Soundtrack of My Life: Down With the King

Song: Down With the King
Artist: Run DMC
Album: Down With the King (1993)

The fact that it's taken so long to get to Joseph Simmons, Darryl McArthur and the late Jason Mizell is ridiculous, considering how constantly I rip on the current state of affair in hip hop and the lack of talent taking up residency sitting at the top of the charts.

While their legacy and importance in the music world becomes less known with every Reality TV show starring Rev. Run or his off-spring or one of their songs gets remixed into a dance track by Jason Nevins, the fact is that hip hop wouldn't be where it is without Run DMC.

Before mash-ups became fad-tastic and rap-rock like Limp Bizkit sold millions, these boys hooked up with Aerosmith for "Walk this Way," forcing themselves into the mainstream. The rest is history.

This song was chosen because it represents the last great track by a legendary group, as the trio's final album Crown Royal failed to produce a memorable hit. Additionally, it features great verses courtesy of Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth (two of my faves) and the song is still absolutely awesome more than 15 years later.

Sorry for being so late...

Rest in Peace JMJ

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life: Empire State of Mind

Song: Empire State of Mind
Artist: Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
Album: The Blueprint 3 (2009)

This song is just too damn good to ignore, regardless of the fact that it was only a couple weeks ago that "Run This Town" off the exact same album made an appearance in this section.

Jay-Z becomes the first repeat performer in the Soundtrack, something I have been diligently trying to avoid. Not because it's Jay, but because there are so many talented artists out there with great songs that inspire me and move me that I've never felt the need to double up.

Honestly, I could fill this column with about six or eight artists and feel good about it. Some of you could probably name those six or eight artists if you tried.

All that being said, this song is too much of a monster to not give it the attention it deserves.

Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out,
everybody ride her, just like a bus route,
Hail Mary to the city your a Virgin,
and Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends,
came here for school, graduated to the high life,
ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight,
MDMA got you feeling like a champion,
the city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien

Seriously - who else is ending a banger with a rhyme about sleep medication that works so perfectly?

This one is an all-time selection for me, Top 5 material.

Hip Hop isn't dead, you just gotta wait for the quality to come out.

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: Grindin'
Artist: Clipse
Album: Lord Willin' (2001)

Easily the best single word description of what it is I'm out here doing everyday trying to make a living...

Grindin'.


In the film Rounders, they described a grinders as a guy who never goes after the big play; instead, he makes money where he can and as he needs. It's not about hitting it rich, it's about paying bills. That's me and that's this song.

Now, Malice and Pusha T certainly aren't talking about serving drinks to drunk golfers or hammering away on as many websites as possible trying to make a living, but the meaning is still the same - we do what we do because we have to.

What makes my connection and love of this song even stronger are some of the lyrical gems that get delivered, whether they continue to reiterate the main reason behind the grind (My grind's 'bout family, never been about fame), paying respect to forgotten basketball legends (The jewels is flirtin', be damned if I'm hurtin', legend in two games like I'm Pee Wee Kirkland) or providing the best description of my personality that I didn't come up with (cocky something that I just can't help).

Clipse kind of went AWOL for a while after this album; arguments with their record label let to a life on the mixtape circuit and eventual change in scenery. Regardless of their lesser profile and failure to fully follow up on the success of this album, Grindin' has been a mixtape staple in my collection from the get-go and will continue to be.

Now if you'll excuse me, I got more work to do.

"I'm just grindin' man, y'all never mind me..."

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: Rapper's Delight
Artist: Sugarhill Gang
Album: Sugarhill Gang (1979)

I talk a lot in this column about music having become about so much more than just the actual music itself right now, with hip hop coming under the most fire.

Today, I;m taking it back to when it was about nothing but the music and paying tribute to the original hip hop party jam, Rapper's Delight by the legendary Sugarhill Gang.

2009 marks the 30th Anniversary of a song widely considered to be the first universally popular hip hop track, a song with a beat and lyrics so simplistic yet catchy that it's been remade by not only other hip hop acts like Def Squad and Run DMC, but folk-alternative guys like Keller Williams too.

We're all friends here, so I'm going to try and tell you that the lyrics of this song convey some kind of deep meaning; they don't. This is a straight up party song meant to get people on the dance floor and it works as well now as it did back then. And while the lyrics may be lacking the depth of some of today's conscious rappers, everybody knows the start of this song:

I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie
to the hip hip hop, a you don't stop
the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie
to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

Even my mom knows those lyrics and she doesn't know the lyrics to anything remotely related to hip hop. I fact, I would wager that she and most of you who aren't hip hop fans could deliver the next line too. Now what you hear is not a test, I'm rapping to the beat.

This song makes the Soundtrack today not just as tribute to the pioneers and out of respect for where the music I love came from, but as a glimpse back to simpler times. I mean, at one point, Big Bank Hank is rhyming about bad mac and cheese, mushy peas and chicken that tastes like wood.

As hokey as that is, I'd take it over bitches, hoes, bling and money any day of the week.

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: Anybody Listening?
Artist: Classified
Album: Self Explanatory (2009)

I mentioned how much I'm loving Class right now in Sunday's 10 Things, so it's only right to give a day of respect to the Halifax MC who has been one of my personal favorites for quite some time.

You gotta respect a guy who has clearly done what he's done simply because it's what he loves to do. Classified is the epitome of that on the Canadian Hip Hop scene, having been around and earned numerous accolades over the last few years while remaining largely unknown and unheard.

While the single is instantly catchy because of the Phil Collins sample used in the chorus, it doesn't get by on that element alone. As always, Classified delivers smart lyrics discussing the struggle of the industry, something he did equally well on "Find Out" from his 2007 release Hitch Hikin' Music.

The guy is a legitimate talent that speaks his mind and delivers real rhymes like they did before hip hop became about money, guns and all the other bullshit that has diluted the art over the last ten years.

This song is a throwback to me with the recognizable sample, scratching and tight rhymes, making it so different from the over-produced junk clogging the airwaves today. I'm talking to you Soulja Boy...

Plus, it's always nice to give a love to a Canadian talent and spread his name and his skills wherever we can.

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: One Mic
Artist: Nas
Album: Stillmatic (2001)

Nas is a tough one for me.

On one had, there are tracks like this and "One Love" and "Ain't Hard to Tell" and "If I Ruled the World," joints that are pretty close to perfection.

But then there is a bunch of crap out there too, so I never know where to stand when it comes to Nasir Jones.

Truthfully, Nas is a dichotomy to most everyone in the hip hop world: he's shown over and over again that he is one of the most gifted MCs and writers around, but sometimes he'd just rather be "lazy" and do something easy.

This track is the former.

I love how it just constantly builds to energy. You get lulled to sleep by his lazy flow and then... sirens, energy, and fierce rhymes get you going only to slow back down to the Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight" sample this song is built on.

Still, you gotta give respect to someone who has been successful and meaningful in the game for as long as Nas has and there is enough quality in the vaults to make me want to go see him at Rock the Bells this summer in Vancouver.

Serious - Nas, Common, The Roots, K'naan... how could I not go? Anyone want to come with me?

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: The Way I Am
Artist: Eminem
Album: The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

Trust me when I tell you that this is hard for me to say:

Eminem is the epitome of everything that is wrong with Hip Hop today. The saddest thing is that it didn't have to be that way and this song is a shining example for what could have been.

Remember when Em was fierce?

Yeah, he dropped a hooky, fun track each time out, but then the rest of the albums would have these dark and moody joints like this. This was a monster, a colossal middle finger to doubters and haters and everyone who didn't like Marshall the way he was...

And then he changed.

Now every song is about shaking your ass or popping bottles. I mean shit, he did a video with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog sniffing people's asses for chrissakes.

What happened to the Eminem who gave white boys like me who grew up loving true hip hop a beacon to point to as our guy?

He sold out.

Thankfully, the talented, angry legacy he left behind lives on in this track...

Continue reading ...

Yes, That's a Picture of Everlast...

Why?

Because...

Just like the prodigal son, I've returned
Anyone steppin' to me you'll get burned
Cuz I got lyrics and you ain't got none
If you come to battle bring a shotgun!

Gotta love House of Pain!

* * * * * * * *

All classic hip hop references aside, I am back. Officially. For good.

No more of this one post every two weeks crap that I've been delivering for the last couple weeks. My apologies, again...

The return to form is due to two things: (1) writing has always been my catharsis and I need that right now, a daily release from the annoyances of life and (2) a old friend of mine who I rarely talk to left me a Facebook message asking me where the hell my blog posts went.

Thanks for kicking me in the ass Cam!

So, be ready... I'm back and you better get your reading glasses!

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: ABC's
Artist: K'naan feat. Chubb Rock
Album: Troubadour (2009)

(Sorry I keep disappearing... hectic life, but I'm going to try real hard to be here as routinely as possible... now on with the show!)

All kinds of elements at play in this track that get it some serious play from me right now.

I love supporting our own and K'naan is in fact that, an immigrant from Somalia who grew up in good ol' Rexdale, Ontario. While some are going to see the conscious Canadian rapper and immediately make a link to k-os, please don't. K'naan isn't all high and mighty like my man Kevin...

Second element at play is the guest appearance by Chubb Rock. Old school hip hop heads with certainly remember the big man from back in the day, just as I do, and it's nice to see him back on a beat and doing his thing. And by his thing, I mean tight lyrics like this:

The game dried up, so we come with the grease
Leadin' ya right and treatin' ya right, so peace

Element three: the beat. Produced by Track and Field, this song is infectious with the horns, the very dance floor friendly break beat and the ease with which it all rolls together.

Lastly, there are the lyrics. If you've been coming here a while, you know I'm a big fan of songs that actually say something and this one does in spades. Like I said off the top, dude is from Somalia, one of the most ravaged nations in the world and the chorus of this song, while seemingly charming and sung by children are not quite what they appear:

They don't teach us the ABCs
We play on the hard concrete
All we got is life on the streets
All we got is life on the streets

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: this is what hip hop is supposed to be and should be: Influential, intelligent and meaningful.

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: Move
Artist: Q-Tip
Album: The Renaissance (2008)

Remember when you were little and you'd be driving around with your parents and a song would come on the radio that got them all excited?

They'd tell you how that was their song back in the day or they listened to that particular artist all the time and how they had forgotten how much they loved him or her...

That's what this is for me and the best part about it is that it's like Rhymefest and Kanye... Brand New.

After way too long a layoff, Q-Tip has returned with the critically acclaimed The Renaissance and this is the first single. To prove to you how much I have been dying for this album, I'm planning on buying it Saturday when I go into town. I haven't bought an actual CD in nearly two years.

Tip brings me back to when hip hop was important and meaningful, long before the days all the bullshit claiming to be hip hop that pollutes the airwaves now.

What adds to it is the Old School music video - attached above as always - riffing on Michael's Rock With You and coming pure 80's style...

Not that I expect all the nonsense to fade away overnight, but seeing the return of one of my hip hop idols and knowing that a supergroup with Common called "The Standard" is in the works gives me hope that I won't need to be making mixed CDs of quality Old School Hip Hop for the rest of my days.

Maybe I'll be able to just turn on the radio...

Welcome back Tip!

Continue reading ...

10 Things I Learned This Week

In all honesty, this week was pretty quiet. No real uproars, no real breakthroughs, just a regular old week of edumication and experiences.

Let's get to them, shall we?

1. One Down, Countless More to Go

Sorry about yesterday folks, but goddamn Guitar Hero is crazy addictive. Round One of being a bass player is complete, which means there are only three more levels to go. Plus four levels on guitar. And four on vocals. And four more on drums once we buy a drum kit. Maybe I need to change that "this is the year I write my book" statement from a few months back...

2. Just Kidding

I actually got started on that there project earlier this week and I did so instead of picking up Bunny (that's my guitar's name...) and things are starting out smoothly. The objective is to get as much done in the next couple weeks before the Ski Season kicks off and I get busy at work (or so they tell me) so that I can focus on work for a four month stretch before focusing on the book once we get back from our little trip down South.

3. I'm Getting Married in Five Months

Exactly five calendar months from now, I'll be a married man. Everything is sorted out and the invoices even went in the mail earlier in the week. Now we just need to make some final selections with the people at the resort. With the weather starting to turn cold - although there is no real snow - thinking about the sun and sand in Samana warms me up.

4. Furniture in 4-6 Weeks

We scored a few pieces this week already, including an awesome stack bookcase. But in a couple more weeks, our bedroom set will get here and so will the killer high-top kitchen table with U-shaped connective booth-like stools. If you can't picture it, don't worry - there'll be pictures once it arrives. Now all we're missing is a coffee table.

5. Gettin' Paid to Write... Regularly

I mentioned a little something about this earlier this month, but now that it's official, I'll give you the full scoop. Every week, provided I submitted ten pieces to my people at The Love of Sports, I'ma get paid. Nothing that breaks the bank, but a little something something that provides incentive and encouragement to keep doing what I'm doing. And like my man Gerrit at TLOS said earlier this week, if you think filing ten pieces a week is tough, I had that number made... by Thurdsay.

6. They Tell Me It Snows Out Here

But so far, I don't believe it. London caught 70 cm earlier in the week and here I am living on a ski hill and all I have is the hum of the snowmakers running 24/7 a month before the resort goes live sot that it at least looks like you could use a snowboard or skis around here. If it don't snow, I ain't gonna make any money... and I like making money. C'mon snow!

7. Great Quote of the Week

Watched Strombo interview Russell Peters on The Hour this week. Peters is a huge hip hop head who used to spin before his standup career took off. So he's sitting in his chair in a corduroy suit when Strombo asks him about his love of hip hop and Peters delivers something along the lines of, "I don't look the part, but I am. I mean, you eventually have to grow up and stop dressing like an idiot." I couldn't have said it better myself. Just because my pants aren't around my ankles, doesn't mean I don't still love my hip hop.

8. Kids These Days...

I work with a lot of 16 to 21 year olds up here at Kelsey's. All they ever do is bitch about working, talk shit about one another and discuss plans for getting drunk and stoned. This is going to make me sound like the crusty old man, but what in the hell is with these kids these days? How can you be so brash as to call your weed hookup from the hostess stand, have a screaming match with the chick working Expo while standing in the In Door and show up to work so hungover that you spend 95% of your shift in the bathroom puking while I make my own drinks? We were bad, but we weren't this bad... were we?

9. Congratulations Abound

Congrats to my cousin Jamie and his fiancee Brianne on finding out they'll be having a beautiful baby boy five months from now. Yeah, they're due the same day we'll be getting hitched. Kinda cool if you ask me. And congratulations to Amanda Buchanan, the little sister of my man Bucky, who got married today.

10. Opening My Own Place in the Future Keeps Looking Better

Not just because I get real pissy working for other people - and I do - but because if Kelsey's can do the business they currently do in spite of the challenges I see then I could make myself some money with a cosy little bistro somewhere that is run correctly. Oh, I could serve the delicious Spicy Thai Soup with shrimp that I made yesterday too...

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: La La La (Excuse Me Miss, Again)

Artist: Jay Z

Album: Bad Boys 2 OST (2003)

This one is long overdue.

To have not dropped a Jay-Z track on the soundtrack in the first year was a mistake, since there are very few in the business whose music I enjoy and who I respect and admire as a person more than Jay.

I'll put it to you this way: I have his first album, Reasonable Doubt, on vinyl and still in the wrapping because I think when all is said and done, it will go down as one of the seminal hip hop albums of all-time and Jay will be bestowed with the title of Greatest of All-Time, unlike LL Cool J who just claimed it for himself.

As for this song itself, all I can say is that it's dirty.

The beat, delivered by Pharrell / The Neptunes, is infectious and will stick in your head for hours. It's 4,000 times better than the initial Excuse Me Miss and contains another of my favourite lyrics ever when Jay drops:

This ain't Chris Rock bitch
It's the Roc bitch
And I'm the franchise like a Houston Rocket
Yao Ming (Nawimean)

When you're tossing references to 7'6 Chinesse basketball players out in your tracks and they flow without any hiccup... retarded!

That's not the only set of rhyming cuplets delivered that have me loving this song though, as the whole thing is littered with well put together concepts, quick wit and Pop Culture references, which makes this song kinda like me... HA!

Sick with the pen, nigga
No physician in the world can fix him
No prescription, you could prescribe to subside
His affliction
He's not a sane man, he's more like Rainman, twitchin'

Anyway, as I said off the top - this one is long overdue and there are certainly any number of track by Shawn Carter that could have very easily ended up in this piece. Or I could have just put the entire Black Album...

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: Mass Appeal
Artist: Gang Starr
Album: Hard to Earn (1994)

This is one of those duos that I can't believe more people who claim hip hop don't love. But at the same time, I'm glad people don't appreciate Gang Starr, because it leaves them to me and the people who really know.

Gang Starr was tight.

Long before Timbaland and Polow da Don were making the beats everyone craved, DJ Premier was the man. And before Primo was the man for hire, he was the man on the wheels of Gang Starr. Standing in front of him, gracefully dropping intelligent lyrics was Guru, an MC who goes down as one of the most underrated of all-time in my books.

This track embodies what I always loved (and currently miss) about Gang Starr.

The beat is simplistic but catchy; it's not something you've never heard before, but it's certainly not something you're going to rush to turn off after you've heard it a time or two.

I miss scratching and Premier delivers throughout the chorus and outro of this song.

As a general question, what the hell happened to scratching? It's one of the fundamentals of hip hop, a DJ mixing beats on the turntables, layering them together with cuts and scratches and it's all but disappeared.

And then there is Guru, just talking to you.

He's comes intelligently and even his curses fit, unlike in many songs today where it sounds like someone is dropping an f-bomb or the n-word just because it's on the checklist of Things That Make Up a Hip Hop Hit...

Just like baggy slacks I'm crazy hip-hop
Check one two and you don't stop
Your head'll bop when I drop my crop
of pure bomb, just like the seashore I'm calm
But wild, with my monotone style
Because I don't need gimmicks
Gimme a fly beat and I'm all in it
Word is bond I go on and on
For you it's tragic I got magic like wands
So I'ma end this lecture and I betcha
Those who kick dirt and do time I'm gonna get cha
Cause I be kickin the real
While they be losin the race tryin to chase mass appeal

Gang Starr has been off the grid for some time now; a Best of compilation came out a few years back and neither DJ Premier or Guru can ever provide a concise answer as to whether they'll reunite again or not.

That's part of the reason I have been so onto this song for the last couple weeks - I miss tracks like this and groups like Gang Starr - and if they never do reunite to wreak havoc again, than this track with stand in my playlist as their legacy.

And now you have a chance to enjoy it too.

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: Sky's The Limit
Artist: The Notorious B.I.G.
Album: Life After Death (1997)

In dropping the LeRoi Moore Honourary Rundown the other day, I suddenly realized that I have gone this far in the Soundtrack without offering up one anything from the late Christopher Wallace.

Personally, there isn't another song that I could even consider.

Not that Biggie doesn't have a solid collection of hits to choose from - he assuredly does - but this track, as mentioned Wednesday, is one of those tracks that always gets me. It puts a smile on my face and is easily my favourite Biggie track of all time.

Part of the reason I love this song so much is that it's a bit of departure for Biggie. While he covered many topics in his songs, this one is still a little outside the lines of the standards about drugs, money or women. This is almost a Biggie talking about his past and where he came from while offering a chorus of encouragement courtesy of 112.

The one line that always gets me - and has been in consideration as a tattoo over the last few years - is what Biggie refers to as The Hustler's Prayer:

If the game shakes me or breaks me
I hope it makes me a better man
Take a better stand
Put money in my moms hand
Get my daughter this college plan, so she don't need no man
Stay far from timid
Only make moves when ya heart's in it
And live the phrase Sky's The Limit

Now, I'm no gangster and I don't play one on TV, but even outside of the rap game / crack game Biggie lived, these words are suitable for everyone. The goal is always to improve and grow, find a better position and let's be honest - we all want to do only the things that are heart motivates us to do.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Hype Williams directed video featuring kids playing all the roles was in heavy rotation when the song was released. Seeing it four or five times a day probably helped earn the song a permanent place in my head.

Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
what you want, be what you want

Words to live by from Christopher Wallace.

R.I.P. Biggie... we miss you!

Continue reading ...

This Coming Valentine's Day, I'm Going To Be Awful Busy

Went to the movies last night with Sarah - a review of 27 Dresses will come later today in 10 Things - and sitting through the previews - which you have to be there for no matter what - it turns out that my calender is going to be pretty full on February 14, 2008.

Three movies that I want to see all open on that very day. Since I do the schedule at work now, guess who isn't working Valentine's Day and probably not the day after either?

The movies all come with varying degrees of anticipation, so we'll go from the bottom to the top.

Step Up 2 The Streets I'll go and see for two reasons: (1) Sarah and I's first date was to Step Up, so there is the nostalgia factor and being that it's V-Day, that makes it extra sweet / vomit-inducing depending on who you are and (2) I'm admittedly a sucker for dance films, especially hip hop dance films.

I own You Got Served which is quite possibly the worst movie ever made, except for the fact that the dance scenes are insane. Dave Scott choreographed the hell outta that movie. And no, I didn't have to look it up to see who choreographed the film. These are the stupid things I know. I know choreographers... can't do basic math without a calculator, but I know choreographers.

With that in mind, do I even need to state that I'm looking forward to seeing How She Move when it comes out? Canadian Hip Hop Dance Film... I'm in!

Silver Medal standing on the Valentine's Day movie podium goes to the Ryan Reynolds / Abigail Breslin father/daughter heart-warmer from the guys who did Notting Hill and Love, Actually called Definitely, Maybe.

First off, I loved both Notting Hill and Love, Actually so that makes this almost a no-brainer.

Second, bonus points for the movie sharing a name with an outstanding Oasis album. Say what you will about The Gallaghers, but know that I will fight you about the awesomeness that is (was?) Oasis.

Third, I'm a Ryan Reynolds guy. Van Wilder? Just Friends? Foolproof? Even the little stuff he does (The Nines anyone?) is pretty damn good. Plus, yes, fine, I'll admit it... bit of a man crush. There I said it.

Taking home the Gold Medal for the two-day V-Day movie bonanza that will be is Jumper. Before anyone starts grunting and groaning about my dying to see a movie starring Hayden "Manakin Skywalker" Christiansen, please note that it also stars Samuel L., Diane Lane (HUGE CRUSH!) and Rachel Bilson and is about guys who can teleport. How cool would that be?

Hopefully, Sarah will want to come to these with me. Otherwise, it's going to be a pretty shitty Valentine's Day for her...

Continue reading ...

Untitled

Warning: There is going to be some language in here that you might not like. I don't like it, but it's here to help discuss an issue.

I'm getting older and I was hoping that by the time I reached this age, some things would have changed in the world and we would have sorted a few things out by now. But we haven't and I don't think we ever will. That makes me sad.

Kelly Tilghman, an on-air analyst for The Golf Channel, used the word "lynch" in reference to how the rest of the PGA should try to defeat the dominance that is Tiger Woods.

Ms. Tilghman couldn't have picked a worse word. She made an apology, was suspended for two weeks and the person whom the comment was directed towards, Tiger Woods, has said it's a non-issue. This, to me, means we're done here. Of course, we're not and here is where I will get my self into trouble.

We're not done because some people don't want to see beyond it. Some people refuse to let a horribly inappropriate word uttered on live television not just be a horrible inappropriate word uttered on live television. It's gotta be more than that.

I love Scoop Jackson. He's one of the people who inspired me over the years to make a move into this writing thing. Loved him at SLAM, still love him over at ESPN. Except this morning. This morning I'm annoyed with Scoop Jackson.

You see, Scoop's piece is all about Kelly Tilghman, Tiger Woods and us as a society understanding that thoughtless statements that are racially insensitive do not have a place in the world today. He calls for Tiger Woods to be the person that shows us all this. He also likens Ms. Tilghman to Howard Cosell, Marge Schott, John Rocker and Don Imus.

This isn't Imus calling the Rutgers University Women's Basketball Team a bunch of "nappy headed hos." This isn't Howard Cosell's infamous "Look at that little monkey go" or Marge Schott calling Eric Davis and Dave Parker her "Million-Dollar Niggers." This is nowhere near John Rocker territory either. This is an on-air personality making a horrible choice of words.

Unfortunately, because of the word Ms. Tilghman used, this has become a bigger issue. Sadly, had she said the rest of the players on the PGA Tour need to take him into a back alley somewhere and beat the fuck outta him, not a lot would have been made of the story I don't think. In essence, that is exactly what needs to happen if anyone else wants to win something of significance on the PGA Tour in the next twenty years. Not because Tiger Woods is black, but because he is that damn good.

Of course, this is about more than just Tiger Woods, Kelly Tilghman and the word lynch. This is about racism, perceived or real, intended or unintentional.

I don't think I will ever see a time where racism isn't a part of society. I don't like that I feel this way, but it is how I feel. Sadly, one of the reasons I think this way is situations such as this one.

To me - and I understand that I come from a much different place than those who take great offense to Ms. Tilghman's choice of words - the fact that this became as much of a story as it did is a sad declaration of the world we live in. Not that Ms. Tilghman should have gone unpunished or there should be no barometer of what you can and can't say, but aren't there much more important issues in the world than one woman not being smart enough to think before she spoke?

Kelly Tilghman used the word lynch on The Golf Channel. How many rappers use the N word throughout their rhymes, reaching a much larger audience than The Golf Channel could ever hope to reach? And don't feed me this, "It's okay because they're black and it's nigg-a, not nigg-er," bullshit either. If lynch is a word that strikes a chord, how the fuck is the N word acceptable? How come Rev. Al Sharpton isn't calling for a stop to the recording of hip hop tracks using that word? Or what if a black commentator said it or something of similar nature in reference to a white athlete? Then what?

I guess, my basic question is this: why is one thing seen as horribly wrong and the other is acceptable?

Black comedians get on stage and do "The White Guy Voice" without anyone batting an eye. Russell Peters' entire routine is predicated on racial stereotypes, but because he's a minority himself it's okay? Or are both of these acceptable because they are done in good spirits and jokingly?

I dunno.

What I do know is that I will continue to live my life the way I always have, seeing people not colour and with my fingers crossed that maybe my children will be able to live a world that truly embraces that belief.

Continue reading ...

Soundtrack of My Life

Song: I Used to Love H.E.R
Artist: Common
Album: Resurrection

If Change is the song that I live my life by - and it is - than no song better encapsulates my love of music, especially Hip Hop, than I Used to Love H.E.R.

Long before he teamed up with Kanye West and began gaining the kind of critical acclaim with his last two albums - 2005's Be and 2007's Finding Forever - Common was still known as Common Sense and he penned what to me is the greatest Hip Hop track ever. Seriously.

Quite simply, this song is timeless. Where a growing segment of today's hip hop is made up of one hit wonders and flash in the pan artists, so much so that Nas proclaimed Hip Hop is Dead, this song and this artist speak to the power of good music and what it means to have a connection to that music.

And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Google the song and see the list of praise this joint has gotten over the years. Or pop the movie Brown Sugar in your DVD player and watch as I Used to Love H.E.R is mentioned as the two main characters sit in Central Park reminiscing about the first time they heard some of the iconic songs in Hip Hop.

The connection between the movie and the song runs deeper than that though, as both personify Hip Hop, illustrating how it can become something so much more than just a genre of music, a sound and a culture. It becomes something you have a relationship with. It can become almost human.

For all the sharp lyrics and deft descriptions floated by Common throughout the track, it has always been the first few bars that hooked me:

I met this girl, when I was ten years old
And what I loved most she had so much soul
She was old school, when I was just a shorty
Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me

She has been there for me, as will be shown throughout this feature over the coming months, and I know that she always will be.

There is no catchy hook. There is no stylized beat produced with the purpose of hooking you in despite hollow lyrics and marginal skills. There is only Common, jazzy sample of George Benson's "The Changing World" and his open love letter to one of the most important people in his life...Hip Hop.

I Used to Love H.E.R. I still do and I always will.



* * * * *
Sorry I'm a day late... there was drinking that needed to be done last night.

Continue reading ...

The Anger Has Subsided, But The Sadness Remains

This is a follow-up to my earlier post "I'm Sick of These Little Wannabe Thug Bastards"

A couple days have passed since I came home and pounded on the keys to release the frustration I was feeling about the plight of a segment of today's youth. The rage has gone, but now, a honest and genuine sadness lingers.

I've gotten a couple comments on the piece courtesy of my fellow Bugs Patrick Smith and David Chalk and I feel the need to maybe elaborate a little further on the actual core of this issue that troubles me, since their comments lead me to believe that I am being somewhat misunderstood.

This is not a case of me nearing 30 and falling out of touch with Pop Culture. For starters, I still look like I'm 25, 21 when I shave the sad excuse of a beard that I grow over a two week period of not shaving. More importantly, there are aspects of Pop Culture that I am still insanely fond of and ridiculously in touch with. These are not the ramblings of a guy who doesn't understand why kids these days don't know Grand Funk Railroad...

Here is my problem, hopefully, more eloquently than before:

There doesn't seem to be the prevelance of people - parents, family & friends, educators, the artists and media themselves - that make sure that the people who are taking in all the media that is available these days are getting the right message. By no means do I think that Biggie, Scarface and Pulp Fiction should be collected and burned in the center of the town. What I do think is that someone needs to be on the other end, explaining the negative consequences of the actions and lifestyles displayed and discussed in these works.

I have to disagree with Patrick Smith, in that I don't see the people putting out today's bullshit hip hop getting marginalized. They are cashing in. Artists drop one hot song and style like they've been doin' this for years. Then they disappear of the face of the Earth but the message that you can get rich quick by (fill in generic pre-hip hop career) is all that is left for the unintelligent masses.

In his comment, David Chalk expanded on what 2Pac's THUG LIFE tattoo across his abdomen stood for: The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone. While the message is noble, it is also one that is not readily available to those who do not seek out the meaning and instead is construed as and plead of allegence to the streets and advocacy of the hustler lifestyle, and therein lies the problem.

While I strongly agree with Chalk that it is more about opening minds, I also think what "na" says is accurate as well - some form of censoring isn't a bad thing. He and I sound like we came from similar upbringings and I'd like to think I turned out alright. Hip Hop still permiated my soul, but I also was conscious enough and educated enough to see the shiny beats and empty lyrics as that while taking in message laden albums like Things Fall Apart.

A friend of mine back home is a teacher and has expressed similar sentiments to me. She did it on Facebook of course because adding to the discussions here appears to be a totally foreign concept for some. Anyway, she sees the numbers growing within her school and her classrooms and agrees that it is a troubling trend.

There is far more media for these kids to take in today and the weight of the content has ramped up exponentially over the last ten years:

• 2 Live Crew was censored for singing Me So Horny, but now we have 4000 G-Unit songs about selling drugs and violent crime. Sure artists and labels are forced to put out Radio Friendly versions sans cussing, but the message that is relayed is far worse than hearing someone say fuck.


• I used to shoot little cartoonish bad guys or an attacking alien race on my Atari. Go grab Manhunt 2 for your system of choice and try to tell me their isn't anything disturbing about the violence and imagery in that game


• And don't get me started on the bullshit ideals and ideas that shows like The Hills and Laguana Beach and the tabloid rags spread to young girls.

I'm not saying that we need to revert back to the days of Little House on the Prairie and Road to Avonlea, but since everything else is being excelerated, so too should the education that we're providing for these kids about what they are seeing, hearing, watching and doing. And that education doesn't come only from a classroom.

You know what else could really help? Sitting all these kids down to watch the Dave Chappelle sketch of "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong"...

Continue reading ...

I'm Sick of These Little Wannabe Thug Bastards!

Someone needs to grab all these little punks by the back of the neck, take them to a maximum security facility and let them talk with the people who have actually committed all the serious, hardcore crimes they idolize and watch them piss their pants!

Maybe then they will realize that the life they're leading right now, is one that ends in jail, dead or as a dredge of civilization.

This venom towards a segment of today's youth comes from two incidents today while I was at work. The first was the little bastard decked in a New Era Cardinals cap - cocked sideways of course - and PNB Nation hoodie that took off like a bat outta hell after stealing a couple movies. The second was the the tilted brim, neck tattoo sporting douchebag who came to the counter and asked "D'you got Menace II Society, yo?" and then was all pumped to go home and watch O-Dogg bust some caps with no idea what the actual message of a film as powerful as Menace truly is. Same goes for Boyz in the Hood...

Seriously, how the fuck did we let our children turn out like this? What the fuck happened?

I'll tell you what happened...

50 Cent happened. Grand Theft Auto happened. Glorification and desensitization of violence, drugs and sex has rotted away the brains of a segment of today's youth and it's goddamn scary. They idolize hip hop artists who glorify "money, cash, hoes" as Jay-Z once rhymed. They think Al Pacino's Scarface is a suitable idol, despite his demise at the end of the film. They think stealing and hustling and being little stick-up kids is a viable occupation, totally oblivious to the damage they do to society, themselves and the people around them. And it sounds corny as hell, but if they're stealing a movie today, next week it's a car and on and on and on until they wind up either dead or in jail. Then it becomes "such a sin what happened to little Johnny..."

Bullshit. The sin is letting it get to this stage in the first place.

Now listen: I'm not going to be another in the long list of people to blame hip hop for all of society's ills. That's too easy and not fair to the incredible artists who have nothing do with this problem - Common, The Roots, Dead Prez and Talib Kweli didn't have nothing to do with this right here...

First and foremost, this is a family issue. Someone along the way that was supposed to steer these kids in the right direction dropped the ball, for whatever reason. Educators too. But after that, a big portion of the blame falls on mass media, some of it's stars and the people that power the machine.

D'you know how hard 50 Cent is now? He's so gully that he lives in Connecticut! That's gangsta!

It's a goddamn shame, but living the Thug Life didn't work out so well for Biggie & Tupac did it?

And all the record executives that want to harp on about freedom of speech can kiss my ass. I'm not saying these bullshit artists poppin' off at the mouth about slinging drugs and bangin' bitches can't say whatever the fuck they please, but that doesn't mean record labels have to put that shit out. No publisher would put out a book of racist poetry would they? Or an instruction manual on how to build bombs? They couldn't do that and then claim freedom of speech without facing the wrath of thousands, so why is this any different?

Unfortunately, the almighty dollar reigns supreme and because such a growing portion of the youth market is drawn to this bullshit - all of it, the music, the image, the bullshit posturing - the cycle just keeps on churning and more and more crap flows into the world. And it's not just music either.

How does a parent let their 7 year old kid play a game like Grand Theft Auto? My old man - for all his shortcomings - would have beat my ass if he caught me playing a game where I could score some drugs, bang hookers in my stolen car and gained points for killing people. When did running around as a little Italian plumber stop being enough?

My solution? I'm taking action - positive action - and getting involved. I'm going to become a Big Brother and perhaps down the road, you know, once this writing thing takes off, do some speaking about topics just like this. If I can help one kid, then I have made a difference. If each of us helps one kid, think of the difference that would make...

Continue reading ...

Ecko Under Fire / The Status of Hip Hop

As has been the case for the initial two posts on this here blog, this third installment will again have a tie-in with my "other job" writing over at Bugs & Cranks.

Earlier this year, I covered fashion designer / entrepreneur / Jack-of-All-Trades Marc Ecko's purchasing of Barry Bonds' historic 756th Home Run ball and the vote held on his website to determine it's fate. Basically, homeboy paid over $750K for the ball and then let anyone who wanted to vote on whether to send it to the Hall of Fame as is, brand it with an asterisk signifying Bonds' alleged steroid / HGH usage or blast the damn thing into orbit.

The asterisk won... I covered that too.

So now, two of my colleagues have picked up on a story from The Starting Five where they (TSF and my fellow Bugs) are agreeing with Barry's decision to boycott the Hall if they take and display Ecko's Branded Baseball. Their contention: doing this, branding the baseball, makes Marc Ecko a racist and a sellout.

For those who don't know, Marc Ecko and his initial and most profitable clothing line Ecko Unlimited got it's start in the Hip Hop Community. Ecko is the brand with the rhino for a logo you see people rockin' all over your town.

Settle in, here comes the rebuttal.

Marc Ecko didn't brand the ball himself. Millions of people, myself included, voted to put that big, fat asterisk on the ball because we believe Bonds has achieved his records through the use of performance enhancing drugs. Ecko is just following up on his promise to go along with whatever "The People" voted. It's not his fault all the Barry Lovers didn't get online...

As for how this makes him racist, I'm not sure. Would sending it to the Hall sans asterisk earn him an Image Award?

Yes, some people probably dislike or even hate Barry Bonds because he is black. Personally, I have my own reasons and not one of them has anything to do with the colour of the man's skin.

Now, let's take this away from the diamond and Barry Bonds and onto TSF's claims that these actions make Ecko a sellout who is turning his back on the people who got him to where he is today...

There is no doubt that the first demographic to embrace Ecko Unlimited was the Hip Hop Community. I can say this confidently because I count myself as part of that demographic and have proudly donned Ecko gear for some time. The flaw in TSF's argument, and therefore my friends Hulk and Chalk's co-argument is this:

Hip Hop Is Mainstream and Hip Hop Is Middle America

Like it or not, Hip Hop broke from the counter culture a long time ago and has been becoming more and more mainstream by the day.

Hip Hop tracks dominate Top 40 Radio. Hip Hop styles are present on the runways, in the shopping malls and in the closets of all races and backgrounds. It's not a 'hood thing anymore like TSF either thinks it should be or wants it to be...

I live in St. John's, Newfoundland. There is no real 'hood. There aren't even very many folks who aren't Caucasian around here. But there sure as shit is a whole lot of Hip Hop.

Now I'm not saying dressing the part and talking like 50 is the correct representation of Hip Hop, but it does show that the influence of the music and the culture extends far beyond the boundaries of race.

You want to toss Ecko aside? Do it, but do it full out. Don't say you're not tossing his glasses that you wear because you'd be blind without them. Go buy new ones tomorrow and renounce him completely. Pull a Chuck D and try and Shut'em Down. Even though the clip didn't work, it was nice to remember the power of PE...

In the end, I see it like this:

Ecko's moves weren't racially based, they were press and publicity based. He's not a racist for buying and branding the ball, he's a spotlight whore, at best. You call his move racist, I call it savvy - interjecting your name and brand somewhere it never would have been in the first place is smart business.

The two - his decision to brand the ball and hip hop - aren't related. If a white player broke that record with the same allegations swirling around his head and Ecko pulled the same moves then what?

He didn't say "Fuck Hip Hop"
You said "Fuck Ecko!"

His moves were about a baseball and a baseball player.Yes, he's black, but that doesn't mean Ecko is racist, at least not in my books. And they weren't even his moves if you want to get technical.

Besides, I was always taught - through hip hop - that hip hop isn't a colour and isn't a race, it's a culture and a way of life. It's not a black thing, it's not a 'hood thing... it just is... and I am Hip Hop.

Still Free...

Continue reading ...