Friday, September 30, 2005

Fun, fun, fun.


"Please ask before you pee on me"
Yes, I realize this picture don't fit and 'if it don't fit, don't force it,' but fuck it, I'm lazy.



- CHYEEAH: Bo and I are DJing tonight at the Blue Horseshoe (10 South 20th St. Just South of Market on the West side of 20th Street) for the NOTHING FANCY RELEASE PARTY (i.e. the guys that may or may not be responsible for the beautiful peace of PR/Marketing/Vandalism/Art above). Nothing Fancy is a website/online-magazine that showcases Philly art: graphic design, paintings, poems, short stories, etc, etc, etc. My only gripe is that I think they shoulda called "N'an Fancy" but that's just me. Anyway, shit is dope and the new issue is supposed to be even doper. Bo and I have free reign to do whatever the fuck we want tonight (at least behind the turntables. We're not allowed to kill goats as a sign of sacrifice to the god we worship) so expect Toto, Dipset, Franz Ferdinand, TI, Damian Marley, Cindy Lauper, Cormega, Biggie, and probably even some Capone N Noreaga ("THE INVINCIBLE, UNTOUCHABLE!"). Shit's gonna be stupid fun. It's free and drinks are stupid cheap. Fun, fun, fun.

- Pretending Exercise: This is hilarious all by itself, but it's even more hilarious if you attempt to remove it from the context of sports: imagine, for just a moment, that this isn't a basketball game and isn't accidental and is just a well-executed, intentional jump-kick to the face. It makes it that much funnier. Animated gifs are the shit. Thanks to Dr. Robert for the lizzink.

-e

Thursday, September 29, 2005

I'm a mothereffin' P. I. M. P.


Uh-oh, busghettios


- It’s Coming: Fuck Juelz Santana’s new album. Fuck the new Clipse Mixtape (though this shit is crazy hot). THIS is what I’m really REALLY waiting for. Peep Free Darko’s recent comments sections and read anything by Rocco Chappelle. He’s coming to take-over the blogosphere and I will happily secede all of my assets to the dudest of dudes. Never mind the fact that he actually knows somebody who likes the Black Eyed Peas. That is irrelevant. The end is near. I welcome it with open arms.

- Green Friendly Web Hosting: If the “end isn’t near” like I predict above, well, at least there’s Green Friendly Web Hosting for the hippy in us all: wind/Solar Power Web hosting. Like, that’s totally righteous, bro. But, yeah, it is actually pretty cool.

- Illmatic: This video on the making of “Illmatic” reminds me of some good ol’ days. Really dope. Not that you need reminding, but it definitely reminded me why “Illmatic” is one of the best rap albums ever. Period.

- Chuck K verses Bill S: I dunno why I even bother posting shit like this because everyone probably already reads it anyway, but Parts 1 and 2 of the Bill Simmons versus Chuck Klostermann interview/wank-fest are up. Reading this shit is excessively difficult. These guys both think they’re way smarter than they actually are, I think. I mean, they’re both pretty funny and have their moments, but this shit is unbearably long-winded. Shut up. I just realized that nothing makes people want to click a link more than describing how “bad” it is. I can almost guarantee that more people are interested in reading this shit now that I’ve dissed the shit out of it and will refrain from reading the “good” article I’ve posted below. I’d say “any publicity is good publicity,” but it seems more apt to say that, for bloggin purposes: bad publicity is good publicity and good publicity isn’t publicity at all. Anyway, let me know if I’m crazy or if this shit really is pretty god damn unreadable.

- Officer Criticizes Detainee Abuse Inquiry: Good article. Gyeah. Good for him.

- SCrimpin’: We’ve actually updated The Shrimp! Rejoice. Joe Buddens, Lil Kim, Three 6 Mafia sittin’ in a tree.

- Misogyny in Rap: I think I’ve posted about misogyny in hip-hop on this blog before, but it came up on a messageboard again recently and I posted the following shit addressing the image of “pimpin’” and misogyny in general in this thing we called “rap music”:
    The issue of misogyny in hip-hop is, like all things worth talking about, a ridiculously complicated one. First of all, let it be said that I find the glorification of "pimpin’" to be some pretty ridiculous shit that at a very basic level I simply don't agree with but (a) this doesn't mean I can't and/or shouldn't enjoy music that "glorifies" “pimpin’” and (b) the glorification of "pimpin’" and misogyny is simply too complicated in rap music to be either "for" or "against" it in any simple way.

    First of all, I really don't think art is something that teaches what one thinks about a certain subject. I think art has the capability of teaching how one thinks (i.e. it can challenge your abilities to comprehend, analyze, criticize, etc), but I really don't think art in general informs people's values--it's much more just a reflection of them. That being said, the glorification of "pimpin’" in hip-hop isn't THE problem, it's simply a SYMPTOM of a larger problem: namely, the reality that is the oppressive objectification of women in our society. Which is to say that I don't think there are a lot of dudes out there who respect women and treat them "equally" (whatever the hell that means) who all of a sudden hear's a Too Short song and says "You know what? I ain't gonna love these hoes anymore." That's not how the human psyche works, as far as I'm concerned. Folks who are going to place value in "pimpin" and glorify it aren't people who have been transformed into seeing the beauty of the pimpin' ways by the song "P.I.M.P." They are dudes who already don't hold women to the highest regard. So, it's perfectly possible for a lot of folks to like a song about "pimpin'" and not agree with the message.

    Secondly, I think the glorification of "pimpin'" isn't as simple as it sounds on paper. I'd argue that this pimp character is used so frequently in rap as a way of expressing masculinity more than it is a way of oppressing strong females. Rap music is an extremely "masculine" art form that is interested in performances of power, confidence, and virtuosity. Often times, unfortunately, this performance of power is based on misogyny and domination over females but you'd be hard-pressed to make the argument that THAT is the primary function of the glorification of pimpin' and misogyny. When Snoop says "We don't love them hoes," he's not talking to jawns (which in and of itself is misogynistic, i.e. to not even consider that your audience might have listening and interested female subjects), he's addressing his dudes out there saying "I'm the man, homie." This of course isn't to excuse the misogyny, but it's worth pointing out that the misogyny in rap music is not as straight up-and-down good/bad as we'd like it to be. The misogyny is an attempt for the black man to exert/perform some sort of power in a society where he's been robbed of much of that power for over 5 centuries. Of course, that don't make it "right" in any sense of the word. In fact, it's quite reprehensible, but we should realize that it's a very real product of our country's institutional racism that still prevails to this day. The same thing goes for 'hood homophobia. It's not like these dudes are "scared" of gay people or even really feel threatened by them--it's simply an exertion of power because they LACK any other power. It's misguided and disgusting and awful, but it's a reality of oppression.

    Which is all a long-winded way of saying: don't hate the player, hate the game. Misogyny in rap is a reality because of the system that relentlessly oppresses. Oppression breeds oppression so to expect there to be a change in how rap music feels about the power relationship between men and women WITHOUT THERE BEING ANY ACTUAL, REAL-LIFE SOCIOECONOMIC CHANGES is a bit naive as far as I'm concerned.

    And, lastly, the oddest thing about all the misogyny in rap music is how females respond to it. Any club DJ can stand testiment to the fact that jawns are the ones that like the most misogynistic songs. I remember reading a post on some blog recently about "The Whisper Song" and how blah blah blah it was all misogynistic and offensive and shit, but my first thought was "Well then why the fuck do jawns LOVE that shit?" I suppose you can make the argument that these jawns are stupid or something and like it in spite of the misogynism, but that's way too easy (not to mention ridiculously elitist and basically assumes that any jawn who likes that song is stupid). The reality of it is that these jawns like that shit BECAUSE of the misogynism. This isn't to say that these jawns secretly have a desire to be opressed and their approval of the Ying Yang Twins is a latent expression of that. No. I think these jawns find a real sense of power in the misogyny on some "Yeah, fine you want to objectify me and hyper-sexualize me? Fine. I like sex. I'ma use that to my advantage." Some jawns find a real sense of power in accepting the misogyny and brushing it off. It's a somewhat compliated rejection of the misogynistic message by completely accepting it: "Think you're gonna offend me by saying you're gonna beat my pussy up? Nuh uh, honey! I want my pussy beaten up!" Whether or not we agree with that sense of power that these jawns get from that type of acceptance is beside the point.

    I dunno. This whole conversation is a really complicated one and we can sit here and say "Yeah, fuck all this pimpin' shit!" and be righteous and adequately liberal, but the fact of the matter is that it's way more complicated than all that. A lot of shit rappers say still makes me cringe (I find that new David Banner song with Too Short to be pretty repulsive at times), but to be either simply for or against misogyny in rap music isn't the point. It's much more important to understand what the fuck is going on with the power shifts and performances, and see what's informing those values.

    I guess in sum: art is only as offensive as the social conditions it comes from. And, to me, the real social conditions that inform the art will always be more offensive and dangerous that the art that represents them.


- PS: While I’m in the spirit of sharing random ramblings, here’s another (from an email I sent my dude) about my relationship with Anticon and white underground (“emo”?) rap:

    I thought it was pretty common knowledge that I was previously an Anticon producer... What's funny is that several of the dudes I associate with who either used to or still do produce for Anticon (Controller 7, Scott Matelic, etc) have basically moved in much the same direction that I have over the past few years with regards to tastes in hip-hop. I think we all have a certain degree of respect and nostalgic appreciation for a lot of that stuff, but we also recognize its place and find ourselves investing in shit that we would've hated when we were deep in our underground-white-boy aesthetic. I still don't mind the existence of Anticon and frankly find their music, at the very least, to be honest music (i.e. suburban white kids who grew up listening to equal parts Freestyle Fellowship, Mobb Deep, and indy rock perhaps shouldn't be making hip-hop that sounds like Young Jeezy), but I don't get a lot of enjoyment out of it anymore. Perhaps I'm just back to exoticizing the "black experience" the same way I was when I was 13 and 14 listening to Mobb Deep and Nas but I'd like to think of it as coming to grips with a different set of aesthetics more than some racist "exoticization." I find most Anticon fans (95%+ of which are white) or on the verge of being flat out racists though and this is what pisses me off most about groups like Anticon and Atmosphere and Sage Francis and all these underground white rappers that continue to encourage their audience to hate “black”/street rap. I don't care if these kids actually like the music, but when their idols support the notion that this primarily "black rap" is "garbage," it's not far from old white folks saying "That's just jungle music."

    I'd like to think that now I'm capable of appreciating every little niche and genre of rap music for what it is, not expecting it to do things it has no intention of doing. I know it's sacrilege to admit, but I still do like a lot of Buck 65 stuff (particularly some of his earlier stuff) and I love Cam'ron--a rapper I absolutely HATED when "Horse and Carriage" came out and for several years after that.

    I dunno. Rambling. I haven't bought an Anticon related product in probably 3 or 4 years. A lot of those dudes are still my dudes, but they aren't making music I'm particularly interested in anymore... but I'm glad they exist. I just wish their fans wouldn't be so quick to laugh at phrases like "white privilege" and could more intelligently articulate why exactly it is they love Mobb Deep's "The Infamous" but despise 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."

    White underground/emo-rap fans scare me with their latent racism that they absolutely refuse to account for or even admit is present.

    Rambling.


I should know, after all. I was one of these underground-white fans who was completely oblivious to my latent racism that accompanied my tastes. Sometimes privilege is so ubiquitous, it doesn't appear to be "privilege," it just appears to be reality. It's difficult to trasnport yourself outside of your "reality grid," but once you do, it's pretty enlightening.

-e

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

TONIGHT AT MEDUSA'S LOUNGE

Come see Bo and I DJ at Medusa's Lounge tonight. We finna hold it down and rock the shit out of your previously useless body that will be put to good use through rhythm and melody and chanting and... well...

... just come dance.

Here's the promo for it. I didn't write it, but I agree with it.

------------------------------------------------------------



So pretty much half of Philadelphia was at the last Family Affair party this past Friday night. Unfortunatly (or maybe fortunatly) Low Budget was on the left coast with Diplo doing the tour thing. So who supplied the the beats you ask? Emynd & Bo Bliz WRECKED THE PLACE. Yo, seriously no lie, Low B. sent these cats to fill in for him and dudes just plain and simple threw down. They played so well that we made some adjustments to get them on the line-up for Medusa's this Wednesday. If you were there last Friday, then you know the deal, if you werent, GET READY! The ladies were FEELING these cats on Friday. So yea, EMYND & BO BLIZ along side the best drink specials in Rittenhouse. Im not sure if you can really ask for much more out of a night.

:::TWNW | Medusa Lounge | 21st & Chestnut | Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik:::

----------------------------------------------------


GYEAH, GYEAH, GYEAH!

-e


P.S. The password is "Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk."

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Put Your Lighters Up...



- Hey Mr. DJ, Everbody Wants to Party: I’m a DJing fool this week. Wednesday I’m DJing at Medusa’s Lounge (12-2, come through! More info tomorrow)with my dude Bo Bliz, then Thursday I’m DJing at my soon to be defunct weekly gig at Filo’s with my dude Bo Bliz, then Friday I’m DJing at the Blue Horseshoe (with my dude Bo Bliz) at a party for the newest issue of Nothing Fancy.

- Pics: I already posted the picture of the one and only Schizophrenic Tenant (with my custom T to prove it) above being a drunken idiot at Voilatronix, but here’s one with me and the aforementioned Bo Bliz. It’s also worth posting this pic: one of my other DJ partners Dan the Swede (Skutch) looking like a Trisomy child, sweating his ass off. Hilarious. Bo, The Swede and I got a White T’s and White Belts at Ulana’s poppin’ off next Friday. More info soon. Shit should be stupid hot as usual.

- DJ Stef and Vinyl Exchange Radio: I’ve never actually paid respects on this site to one of the most wonderful people I’ve (n)ever met on the net, the one and only Ms. DJ Stef from the internet staple the Vinyl Exchange. This girl has been the dude forever and continues to hold it down both as a solid DJ and an all around good person. I am proud to say that she liked one of the songs I produced for Reef’s new LP “Feast or Famine” (press release) enough to play it on her internet radio show recently, and I am both grateful and flattered. Stef is the shit. We love you, dog. Download an MP3 of the show right here. There’s some other really dope stuff on the mix like a rare Derelicts track (408 stand up!), a superb Intelligent Hoodlum track produced by the dude K-Def (i.e. “K-Def and Larry O are on some real live shit”), and a dope Ill Bill and DJ Eli song. Cop that shit. And cop Reef’s new album on CD or on vinyl.

- A Big White Lie: This dude thought he was white his whole life until he found out his mom was lying to him. What the fuck?

- Christians are Awesome: Christians prove once again to be the open-minded, loving, god-fearing folks we all know and love by ever so lovingly kicking a girl out of school because her parents are lesbians. Makes sense to me!

- Robots and Money: God damn it, Robots are so lucky! I wish I was a Robot. So does my friend Kibby. Regular ol’ humans found Odysseus’s grave so read that if you’re into that sorta thing, but personally, I find Robots finding treasures way more interesting. But, there’s also ghost stories poppin’ off, too.

- Free Beanie!: Beanie is free!

- Phillies! BLAAAH!: The motherfucking Phillies lost last night and so that puts them 1 and a half games out of the wild card spot, so that means they’re about to do what they always fucking do: almost make the play-offs but not quite. Five games left you bastards. Let’s do the damn thing!

- VH1 Rap Thingy: I didn’t watch this shit, but I suspect Noz’s thoughts about it are more interesting anyway. The dude Noz is the realest rap nerd I know (and feel free to peep his itunes playlist if you feel like appeasing the voyeur in you). I love reading his shit. Somebody pay this man to write.

- Really Weird Movie Sample Thingy: This list compiles “The Top 1319 Sample Sources” used in music from movies. Really weird but, I suppose, marginally interesting.

-e

Friday, September 23, 2005

Last Family Affair!

Gyeah! Your boys (Bo and I) are covering for Lowbudget tonight at the LAST Family Affair of the summer at the Marathon Commerce Square (2005 Market Street -- Between 20th and 21st). Here's the promo for it:


    THE LAST OUTDOOR FAMILY AFFAIR!
    This Is It! Raise Your Hands And Testify This Friday Night


    Family Affair has been just crazy fun all summer long. It's been my favorite night I think. The girls there going crazy and the fun eclectic crowd every week was just so cool, I am gonna miss partying under the stars. Don't worry, Family Affair will keep going on but this is THE LAST NIGHT OUTSIDE AT MARATHON.

    Be there to see the party out in style and get all wasted and really just do whatever you feel like. It's gonna be like that. Be there this Friday night and feel the love, just $5 on list ($10 at door) & Free Beer 10-11PM. Jump on it here

    Family Affair> This Friday Night
    Marathon Commerce Square> 2005 Market Street
    Doors at 10> $10 at door, $5 on list Guest List


Come through. We killed it last week.

-e

Thursday, September 22, 2005

And what...



- Menace II Sobriety: Here’s my amateur Photoshopped Menace II Sobriety flier. I think it’s pretty hot, but the colors look a little janky. I hope this shit turns out OK in real life because the shit’s already sent to the printer.

- Books: I put down Stephen Talty’s Mulatto America: At the Crossroads of Black and White; A Social History yesterday when I picked up Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House. Mulatto America has been boring me a bit and so I was up in a bookstore just browsing on my lunch break, picked up Bringing Down the House and couldn’t help but buy it. It’s subtitled “The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions” and it’s basically just the story of these 6 kids who perfected and updated an old technique called “counting cards” to win obscene amounts of money in Black Jack games. The beauty of it is that (a) it’s a true story and (b) they didn’t “cheat” in any sense of the word: their entire method was based on simple mathematics and probability. Calling it “simple” is a bit misleading though because even though the strategy is “simple,” there’s only a handful of people in the world with the mental capacity to “count the cards” accurately. The basic idea behind their “counting cards” scheme—at least as I understand it—was based on team play where one person would sit at a Black Jack table in a casino and play every round fairly steadily, counting the cards until the deck was at a favorable point (i.e. they’d count the number of high and low cards that came up until there was a strong probability that most of the cards remaining in the deck were high cards). Once the deck got to a point where there was a good chance that all that was left in the deck was high cards, the guy counting would secretly motion over for one of the other players to sit down at the table and bet away. I just picked up the stupid book yesterday and I’m halfway through the damn thing. It’s written quite well, but the nature of the story itself is what makes it so interesting. Cop it. It’s good. Bill Simmons is quoted on the back of it saying “This book made me want to gamble” or something. That’s silly though. Not everyone is smart enough to count cards like these kids. These are M.I.T. geniuses, not some slouches who got B+s in college calculus like you and me.

- Shoe Whore: The fuck is wrong with me? I’m spending money I don’t have on shoes, shoes, and shoes these days. I scooped up these silly New Balance jawns in the big city the other day, and a week ago my brother (thanks!) copped me these Air Talarias. But gosh darn it, nothing makes me feel like a new man like a new pair of shoes… except for maybe new records. Jorge Ben is killin’ me right now.

- DJ Shadow Book: I like DJ Shadow as much as the next guy, but what the fuck? People are writing books about him? In the now immortal words of one Ricky Watters: “For what? For who?” “Endtroducing” is certainly a great “instrumental hip-hop” album, but how relevant is “instrumental hip-hop” that we need a fucking book about it? “Endtroducing” will probably go down in history as the greatest instrumental hip-hop album ever, but that doesn’t mean it’s all that important in the grand scheme of the hip-hop narrative. Truth be told, DJ Shadow hasn’t made any real lasting or important contribution to this thing we know as hip-hop. He did help usher in a whole slew of beat digging fanatics (for better or for worse), but I can’t think of any really significant impact DJ Shadow has had on the culture as a whole. He made a cute little niche market project that filled a void, he’s proven himself to be a more than solid DJ, and he’s certainly made some pretty cool beats, but at the end of the day, I don’t think DJ Shadow should be given much more than a footnote in the history of hip-hop music(s). My initial thought is something folks have been saying about Shadow for years—he’s so popular because he’s white and I don’t think it’s really all that unfair to suggest that. But, perhaps it’s slightly more nuanced than that. As my dude faux_rillz has said about other hip-hop artsits in a different context, DJ Shadow makes “rap music for people who don’t like rap music.” Perhaps that too over-simplifies the situation, but I think it’s an interesting thing to think about. But, I will sum up by saying I can think of ten black producers who have had much more of a significant impact than DJ Shadow in the last decade alone. Furthermore, I can think of two white producers (Rick Ruben and Paul C) who deserve to have books written about them way before Mr. Davis (no disrespect). Whatever. Maybe I’m just hating. Rumor has it that he’s producing for this fella soon. What ever happened to the Banner/diplo collab?

- Bill Maher is a DAWB (Down Ass White Boy): I’m still shocked by the fact that Bill Maher was (is?) dating “super head” (God what a hilariously pejorative nickname), but now he’s chilling with Kid? No, not Jason Kidd… Kid from Kid ‘N Play.

- Earl: I saw that show “Earl” or “My Name is Earl” or “Hi I’m Earl” or whatever the fuck the other night. I thought it was pretty funny, but that’s just because I have an asexual crush on Jason Lee. Dude is the truth. For those not “in the know,” this bearded beauty first made a name for himself on a skateboard… specifically doing extremely stylish 360 flips. Dude even had a pro-model shoe on Airwalk. Anyway, I’ve mostly been a fan of dude because I was a skate nerd and it was cool watching this skateboarder become famous and play really dope roles in movies I genuinely liked (specifically Mall Rats and Chasing Amy). I can’t believe they have Video Days listed at IMDB.com. Hah.

- Go Phils!: Bam!

-e

Monday, September 19, 2005

Go Read a Book.


Where my dogs at?


- Marathon Grizzill and Menace II Sobriety: The DJ situation this weekend was hectic. I was originally supposed to cover for my dude while one of my dude’s (Bo Bliz) and my dudette (Lady Jae) held down the Blue Horseshoe with our new monthly called “Menace II Sobriety” (best name ever and wait ‘till you see the flier) but that got all fucked up when still another dude hollered at me and asked me to cover for him at the Marathon Grill. So I found someone to cover for my original covering (and that didn’t turn out so well) while Bo and I held down Marathon. Long story short: Bo and I killed it and it was mad fun (thanks, lowbudget!) and next month Menace II Sobriety is gonna jump off huge like. Don’t forget ‘bout that there White T’s and White Belts shiz that we got poppin’ at Ulana’s the first Friday of October (the 7th). Flier coming soon. We about to put Philly on full-time smash. And what!

- Wayne Waxin’ ‘Bout Wax: Do yourself a favor and visit wayne’s blog urryday before you come here because I’m probably just going to link something from his blog on my blog anyway and he’s constantly coming with the most readable, intelligent, and interesting shit on his shit. Dude makes the rest of us amateurs look like the amateurs we know that we are.

- DJ Shadow Madness: Messageboards are going nuts for this new DJ Shadow mix. Get it here or here or here. It’s got the Cosmo Baker stamp of approval and I think it’s pretty cool but certainly not the life-changing mix of music I was unwittingly convinced into expecting. Oh well. Some white dude decided it’d be a good idea to adapt a few DJ Shadow tracks for a live performance by some high-school percussion quintet. The results are cute: this andthis.


- Birds vs Birds: To my great delight this weekend, my beloved Seahawks (who I had given up on until yesterday’s game) beat the perpetually (i.e. last two years) overrated Atlanta Falcons because Michael Vick CAN NOT PASS FROM THE POCKET. I don’t care how much dude can run and how insanely athletic he is, if you’re the only player on the field that has the authority to throw the ball forward, you had better be marginally better than average at it if you expect to do big thangs (i.e. win the ‘chip). I’m not a part of the Vick bandwagon at all. I respect dude’s athleticism immensely (especially given his physical ailments), but at some point, you gotta be able to make that 10 to 15 yard pass with a certain degree of accuracy. Frankly, I don’t care if he was cramping up either. Pulling him on the final play of the game (that 4th and 14) was the most blatant vote of NON-confidence in Vick’s passing game that I’ve ever seen. He’s your fucking franchise player for fuck’s sake! Byron Leftwich was gunning like a warrior at the end of the Colts game getting absolutely HAMMERED every play. Don’t tell me Vick couldn’t take one more snap… especially since he walked off the field so easily. Eff him.

- Shawn Carter has become a common alias of criminals: This is a sad story that’s marginally funny because of the simple fact that “Shawn Carter has become a common alias of criminals, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.” Fuck the police. Dude told cops his name was "Shawn Carter" and they put him in jail because some dude named Shawn Carter was wanted for a bunch o' shit: Peep this garbage:
    Any of these known facts could have sprung Johnson: He was in jail at the time of Carter's arrest. Johnson's sister and sister-in-law are Hill Correctional Facility employees. Officials ignored their pleas that Johnson was not Carter. Carter had a dragon tattoo, which was described in the arrest warrant. Johnson did not. Authorities never compared the two men's fingerprints. Officials had photographs of both men. Carter is 3 inches taller than Johnson.


- Hurricane Crisis Benefit: David Banner and friends up in the New York Times. The bol Kalefeh has really been holding it down over there. Kudos.

-e

Thursday, September 15, 2005

...That's me but I'm not celebrity stricken...



- DJing This Weekend!!: So, I’m DJing at my weekly Crossfaded Thursdays with Bo Bliz at Filo’s tonight. It’ll be the first time we’re back in the building together for what seems like a long time but it’s only been a few weeks (we’ve been holding down the duties solo back and forth for the last several weeks). But, anyway, we’re ready to do it real big tonight. Got some new shit for that ass and we fixing to rock the fuck outta that little place. Come holler at your peoples. Also, Bo and I are now DJing EVERY THIRD FRIDAY OF THE MONTH at The Blue Horseshoe (Center city: 10 South 20th Street) starting THIS Friday with our homegirl Jenna (I believe her DJ name is Lady J). I think we’re gonna call the party Menace II Sobriety and it’s fixing to be a lot of classic hip-hop, r&b, and dancehall mixed with today’s jammy jam’s. Anyway, come see us DJ. We will kill you… in a good way.

- Iverson: Allen Iverson is the only god damn person I want on my basketball team ever. Read this. Dude is the shit and is fixing to lead the league in assists this year. Holler!

- Tip of the Iceberg: You know the expression “That’s just the tip of the iceberg”? Here’s a dope visual representation of it. I know nobody’s really stupid enough to absolutely need a visual representation of it, but I just thought it was a cool picture and didn’t really know how else to introduce it (i.e. shut up, let me live, and get off my dick).

- A Sad Day in Blog Land: I meant to post about this a couple days ago when it was still existing, but the wonderful blog Poetry Society of America has decided to call it quits. Sad, sad, sad news. Dude was a great writer and was a lot more stylish with his blog-hand then most of us. I’d venture to say that most of us just use this shit as some “look at me, I’m kinda smart and have somewhat interesting things to say about the world” type of tool to garner attention because we don’t get enough in real life and this makes us feel really inadequate and we need people to read this dumb shit and somehow help us approve of ourselves, but dude seemed like he was more concerned with just writing for the fuck of it, and doing it really well. I reckon he’ll be back soon enough, but I am mourning his loss. R.I.P. fairest one.

- Books: I finished Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life. Its subtitle explains it pretty precisely. I thought it was pretty good. I skimmed the last chapter because it was all about Freud and other random shit that I wasn’t too interested in. This isn’t the most flattering description of the book, but it’s basically an easy-to-read neuroscience textbook that skips around and describes random neuroscience blips that the author found interesting. Really, despite my horrible description of the book, it’s worth a read. I’ve gotten a bit better understanding about why I do certain things that I do and why I obsess about certain things that I obsess about. The greatest achievement of the book is Johnson’s ability to turn all that neuroscience jargon into interesting prose that develops along a fairly interesting personal narrative trajectory. There’s some genuinely funny moments, too. I’m considering deleting this little book review because it’s fucking stupid and pointless, but so’s this entire fucking blog so if I delete this paragraph, I might as well take the Poetry Society of America road and delete this whole fucking thing so I’m going to leave this fucking paragraph up. Anyway, I just started Stephen Talty’s Mulatto America--a “social history” of cultural and biological miscegenation. I have a feeling I’m not going to like this book. I’ll get back to you. Next on my list is Zadie Smith's new one (thanks to faux_rillz for the heads up).

- Your Summer Was Better Than Mine: Caps and Jones summer pics. Their summer was better than mine.

- When the Storm is Forgotten: New Saul Williams poem about Katrina.

-e

Monday, September 12, 2005

If you ain't about the ghetto, than fuck U2

- Capitalism’s Desire to “Get Rid of the Poor”: You absolutely must read this somewhat obvious yet strikingly-insightful-through-its-
obviousness piece
over on k-punk about “the desire to 'get rid of the poor'…a garbled utopian impulse which exposes one of capitalism's fundamental fantasies.” Go read it. It’s short. So much realness in less than 100 words.

- The Constant Gardener: I saw “The Constant Gardener” (by Fernando Meirelles, the director of “City of God”) with my girlfriend this weekend and I loved it (summary). It’s a pretty conventional thriller dressed-up with some stylish visuals and a touching, heart-breaking backdrop attempting to expose the amoral nature of pharmaceutical companies in particular and, by extension, capitalism in general (notice I said “amoral” and not “immoral”). Perhaps I was only so touched by the movie because the recent events of Katrina have put me in a hyper-sensitive emotional state, but whatever the case, after I left the movie, I found myself feeling especially guilty about my inevitable complicity in our capitalist system. Of course, guilt isn’t a terribly productive emotional state, but I haven’t seen a movie in recent memory that drives home the point more sincerely and effectively that poverty is a systematic problem that we are all, to a very large degree, responsible for. This isn’t just a movie about drug companies using Africans as guinea-pigs because they’re expendable. This is also a movie about us—our reliance on poverty, how we contribute to it, and how we benefit from it. Of course, the movie isn’t terribly good at suggesting “what can and/or should be done,” but—as my man Rocco Chappelle suggested recently here--perhaps movies aren’t capable of being as precisely didactic as some of us expect them to be. Whatever the case, I thought the movie was great and it’s definitely worth a gander.

- Fuck a Fucking Cop: If you feel like hating cops more than you already should do, watch this. Fuck a cop.

- Mind Wide Open: I’m currently reading Steven Johnson’s Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life. It’s got some really interesting little tidbits especially the chapter about laughing. The basic argument is that laughing isn’t so much a reaction to something humorous as it is an instinctive social ritual (i.e. laughing isn’t “learned” but is actually programmed into us as a way for us to form social bonds). Did you know you’re 30 times less likely to laugh at something when you’re by yourself?

- Odd Behavior and its Relationship to “Creativity”: We all suspected this anyway, right:
    New research on individuals with schizotypal personalities – people characterized by odd behavior and language but who are not psychotic or schizophrenic – offers the first neurological evidence that they are more creative than either normal or fully schizophrenic individuals, and rely more heavily on the right sides of their brains than the general population to access their creativity


- Victims vs Refugees: It’s worth asking: if this shit happened to primarily white folks if they’d be calling them “refugees”? Perhaps… but also, perhaps not.

-e

Friday, September 09, 2005

I still heart NOLA

- Enough Storm Stuff: Alright, I’m done talking about Hurricane Katrina and our country’s incredibly slow and disastrously slow response. Every other blog in the world is talking about it, and doing so in a much more interesting and insightful way. I’m mostly just bitching and (as my jawn pointed out) saying “fuck” a lot. So, enough. But, before that, peep this. How convenient!

- Tax Evasion: I’m sure you heard back in January about dude from Survivor who was on trial for tax evasion after winning 1 million dollars on the show. Well, he was indicted and he might serve up to 75 years in prison. Hah! That’s funny.

- Racial Profiling: More US Fascism: anybody that provides any proof that Racial Profiling exists will be silenced (i.e. fired)

- Mr. Babylon is Back: Everyone’s favorite teacher-blogger Mr. Babylon is back again with more tales from Shitty Highschool in the Bronx. Dyippp-seeettt! Read about him in the New York Sun. The boy is big time now. In other blog news, KC A Jew has posted a hilarious story about DJing with Beanie Sigel in attendance.

- BLAH!: Stupid game that I can’t stop playing.


-e

Thursday, September 08, 2005

I heart NOLA



- More Funk: My auctions sold for $70 and $200 respectively, so I’m happy to say I helped contribute $270 to the soulstrut cause so far. I’m also way over-bidding on a record right now. The auctioning is still poppin’ off so go holler at some records before it’s too late. And, here’s some more record auctions for a good cause; this time the money goes directly to NO artists hurt by the storm. T’is the season to be giving.

- Freedom of Press, my ass: Dude, this country is looking more and more like a fascist state. Sheesh.

- Emotional Outbursts: So, Kanye had his emotional outburst, so did Nagin, so did a couple of newscasters and random NO officials, and I see a lot of people passing these folks off as being “overly-emotional” or something--as if crying because thousands of people are needlessly dead somehow qualifies you as having a chemical imbalance. Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, if you’re not crying about this shit, then you’re the one with the emotional problems. Peep this video of Stephon Marbury bawling his eyes out. Dude is donating between $500,000 and $1 million to the cause. Don’t even try and say “Well, he’s rich.” That’s something like 15% to 20% of his yearly income. So, if you make $50,000 a year, then go ahead and donate between $5,000 and $10,000 of that. Dude is really real. And, don’t forget to watch the Hurricane Relief Basketball Game on Sunday. Why the heck is Derrick Coleman playing in that shit, though?

- Rebuilding New Orleans: Via k-punk, Some scary thoughts about re-building NO:
    It's a terrifying notion to think about, but we must: the poor of New Orleans may have been deliberately dispossessed (and demonized as "looters") in order to make way for the rebuilding of New Orleans on the sterilized theme park terms of the rich. Goodbye Robert Johnson, hello Robert Johnson Hotel and Casino Resort Complex.


- Hunter S. Thompson: Rolling Stone fixin’ to publish Thompson’s suicide note. It appears to be touchingly stark and, like any suicide note I suppose, rather bleak:
    No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt.


- Noah Baumbach’s Back: The Squid and the Whale looks fucking awesome. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach (writer/director of the brilliant Kicking and Screaming and Mr. Jealousy), produced by Wes Anderson. Go see this when it driddops October 5th.

-e

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

George BushMost of America Doesn't Care About Black People

- George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People: Kanye West for President! In other Kanye news, read this hilarious review of his album from the always-reliable Fox News. The album is clearly the reviewers first encounter with rap music. One wonders where Mr. Roger Friedman has been for the last twenty years.

- FUCK BUSH: To anybody who thinks that the NOLA shit was inevitable and that our administration is trying its hardest to help things, go here and here if you really and truly want to be pissed off and hurt. FUCK THIS FUCKING COUNTRY. I am so fucking disappointed in our incompetent mother-fucking bullshit pieces of shit “leaders.” Fuck them so fucking much in their fucking ass. Fuck you, George Bush. Fuck you, Michael Brown. We should really be allowed to beat up government officials if they don’t do their jobs… or at least vote them “off the island” like a reality show. Fuck. This shit is so fucking infuriating. Oh, and read everything here, too.

- Success!: Thanks to everyone who came to White T’s and White Belts on Friday. Your contributions were much appreciated and we made some good money for the folks suffering down in N’awlins. Don’t forget about my charity auctions on soulstrut. I’ve got two records up and all of the money is going to the hurricane victims: a sealed Little Boy Blues “In the Woodland of Weir” LP (currently going for $70), and a VG Black Merda S/T LP (currently going for $200). Get your cop on!

- Don’t Throw Things at AI: Justice at last to the “fan” who threw a quarter and hit AI in the head (good aim, by the way).

- Content vs Form: Steven Shaviro has some interesting thoughts about the marked difference between the terrible imagery of Hurricane Katrina and the dead-pan style of reporting we find on our news shows.

This shit is all so fucking sad.

-e

Friday, September 02, 2005

PULL UP THE PEOPLE!

White T’s and White Belts: Hurricane Katrina Benefit!





So White T’s and White Belts isn’t so much a party anymore… it’s officially BENEFIT. Like I said yesterday, any money we make at this shit is going to be given to a non-profit that will help all our peoples down in NOLA and Mississippi and anywhere else affected by that ho ass villain Hurricane Katrina. So, if you get a moment, please stop by TONIGHT and pay the $3 cover charge and donate anything more that you can. Shit is so fucked up down there and I really don’t know what else to say besides that.

Please come. It’s for a good cause and I guarantee it’ll be a good ass time.

If you can’t make it to the party, then I suggest you swing over to the Soulstrut messageboard where the community there has been nice enough to start the "Let a Heatrock Loose Benefit": members put up auctions of some rare records that will likely go for some big money and all of the proceeds will be going to the Hurricane fund they’ve got going over there. Shit is beautiful. You get a hot record and you get to help out your fellow man. Some dudes are bidding as much as $500 on records, but there's some gems for fairly cheap, too.

EDIT: I had to get in on the action and I put up a couple records myself: Black Merda's self titled on Chess, and Little Boy Blues's "In the Woodlands of Wier" with the Just Blaze/Jay-Z "PSA" sample. Remember, none of the profits go to the sellers. Every single cent spent on these auctions goes to the folks that need it. Get your paypal on!

-e

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Get down, girl, go 'head, get down.


THE WEEKEND BEFORE LABOR DAY

IT'S YOUR LAST CHANCE TO WEAR WHITE!






- It’s Coming!: White T’s and White Belts is back in its last “White T” formation. After Labor Day, the party becomes “Black T’s and White Belts” (because we all know it’s a fashion faux-pass to wear white after Labor Day). Anyway, I don’t have to stress how fun this party will be. Like 50 of my friends have already confirmed coming and I’ve got some silly hot shit to drop on you nerds that will make you dance the pain away. I’m planning on donating a good portion of the cash ALL OF THE MONEY I MAKE AT THIS SHIT to the Hurricane shit too, so the more money I make, the more I’ll be able to donate (simple mathematics). It’s only $3 and we’re finna kill you. Seriously. So, please come... even if I hate you. It'll be fun and it's for a good cause. My peoples in NOLA and around the south, hold on.

- First Fridays and Saturdays: Go see my man Ryan’s wonderful paintings at the Media Bureau on 4th and Brown tomorrow (Friday) evening. His paintings are super-duper fly and he’s a really good dude. Shit is free and starts around 7 or 8 or something and goes until like 11 or 12 or something. I know that’s not that much information but uh, go there around 9, then come down to White T’s and White Belts around 10 or 10:30. Then, on Saturday, go check out the homie Heather Rae Morton and Jason Scott Musson’s art at the Padlock Gallery on 1409 Ellsworth around 8. The PR blurb about this shit is this:
    Drawings by the illustrious Heather Rae Morton and Jayson Scott "short, shorts" Musson. This shit will be like Chex, Kid approved but parents love it too... is that the Chex Motto? I dunno, fuck it.
If you don’t like art but you like dogs, you should go anyway because Heather will probably bring her cute little miracle named “Lady” and she’s the cutest little motherfucking thing you’ve ever seen. But yeah. Go. I know some talented people. I know some nice people. Help me support them.

- Diplo: Chris (Lemon Red) with a great story on diplo and the IM convo that informed the story. He’s also posted Caps and Jones monthly mix. Shit is fiiiya. Emynd and Bo Bliz monthly mix is in the works. Watch out now!

- Riddim Method: New blog worth checking out.

-e