I'm back! Now, 22 years old. The blog is about to become two itself on Monday. This year is going to be exciting. I started off my 22nd year debuting on XXLMag.com. I interviewed DJ Webstar. He talked about Jay-Z, Jim Jones, and giving back. An interesting interview. I wish I could've put the whole thing up. Check it out. Be on the lookout for more. I'm in the planning stages of doing another blog. I'm planning more stuff to write for this one. I'm still jobless, but I'm still keeping it moving. Thanks for the support over the years. I am really grateful for and blessed to have your support. God is great! Shout out to XXLMag.com and NWSO.com. Take care. Hit up the Twitter! Peace.
“I got some issues that nobody can see. And all of these emotions are pouring out of me.” -KiD CuDi “Soundtrack 2 My Life”
A while back, I wrote an entry about the freshmen from XXL Magazine’s December 2008 issue. At that time, I didn’t know how much I could connect with their music and what their music could do for me. As you all know, I graduated from college. Recently, I’ve been trying to find a job. I’m still unemployed. Things got to the point where I questioned my whole life. I asked questions such as what was the point of doing good when things don’t seem to be getting better? Everyday I feel like I’m spinning out of control because of a combination of things. I feel like a lot of people turned their back on me for unexplained reasons or when I made positive choices for the advancement of myself. With no one to turn to, I turn to the thing that has always been loyal to me, music. It is not just any music. It is the music of four freshmen: Mickey Factz, Asher Roth, KiD CuDi, and Charles Hamilton.
These four men have records that inspire, make people happy or sad, help people cope with things, bring people to another world, and so much more. Charles Hamilton’s album The Pink Lavalamp is a great example of this. The first record on it is called “Music (Intro).” It really defines my feelings about music. It is one of my favorite records of all time. The whole album blew me away. I still play it today. Doing that really helps me relax and think about my life as a whole. I already have given high praise to Asher Roth on this blog. So, I’ll just say that his music brings out the activist in me with the two issues I care about the most which are poverty and education. It also brings up the great and horrible moments I had in college. I’m glad I got to see him perform live with KiD CuDi.
When I was going into a crazy spiral which caused me to think about and believe things that weren’t true, KiD CuDi dropped his debut album Man On The Moon: The End Of Day and Mickey Factz dropped a record called “It’s OK.” These works of art helped me out the most. I can relate to KiD CuDi’s album because it really is the story of my life, from the loneliness to battles with demons to being on top. I never had someone relate to me so much. I didn’t think it was possible, not even a small percent of my life. His mixtape blew me away, so I knew that the album would be amazing. I wasn’t disappointed. The album helps me be OK with my thoughts. It also let’s me know that I’m not alone.
The first verse of Mickey Factz’s “It’s OK” is what I’m facing now. As I mentioned before, I have a Bachelor’s degree, but yet I can’t get a job. Growing up, all of us were told to get an education and you will get a career you love. Today, a lot of people, not just myself, are greatly suffering. It brings up questions such as what’s the point of getting an education when I will just end up where I started? People start to lose hope. They start to doubt themselves. These things really increase when no one is around to speak some uplifting words. With Mickey’s record, he gives people like me hope. This wasn’t the first song of his that helped me out. It is just one of many in the rotation. I’m glad I got to interview him, him to perform at my school and see him perform at his own show.
Music replaces the need of people in a sense for me because I’m hearing the things I need to hear. These artists’ music prevents me from doing damaging things to myself such as drinking. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. One of the things I remember from XXL Magazine’s December 2008 issue is when the staff asked Mickey Factz what he thinks the future of Hip Hop is. He said that it is “artists being true to themselves.” When artists do this, they save a lot of lost souls in the process without even knowing it.
Blogger’s note: Before I get into the topic of this blog post, I first would like to state that this is all out of love and admiration for the Hip Hop community. I love Hip Hop because I am Hip Hop, so you can call this a cry for self preservation if you will.
I am a firm believer in the old saying “It takes a village to raise a child,” because that “child” grows and hopefully matures, to become the village. Now with that said, it is the previous generation’s responsibility to help mold and prepare the next generation to propel the village into a more prosperous and brighter future. I realize that not all members of the older generations are irresponsible and do not cherish the gift of Hip Hop that was bestowed to them from those who came before them; however, the larger makeup of the Hip Hop community has failed its youth.
This failure transcends into various components of Hip Hop culture such as music and lyrical content, and self respect. Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” has received plenty of feedback and commentary, positive and negative. I think the record is dope; the lyrical content and delivery is impeccable, and the topic of the song is spot on. Jay was right for putting out the track because he took it upon himself to call out his peers on their degradation on something that is so dear to him. As a member of the older generation, he felt the responsibility to steer the younger folks in the right. The culture of Hip Hop was built on competing with and trying to out do your peers, not jump on the bandwagon that is T-Pain. I’m not trying to take anything away from T-Pain; he is good at what he does, but its a damn shame when just about everyone in the rap world is on the auto tune pipe.
We’re getting money off of auto tune, it’s just sounding like somebody’s trying to knock a hustle and I don’t think that’s a little bit gangster if you ask me. We getting money. He’s knocking the hustle, ya dig? If these young men are making money off of auto tune why would you try to stop that, when you got all the money already? I seen him [at Summer Jam], I don’t think he wanted to see me. He almost stopped the whole concert because he said I was in the way of him getting on stage and all of that. But that’s politics for the game, ya dig? How you doing? We back, we ballin', we poppin’ champagne.
This is very sad to hear Jimmy speak this way. It is clear he is missing the point of “D.O.A” in believing that it is about knocking the hustle and stopping the flow of income and not what it really is about which is challenging your peers to be better lyricists. Fabolous and Jadakiss never relied on the use of auto tune, yet they still produced great singles this year and even greater albums. Your lyrical content should be enough to solidify your place in Hip Hop history as well as “get money.” It is very disturbing to hear 90% percent of the songs on majority Hip Hop stations have the use of auto tune in them and almost no superior lyrical content. We have to challenge each other to be more creative and meaningful in our rhymes in order to preserve our dearest love of which we call Hip Hop.
Recently, I’ve noticed that the degrading and disappointing Hip Hop performances have begun to grow at an alarming rate. Two performances in particular that has amazed the shit out of me are the Young Money BET performance and the horrific Get Your Life Together Productions performance at the Harriet Tubman public school in Harlem.
Blogger’s note: Special shout out to my colleagues Ron Mexico and Julie for posting this and their added commentary. Check them out at http://www.ronmexicocity.com/
This is what happens when there is no guidance in the community and no one takes responsibility:
I was appalled and full of laughter at the same time when I came across this blog entry and video. I was heavily disgusted to see a song titled “I Eat Da Pussy” performed in a public school, Harriet Tubman public school at that, with kids no older than 10 years old dancing and performing suggestive sexual explicit acts on the stage. Again, “it takes a village to raise a child,” Hip Hop community. We have to be there for each other and make sure atrocities like this never happen again. Where is the school administration to prevent this from happening? Where are the parents of the kids on stage? Most importantly, why are the people in the audience just sitting there as if nothing is wrong? Hip Hop, we can do better than this; we have to do better than this. The so-called performers were terrible and the things they said were just hilarious, not in the comedic sense but in the “You had the audacity to say that?” mindset. I don’t feel the need the need to touch on the video any further because Ron Mexico did that already and it speaks for itself.
We HAVE to do a much better job in mentoring the younger musicians and show them how to do things because if we don’t, this is what we have to look to for the future of Hip Hop. These grown men actually went ahead with this performance on a tribute to the greatest entertainer of all time, Michael Jackson. It wasn’t a great idea by BET to have these men perform a record in which they are talking about having sex with every girl in the world while having 12 year old girls dancing on the stage; this was the worst possible tribute to the late great Michael Jackson due to the years of allegations and condemnation from the world over child molestation charges (and they actually had the nerve to say “rest in piece Mike Jackson” at the end of it, what a real shame). Again, look at the people in the audience singing and dancing along to the performance. This signifies that its OK to rap about having sex with every girl in the world while there are little girls on the stage. BET should not have allowed them to perform that song, especially in that manner. We have to hold each other accountable for our actions because it affects the entire Hip Hop community. We have to do better.
“Ten number one albums in a row. Who better than me? Only the Beetles. Nobody ahead of me.” –Jay-Z “Reminder”
A great deal of time has passed since Jay-Z’s last album American Gangster. Yesterday, he fed the streets one again with The Blueprint 3. The album comes on the week of the eighth anniversary of the twin tower attacks and his album The Blueprint. The Blueprint 3 is his first post-Def Jam album. Accompanying the album this week is a huge concert at the world famous Madison Square Garden with proceeds going to the families who lost loved ones in the twin tower attacks. The album holds special meaning, but it reminds some people of his arguably worst album Kingdom Come. Has he simply lost his touch or is there something deeper that is going over people’s heads?
I’m not a hardcore Jay-Z fan, but I was excited about The Blueprint 3. I was happy with American Gangster and couldn’t wait to see what he came up with next. Hearing “Jockin’ Jay-Z (Dope Boy Fresh)” is what created the great excitement I had for The Blueprint 3. A lot of people including a few journalists I know didn’t like it. This puzzled me because I felt that Jay was reinventing himself. Sure, it was the same cocky Jay-Z, but this felt and sounded different. The energy he brought when he premiered the record by performing it was amazing.
This new Jay-Z is a Jay-Z who wants his name to be etched in stone forever for all to see. He wants to be better than the Beetles. This is all shown in his second promotional single the Beetles sounding “History” and the album cut “Young Forever” assisted by the British singer Mr. Hudson.
The Blueprint 3 is a true capstone to Jay’s career (“And that all blue Yankee is my graduation cap” –Jay-Z “Swagga Like Us”). It is a response to those who criticized him his whole career. It is the real top of the latter album unlike Kingdom Come which he was reportedly forced to make by the way. This album is different than Kingdom Come because you can hear the freedom in his voice and the hunger he has to be the best artist of all time. Being free from Def Jam gave him the ability to try different things with this album. Trying different things when you are known for one thing is a daring task. He could risk losing a great deal of his fan base. But he did not seem to care. He wanted The Blueprint 3 to be his final testament. He did keep and shoot the venom he is known for on “Reminder.” On the flip side of that, he sparks inspiration and hope on “Empire State of Mind” and “A Star is Born.”
Deep down everyone wants to be known for eternity. For some it is for public service. For others like Jay-Z it is for their art. Jay-Z wants to be known for the cleverness of his complex rhymes to his secret messages to his inspiring ones. This album is a great step to that greatness he wants to achieve. To him, it is not enough for multicultural people to hold him higher. He wants to be known by all forever. He wants to be the one young people today talk to their grandchildren about in the future. He wants those children to discover him just like how the Beetles are discovered by many young children today.
I do believe that Jay-Z will achieve this, even more so than NaS. This is certainly a lot coming from me. I am glad to have discovered Jay-Z. He really has grown since I heard my first Jay-Z record “Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem).”
Listening to all of his albums is a great journey. I met him a couple years ago. Then, I didn’t think much of him. I didn’t know that I was standing in front someone who was destined to make history. Now, I’m glad to have been blessed with his presences. A star was born on December 4, 1969, indeed.
Yesterday, Asher Roth and KiD CuDi brought The Great Hangover Tour to a sold out crowd in New York City's Nokia Theatre. Everyone from college kids to hood cats were in the building. After a short wait, the show started with Hot 97's Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg came out to introducing 88-Keys who is known for his production and his album The Death of Adam. He started his set with his single "Stay Up! (Viagra)," which features Kanye West. After that he brought out Colin Munroe to perform a track called "Wake Up Call."
88-Keys kept going with tracks from his album. He also played a few tracks he produced back in the day for people like Black Star and Scarface.
Once his set was over, Asher Roth was up next to bat. He started his set by coming out in a go-kart and performed his hit "Lark on My Go-Kart" followed by "Blunt Cruisin'."
Then, he performed a few more album cuts like "She Don't Wanna Man" with a bunch of young women on stage and "Be By Myself." From there, he went into his politically charged "Sour Patch Kids" and the song that separates him from Eminem "As I Em."
After that, Asher closed the show with "I Love College" featuring a special appearance from Jim Jones and "Roth Boyz" from his mixtape The Greenhouse Effect.
Jim Jones
Closing out the show was KiD CuDi. He started his set with his own theme music "National Cudder Theme" and "Down and Out" from his mixtape A KiD Named CuDi.
Then, he performed "Sky Might Fall," "Make Her Say," and many more including "Heart of A Lion" from his album. After that, he went into some of his mixtape hits including "Man on the Moon."
He ended the show with "Day N Nite."
Overall, the show was great. 88-Keys' set was a grand set up for the main acts. I was puzzled as to why Bobby Ray aka B.o.B didn't perform as it was first stated on the Nokia Theatre’s website when the tickets to the show went on sale. Asher Roth was very creative with his set. It was very funny. He was having a lot of fun on stage, as an artist should. His performance was the best I seen in a while. On the other hand, KiD CuDi wasn’t as great as Asher. His set consisted of a lot of flashing lights much like his mentor Kanye West. He didn't bring his own twist to his performance as Asher did. His music is great, but his performance didn't match up. But, all three artists together did make the show very memorable. Make sure you catch The Great Hangover Tour coming to a city near you.
Towards the end of last month, I went on an overseas trip, thanks to some loving people (one of them give me the idea of this post's title). I was in Germany and Switzerland for about three weeks. The trip was great. During the trip, one of the things that stood out to me was the graffiti. I lived in New York City all my life and never as much graffiti as I did overseas. I became engaged with the art form when I took the Hip Hop culture class at my school. I even did a post about it. Graffiti can be great art. It has been recognized as a great form of art by the art community. Graffiti overseas is different than graffiti in the United States.
One thing that stood out to me when I heard Chuck D speak at my school and talked to him is how the rest of the world is more advance with Hip Hop culture than the United States. I took his word for it, but it was not until I went overseas and seen the art when I seen what he said firsthand.
Geneva, Switzerland
This picture comes from a stake park. It was at this park where I came up with the idea for this post. This was the first piece that I saw.
Before I went overseas, I thought about how I would share my experience with all of you. Of course there was my Twitter where I shared my experience on a micro level, but I wanted to do something bigger. I wanted to do something Hip Hop related.
Geneva, Switzerland
This stake park amazed me. There were so many wonderful pieces. The colors and size of them is what grabbed me. I never had seen so many bright colors. I took notice of the pieces that were just name tags, but I took even more notice of the ones that had more than a name tag.
Bern, Switzerland
I learned a lot from all of this. One of the things I learned was how serious some artists are about their work. I could see their hard work and great detail when I looked at the pieces from a distance and up close. It seems that the various governments overseas are not as serious about getting rid of graffiti as the various governments and people in the United States. This non-involvement has allowed great art to form. It has given the poor who can't afford to put up huge displays a chance to shine. This experience has inspired me to check out 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center if I could get in. If you ever get the opportunity to go overseas, look at all of your surrounds because you never know what you will find.
Who does he think he is? This guy is not what Hip Hop is all about. What makes him think he can say “nappy headed hoes?” College? Go-Karts? These are the things people who oppose Asher Roth say. I have to admit that there was a point where I didn’t like Asher myself. That was before the “Lark On My Go-Kart” video released. After I heard that record, my whole opinion about him had changed. He was really different. That record showed me that he was wasn’t an Eminem copy cat. In a few ways like wordplay, I would even say he’s better than Eminem.
I first heard of Asher when he appeared in XXL’s Freshmen 10 issue. I didn’t understand why he was there. Out of all the freshmen, he was the only one I never heard of. I wondered why give a spot in a major magazine to an unknown person when there are many other great artists out there. He remained unknown until I heard “I Love College.” At that time, I really didn’t like it. I was not impressed at all. Sure, I did relate to it, being a college student at the time, but I just couldn’t get with it. A fellow journalist was telling me that Asher was more than “I Love College,” but I didn’t believe him. He did hold more weight than anybody else I knew because he actually heard Asher’s debut album Asleep In The Bread Aisle long before it released. When XXL dropped “The Reading,” more people started to jump on the Asher Roth train except for me. I don’t think I was really paying attention to the record when I heard it. Now, I think it is a dope record.
Shortly after that song dropped, “Lark On My Go-Kart” was released. While listening to it, I just got lost. The wordplay was witty. It was like he just went in the booth with no pad (or a cell phone as some people use today) and just rapped his ass off. I heard him freestyle before, but this record really grabbed me. I instantly became a fan. But I still couldn’t listen to his Greenhouse Effect mixtape. I prefer albums over mixtapes anyway.
When I talk to people about him, they make negative assumptions about him without hearing his music. I challenge them to just download Asleep In The Bread Aisle and take a few listens. Most of them didn’t do it. When some did, if they still felt the same way about him, I would just leave them be. I think that with these people it is all of the Eminem talk that turns them away from Asher. In many interviews Asher had done, he would get asked him about sounding like Eminem. He got so tied of talking about the comparisons that he decided to end it by making the record “As I Em” for his debut album. He might have killed those comparisons, but there are people out there who still believe in those comparisons. The reasons they still do is because they refuse to listen to his music.
Asher’s personal actions are another thing that turns people away. A little while ago, he made a joke in reference to Don Imus’ famous comment “nappy headed hoes” on Twitter after he just really performed at Rutgers University. He also said something to the effect that Black rappers spend a lot of money on flashy things but don’t help the people suffering in Africa. The blogging community went on fire while the people who never liked Asher from the start brought their hate to the next level. These comments give them the ammo that they needed. They tried to convince people that Asher was not good at all.
I can understand how people can be upset by “nappy headed hoes,” but why is it OK for Black rappers to say the same thing? I’m not saying it is not OK for him to say that. I’m saying that it is not OK for anyone. As for the Black rappers comment, I agree with Asher. As I said before, I do think people in general should give back especially if they had been in poverty themselves. Overall, questioning Asher should’ve got people to question their own.
Asher is a great MC. Asleep In The Bread Aisle is nearly classic. Maybe in a few years, it would be considered classic. Who else done a record that talked about their father in a positive light (Shout out to the REAL fathers)?
Who else tried to get their own White brethren (the majority of his fans) to fight poverty?
He is the one of very few MCs who didn’t rely on features to make his album. Unlike the majority of rappers (especially White ones), his music is who he is, and he stays true to who he is.
Geneva, Switzerland
