo' ass to the store and buy the CD in the morning."


Youngblood (and Redan Raider) J-Bo and DAMN!, I forgot buddy name.



Baby D, Joc and Diamond of Crime Mob

I don't know what it is, but whenever I'm out and about, every teenage girl I see has Diamond's mixtape blasting out of their earphones. Don't be surprised if ya'll see and hear more of her in the near future. Granted, I don't ride around bumping her stuff, but ya'll know how I feel about female rappers so I can't be mad at what she's doing.

Comedian Nard, Baby D, and AK of the P$C


Early crowd shots of ESSO



If you haven't been inside the new ESSO yet, its kinda like a mini-Club Visions. Except here, the attitudes are much better. Perhaps because its sitting right in the middle of Kirkwood. To me, Visions was hugely responsible for the fake-ass Black Hollywood attitude that's running rampant throughout the city. The only thing the new ESSO is missing that the old ESSO downtown had was the three-floors of music and dancing. The old ESSO had the reggae floor, the east coast Hip Hop/Top 40 floor and the Southern Hip Hop/Crunk doing down on the bottom floor. Its still a cool lil' spot though.







Block Ent. selling CD's at the show

Like I said earlier, for some reason the powers that be decided to have the instore at wack ass North Dekalb Mall which nobody I knows even goes to anymore. Only reason to go to that lame ass mall is to get neckties and furniture for the low low. Knowing that they might have fucked up in doing that, Block Ent. decided to have an unofficial instore in the club and started selling CDs during the show.

Big Duke and 107.9 radio personality Mizz Shyneka

Alot of folks be trying to hate on Duke and just look at him as a faceless member of Boyz N Da Hood. Dude has put his work in. He was one of the first solo cats out of Decatur to get a solo major deal, him and KB who used to be on Rap-A-Lot. He was on Suave House in the late 90's and was featured twice on Ball & G's In My Lifetime album. Then he went on to do some writing for So So Def. Oh yeah, I used to intern at Hot 107.9 (back then 97.5) with Mizz Shyneeka too. Something has got to give...Ludacris, DJ Sense, Flame, Shyneeka...all these interns blowing up, I need to start making beats or something.

Rick Ross came through and performed too






Zoe hopping down in the crowd to shake hands and hug folks after the show