Blu on "Sound Of Young America"

Great interview.
Take some time to check it out

Married to Hip-Hop

A friend of mine who went to the Festival came up to me on the way out the door and said 'I am in love with Hip-Hop again.'
Another friend recently told me he and Hip-Hop had broken up.
The Hip-Hop as a woman metaphor has been used long before 'Used to Love H.E.R' and has become somewhat of a cliche.
However, these two statements have reminded me of how appropriate the metaphor truly is.
All my married men will certainly get my point on this one. Here we go...

I love Hip-Hop so much I married her. I am not sure when or where the ceremony was held but we are married. There was no minister, no justice of the peace. No certificate. But we are married. I have stood up before family and friends and proclaimed my commitment to her. Through good times and bad. For better or worse.
My entire professional has been dedicated to supporting her. I have given all my profits all my savings, all my time and all my love.
The metaphor is appropriate because I have done all of these things to and for my actual wife.

The key here is good times and bad. My love for Hip-Hop allows me to forgive and forget when we have an argument. When times are good she is the music I need to hear. When times are bad she is my anti-depressant. When she gains weight I don't even notice. She is still the beautiful woman I fell in love with. And we are not breaking up. We committed to each other and we will do all we can before we separate.

A lot of people are not married to Hip-Hop.
To far too many, Hip-Hop is still a jumpoff that can be cut at a moment's notice. Some people used to love her, now that just bone her to quote Common.
Some are living with Hip-Hop or may be engaged. But as any married man knows there is a big difference between living together and being married. There is the love but a reluctance to 'pull the trigger.'

So when Hip-Hop decides to sully herself by flirting with sub par MC's and corporate vultures I don't blame her. I wait for her to come back. And she always comes back. Our relationship is nothing that can be ended so easily. We have a special place that when things get hectic we can always return to. Lil Wayne has her now. No worries. Enjoy your time together. This means the radio is not for me right now. I will just pull out the old BDP and EPMD, surf the internets for the new Homeboy Sandman and I will be fine. Hip-Hop has given me too much to cast it aside because I don't like the music right now.

If you and Hip-Hop needs a trial separation right now I can dig it. Take all the time you need. Our door will always be open.
For all those who came out to the Festival and were reminded that Hip-Hop is still that fly 1st year girl from Queens in those killer heels - welcome back.

multi tasking

With the Festival ramping up it is getting harder and harder to stay on top of the SCR.
Most of my writing energy is going to the main blog at www.brooklynbodega.com and the Festival blog at www.brooklynbodega.com/brooklynhiphopfestival

Please check those out and Suppprt the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival with a donation.

Thanks

It's a Celebration...

Our mission here at Brooklyn Bodega and the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival has always been, through free programming, to shine the light on a side of Hip-Hop culture that many miss. During this journey we have met a lot of good people and organizations with the same mission. We have found that the biggest obstacle to the successful execution of all of these programs is money. We have been able to mitigate that burden through the generosity of our sponsors, but more importantly it has been the people we serve who have consistently supported us. As we move forward with our 2008 programming and beyond we wanted to involve the people in a real way. To that end we are launching SUPPORT, CELEBRATE, REPRESENT.

Support Hip-Hop. Support New School. Support Old School.
Celebrate Graffiti. Celebrate Dance. Celebrate our Youth.
Represent Brooklyn. Represent Positivity. Represent Yourself.

Brooklyn Bodega needs the people’s support from every angle. From their attendance to their input to their energy to their financial support. The financial support from BHF sponsors only gets us so far. The cost of talent, port a potty’s, security, insurance adds up. As opposed to other festivals we do not rely on ticket revenue or public funding to help with these costs.

After one of our sponsors unexpectedly went bankrupt in 2007 it was the people who came to our aid with donations of $5, $10, $20, and $100 gifts.

We need your support again. We have expanded our free programming for 2008 to include a film series, an additional outdoor date and a national tour. And our costs have grown with our vision. Again sponsors will help but it won’t work without you.

For more info on how to donate or for artists and organizations interested in joining the SUPPORT, CELEBRATE, REPRESENT email celebrate@brooklynbodega.com

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.”

I give you permission to...bite it

Swifty, Eb, Boogie and The Bea are out of town. Getting some much deserved and needed R&R. We are chilling with two sets of grandparents, 2 aunts, and three cousins. What does that mean? All my parents know. That means babysitters to my right, playmates to the left. All the amenities you don't get in BK.

Anyway, while I was chilling on Saturday night. Making sausage and peppers and sipping some vino with Grandma I get an email from two of my peoples who shall remain nameless. One asks me how he can get into my event at the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park and the other recommending that Microsoft cut me a royalty check. I am referring of course to the Live At The BBQ event presented by Zune this weekend at the same place the BHF calls home, Empire Fulton Ferry State Park.

I wish I was there but all reports seem to indicate the organizers got some...'inspiration' from our Bodega team. The email I got on the Treo used words like 'carbon copy', 'biter','1/5 the people' and 'better VIP.' LOL

At first I felt pangs of territorial anger. We opened that park up to Hip-Hop, we pitched Zune on BHF sponsorship, I know who got that Zune account and it seems like we just got cut out of deal. After another glass of Yellow Tail (quality, cheap wine from Down Under BTW) I realized I needed to grow up. It's not my park. I may have never seriously been in the running for the Zune account. And if the State is up for doing more Hip-Hop down there then that is good for me, the Festival, and Hip-Hop in general. A courtesy call would have been nice but hey they don't owe me anything.

I peeped a bit on You Tube this morning and it was definitely a good look to get LL. Some of those other acts we have already had (insert person biting apple sound) and their stage was much better. So you know what, I am gonna learn from this and make my event even iller. So to Zune and all those who received inspiration from the BHF I give you permission to bite it just like the song says. It's all good. There is enough out here for all of us.

I am off to the pool with Miles Boogie before this SC sun reaches its zenith and gives my black ass heat stroke.

And for the record my VIP was gonna be the shiznit before Amp'd went belly up and I had to cut my budget. Next year I am gonna have poles all throughout the triangle in the Warehouses and bad chicks giving out lap dances. Nachos and cheese waterfalls with four kinds of cheeses and beer bongs.

The R was on my mind this morning

Maybe it was listening to that sick Funk Flex 4th of July mix.
The R may be Hip-Hop's Coltrane.

From wiki-wiki-wiki-wiki

In 1985 he formed a musical partnership. Eric B. and Rakim subsequently became one of the most well-known and influential groups in hip hop history. Prior to Rakim's arrival on the scene, hip hop rhyming still exhibited strong ties to rapping's roots in improvisatory toasting, in very regular meter and rhyme scheme (Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, and others), with simple lyrics and a steady and heavily prounounced rhythm. Rakim, in contrast, says he tried to model his flow after the saxophone's instrumentation in a jazz song. The All Music Guide's Steve Huey wrote in the early 2000s that "Rakim's flow is smooth and liquid, inflected with jazz rhythms and carried off with an effortless cool that makes it sound as though he's not even breaking a sweat. He raised the bar for MC technique higher than it had ever been".

We made it

Than you to everyone who came out last Saturday.
A lot of people worked harder than hard to make the Festival happen this year.
We overcame some insane obstacles.
Insurance certificates
sponsors filing Chapter 11
$60,000 leaving the table
not being able to sell beer at the last minute
Ghost getting caught up at the Funk Flex car show and almost missing the show
running over and potentially getting the plug pulled
volunteers not showing up for the 7 a.m. call.
But as Ghost said “We Made It.”

6,000 people
Zero arrests
I think there are still some who can’t believe can do that. But we all know the truth.

Thank you for making Hip-Hop look good.
Thank you for reminding people about the other side of our game.
Thank you for bringing your babies out
Thank you for bringing your mom out
Thanks to my dad, brothers, sisters, stepmother, frat brothers, and long time Hip-Hop confidantes for coming out.
Thanks to those who came from Belgium, North Carolina, Maryland, The Bronx, Philly, Baltimore, DC and everywhere else.

Thanks to the donors. It would have been a wrap without y’all.
Thanks to the volunteers who left dusty, sunburned and hungry.
Thanks to the staff who worked until midnight for two weeks straight.
Thanks for those who woke up at 4:30 am with the Festival on their mind.
Thanks to those who flipped out at 11pm every night for a month with the Festival on their mind.
Thanks to Joey for e’ing me Friday night. I was about to flip out before I read that.
Thanks to the woman who gave birth less than a month before but was still out there with her breast pump.
Thanks to mom who rolled up to support her daughter even though the sinuses were killing her.
Thanks to the significant others who suffer through this without recognition and payment

Thanks to the NYPD who told us to do our thing
Thanks to the bureaucrats who stayed up to 10 pm to make sure we made this happen
Thanks to the brewers who cut a check without question
Thanks to rapping Marty
Thanks to Uncle Ralph who was more valuable than we ever realized

Thanks to the Bodega
Thanks to the interviewer who help remind me why we do this.

Once again, 6,000 people, 8 hours, no arrests, no fights, but a little too much cussing.
No soundman that was Akon, we are something different

Hip-Hop is peace. If you don’t know read Jeff Chang snitches!

Next year – bucktown, city of Angels, chi-side

You just like my Wild Style

My unofficial thoughts on Amp'd's Chapter 11

In bullet form because the kids are all up now and I am on the clock

• They bailed the Festival out last year when other sponsorship deals fell apart so I can't throw them under the bus


• All the people I have dealt have all been cool and professional


• I have run my own business for 12 years and I know how tempting it is to believe the dramatic stories of executive incompetence and failure


• the reality is is it's never quite that simple


• Beware of the haters. the difference between a supporter and a 'I Told You So'-er is usually a check


• When people are making money from you, you are are a visionary


• When times get rough and money slows you are an idiot...or worse


• the Amp'd CEO seems like a smart cookie. The idea that this just got away from him seems less than logical


• I was reading a blog comment where some cat was baffled at how rapid growth can lead to financial problems. Obviously that guy is no MBA nor has he ever run his own shop


• Fantastic success is often worse than tremendous failure


• Think about it like this. Miles growing out of his clothes is just as bad as me not being able to buy him clothes in the first place. The result is the same.


• Chapter 11 is not lights out, that Chapter 7, I believe. Chapter 11 is give me a minute and stop calling me so I can get my shit together


• This could be a ploy in a power struggle between Amp'd management, the board, and Verizon that we are simply not privy too

Let's all just stay tuned and see what happens.

The Large Pro, Stax and Uncle Ralph

Let's do it

pretty cool confirmation on deck...hold tight

Extra Large Professor

poster-riffic

an upside to being sick

woke up with a 102 degree feever.

sucks but here a few things about being sick that doesn't suck

• catching up on Entourage


• Johnny Drama is the best TV character since George Jefferson


• having a wife who is 8 months pregnant but will pick up your slack so you can sleep


• sleeping itself. a rarity with a 2 year old around


• waking up and seeing the ill new BHF poster in your inbox

main source - fakin the funk

Beastie Boys - Sure Shot (Large Professor Remix)

Pete Rock and Large Professor

the brilliance of this song can't be overstated

LARGE PROFESSOR Mad scientist

Large Professor - Ijuswannachill

hell yeah. The Extra P, Gangstarr, EPMD. Just pure hip-hop