“The Godfather of Soul”

– December 25th, 2006 –

Merry Christmas to all and I hope that everyone is blessed.

The news of James Brown’s death comes after the loss of a lot of our legends, like Gerald Levert and Ed Bradley. I will talk more about it tomorrow.

 R.I.P. James Brown

 1933 – 2006

“Engrained In The Membrane”

– November 27th, 2006 –

I tried to stay out of the Michael Richards fracas because I knew that it was going to get burn everywhere in the press and on blogs. But one of the things that I pointed out to a friend of mines was this:

Michael Richards has always been a racist.

Kent, Ohio is not known as the black populace of the world, but we do have our share of racists. It’s understandable and almost expected for the N-word to be thrown our way. For one of two reasons this always happens:

1. The verbal assailant is just trying to get our goat by using the expletive.

Or…

2. They have no other way to insult us, unless they use the word.

When I saw the footage of Richards hurling insults at hecklers, I wasn’t surprised that he would resort to using such anugly word. The part that did it for me was when Richards said, “Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass.” That is deep-seeded racism. I’m not going to go too much into the where he may have got it from (his racist-ass daddy or moms), but thanks to the wonderful powers of the Internet and YouTube — this clip appeared on the site.

The clip is from the 1986 movie Whoops Apocalypse. Do you label one a racist due to a character portrayed on film? Or do you evaluate someone’s choices in roles and attribute it to their personal preferences? Richards’ secret is definitely out of the bag, but it has been leaking for 20 years now. As recent Robert McGruder Award Winner, Leonard Pitts, Jr. points out — there are bigger demons at the gate now that this has been exorcised and broadcasted. While Richards chooses to do his media rounds, hoping to salvage his career, and receive the “Mel Gibson pass” — the ones who felt the brunt of Cosmo’s outerspace rant are looking to sue.

“In the morning, when I wake up, I’ll still be rich… When you wake up, you’ll still be n@#$#*!”

Wooowwww…

But on the flipside, people feel that if these two gentlemen go to court and win — that the ripple effect will hurt everyone. This has turned into a discussion that has made its way onto YouTube.

What do you think?

Jealousy? Legal system out of control in favor of capitalism?

 

 

“New York, New York”

– October 11th, 2006 –

My condolences go out to the people who parished in today’s plane crash in NYC. It was recently updated that one of the deceased was Yankee’s pitcher, Corey Lidle. Prayers and sincere solace goes to the families who’ve lost a love one.

I will talk about business stuff later. Enjoy the rest of your day and always tell your loved ones how you feel.

Peace.

“Perspective on the Track”

– April 12th, 2006 –

I know, I know — you want the Biloxi pictures, well, you'll have to wait. Very interesting things going on in the world.

It hit the wire hard and is running fast — the word is that Proof (Eminem's longtime best friend and hypeman) was murdered on the 11th.

Proof was murdered at the Triple C Club.

The news come as a shock to myself, personally, and others as well. I had done an interview with him back in August. It was interesting to say the least. I don't know if I still have the audio from that particular piece, but I'll try and find it and post it here for you, first.

A lot of people have interesting things to say. I think Hashim's commentary was one of more poignant things said amongst the rest of the conversations. But as more of this story comes to light — the question is "when does street cred trump common sense?"

LL wants us to get in shape!

Finally, this brotha is onto something. I mean FUBU wasn't exactly his greatest business idea. I mean — he could've made more money advertising with Kangol.

Would I buy the book? I don't know. I am more adept at just going to the Rec and just hitting some weights, my damn self. But I will say that him being the one doing it will make him some extra ends, because at 41 33, he is in tip-top shape.

911 is a JOKE… Or is it?!

I read this and just shook my head. I can understand the volume of calls that are made to the emergency number on a daily, yet I cannot understand why you wouldn't take the word of a child who is simply saying, "My mom passed out." I mean the audacity of this woman. She had sheer chutzpah to do what she did. Hanging up on a 5-year-old? Come on. The most displeasing (i.e. kick to the balls) part of the article, is when they say that "she'll remain on the job throughout the investigation" — what type of crock of schish-schmise is that?

Well, got a lot of work to do. Here goes a few business pieces for your viewing pleasure. Another one this Friday with the Stater and hopefully, the Vakill interview will go up too.

“Guess Who’s Bizzack”

– April 3rd, 2006 –<>It feels so good to be home. Yes, it does. Just got back on Saturday, from my trip to Biloxi, Mississippi. It was definitely a life-altering experience. I'll have to post a few stories on here when I get acclimated. The pictures are coming soon. I got a chance to see the family and meet a few new members of the Davis clan as well. Truly inspiring.

Now that I am back home, I got a chance to surf the net. Interesting things. Interesting things, indeed.

• Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons divorced!!

After seven years of being united, they're calling it quits. For the sake of love, I would hope that it was at least amicable and that there is a resolution to the situation. I wonder who's going to take what? Anyone remember "Cribs" where they showed the 24K gold toilet seat. That shitter alone must be worth a couple cool mil.

• Bussa Bus "busts" Dave Mays

Allegedly, the Big Bang happened all up in Mays face. I guess cats are just showing him appreciation for the "bang" up job that him and Benzino did at the Source. I still have to check out the new issue of the magazine. Right now, I am trying to read the new issue of KING.

Not to hate on Black Rob, but him going to jail isn't really all that newsworthy. Especially since the guy hasn't released anything in a while. But the one that I know is making Snoop and all those karma-loving hippies happy is…

• "Suge" Knight may go to jail and lose everything!

Tupac must be laughing in his grave. You know they say don't ever bite the hand that feeds you. It's interesting to see how Suge had help from an OG, yet didn't even put no money on the books. Shame on you, Suge (don't tell him about this website… lol). It's interesting to see where this is going to end up.

Lastly…

Somebody hide the crack from Whitney!!!

What's Next?

A couple of business pieces on the way. Trying to get this pitch in order. School is hitting the pavement hard, so I gotta keep up with that. I'll post a few pictures from the trip tomorrow.

“Sex Sells…”

– March 20th, 2006 –

I guess what they say is true, “Cash rules everything around me…” (five pesos for the person who can do GZA’s verse and don’t look it up on OHHLA). In America, it seems like we’re dominated by those damn dead presidents. It’s sickening. Everything you hear, smell, taste, lick, suck — going too far, huh?! …Basically all is money and money is all when it comes to things here in the States. But, you gotta think that without it — what is possible? Without do-re-mi, I couldn’t pay my rent, eat food, drink, anything that makes life worth living. Now, nowhere in this post am I advocating prostitution or any type of pimpery (it’s already hard out there for them, anyway…) — but I can understand why most of this stuff sells…

…………………

……………..

………….

……..It’s friggin’ sexy……

Does anyone recall when Free was on the cover of KING Magazine? Better yet, did anyone else’s mouth drop when they read that she was 37 years old?!!? I remember I was with G-Money at the local Dairy Mart reading it and her and I both were in shock. But you know what… I bought that copy on the strength that it was Free in the magazine.

Kind of off subject, but…

Courtesy of Crunk + Disorderly

Isn’t Sammie looking quite the elder?!  I don’t remember what the single was off of his debut shit-brick album “From the Bottom to the Top” but — I heard that its E-Bay stock rose, just like he seems to have risen from the grave.

Lastly…

SOHH… MiJac is “supposedly” working with 50 and his G-Unit Guerillas…. Hmm… If the two Jacko’s got together — would their music be just as sweet? The repackaging of Mr. We Are The World’s image would be all 50 Cent’s idea.

Courtesy of SOHH.com (Fresh)

I’m out. I have work to finish up on before I head out of state. Keep aware. Also, keep my friend, Bomani Jones in your prayers, he’s suffered a tragedy in his inner circle. I’ll definitely keep you in mines, homie. One.

“What’s Eating Kevin Clark?!”

– March 18th, 2006 –

Congratulations to Tara Pringle and Thomas Jefferson on their engagement. It’s always refreshing to see dreams come true. Another person who’s dream has come true is “Hoopz” of “Flavor of Love” fame. If anyone seen the finale, you should know the morale of the story — “Make sure that your goodies stay in a jar… oh, oh, oh, uh-oh, yeah!” New York “supposedly” gave up her “treasured secret” to the black-chelor. The rumor is that she did it for a bootleg necklace, a pair of $54.11’s, and a bag of Lemonheads. Reality TV isn’t it exciting?!! The show did make it lightweight hard to determine a winner. Especially since “New York” was so convincing of declaring her love for the World’s Best Hypeman (not named Spliff Starr). “Flavor of Love” was just that, mad flavor — it was an interesting look at what women would do for something other than a klondike bar. If they did a spinoff series with Hoopz and Flav, I know they wouldn’t have a probably getting celebrities, as everyone from Denzel to Samuel Jackson would be trying to play one-on-one with Darling Nikki.

I’m still hoping for Hoopz even if SOHH.com beat me with the first step. But I do have some commentary about the show, though.

Allhiphop.com has some really good interviews (at least that I enjoyed reading) with Mimi Valdes of VIBE Magazine and Phat Matt of Elemental Magazine. I’m not really all that familiar with Elemental (I don’t think that we get it in massive dosages here in the Midwest), but I am with VIBE. Valdes (who has a nice looking picture at AHH, by the way), in my opinion, helped the mag out. I remember there was a period where no one was really checking for the mag. Maybe it was because E-Dub’s was running the game for a considerable amount of time? But I think that there are some mags that are really stepping out. URB, The Ave. Magazine, KING, Scratch are just a few that I enjoy on the regular. The exception is The Ave. – I really have to search for that one around here. The one thing that is eating me is how diverse the mag game is, yet how some of the faces that are running it are the same. If you’re not within those New York borders, it’s hard to get your foot in the door to establish a name.

I am working on my first pitch for a magazine. I know who the mag is. A few others do too. The rest will just have to wait it out and see.

Lastly…

A friend of mines asked me what I thought about the XXLMag.com situation and here’s what I have to say… I think that E-Dub was wrong for what he did. That was a ho-ish jack move on his part. I really respected and admired (no brokeback) the grind and career of Elliot Wilson and what he did for Hip-Hop magazines. With the Sauce lacking in credibility, XXL was the magazine to read… and I read it faithfully. Still do. But to invite bloggers to the table, under the auspice that you’re going to let them interview you (about that wack ass CD) and to turn around and jack SOHH.com was foul. No disrespect to anyone who got a job out of that, because I understand the grind. I really do. I give a lot of respect to cats like Bol (and others) who have put foot to pedal and gassed the game with his drive. But to show how much of a sucker I am — XXLMag.com is sho’nuff bookmarked as a favorite site. So, you either hate it or love it. Not much room for like.

I’m out. UHURU Magazine almost done (God willing), want to clean up the humble abode before the folks stop through, and will be on the grind. There’ll be a lot of post this week to supplement the fact that I may or may not be able to do it when I go to Biloxi, Mississippi for Spring Break. Adios.

“What’s New?!”

– March 9th, 2006 –

Another year passes as people remember the loss of the Notorious B.I.G. Now, 23 years old, I remember when I first heard the news. Admittedly, I am huge B.I.G. fan, but his death didn’t impact me like when ‘Pac had died some time earlier. Was that because B.I.G. didn’t have an affect on me? I don’t believe that to be true. Most people identify with the life of Tupac Shakur and how its dizzying highs and somber lows mirrored a lot of disenfranchised youth. But B.I.G. came from the slums too. Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn to be exact. Fulton Street to be right on the money. Was B.I.G. legacy the same as ‘Pac’s? I would disagree. The self-proclaimed “Frank White”, in my opinion, was a better and more diverse lyricist than ‘Pac. Biggie was the only guy who could go from playa, to gangsta, to keeping up with Bone, Thugs ‘n Harmony and not lose a step.

Regardless of who’s better, who’s the G.O.A.T., or whatever — they’re both gone and the memory of those two men live on. The only question I have is — Who’s going to carry the torch?

Changing the subject.

I have come to notice that in this world a lot of people want a lot of things, but only certain people do all that is necessary to get those things. The circle that is close to me has different career paths that they’ve chose but are doing what it takes to get to that plateau. Whether that’s staying in the books, not opening up that new Fight Night, Round 3 for the XBox 360. Or going to New York City to be a part of the Director’s Guild of America — the people closest to me are vying for a spot in the limelight. Do I believe that I am doing the same? No. I feel like I can only do what time allows. Juggling school, two jobs, writing for multiple publications, the responsibility of running a student magazine, seems too taxing for one person to be able to handle. But I do it with a smile on my face and a strength in my heart. In the end, it’ll all pay off.

What’s next?

Bokeem Woodbine, searching for Hoopz, and gearing up to go get my Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on in Biloxi, Mississippi. Until then — Be Blessed and Stay Righteous.

“So Sick”

– March 6th, 2006 –

Due to the fact that I do not have cable, I am missing all the shows.  So, I can’t really comment on the Punkin/New York spitting debacle or the first few episodes of College Hill. But what I can talk about is how I am lightweight happy to see R&B music making somewhat of an impact again. I got a chance to chop it up with Ne-Yo and I like where the brother’s head is at. Although, I am tired of hearing about musicians/rappers/entertainers coming out with clothing lines and bullish like that — I can understand that that is another means of living comfortably. Clinton Sparks is also doing it big with his “Touch the Sky” mixtape with Jesus.. er, I mean Kanyé. I know that I have been lackluster with the writing, but things have been hassled. I am trying to get things out there for the public to digest. So bear with me.

The next update will be tomorrow. R.I.P. to Gordon Parks.

“Don’t Really Have a Title”

– February 27th, 2006 –

Our month is almost over. So, that means that the ad agencies can rest on their laurels until next February. Gawsh, the perks were so great. I got free gas, was able to roam the streets after curfew — without doubt or suspicion, and I even got to sit at the front of the bus.

I guess this is how you know that Black History month is over. Someone who probably also wishes that Black History month had a few more weeks left is Busta Rhymes. Bus-a-bus, seems to have found himself in a predicamet. Now, I know how the game is supposed to work. They have the “Stop Snitchin’” t-shirts and DVDs — but this is a man’s life. When life imitates art — how do you separate the two? This’ll probably increase the Dungeon Dragon’s first week sales, a good 100,000 units.

This site could use that type of publicity. I guess putting up pieces like this in the paper aren’t getting it done?! Maybe if I shot someone in the face, then I could get some love too. I should come up with a dance. Yes! That’ll bring in the masses.  Oh, I think they like me… okay… okay… maybe not as much as them. But I’ll be on my way soon!

Be on the lookout for Clinton Sparks, Ne-Yo, and maybe a little nostalgia from yours truly.