D`Angelo Day

had my man D' on the mind. Not everbody wants to be a star.

Lady remix

remember this one

D'Angelo - Brown Sugar

the good old days

pieces of Hip-Hop culture with dubious or interesting origins

-sneakers with no shoe laces. From prison where fresh kicks were allowed but no shoestrings. Thank you Jam Master Jay and mama Franklin for pointing that out

-baggy jeans. All the better to hide stuff in. Particularly firearms. 'shotgun down my pants, leg limping' as sayeth the great P from the Mobb

-Timbs. Preferred footwear for stoming suckas since '86. This assertion has not been confirmed. I do know the bullies from the other side of the Bruckner subscribed to this theory however

-baldies. Thanks again penal system. The baldie is the easiest haircut to give by non barbers on a regular basis. Must also thank Michael Jordan and reeding hair lines

-doo rags. Good for waves and hiding oxes. Unconfirmed but makes sense.

-bandanas. 'i am a nightmare walking, psycopath walking...Colors' now it has morphed into scarves. Even silk Louis ones. this is also a graph thing. Ghetto gas masks

-wallets with chains. Not exclusive to hip-hop but this was to stop wallet snatchers on the train back in the day.

-four finger rings. They look good on Kane and were also a useful brass knucle replacement once the knuckles were banned

No, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night

-At MoMa you have to have a Phd or be working towards one to give tours. In Hip-Hop if you read nahright every day you are an expert

-Is it me or is 'Bed' gonna be J Holiday's kiss of death. Does he have joints on that album? Hope so. seems like a cool cat

-'American Gangster' reviews are overwhelmingly positive

-Cuba bounces back with a real role

-'Blue Magic' video is boring. I like the stacks of 500 Euro bills though

-The Bush asministration should be smacked for comparing the SD wildfires to Katrina. As ray Nagin's press sec said. A paper cut to an amputation.

-Massages and accupuncture at the Charger coliseum. Rape and larceny at the Superdome

-I thought the Chargers would be distracted. Bad bet

-couldn't care too much less about the World Series. sorry

what means the world to you-cam'ron

random Cam videos just because

horse carriage Cam'ron Feat. Mase

KILLA HP Commercial

Notes from the C Train returns

-had a meeting in the city so here I is
-I am turning into such a Brooklyn snob. I hate coming to the city.
-not good, you're supposed to be All City
-everyone is pissed or sad looking on the train
-actually only the colored folks
-white cats look happy
-that was so ignorant. Just a joke
-At one point do you put up the flip flops ladies?
-saw a dude with a classic Chamion hoodie, no doubt!
-friends and people who I have made $ with when you meet with me please get to the point. It's ok, not rude
-people I don't know, don't waste my time with your pipe dreams you will never back up
-it's time to win people
-read an xxl review of the bet awards. Tell me again what is so special about Weezy's metaphors?
-Has Cam'ron kirked out?
-Gangstarr and EPMD that is what I give the aliens to explain Hip-Hop music
-like my man James DL said years ago only 20 percent of your day is spent dealing with people you need to deal with. 80 percent is bs
-Rise of the Silver Surfer was good
-Heroes is the shit. Still
-we gotta let Hip Hop grow up

Hip-Hop cops and baggy clothes

On SOHH Prodigy was talking about his gun charge and upcoming 3 1/2 year bid. Always loved the HNIC and the Mobb since I heard Shook Ones in college. Part 2, wasn't up on Part 1 or Juvenille Hell.

P was talking about the Hip Hop police targeting him and made a commet about how they are not targeting someone like Kanye. The poignant comment was a thinly veiled attack on Ye's wardrobe that remain a serious point of contention.

P said something to the effect that with Kanye's tight clothes you could see if he had a joint on him from the outside. Ha ha ha. But it got me thinking...

I'm 34. I have boys who sat right next to me pounding E&J in Charlottesville and 880 Boynton because P said it. Some of these dudes are Feds, lawyers, asst DA's, and NYPD now. These are robably the folks who make up the Hip Hop police. Rappers should know this. These cops are not Barney Miller dudes who think we are all the same. These are dudes who have heard you talk about 'stabbing your brain with your nose bone' since the 90's. Shit, they probably have people who did dirt with you. (I have one boy who was a real hustler growing up who is now a CO in charge of several dudes from his old crew.)

If they want to make an arrest they know who to follow. Shit, if they didn't follow you they would be idiots. B, you've talking about catching bodies and holding heat since 1993!
Of course they don't follow the Louis Viton Don. All he talks about is clothes and his mom. They're not following Will.i.am or Kweli or KRS or Little Brother. Why? LISTEN TO THEIR DAMN RECORDS AND LISTEN TO YOURS.
They follow TI and J Prince and C-Murder.
You should know this and not carry around an unlicensed burner. Now P is not asking for sympathy and that makes me like him even more. He made a mistake and is ready to do his time. But I don't want to hear one more 'gangsta' rapper complain about the Hip-Hop police.

Don't want trouble? Hire a licensed bodyguard. Rap about Christian Dior and reperations. Stop wearing 8x t's. Wear tight red pants to award shows and you'll be good.

Joeski Love - Pee Wee Dance

Monday Randomness

- I heard that Q-Tip and Common are forming a group. Anyone heard the same? Maybe are just excited because of the 2K Tour they’re doing
- Say what you want but there is one hell of a market for original and neo Native Tongue-ers. Common is earning!
- Souljah Boy is the 2007 Joeski Love
- The G-Men are rolling
- Prediction: Boston is going to win the World Series and George Steinbrenner’s will implode
- Alton Brown is starting to get on my nerves (For all Food Network heads)
- Alice Smith is the truth
- Love the free song of the day at Starbucks. They get it
- Where is Special Ed?
- What’s with the American Gangster flick trying to dissociate itself from Hov-a-licious?
- Love the Alicia Keys song as she looks good in the video
- Hell Date is the best idea BET has had since, since, since….

BET Awards thoughts

-The BET awards were better than I expected
-Kat Williams is funnier than his silly pimp persona. Should have been more of him
-Who was the guy who gave a man hug to David Banner and was rocking with Busta?
-Kanye West is David Bowie
-Hip-Hop is OFFICIALLY in the Hair metal stage
-In fact I have a new term for today’s climate “Hair Hop” or “Hair Rap” take your pick
-That is the best way to describe the extreme emphasis on materialism, strip clubs, choreography, and it also is a great explanation of why so many rappers walk around with no shirt (Lil Weez)
-And I say this without being condescending. It is just where we are now. So for this era I guess Wayne is your king.
-Although I still do not get it. Especially after that bizarre performance where he spent half of it staring out into space.
-At least he said he wouldn’t let Hip-Hop die. Now I can sleep at night without a bottle of Merlot and 7 percocets
-I think Kanye has a more legit claim to the crown. No?
-Not sure where that leaves Common but at least he got his shine.
-And was it me or did Common look semi diesel
-And thanks to Cornell West for showing us how you properly show respect to a legend in the game
-And there is no way Kris was that brief. They had to have edited his speech down
-David Banner sounded like a clown on the Congressional panel. Evidently he thought he sounded presidential. Riiiiight
-Love the shout to Mike Vick though
-Souljah Boy you have about 6 minutes left. You have done well with your other 9. Be proud
-nice beer belly Baby. And that comes from a cat who was affectionately known as having a ‘pot belly of love’
-Nelly and LL, be careful. I don’t know if these kids still give a sh*t
-Love those ciphers. Even the one with our friend Joell Ortiz.
-Nice shout out from KRS One though Joell


Have a good weekend

John Coltrane Interview (1960)

in a jazz mood today

Ron Carter, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony

you need some Miles in your life

Ignorance is the enemy

Just one last thought regarding the Lupe issue. The blogosphere is now consumed with T.I. so thank god for the inevitable news cycle.

I just had a birthday so for those keeping score at home I'm getting older not younger. But I'm not so old that I have become a cultural or professional conservattive. I appreciate new voices and new energy. It is what has kept me in business for over a dozen years.

That is not the issue. The issue is the celebration of ignorance and arrogance. Rep for your sound and style but a study of the past is good for business.

I wish I had listened to Jim Mahoney when he told me about manging your initial press orders. Or had truly meditated on how expensive the 12 inch game was when Jarret Meyer pulled me aside at a Gavin Convention. Or listened to Mr. Dave when he used to complain about how ungrateful artists were..

Instead I thought I had all the answers. I had the new business model that would render all those beefs moot.

For the record this Spring I threw out 20 mini dumpsters worth of returns from Fat Beats and Caroline.
The 12 inch game was so tight I have only 2 projects in the black from the 7H days.
And I got burned so many times Mr Dave was more right than I would like to admit.

I survived, as Lupe will, but in the process I lost hundreds of g's and too many friends and colleagues.

Perhaps a little humility and study would do us all some good.

The SC weighs in on Fiascogate

Just like the Iraq War and Don Imus the ‘attacked’ has changed the discussion to suit their needs. Somehow this has turned into a generational battle. This is about respect, institutional knowledge, and integrity.

1. The Lupe defense is that he shouldn’t be crucified for flubbing the line. Agreed. As Q Tip said himself, it happens. However when you are essentially inducting a group into the de facto Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame you should NOT flub the line. Out of respect. When you do. Be apologetic. Show some respect.

Lupe may not give two flying f&cks about the Tribe (although his interview on Kay Slay now says the opposite) but there are millions who do. Respect that. His dismissal of the flub combined with his comments to the Village Voice, Vibe and the little old SCR feel like a comprehensive smack in the face to those of us who can and do quote Marauders, Low End, and Peoples.

2. Lupe may not think he is not connected to ATCQ but he most certainly is. The fans think so. As does Vh1 and Atlantic as the record shows. But regardless of those operations he is connected in spirit.
Who does he think paved the way for his post integration, skateboarding, and nerdy, eclectic persona? The Abstract. Plain and simple.

The old saying is still true. If you don't know your history you can't know your future. We must get out of this celebration of ignorance. If you are a Hip-Hop artist it behooves you to study your predecessors. Tribe, Pac, Big, 8Ball, Mannie, Outkast, Luke (see Brian Coleman for the whole list, suckas).

Ignorance and youth are simply not excuses used by enlightened people. It may be funny (Shanae) to call people like me a dinosaur but this is a billion dollar business. This is serious business. This is how I eat and how I feed my family. The danger for our culture is when someone spews this sort of ignorance while being lauded on XXL as the future of Hip-Hop. How many young kids 25 and under are now looking at Tribe as irrelevant because of what this ‘young lion’ says.

3. Bottom line is Lupe does or did not honor ATCQ, so as a man he should have refused the honor. Let Phonte do it. He loves our heroes. His tribute would have been sincere.
You compromised yourself Lupe for the limelight and that's wack.
You should have waited for the 8Ball tribute if you love the space age balers so damn much.

And can I say how ignorant his position really is? Let's listen to Midnight Marauders. If I had my way that album would be required in the Public School system. 'Keep It Rollin', 'God Lives Through'. Go see Aqua Boogie for more.

That album represents a true addition to the African American cultural dialogue. Much like Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man’, or the work of Gordon Parks, or Romare Bearden.

I'm out

Lupe continues with the stellar decisions

...After making some controversial statements about A Tribe Called Quest to media outlets last week and apparently being cited out of context for statements made to The Vibe Magazine last month; Lupe Fiasco is going to sue The Vibe for defamation of character. During a radio interview with Kay Slay on his satellite radio show, Lupe called in to explain how The Vibe interview was done last month and how his statements he made in context to a question asked to him about the elitist(ism) in Hip Hop.
READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE & LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW @ http://www.str8hiphop.com/node/4521 ...

Can my lawyer demographic chime in on this?
This claim seems as thin as peanut brittle

Fiascogate

"Q-Tip asked me" - Lupe

"No I didn't" - The Abstract

Phonte says...and why do we care what he has to say

and a odd reference to Hammer

unbelievable

Whodini - Freaks come out at Night (original)

so old school
leather jacket, no shirt and short shorts
and a feather hanging from the 'fro

Phife Dawg - Flawless

We love you Phife
take care of yourself
Thanks Mom for coming out on Saturday
and Rasta Root is the f*cking man! That's a real dude down for his people

-A Tribe Called Quest - Jazz (We've Got)

and why was this guy doing the Tribe Tribute

...I dont own any Tribe Called Quest CD's...Never did...never wil...so I dont know this throwback 94' sound that you speak of...and for that matter how to emulate it...but why is that a prerequisite of being "down"? hahaha....if you dont like it...dont buy it...dont buy concert tickets...dont read my blogs...or my interviews...or visit my websites...let me be...

-Lupe Fiasco, The Swift Chancellor Report, 10/12/06


I could've had this Kanye record or this Pharrell record. I was trying to get one of those spacey way-out Pharrell records, and he wouldn't make it for me. He always gave me Tribe Called Quest because that's what he thinks I like. I don't know one Tribe Called Quest song by heart. I don't own one album. I don't own any De La Soul like that

-Lupe Fiasco, THe Village Voice, 10/4/06

A Tribe Called Quest - Hot Sex on a Platter

Thoughts on Hip Hop Honors

Thoughts on Hip-Hop Honors 2007:

First of all thank you VH1 this is a great thing, no question

- Missy has hits but is she a legend? Still not sold. Does she deserve to be on the same stage with KRS, ATCQ, Chief Rocka Busy Bee and James Todd? I don’t think so. Not dissing her, she is just in a different lane

-if Missy passes the test then a whole lot of folks should be excited. Swizz, Mannie Fresh, Hammer. If it’s all about hits that is a wide list

-And what’s up with her not performing? WTF. She does rep for the ladies I guess

-Pharell had a few too many parts. He is not even a rapper, really

-I was questioning Snoop at first but his segment was dope.

-I heard Ice Cube came out – did some people at the taping think BG was O’Shea or was he edited out?
And why exactly was BG out there
And Keisha Cole was out there a lot without doing a whole loy

-Busy Bee sounds exactly the same

-How old is Grandmaster Caz?

-KRS is the GOAT. period

-The New Jack Swing segment was dizope

-T-Pain killed it. He can move for a big(ger) guy. It is now impossible to hate on him
Good to see Teddy out there
Who was that on stage with him?
Al Blanco made a great point at the Panel on Saturday – don’t get too wrapped up in the romanticizing of the past regarding New Jack Swing. There was beef. So much so that one honoree jumped another. Remember that? Hot Sex On a Platter That’s why Tip had the mask on. Thanks Wrecks N Effect

-Nick Cannon? Uh, why?

-great to see Whodini get theirs

-Kangol doing the Prep may have been the highlight. Jermaine breaking and Nelly doing the Wop down to the floor. And the EPMD dance. Loved it

-Busta, Busta, motherf*cking Busta Rhymes. With the beer belly and all. Hell yeah, Hell yeah

-If you didn’t know Q-Tip likes to perform

Go to the VSpot on VH1. They have dumb ATCQ videos and interviews

In a box

Because Ebonie hadn't seen this yet

Billion dollars and still missing the point

A lot of interesting talk this week regarding digital music. The Radiohead deal, the Zune software 2.0 launch and the release of the ipod touh with WiFi (although that's not that new).

2 of these people get it. 1 simply does not.

The Radiohead deal is great, but not as great as the out of touch press believes. Many including the Times have seized upon the fundamental truth that you have to be Radiohead to pull this off. A new band with no track record will not have the same success. However, this is the model all will HAVE to adopt to survive. The days of paying for recorded music is over. Don't be fooled by the few artists who do make money off of record sales. T-Pain, 50, Kanye, Souljah Boy, TI and Jay represent a small, small, small percentage. You're better off sacrificing the traditional model in order to stimulate much more profitable revenue streams - licensing, live performances, etc

The new iPod stole my idea! well I never really thought I was the only one thinking of a WiFi store but it does suck to have the ideas and no money. Had a chance to spend some time with the iPhone and iPod Touch. it is the truth. Apple is so damn smart. The Wifi store will forever change the game. Way more than the Radiohead deal. Artists and labels have been giving away music and asking for donations for years. However, you have not been able to buy music sitting in Starbucks, or any hot spot to a comprehensibly convergent device.

And poor Microsoft. On the Zune 2.0 even with shared songs with no DRM you can only play it 3 times? Ridiculous. And the social networking site is a good idea but won't work. There really is no need for it. On top of that you wanna compete with iTunes and Myspace and Facebook? Billion dollar arrogance.

Movie idea

You know what I would like to see?
A story about Kareem 'Biggs' Burke. The 3rd part of the Roc-A-Fella exeutive team.

Now that the Kanye machine has convinced us that 'Big Brother' is worthy, the story must be told.

BTW, that song has some of the weakest rhymes in the Kanye catalog.
I love Kanye but damn! Some of the lyrics he gets away with make me cringe.

I heard Biggs was the real hustler who fronted the original Roc-A-Fella but you never know if that's urban myth or not.

Was it 'Death of a Dynasty' where they had Biggs with his intereter? I loved that flick. And State P 1 & 2 while you're at it. 'Get Down or Lay Down' that's my mantra (C Rayz Walz)

5000

Racism

I am convinced. Racism is the most powerful force in the world. Like Pos said 'De La Soul is everywhere like racism.'

It is more powerful that religous, sexual, national, and cutural affiliations. A couple brief examples

- Orthodox Jews giving a bi-racial man and his child the gas face when they asked for the blowing of the ram's horn. (My Jewish brothers help me out on telling me what I saw).
How they sought people who looked Jewish was crazy enough but then looking puzzled when a Blak guy asked was crazy. Like Black folks can't be Jews (Sammy Davis Jr, Georges Sulmers and the Israelites on 1-2-5).

- This whole immigrant debate. Americans descended from Irish, Italian, Russian, and Polish immigtants who cannot understand that many of these Mexican, Guatamalan, Ecuadorian, Nigerian, or Pakistani immigrants are just trying to earn an honest wage. This is exactly what your grandparents did. And stop fronting like everyone came over legally back then.

And what does America think will happen if everyone is deported. Ever see that scene in 'King Of Scotland'?

It really is a sickness that I hope I don't pass on to Miles and Savannah

Movie idea

You know what I would like to see?
A story about Kareem 'Biggs' Burke. The 3rd part of the Roc-A-Fella exeutive team.

Now that the Kanye machine has convinced us that 'Big Brother' is worthy, the story must be told.

BTW, that song has some of the weakest rhymes in the Kanye catalog.
I love Kanye but damn! Some of the lyrics he gets away with make me cringe.

I heard Biggs was the real hustler who fronted the original Roc-A-Fella but you never know if that's urban myth or not.

Was it 'Death of a Dynasty' where they had Biggs with his intereter? I loved that flick. And State P 1 & 2 while you're at it. 'Get Down or Lay Down' that's my mantra (C Rayz Walz)

5000

The Kids are all right

from the offices of the Bodega and RSG:

It was reported by The Brooklyn Papers on Friday, September 28th that The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival would not be returning to Empire Fulton Ferry State Park because of the curious instillation of a Polish language production of Macbeth. The Festival was initially set for June 21st, 2008. Recently it was announced that the Shakespeare production would be in residence for the month of June therefore pushing out the Festival and other Park programming. However, all is well in Brooklyn.

Festival organizers recently met with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy (the organization who along with the New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation runs Empire Fulton Ferry State Park) and were assured that the Festival was still welcome.

“We will be moving the Festival date to early July, tentatively July 12th,” said Festival Chair Wes Jackson. “We sat down with the Conservancy and figured a way around the scheduling conflict. It actually may be a blessing in disguise as we are working on launching a BHF Tour in ’08. Moving the festival date to mid July allows us to use the Brooklyn date as the tour launch.”

He was as Black as the street was

why Kanye gotta blow me up like this


Just caught Kany via the dons at Nahright
My old ass fell asleep

This was dope. Say what you say but Kanye takes his sh*t seriously.