on & on

50 ways to leave your lover

2005-05-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

Wardell Franklin, we hardly knew ye.

players of the game

2005-05-12T23:47:00.000-04:00

More on the ever stranger Kwame Brown saga, courtesy of On & On's first guest commentator, the good doctor himself, FL:

What Scoop doesn't really talk about is how not only did Kwame's pops beat up on him and his siblings, but the cat is also in prison for life for murder. I think a few of his other siblings are also in jail. And Basketball quite literally saved Kwame from the fate of his father and brothers. I think I read somewhere that he grew big enough to be great in Basketball and stand up to his father at about the same time, but his father's conviction saved him from ever having to really exercise that size. But nothing kept him from playing ball...that is until he got to the Wizards.

Unlike KG and Amare who had started trotting across the country as high school ballers, Kwame was pretty much a local kid from some podunk Georgia town. He only had one male rolemodel, his basketball coach of course, and who of course told him to turn pro. Then boom, he's landed into the hands of Michael Jordan, Charles Oakley and Jahidi White. There's a story about how during one particular workout during his rookie year White, who weighs about 3bills, sat on him. Coaching these mild-mannered gentlemen was none other than Doug Collins. And to just make it more fun, the year after they drafted Brown, they traded Rip Hamilton for the "tougher" Jerry Stackhouse, who would later admit he had no idea what he was doing on that team since he and Jordan essentially played the same position and had similar styles of play.

Scoop knows for damn well that the issue with Kwame Brown is not whether or not he is gay. What Jordan did to the kid was mess his head up and have a 19 year old fighting two dudes twice his age, while another goon, thinking this kid was going to take his job, joined in the fun. Essentially Jordan brought him back to the same environment that he thought he had escaped when he started playing basketball. Now you can charge a parent with Child-abuse, and you can charge an employer with all forms of harassment, but somehow in pro-sports (unless you're the dude who just sued Bill Romanowski) you can not say anything when Jahidi White throws you down while you're going for a dunk, proceeds to sit on you, and your bossess and teammates look the other way. Then to add insult to injury, they trade your good friend because he was not "tough enough." Interestingly enough this was the same logic that John Wesbrod recently used split up Mobley and Francis. Now I can understand Jordan bringing Stackhouse in to make his team tougher, but Doug Christie?

Of course having Jermaine O'Neal going on TV and saying that all a person needs to do is hit the gym and get their game up to solve all their ills in the NBA also does not help the matter here.

Jordan and his cronies in DC were a step above homophobic. Dudes in the locker room who walk around calling people "faggots" are homophobic. But what Jordan did was create an environment where what outside the lines could have been prosecuted as hate crimes could exist and thrive. The definition of the "flaming faggot" that Jordan, White, Oakley and Collins turned Brown into was definitely not what he could have thought it to be when he first got to DC, because it was not himself. Jordan and his cronies oversaw an anarchy of identity. Fostering a social-situation where punishment eventually overcame any desires for discipline forced Kwame Brown to revert from man-child, to child-man, and made the basketball court the place that he never intended it to be, the ring in which he had to fight his father. They turned the court into his prison.

Of course, I am riffing off of Foucault at the end and one can make an argument (if someone hasn't already done it) that the sporting arena is like the Foucaultian prison in terms of how it attempts to discipline masculine identities. But alas none of that will solve Kwame Brown's problems. For Kwame will land with the either the Hawks or the Magic next year. He will goof around with either Josh Smith or Dwight Howard, while catching alley-oops and smiling on the court. He will then give it to Etan Thomas or Antawn Jamison something awful the first time they meet.

Or he could end up like Leon and Dontonio trying to find his game and his self...I think there's still enough hope for the former to occur.

Nah'mean.

black nostaljack

2005-05-09T12:45:00.000-04:00

A spring weekend in BK does a body good, I tell ya. Hell, the sun was even out for a minute. ("They" say it's going to get into the 70s this week. Maybe I can finally put those sweaters away.)

Checked out the Basquiat show at the Brooklyn Museum, which was dope. Going in, I was much more familiar with the legend and the bio than I was with the actual work. I was struck by how funny dude was -- I was really on some LOL sh*t a few times. In some spots it's just a kind of playfulness, even whimsy [did I just write that? Really?], whereas elsewhere it comes in the form of this razor-sharp commentary about history and culture and the silences of both domination and resistance. In some of the pieces, it's both. (see: "Hollywood Africans") Of course, the other thing that stands out is just how young duke was. Makes me think, WTF am I doing with my life?

Since the C's went out like lambs on Saturday, I'm going to try to scale back my NBA consumption significantly, which should free up some time for more important things like, oh I don't know, say, dissertating. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this Kwame Brown thing, however. I don't think I'm alone either. There are definitely many stories yet to be told. And although I'm no Shaq fan, I think that Steve Nash winning the MVP is pretty suspect. Unlike most such arguments, I actually think that the "If Steve Nash were black..." formulation has some legs. Money gets a lot of credit for being quick, a reasonably good passer, and having four great targets to pass to on every possession. Plus he's "smart," which is the crux of the whole thing. How smart is he, in the basketball sense of the term, and is he any "smarter" than Jason Kidd or even Iverson? It seems like Nash's intelligence -- as demonstrated in his off-the-court interests and intellectual pursuits (and as contrasted with a great many of his contemporaries) -- gets projected by commentators onto his on-court play in ways that are fairly out of proportion with reality. I'm just sayin'...

In other news, what's really good with Jeb harboring an anti-Castro terrorist in this age of no shelter for the evil-doers? One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, as they say. It will be real, real interesting to see how Gonzales, Rice, et al play this one. Extradition to Chavez? Indefinite detention? Look the other way?

Finally, I believe we may just have the summer's first heatrock, as the kids say. Freeway, "Where You Been," produced by Scott Storch, allegedly with ?uestlove on the drums. Storch mines the next frontier in Third World musics for the base sample/interpolation (good thing I'm not a music critic): an East Asian-sounding flute. The percussion stutters and Free's delivery is hungry but totally on beat. Straight flowin'. Best believe this track will be on iTunes repeat for the remainder of the week (replacing Beanie's "Feel It in the Air").

ain't nothin' but a maybe

2005-05-07T09:57:00.000-04:00

Somewhat lost in all the excitement in Chocolate City about the Wizards' playoff run (Chicago gave away last night's game -- and, thus, the series), has been the strange story of Kwame Brown, Michael Jordan's former #1 draft pick now being shown the exit.

This slightly odd, somewhat poorly-edited piece on Kwame by Scoop Jackson caught my eye the other day and started a little e-conversation amongst some friends. I'll repeat my initial commentary here and, with permission, maybe I'll add the email responses of a couple of my folks later:

admittedly, i haven’t followed the wizards particularly closely, even when they had mike. kwame brown has always just been this unfortunate draft dud to me – not “tragic” on the level of chris washburn or len bias – more like big mistake on the level of [insert name here]. his “failure” to this point was always more reflective of MJ’s incompetence as an executive than anything inherently wrong with the kid. basically, he never should have been drafted #1 in the first place.

reading scoop jackson’s piece on kwame got me thinking in another direction. i hadn’t heard before about MJ (allegedly?) calling brown a “flaming faggot.” jackson seems only to scratch the surface of the significance of this comment by talking about the insult to brown’s manhood but more or less avoiding the actual question of sexuality. is that purposeful or not? early in the piece jackson goes out of his way to describe brown’s appearance (manicured nails, impeccable braids, tailored suits) and later makes reference to beatings brown received from his father, with no further comment on context or motivation.

this is purely speculation, but my question is this: is the “tragedy” of kwame brown less about failing to live up to basketball expectations and instead about the struggles of a young black man against ostracism and the psychological and physical violence of homophobia (inside and outside of the world of sports)?

spirit in the dark

2005-05-04T11:06:00.000-04:00

Right.

So I've been home for a week. Trip was great but, just like that, all the California love has worn off and I'm back in the muck and the mire, all kinds of depressed.

At least I have this - my favorite party of the year -- to look forward to next weekend.

stop that train

2005-04-19T09:47:00.000-04:00

On & On is taking a little vacation out to the left coast for some much needed R & R and a little change of scenery. Any readers/critics/admirers out in the Yay Area wishing to hollerate, please do so. I welcome any recommendations for burrito spots or record stores.

While I'm gone, please feel free to talk amongst yourselves about:

Eugenics-as-pro-choice politics

Blood for oil

The possibilities and limitations of black male feminism

Hip hop journalism as ethnography ("these folks sure make it easy for a driver to turn left")

Peanut Butter Wolf trying to put Stevie Wonder onto Madlib in a Beverly Hills men's room by 'showing' him a CD

Back in a week.

expansions

2005-04-15T18:01:00.000-04:00

Ain't nothin', really. Frankly, I don't know how some of you dedicated bloggers do it -- all regular and topical and consistent and sh*t. Kudos to you.

Couldn't get out to the Chi for last weekend's feminism and (in?) hip hop conference, though I do know some people who were involved in various capacities. In betwixt and between all the other stuff I'm juggling, been trying to get the lowdown from various sources. Hashim's self-designation as a newly minted male feminist -- on the heels of his tacit endorsement of Lil' Jon and them Ying Yang boyz -- sparked an interesting, if somewhat frustrating, discussion.

I had more to say in response to various comments but elected to bow out of the post/counter-post exchange. My loss, perhaps. I will say this though, all sectarianism and self-righteousness aside, I think that in 2005 the line in the sand needs to be drawn well before rape and domestic violence (Hashim: "My position as a "hip-hop feminist" is simple. I expect myself, my friends, and the artists I support to treat women with common respect. This means I'm cool with artists making sexy songs, like Ying Yang Twins. I wouldn't be cool with them talking about raping, or hitting women. That's my standard."). "The Whisper Song" may be a lot things, but "sexy" ain't one of 'em.

you send me

2005-04-11T14:40:00.000-04:00

Lest there was ever any debate about this fact, I would like to confirm that New Hampshire and Indiana are two very different places.

Stay tuned for further profound revelations.

yelling away

2005-04-01T17:07:00.000-05:00

On the heels of the Winter Music Conference in Miami and her current URB magazine cover, Jon Caramanica provides a much-needed antidote to the M.I.A. hyperbole machine.

when we get by

2005-03-29T19:19:00.000-05:00

If I were a bit more organized, brave, and interested in blending my blog world with my real world vocations, I might offer up detailed book reviews and critical essays like some of my peers (still got that Mark Anthony Neale review in the chamber). Alas, I am none of those things at the moment and sufficiently contented to simply link away and keep it movin'.

To that end we have:

Robert Christgau on The Perceptionists and black indie hip hop (or 'alt rap' in his terminology...which, I suppose does have a distinct connotation separating it from 'indie' as such. Whatever.) [I'm a little mad that the techies at the Voice shorthand his name to 'xgau' in the link]

Raquel Cepeda -- not to be confused with Raquel Z. Rivera -- on the reggaeton takeover. I expect an S/F-J companion piece in The New Yorker by summer. (That sounded snarky; I didn't mean it to be. At least I don't think so.)

Reviews of new songs by Amerie, Q-Tip feat. Busta, and a lost (?) Rakim-Dre collabo track. Haven't heard the latter two, but the Amerie joint doesn't really work for me (I could possibly be persuaded). Back on "Why Don't We Fall In Love," the lightness of her voice didn't bother me at all. But the sheer nothingness of her presence on "One Thing" -- which, incidentally, has been given the proper Mr. K re-edit treatment (get ye self to The Lab, post-haste) -- and now on this "Rolling Down My Face" song I find to be another matter all together. Plus, the horn loop is distractingly Ed O.G. to me.

And lastly, but most significantly:

The passing of Harold Cruse (link courtesy of Zentronix). Cruse was, ironically, at once a towering figure and an oft-overlooked contributor to debates about African American political culture. Nevertheless, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual is among the two dozen or so most significant works in twentieth century African American scholarship and letters. RIP.

countdown to armageddon

2005-03-25T15:27:00.000-05:00

Cheney in '08?!

It is sick that we even have to discuss this as a viable possibility.

rigor mortis

2005-03-25T11:35:00.000-05:00

Wouldn't you know it, now that I'm halfway re-inspired and have a few things worth blogging about I ain't got a lick of time. Trying to line some things up for next year, got advisors cracking the proverbial whip, a slew of out-of-town trips on the calendar. I really need not be dilly-dallying in the blogosphere any more than I already do.

*sigh*

I need to get my sh*t together.

people get ready

2005-03-15T20:07:00.000-05:00

From Darfurgenocide.org:

MEDIA ALERT/RELEASE
For Immediate Release from DarfurGenocide.org
For “Fast for Justice in Sudan” on March 16th

Thousands Join “Fast for Justice in Sudan”
Nationwide Effort Demands Immediate Action to End Genocide in Darfur During Key Votes This Week in the US Congress and UN Security Council

On the eve of key votes in the US Congress and United Nations Security Council regarding measures to end the genocide in Sudan, almost 2000 Americans from all 50 states have committed to go without food on Wednesday, March 16th. This rapid, nationwide response answers a call issued by DarfurGenocide.org over the weekend to generate pressure on the US Congress and the UN as they consider support for security measures and humanitarian relief.

“We cannot allow governments to hide behind half-measures and diplomatic gridlock while the Sudanese government’s genocide-by-starvation steadily continues. With our small sacrifice, we hope to spark the consciences of our leaders to meet the moral urgency of the moment,” said DarfurGenocide.org Co-Director Ricken Patel.

Over 300,000 people have already been killed in Darfur since the Government of Sudan launched its plan to “change the demography” of its western province two years ago. The government’s “janjaweed” militias continue to massacre civilians, and have already forced over 2 million people to flee their homes for camps where they are vulnerable to attacks, disease and starvation.

Hundreds of people continue to respond to the recent “call to fast.” A map is available that displays the location of every participant and a personal testimonial of their reasons for fasting. Each version includes data on 400 of the fasters nationwide and can be accessed through www.darfurgenocide.org.

One example of a testimonial from Columbus, OH: “I’m striking in solidarity with and to bear witness to what the people of Darfur are enduring, and also to send a message to our governmental leaders that we have a moral imperative to do all we can to stop atrocities like Rwanda and Darfur …so that genocide is never EVER an answer again in the house of our world community.”

The “Fast for Justice in Sudan” is organized by DarfurGenocide.org, a web-based information and action resource devoted to ending the genocide in Darfur. DarfurGenocide.org is a project of Res Publica, a group of public sector professionals dedicated to promoting good governance and virtuous civic cultures.

Contact Information
Ricken Patel, Co-Director, DarfurGenocide.org
(M) 646-229-5416
ricken@therespublica.org
www.darfurgenocide.org

If you can't join, please consider helping to spread the word.

sweet premium wine

2005-03-10T18:16:00.000-05:00

Whose ideas was it to stage the 50 Cent-Game "G-Unity" charade at the Schomburg? Was the Apollo not available? Seriously.

Who said the following, in response to a question about claiming the title of "best producer on the mic"?: "J-Dilla is a dope producer. Other than Dilla and me, no one. I'm not trying to sound cocky, but I have to stake my claim. Who's going to go up against me, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Madlib? I don't think so. Again, I'm not trying to sound cocky. I just want to be known as a great rhymer and producer." If you guessed Hezekiah, you are on that same good good that he's apparently on. And if that's the case, where can I cop?

Whatchu know about Prophet Jones, your instructor for "Advance Topics in Stunting: The Art of the Deal"?

Is O.C. "back" or has he been sounding this good and just now getting some quality production again? And what's up with Pharoah playing the Nate Dogg role? Can we get a verse, dun? (Incidentally, why not just call the track "Everyday"? I had to actually listen to the song before I worked out the phonetics of "e-v-a-r-i-d-a-e").

Who got them Dilla beat tapes? I just got up on #3 and this sh*t is absurdative (c) Mos. Talk to me, people...

as if you read my mind

2005-03-03T12:11:00.000-05:00

Been thoroughly uninspired blogwise lately, hence the unplanned for weeklong hiatus. That and trying to be productive on the work front. PE symposium; 50 Cent's me-against-the-world mania; local,state, federal and global conservative skullduggery; the return of 'Toine; dissertation anxiety...don't want to blog about none of it. Hell, I don't even want to take the time to link the topics I just mentioned.

Hopefully, the fire will come back soon.

So as not to be the total Grinch Who Took the Fun Out of Procrastination, I give you British (?) producer (producers?) Blackbeard's re-working of Talib Kweli's "Get By" for your aural pleasure. (select 'free' option and then scroll down the pg. for the link).

he got so much soul

2005-02-24T08:32:00.000-05:00

he don't need no records. (c) me, by way of Main Source.

Biggest surprise of last night's hip hop love-in at the Bronx Museum: the Original Jazzy Jay's 45 minute opening DJ set in which he played nary a vinyl record. Not even CDs for that matter. Strictly mp3s via a Powerbook + turntable set-up with either Serato Scratch or Stanton Final Scratch (couldn't tell which). Cutting, scratching and doubling up classic b-boy breaks and familiar and obscure funk, soul, disco and rock "records" pretty much seemlessly. I gotta admit, I was thrown.

Of course, CD turntables are standard in clubs these days and I've definitely seen DJ's incorporate digital music stored on laptops into their sets alongside vinyl (see: ?uestlove), but to see one of the true originals go all the way digital was quite a sight. Although I sometimes suffer from purist tendencies, I couldn't be mad at him. I mean, luggin' records up and down stairs and in and out of car trunks is a b*tch. Just imagine doing it for 30 years...

hideyaface

2005-02-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

A DJ's worst nightmare: getting jacked for your records. Sh*t is foul, yo. I appreciate Rich's spirit though. Gotta just keep rockin'.

Folks might have to get a little donation record pool going to help keep the (jump 'n) funk alive.

* * *

In other news, my blog template went haywire a few weeks ago when I added the Haloscan stuff. Whenever I get the time to sort it out, the blogroll will get a much-needed updating. Apologies for outdated and missing links.

* * *

Jeff Chang, Kook Herc, Jazzy Jay tonight @ the Bronx Museum.

Yah mo be there.

* * *

Weird story about Patriots owner Robert Kraft in Jerusalem "to attend the reopening of a stadium he funded for an Israeli flag football league" (to which he brought along a certain little piece of hardware, for no apparent reason). Huh? This fine piece of ESPN World Service reporting concludes with Kraft likening the Patriots' teamwork to the well-oiled machine that is Israeli democracy:

"You get three out of four Super Bowls by subjugating the ego for the good of the whole," he said. "In Israel, this is in the fabric of the country, to create a democracy that thrives against the odds."

Oh.No.He.Didn't.

First Schilling, now we find out that Bob Kraft is a delusional Zionist? I swear, if I wasn't a born and bred Sox/Pats/Celts fan...

Hua Hsa, help.

here but i'm gone

2005-02-21T08:34:00.000-05:00

The students of the world are the ones who bring about a change; old people don't bring about a change. I mean I'm not saying this against anybody that's old -- because if you're ready for some action you're not old, I don't care how old you are. But if you're not ready for some action, I don't care how young you are, you're old; you need to get on out of the way. Some of us get too old while we're still in our teens.

-El-hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), Homecoming Rally of the OAAU, November 29, 1964

* * *

More than any other single book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X changed my life. It feels funny to say that. It is, perhaps, risking cliche -- now more than a decade on from the early '90s hagiography and Spike's big screen rendering. So be it. It's the truth.

I first read the book in the summer when I was 13 and it effectively re-oriented my whole vision of myself and the world, both past and present. Malcolm's life can teach us many things -- about being bold, the power of words, the risks of blind devotion, the necessity of a global vision -- but I think two traits stand out for me in particular: self-reflection and humility. As I get older I realize just how important these things are -- and how profoundly difficult it can be to truly incorporate them into one's daily living. Malcolm had the courage to look within and embark upon a path of continuous self-transformation. At the same time he had the faith to humble himself to a greater power and to newly emergent truths.

Thank you, Malcolm. Peace go with you, brother (As-Salaam Alaikum).

modern marvel

2005-02-16T01:01:00.000-05:00

Now, uhh, usually I don't do this but -- in the immortal words of Pharrell --

GOTDAYUM...IT'S A NEW DAY!

(In semi-related news we have the ultimate Grammy mash-up [via Spine Magazine]: Usher & PB Wolf . For real for real? )

lovers and friends

2005-02-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

This morning's online edition of the Times features a story on the latest neo-con "traditional values" hustle, the marriage covenant. Leading the charge in front of 5000 Little Rock die-hards was Arkansas' Republican governor and his wife:

Upgrading their vows to that of a covenant marriage, a legally binding contract available only in Arkansas, Arizona and Louisiana, the Huckabees hope to jump-start a conservative movement that has shown little sign of moving in recent years. A covenant marriage commits a couple to counseling before any separation and limits divorce to a handful of grounds, like adultery or abuse.

I didn't have to read much more to know where this was going. The abomination of gay marriage, radical feminists, abortion, the crumbling of Western Judeo-Christian civilization...blah blah blah.

I've heard it all before. (c) Sunshine Anderson.

So I continued on through my morning ritual of headline reading and blog perusal. Eventually I ended up here, trying to do the knowledge on yet another, far more nefarious, conservative scheme. As I was trying to get my social security primer on, I followed a link to this list of "front groups funded by the right-wing to push privatization." Alongside the first organization, the Alliance for Retirement Prosperity, was a listing of so-called "allied groups." Jumping right out of that little honor roll was a group called Black America's Political Action Committee (BAMPAC).

Hmm. Now I was intrigued. I mean, I'm black. I live in America. These people were very generously taking it upon themselves to represent my interests. I had to see what they were all about.

According to the Center for Media & Democracy's Sourcewatch project, BAMPAC "supports conservative policies and African-American candidates. Its name misleadingly suggests that it represents the point of view of African-Americans, but in fact opinion polls and voting patterns show that the vast majority of African-Americans disagree with BAMPAC's political positions. BAMPAC claims to be nonpartisan, but its IRS tax statement explicitly states that its mission is to elect Republicans."

Could it be? Was it so? I was crushed. Bamboozled again by black conservatives. I had to do more investigating to confirm this sorry state of affairs.

I decided to go directly to the source. What are Black America's most pressing issues, I wondered. School choice, enterprise zones, pro-life advocacy, and, yes, social security reform, I soon learned. And who are the candidates that Black America can trust to fight for our interests in the halls of power across this great land? Good people like Wallace Jefferson (if he's good enough for the Young Conservatives of Texas and the Texas Chemical Industry's PAC, well, gosh darn, who am I to say anything?), Winsome Sears (with Rick Santorum and the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association on her side, how did she not win?), and Sen. Lindsey Graham, noted champion of black causes.

I continued down the list until one name practically lept from the screen:
Gov. Mike Huckabee, the family man from Hope.

And, like that, it all came full circle. Then it struck me. I needn't worry anymore. Here was our next black president. With any luck, within a generation or two, America will finally be able to do away with black people as we know them.

london calling

2005-02-12T10:20:00.000-05:00

Can't say I'm fully over my bout of dread-and-doom paralysis but I'm working on it. Of course, as Ian reminds us, there's no shortage of sh*t to be heated about here in the land of milk and honey.

As a first step of getting my mind right, I'm heading out tonight to check the legendary DJ Norman Jay @ APT. Although his reputation certainly preceded him, I got my first exposure to Jay and his "Good Times" sound when I attended the Notting Hill Carnival for the first time in 2003. There are about 40 sound systems spread out across the Carnival but the following that Norman and his brother have is unparalleled. They do their thing from the top of modified double-decker and Southern Row below is jammed with people in either direction for the entire time they're up there. Philly soul, house, two-step, reggae, a dash of hip hop and 'nuff disco, positivity and danceablity are the ties that link their tunes together. Their influence on folks like Gilles Peterson and DJ Language is obvious.

Now, I'll admit, I can't always get with the records Norman plays -- sometimes they're a little too positive and he occasionally sets up shop right on the borderline of cheese -- but I will say this: the people never stop dancing and he always brings it right back home with a record you didn't even know you were fiending for. For me, at Carnival that year, that record was Main Source's "Looking at the Front Door." Incredible track. Golden era greatness. Not all that unusual to hear it out in New York (depending on your choice of nightspots, I suppose) but dropped right then and there, at the peak of Carnival Monday, was unexpected perfection.

A few months after that, I got the chance to interview Norman which was dope. Very unassuming and humble about his accomplishments. Our conversation was made all the more interesting as it took place in the same week that dread poet Benjamin Zephaniah boldly rejected indunction into the Order of the British Empire -- an honor that Jay himself had very proudly accepted the previous year. While ever the gentleman, let's just say that Norman had some strong feelings and choice words about the whole situation.

Anyway, I'm going to try to be a good boy today and get some work done so that tonight I can go out and enjoy the "Good Times."

mark of the beast

2005-02-10T23:20:00.000-05:00

I'm paralyzed.

All week I've been wanting to vent -- my disbelief, my anger, my sadness -- about the ever-increasing absurdity that is Bush's "war on terror" but the words won't come. This has been going on for more than three years now and yet it's as if a switch was flipped for me in the past couple of weeks. I think the breaking point may have been the Gonzales confirmation. The reward for a man who, with the help of a couple key players, went to extraordinary semantic lengths to justify the use of torture is nothing less than the highest law enforcement position in the land. All because of some Booker T. bootstrap sob story.

What.Thee.Fock.

Every week more information comes to light about the utter amorality of this Administration. It seems that when agents of the U.S. government are not torturing teenage "enemy combatants" themselves, the government gets somebody else -- Egypt, Syria, Jordan -- to do its dirty work. In the tradition of Seymour Hersch, Jane Mayer reports in this week's New Yorker on the U.S. policy of "extraordinary rendition" -- i.e. outsourcing torture.

Kidnapping. "Waterboarding." People simply left to die.

All in the name of "freedom."

I read these things and all I can think of are the words of James Baldwin in his open letter to an imprisoned Angela Davis in November of 1970:

If we know, and do nothing, we are worse than the murderers hired in our name. If we know, then we must fight for your life as though it were our own -- which it is -- and render impassable with our bodies the corridor to the gas chamber. For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night.

I know all this to be true. And yet still I remain paralyzed.

the proxy

2005-02-08T11:23:00.000-05:00

As part of a series on the use of torture in the "war on terror", Britain's Channel 4 filmed "The Guantanamo Guidebook" in which 7 male volunteers, originally recruited by ads seeking tough guys, are subjected to low levels of torture for 48 hours in an East London warehouse made to resemble conditions at Guantanamo Bay prison. According to The Guardian, "All were offered counselling after filming was finished." (I should hope so).

Meanwhile, some European nationals are gradually being released from Guantanamo while the families of others still struggle along. But even for those who regain their freedom -- or, at the very least, their human and legal rights -- what comes next?

Consider the story of Martin Mubanga, a young British-Zambian brother, who spent 33 months in custody at Guananamo before being released for lack of any credible evidence that he was a member of Al-Qaeda plotting against Jewish organizations in New York.

b.y.s.

2005-02-05T13:45:00.000-05:00

Romeo's making a list and he's checking it twice. Best believe Fred-Ex will not be delivering on Sunday.

How 'bout them Phillies?

* * *

I am, admittedly, sadly untutored in the history and politics of Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet republics (Maybe I need a tutor). So, from my position of ignorance, things seem pretty damn wild and wooly over in those parts. I mean you've got Yuschenko getting poisoned and now all manner of suspicious activity is jumpin' off in Georgia. And that's not even to talk about how Chechnya gets down.

Umm, yeah.

part 4 - psalm

2005-02-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

"Here at this final hour, in this quiet place..."

Goodbye, Ossie. Thank you, for your example of an honorable and dignified life.

You will be missed.

ain't no fun (if the homies can't have none)

2005-02-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

Last night, I caught about half of the second installment of VH-1's latest nostalgia trip (specially tinted for Carter G.), "Black in the 80s." This was the music episode -- sandwiched in between segments on Negroes on TV and in the movies during the Reagan era. The structure was what you would expect: a montage of video clips, predictable narration constantly foreshadowing what's to come, and a parade of talking heads to push the story along. The commentators ranged from usual suspects like Toure, ?uestlove, Nelson George and Michael Dyson, to slightly less anticipated heads like Sarah Jones and (the last two remaining members of) The Pharcyde (What's up, Fatlip?).

What struck me the most about what I watched was how incredibly masculinist the whole thing was, especially the narrative about the rise of hip hop. More important that the fact that the male commentators probably outnumbered the females by 5:1, was that there was not a single critical voice talking about the position of women in the music -- be it as artists, as executives, or as video accoutrements. This was most jarring in the discussion about the rise of N.W.A. and "gangsta rap" entering the mainstream. All the focus was on controversy related to Ice-T and N.W.A., et al's tales of street violence, their anti-police lyrics, and cursing. Even while they're showing clips of women shakin' they asses and Cube talkin' bout a b*tch is b*tch, VH-1's producers don't deem it necessary to insert a little critical commentary. Perhaps they're saving that for Women's History Month or something.

Should I really be surprised by all of this? Probably not. It's just that sometimes 2005 feels like 1993. (Say, how's that Take Back the Music campaign working out anyway?).

Feminism in Hip Hop?

Black Maculinities?

Anyone, anyone?

da art of storytellin' (part 2)

2005-02-01T14:42:00.000-05:00

I thought that the wheels had fallen off the whole "rap is something you do, hip hop is something you live" construction a long time ago. Apparently, word may not have reached the burgeoning Ivy League underground.

Unlike other hip-hop artists at Yale, Furia identifies himself as an emcee and not a rapper. He said while the music the two types of artists produce sounds similar, the message that each conveys may be quite different.

"The term rapper has been stigmatized because when someone hears the word rapper, they automatically think of more mainstream, commodified forms of rap music," Furia said. "As part of a way to make a distinction, a lot of the artists that are concerned with the more uplifting aspects of the music have distinguished themselves as emcees."

Victor Kwansa '08, a spoken-word artist, echoed Furia's sentiment. He said it is important to recognize what kind of message one's lyrics might convey.

"If there's a stereotypical rapper, think of what they might say: I would say the opposite," Kwansa said. "Because that's what really needs to be heard."

Though Kwansa does not strictly call himself a rapper or an emcee, he said the pieces he performs at special events on campus, such as the African American Cultural Center's 35th Anniversary Celebration, often draw similarities to rap

.

Claro?

Instead of trying to parse out the what a Yalie means when he says "emcee", a more productive use of one's time might be to check out Bambaataa, Red Alert, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Caz, et al in a Unicef benefit concert for tsunami relief (no Hot 97-o) on Thursday. (Please beware, however, of the pioneer who in recent years has taken to calling himself "Muscle Simmons" and "Arnold Schwarzenigga." Consider yourselves warned). In a similar vein is the tribute to Big L at S.O.B.'s ("Did that nigga say Esso's, 'cause there was a Club Esso's back in the day...") , featuring D.I.T.C., Puba, Primo, Pharoah and whole bunch of other folks.

Guess I need to go do my homework.

* * *

In more important news, the UN says the ongoing violence in Darfur does not constitute genocide, although war crimes have been committed and should be prosecuted. Meanwhile, the crisis continues as aid agencies struggle to reach those in need.

Sadly, at least Sudan is in the news, however marginally. Not so for many others.

war

2005-01-30T22:26:00.000-05:00

The Administration's triumphalism nothwithstanding, there are some brutal realities that we must face. This government has done things to the people of Iraq (and Afghanistan) in our name that can never be undone. The killing, maiming, and psychological trauma inflicted upon the children of Iraq -- whether directly or indirectly resultant from the presence of the American military -- cannot be justified. No amount of reparations will ever be enough to balance the scale. As Professor B. comments, "There's no way to rationalize, or excuse, or explain this away. 'Saddam was worse' isn't okay. 'War is hell' isn't okay. None of what's happening in these pictures is okay."

This has to end.

Are we up to the task?

double dutch

2005-01-29T11:57:00.000-05:00

What hip hop albums am I looking forward to in '05? Looking over XXL's list here, I'm not exactly overcome with anticipation. "Curious" might be a better word since I've been pretty blasé about hip hop for a minute now (Speaking of which, could somebody hit me with a "Best of Streets Disciple" tracklisting so that I can save myself some time and aggro?). Of the magazine's Top 10, I would say I'm most intrigued by the future offerings from Common, Beanie, and Little Brother.

Rashid definitely lost some people with his little excursion to the Electric Circus ("Electric Wire Flower Hustle" anyone?) and now all the talk is about him getting back to his "roots" with Kanye and Dilla. So far we've gotten some "Food" -- very satisfying, indeed -- and now he's taking it to the "Corners" with The Last Poets and the ubiquitous Mr. West. Pros: concept; return of Com's hungry, old school flow; giving some shine to the elders. Cons: fairly generic Kanye beat; unnecessary Kanye hook; the Poets' (Umar Bin Hassan's?) off-beat spoken word. Definitely a mixed bag but still got me checkin' for the album, especially for Jay Dee's contributions.

Now, generally speaking, B. Mack is a little to rah-rah for me. (Dare I say, a little too real sometimes). Of course, hypocritical hip hop consumer that I am, that rawness is also the basis of Beanie's appeal. There's a desperation in his voice that never goes away. Add that to the relentless flow that muscles in on whatever Just Blaze or Kanye put out there and doesn't let go and you have something compelling. The mixtape definitely won me over last summer/fall and, as Hardly Art points out, this is essentially the Last Testament of the Roc, so we shall see.

It's hard not to root for Little Brother. Everyone knows the story by now-- North Cackalack, striving, hustling, OKP, mp3s, the benefactor, the beats, The Black Album, side projects, Foreign Exchange, major label deal, etc. -- so there's no need to rehash it here. As with any critic's darling, there's been a fair share of backlash but beyond whatever minor legitimate beef ("9th Wonder uses the same snare on every song"), it's hard to read that as anything other than hateration. By all appearances, these cats are humble, respectful of the history, and appreciative of the opportunities they've been given so far. Above all, they have fun with their music, which is an increasingly rare thing in hip hop these days. Chances are that this will be their "darker" De La Soul is Dead or Labcabincalifornia. Nothing wrong with that, as long as Big Pooh and Phonte maintain that chemistry and 9th keeps bringin' them beats.

Other than that, off the top, I'm hard-pressed to come up with a lot I'm really checking for this year. A new Quasimoto long player would be most welcome. On the strength of the production line-up alone (Madlib, Oh No, Dilla, & Just Blaze [!!]), Medaphoar's Push Comes to Shove should be major. The Clipse would be nice. So would an official release of the 9th Wonder-Jean Grae duet, Jeanius, and the (rumored?) 9th-Buckshot team-up.

I know one album I gives not a f*ck about though, despite whatever associations decidedly green-tinted folks try to make.

(Ease back).

got to give it up

2005-01-28T11:56:00.000-05:00

On February 8, Downhill Battle, "a non-profit organization working to end the major label monopoly and build a better, fairer music industry," is organizing a series of screenings around the country and around the world of the definitive documentary of the civil rights movement, Eyes on the Prize. Why is this significant? Because, as a consequence of copyright licensing laws, Eyes has never been released on DVD and can no longer be re-broadcast on television. Availability is essentially limited to library VHS copies and exorbitantly priced sets for sale on Amazon.

In an effort both to re-circulate this historical record of black struggle and to raise awareness about the need for a serious overhaul of this country's copyright regulations, Downhill Battle is encouraging people who can't otherwise get their hands on a copy to download a digital copy of the 14-part film. As is to be expected, this has raised the hackles of all sorts of folks -- and their lawyers -- including the original (semi-defunct?) film production company, Blackside.

It seems that Blackside is trying to re-license the archival footage on its own and is getting some preliminary help from the Ford Foundation. But even if they are able to raise the funds needed to secure those licenses through the proper channels (acquiring rights to material "in perpetuity" is often cost-prohibitive to documentary filmmakers, which is the reason Blackside is in this position in the first place), the process could take years. In the meantime, a whole generation (or two) will essentially be denied access to this invaluable resource.

I can remember vividly when Eyes first came out. It wasn't quite the phenomenon that Roots was (although it should have been) but it was definitely "Must See TV" in my house. I watched each episode with my mom. It was so absorbing and so much more layered than most anything I had read in school. There were all these new characters sharing the stage with Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. People like Fred Shuttlesworth and Diane Nash. Part II, which came out while I was in high school, was perhaps even more eye-opening for me. Not only did it introduce me to individuals and organizations about whom I had only a vague knowledge (if even that) but it dealt with a period of incredible complexity that directly proceeded and then overlapped with my lifetime. To be sure there were triumphs and victories -- the Panthers community programs, the election of Carl Stokes as mayor of Cleveland -- but the overall tenor of the second series was almost ambivalent, which was fitting for a document of a time that gave us the assassinations of King and Robert Kennedy, the war in Vietnam, Nixon, urban disinvestment, and Reagan.

Perhaps the episode that left the strongest impression on me was the one about Malcolm X and the rise of Black Power. Sonia Sanchez speaks so vividly and so movingly about living in Harlem and hearing Malcolm speak on the street corner. About being riveted not only by his voice and his message but by his humor. About deciding at the last minute not to go hear him speak down at the Audubon Ballroom that February Sunday afternoon...

By no means is Eyes flawless (and by "definitive" I mean "unsurpassed by any single subsequent effort.") Nearly two decades have passed since the airing of the original series and a whole new generation of historical scholarship on black freedom struggles has been produced. There are many, many stories still to be told. But as someone who regularly teaches this history to all different kinds of students, I know what an invaluable source Eyes is and how important it is that it -- and the stories it contains -- remain in the public realm, in spite of the legal roadblocks currently inhibiting its wide dissemination.

Lawrence Guyot, former leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, plans to organize a screening in Washington, D.C. He said that Downhill Battle's reaction is "precisely what is needed."

"If people had stuck to the law, black people wouldn't have the right to use restaurants and hotels. If people had stuck to the law, women wouldn't have the right to vote. If people had stuck to the law, women wouldn't have the right to own property," Guyot said. "Our country has a history of laws that we are very proud we have moved away from."

Guyot said that the series is important because it shows "the power of ordinary people to get civically engaged and make policy changes." That's a crucial message for young people, in particular, to hear, he said.

"Now is the time to fight through the miasma of who owns Eyes on the Prize," Guyot said.

EDIT (2:05pm): The study of history is, of course, about considering multiple viewpoints. Here, Henry Hampton's nephew discusses the question of activists making claims to Blackside's work -- and the potential repercussions of such a move, both for the Hampton family (Henry Hampton's sisters inherited the company following his premature death from lung cancer) and for future filmmaking projects.

More later.

clones

2005-01-28T07:56:00.000-05:00

Minor upgrade here, one I wanted/tried to make a couple months ago but couldn't quite seem to manage in a non-aesthetically disastrous fashion.

An unfortunate side-effect of this little remodeling is that my old comments are now squirreled away from view. Seems that Blogger doesn't allow for comments to be exported into Haloscan. Or something like that. That's what I gleaned anyway. If any of you more html-literate, tech-savvy folks know otherwise, holla.

In the meantime, I will be at work on my next letter-writing campaign.

haw-right now

2005-01-24T20:04:00.000-05:00

I've come to realize that one of my defining characteristics as a blogger is being a tease.

I'm all talk and no follow through, constantly bringing up topics for future posts never to return to them again. My limited archives are already littered with the titles of books (Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Struggle, Culture in the Age of Three Worlds, etc.) and albums (Van Hunt, The New Danger, etc.) I promised to comment on/review. To say nothing of the myriad other topics I intended to wax lyrical about -- my gradually declining interest in jazz, voter mobilization in Philly before the election, my trip to Nigeria, and so on and so on -- and never got around to.

What can I say? I'm like a politician with my empty promises. Will I get better? Maybe. Maybe not. I'ma try. Just don't hold your breath on that Songs in the Key of Black Life review, is all I'm sayin'. Got a bit of backlog already. Stay with me though.

* * *

For all you setting out your vacation plans for the year, allow me to throw this in the mix: Direct flights from Newark to Lagos coming in June. Detours to the heart of (old) empire -- London, Paris, Amsterdam -- suddenly rendered unnecessary. No sleep 'til Lagos, baby.

(Now, if we could just get NEPA to keep the lights on...)

* * *

Four things about the NFL that should be abolished: the four game pre-season (it's like asking -- no, begging -- for a disastrous, season-altering injury to occur to a key player); the bye week (just drags the season out longer for no appreciably good reason); the Pro Bowl (nobody cares and nobody watches); and the two weeks of preparation/hype until the Super Bowl.

The seemingly interminable build-up to the Super Bowl benefits nobody, apart from the Grey-Hooded Genius and injured players in need of some additional recovery time. If your team is not playing for the title (i.e. most fans), the incessant talk leading up to the game is mind-numbing (to say nothing about the legions of non-football fans who must be subjected to the unavoidable cavalcade of player profiles, "insider" stories, and general dumb sh*t). And if your team is one of the last two standing, you just want them to get on with things and play the damn game, not talk about it.

Pretty much a lose-lose all around.

So, my determination is to limit all Super Bowl talk to the days immediately before the game. My one exception to this dictum is to pepper my posts over the next two weeks with references to great/memorable Patriots from the not-so-glorious years of my youth (the only thing anyone remembers about that '85 team is that they got steamrolled in the Super Bowl by Refrigerator Perry and the shufflin' Bears).

We begin today with Andre Tippett, my first favorite Patriot. In his prime, dude was no joke. Probably a 1/2 notch below LT, ca. '84-'86. What I liked about him so much was the contrast between his on-field ferocity and his bespectacled, quiet demeanor off the field which was often attributed to his study of martial arts.

Tippett retired in 1992. Five years later he became a Jew. What more can I say? © Young Hov.

(Link spotted via To Here Knows When).

show 'em whatcha got

2005-01-23T21:56:00.000-05:00

Enjoy it now, Philly, that's all I have to say.

drop it like it's hot (remix)

2005-01-21T09:59:00.000-05:00

Once again, NY's Hot 97 radio station is on some bullsh*t, airing a skit about the tsunami entitled "USA for Indonesia" whose references include "screaming ch*nks," "little Chinamen," drowning Africans, and children being sold into slavery. If that wasn't enough, let's be clear about one thing: this wasn't a one-off lapse in judgment. According to Jsmooth, they've been running this for a week as well as hosting the mp3 on their website (since removed but with the evidence captured here. I'm going to pass on linking the actual song although others are hosting it for those who are interested).

Meanwhile, the "story" is breaking at the same moment that the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Michael Powell is stepping down from the FCC. (Good riddance).

We need a media revolution.

you can't judge a book by its cover

2005-01-19T16:16:00.000-05:00

And you can't believe everything you read on the "innernet" either (at least that's what I'm always trying to teach my students). Despite the somewhat frantic call-to-arms put forward by Mr. DrummerMan, it appears that Jay Dee, although ill, is not in any kind of life-threatening state. All of us here at On & On (ie. me) are definitely thankful for that piece of news because the brother known as Dilla has too much music yet to release to the world.

(No doubt this latest affair will only add to the hateration being heaped on OKP from certain quarters).

* * *

From "Axis of Evil" (pop. 3) to "Outposts of Tyranny" (pop. 6).

Don't Condi have enough (blood) on her hands without still f*ckin' with Fidel an'em?

I mean, really doe.

* * *

Where that dusted out Negro Bilal at? "Sometimes" was my joint -- although that little "knock you on your ass" domestic violence riff he does is a just a lil' too real for my tastes. (Doesn't seem to bother Mark Anthony Neal none, however; see: "Chapter Three: Diggin' the Scene (With the Gangsta Lean)," his all-out homage to Mr. Oliver...just building my case, just building my case...).

* * *

Slick Rick and his pops at the Rickster's 40th b-day party (photo courtesy of thecrusade.net). Tell me this pic doesn't just make you happy?

* * *

Long. Live. The. Kane.

(shouts out to my boy, Uptown Al, the biggest Kane fan I know -- ie. the only person I know who bought Veteranz Day).

* * *

I wonder what's on Kobe's night table.

Steve Nash has been doing some light reading on the road, studying a playbook of sorts that outlines team concepts like discipline and sacrifice for the common good.

"I'm actually reading the Communist Manifesto," Nash said with a smile after a recent practice.

Nash's eclectic tastes range from Pat Conroy to Dickens to Kant. "I don't know if guys notice, which is good," he said. "I just want to be one of them."

So people won't think he is sympathetic to alternative causes, Nash explained that he picked up the manifesto, "only because I was reading the autobiography of Che Guevara and I wanted to get a better perspective."

(thanks to S-Dot for bringing this little gem to my attention).

no one gets the prize

2005-01-17T16:36:00.000-05:00

As usual, I'm way behind in matters of bloggery. When that happens, considerable linkage is required. So, in order of relative significance:

- "I've got to live the life I sing about in my song." (from the exo files)

- Perpetual war, part 3. Seymour Hersch reports that an invasion of Iran is a very real possibility. (courtesy of both Professor B. & Ian @ a Different Kitchen).

- Hip hop/soul producer extraordinaire, J Dilla extremely ill. Prayers and positive energy needed. [edited due to conflicting, slightly sketchy information]

- Women aren't tenured in the sciences because girls play with dolls. So sayeth Larry Summers, spoken word aficionado and president of Harvard.

- Mark Anthony Neal may be prolific (as recently noted by O-Dub), but what is that worth if his writing -- and too often his thinking -- is unbearably sloppy? I'm struggling to get past chapter two of Songs in the Key of Black Life. I haven't been this ticked off reading a book in a long, long time. (Review forthcoming, if I can swallow the hate and put some cogent, constructive criticisms together).

- Am I the only one who saw this coming?

smokin' that sh*t

2005-01-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

It's not just that ol' boy rocked a Nazi costume to a party. He went for the extra touch of authenticity by sporting the Afrika Korps throwback. Pretty bold for a chap who spent part of his post-secondary school year with the good people of Lesotho. Man, that White Man's Burden can be a bitch sometimes. I just wonder if really did the damn thing and brought the board game to the party, too.

one drop

2005-01-12T17:59:00.000-05:00

Rita Marley to remove Bob's remains from Jamaica and re-bury them in Ethiopia.

kon queso

2005-01-11T18:56:00.000-05:00

What I'm reading (or trying to find time to read) these days*:

Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and the Rise and Fall of American Soul, by Craig Hansen Werner
The Wire: Truth Be Told, by Rafael Alvarez, et al
Songs in the Key of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation, by Mark Anthony Neal
John Henry Days, by Colson Whitehead
The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People, by Jonathan Schell
"Tragedy in Darfur: On Understanding and Ending the Horror," Boston Review, Oct./Nov. 2004, by Alex de Waal
"'It Was Like All of Us Had Been Raped': Sexual Violence, Community Mobilization, and the African American Freedom Struggle," Journal of American History, Dec. 2004, by Danielle L. McGuire

(*Books/articles in my possession that I've cracked and have every noble intention of actually finishing. Does not include books for work or the ever-growing list of things I want to read...A strong case for cutting off my cable, for one thing).

What I'm listening to these days:

James Brown, In the Jungle Groove
Various, Ghana Soundz: Afro-beat, Funk & Fusion in 70s Ghana (vols. 1 & 2)
John Legend, Get Lifted & Solo Sessions: Live at the Knitting Factory
Bahamadia, Kollage
Various, Stones Throw 101 Mix CD (mixed by Peanut Butter Wolf)

Stevie Wonder, "Another Star"

Jay-Z, S. Carter: The Remix

Mahalia Jackson, The Essential Mahalia Jackson

Meshell Ndegeocello, Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape

Curtis Mayfield, "Give Me Your Love"

The Rebirth, "Evil Vibrations"

Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Glorious EP

Minnie Riperton, "Baby This Love I Have"

Jimmy McGriff, "Signed Sealed Delivered (I'm Yours)"

Outkast, "SpottieOttieDopaliscious"

De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising

Theo Parrish, Ugly Edits #9

Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth, Funky Technician

who is this america

2005-01-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

got it twisted

2005-01-10T15:43:00.000-05:00

Wait.

The Patriots haven't lost at home in two years. Peyton Manning's never won at Gillette Stadium. The Pats went 14-2 with both of their starting cornerbacks out for half the season. New England is the defending Super Bowl champs. Indy's never made it out of the AFC Championship Game. Tom Brady has a career record as a starter of 48-16 and is undefeated in the playoffs.

Does any of this count for anything?

I'm sayin'...

shopping bags

2005-01-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

Payola: out with the old ("Radio, suckers never play me..."), in with the new ("..to encourage the producers to periodically address the No Child Left Behind Act.").

Frankly, I don't have much to add about ol' Armstrong. Not to be overly cynical, but other than the naked audacity of the whole arrangement -- I mean, nobody has to pay Sean Hannity to shill for spurious GOP policies -- should we be at all surprised by any of this?

I do have a story though.

Late one Thursday night during the spring of my first year of grad school, I somehow found myself in a swanky, dimly lit Upper East Side bar on the receiving end of a semi-hostile, drunken lecture from Pepe Sutton, head of New York's WBLS radio station (among various other media entities), about the history of payola. The conversation had started out innocently enough. We'd gone out "after work," as it were, for a drink with a mutual friend. Really, broke as I was, I was just going along to be polite. All I know is that a tab was opened and the drinks flowed freely. Being the quiet, unassuming type, I didn't say much as the other two carried on.

Eventually, Sutton turned towards me and asked me what I was studying. I could already detect a little edge in his voice, brought on when my Big Name grad school was dropped into the conversation by my friend L. When I said that I was doing a PhD in African American history, Sutton's eyes narrowed and he leaned in towards me: "That right? So you know that my father was Malcolm X's lawyer, right?" I gamely nodded yes. I knew the name Percy Sutton and had some vague knowledge of his biography but didn't know about the Malcolm connection. He looked at me skeptically, then continued with the quiz.

"How about payola? You know about payola, don'tcha?" Again, I was on shaky ground. I knew it was something having to do with music and money under the table but I really wasn't too sure about the specifics of how it worked, when it started, how widespread it was, etc. "Uhhh...yeah, sort of." I waited for L. to jump in and bail me out but it was too late, the little quiver in my voice betrayed my ignorance and Sutton jumped on it. "What?! Nigga you don't know about no payola! Say you're studying black history. What the fuck do you know about black history and don't know about payola! Up at that fancy school and shit and they ain't teach you about these record companies paying off the DJs. You betta ask somebody!"

*gulp*

Finally, L. interceded, ordered another round, and changed the conversation. However, the damage to my pride had already been done. I was only too glad to bring the night to a close a little while later and take my book-learning back home.

get out of my life, woman

2005-01-05T13:02:00.000-05:00

Due to a pathetic rumor about the sexual equipment of a certain R&B singer (who, for the love of Google, must remain unnamed here lest any more misguided souls needlessly end up here) -- a rumor that's not even a fraction as compelling as, say, Alphonso Ribero-meets-tragic-death-via-Pop Rocks-and-Coke-cocktail -- On & On has been overrun these past couple of weeks (not exactly the reception I was expecting upon my return from Naija, I'll tell you that much). Still trying to figure out how all this got started and how exactly the algorithms of the search engine gods spit out the address of my humble blog abode as answer to the question. I know one thing, the world desperately needs more professional fact-checkers because it sure looks like some poor sheep went from this to this.

Wrap that shit up, B. (c) Chappelle.

* * *

Still getting settled back in, catching up on things, etc. Some stories from the trip forthcoming (for those who are interested). Bear with me.

you can't miss what you can't measure

2005-01-03T07:55:00.000-05:00

Damn, damn, damn.

Woke up this morning focused, ready to clear my desk and my head and get back down to work. New week, new year and alla that. Then I was greeted by the news that Shirley Chisholm had passed away. She was 80 in declining health and had lived a full and rich life so the sadness must be tempered. Still, it feels like a blow. Having recently made a connection with the director of the new Chisholm documentary, I was hopeful about gaining an introduction to Mrs. Chisholm sometime early this year with the ultimate goal of interviewing her for my project. I had already determined to make her a central figure in the story I am trying to tell. Instead, I am kicking myself for not immediately trying to seek her out when I first discovered a couple of years ago that she was still alive and living in retirement in Florida. Now I lament the missed opportunity and, hopefully, learn the lesson about the time-sensitivity of certain kinds of research.

Meanwhile, I will continue to teach, talk and write about Shirley Chisholm, to do my part, along with the makers of the film, to celebrate her accomplishments and keep her legacy alive.

a hard day's night

2004-12-30T20:58:00.000-05:00

I'm home.

away from me

2004-12-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

Sadly, barring a last minute fit of inspiration -- or some sudden tragic occurance preventing me from boarding the plane tomorrow -- this will be my last (uneventful) post of '04.

No Top 10 lists. No Year in Review. No Red Sox World Championship retrospectives (including the defection of Petey to Queens). And certainly no additional words typed about 11.02.04.

At least not for now.

Fully innoculated with the white man's medicine and with semi-fraudulently obtained vi$a in hand , I'm off to my father's land for two weeks.

A word of advice: you will have to pay off those credit cards eventually. Spend wisely. Learn to knit.

Happy New Year,

WF

p.s. [**edited to cut down on the weirdo site traffic**]

p.p.s. Feel free to leave me messages while I'm gone. Tell me you miss me. Whisper sweet nothings. Make me feel loved and adored. Or just continue ignoring me. It's cool. I can take it.

keep it rollin'

2004-12-09T10:35:00.000-05:00

Wow. Thirty revolutions around the sun. That's some sh*t.

Thanks, Mom, for setting me on the right path. Thanks to all my peoples who have kept me on it -- and who have helped me get back on when I have stumbled. Thanks, most especially, to T.

For you New Yorkers, come celebrate with me Saturday night @:

Freight
410 W. 16th St. (btw. 9th & 10th Aves.)
DJs 4sight, Center, Eleven, & Van Vader
(hip hop, soul, funk, reggae, afrobeat, soca, classics...)
$5 before midnight, $10 after

* * *

This is real talk right here. Says so much better what I was just sort of talking in circles around last week. Hipsters -- and the people that spur them on -- can safely consume black self-destruction in the name of "irony" or flow or postmodernism or beats or whatever. There's nothing at stake for them. It's a different story for those living the reality and for those of us who identify with those communities ( be it on the basis of race, class, or political-orientation). Words, while not the root of the problems, have, nevertheless, real consequences. They shape worldviews and provide sanction for behaviors. No, it's not rappers' responsibility to "clean up the 'hood," so to speak -- but they damn sure don't have to make it worse.

raw ingredients

2004-12-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

Donald Rumsfeld is a man wholly lacking in integrity. To tell soldiers preparing for deployment in Iraq who are raising the issue of insufficient armor and supplies, "You go to war with the army you have" is disgraceful. Good thing he's being held accountable for Abu Ghraib, Haliburton profiteering, and the chaos that is Iraq. Oh, wait...nevermind.

There are number of critiques one could level at MoveOn.org and some of the ones in this missive are, indeed, on point. Yes, it's a big fundraising machine. No, they did not swing the election to the Dems. Yes, it's a "feel good" outlet for disaffected liberals and the like. What the writer neglects to mention (or willfully ignores) is the utter backruptcy of the Democratic Party's grassroots engagement. To the extent that MoveOn provides an alternative organizing structure, it will be successful and be part of creating the much-hoped-for "progressive majority." Conversely, its failures will come as a result of actingmerely as a shadow Democratic Party or as some kind of safety valve for the vocal left.

One of my birthday presents to myself: so fresh, so clean.

In the flurry of things I've had to do over the past week or two, I sort of forgot to go to the travel clinic in preparation for my trip next week. Not all that big a deal because I'm up-to-date on all of my obscure vaccinations. Just one problem, I need to get a prescription for malaria meds and the clinic is only open on Tuesdays and I you're supposed to start taking the pills a week before you travel and I leave next Wednesday. Ooops. I called today, expressing both my apologies and the relative urgency of the situation. The doctor was supposed to call back this afternoon but didn't. I'ma have to run over there tomorrow and see what can be done because, although the chances of catching malaria are pretty slim, that would just not be a good look for the New Year.

These fellowship applications are going to be the death of me.

Just as he was trying to really crossover, more shadiness on the part of the right Rev. Al Sharp-tone (© Pino, Do the Right Thing).

A mere half an hour remaining of my 20s and I'm sitting in front of a computer. Telling, no?

keep the receipt

2004-12-06T21:03:00.000-05:00

Nothing like trying to reason with a low-level bureaucrat representing the government of a developing country that's supposed to be your "homeland" of a sort. Particularly when that person holds your immediate future in her hands.

Back at it tomorrow. More paperwork in hand.

i keep the crowd listening

2004-12-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

Distracted by my own ramblings about hip hop the other day, I neglected to properly acknowledge World AIDS Day. It's sort of fitting in a way, I suppose, a metaphor for our communities'/generation's relationship to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Forest for the trees and alla that. I mean, squarely in the middle of all of this talk about hip hop and sexism and race and sexuality and power and media is AIDS. But we don't (really) see it and we don't (really) talk about it.

Instead, we get temporarily caught up in the meaningless hysteria of "DL brothas" and gay rapper rumors (thanks, Wendy Williams!). We recognize the "baby mama/baby daddy" dramas, but don't think about the risky sexual behavior that creates those situations and of which unplanned pregnancies are only the most obvious consequence. Of all the prominent rappers who have died [now there's a disturbing phrase], Eazy-E is probably the least memorialized, least talked about. Meanwhile, Magic's just the fat guy that owns all the movie theaters.

The PSAs are necessary. So is the real talk (and real action) about our brothers and sisters in Africa. But we need to keep expanding the conversations . Part of that process means letting go of the fictions of safe borders and boundaries protecting us from a disease that's over "there" somewhere, as my man Khary does in "Love and Basketball," a really important little essay on black masculinity and HIV/AIDS.

We are them and they are us. Someday we'll figure that out.

brooklyn's finest

2004-12-02T14:16:00.000-05:00

"A fateful path from Nigeria, through Brooklyn, to war."

too late to turn back now

2004-12-02T01:18:00.000-05:00

I'm not even sure where I was going with all that. Seems to be calling for a Part Deux, but I don't even know where to pick up my conversation with myself.

chase the devil

2004-12-01T00:36:00.000-05:00

A question I've often asked myself: which is the bigger sign of privileged elitism, disdain for crunk or unabashed boosterism for self-same?

This nagging query reared its head again this weekend when I read Kalefa Sanneh's rapturous tribute to Lil' Jon in the Sunday Times (with the accompanying sidebar by Phillip Sherburne) and then again as I digested the satisfying rejoinder -- riding under the succinct, pleasantly non-confrontational banner "The Problem With Crunk" -- over at Hardly Art, Hardly Garbage.

Generally speaking, crunk does not appeal to me. This is so for many reasons, which can largely be summed up by the fact that I am an almost 30 year old East Coast-centric nerd who rarely goes to clubs, enjoys melody, does not like to be yelled at for long streches of time and who possesses an ever-decreasing tolerance for misogyny and cartoon violence (a characteristic no doubt accelerated by my brief career as an elementary school teacher). The admission of such amounts mainly to an acknowledgement that crunk is music that is not made for people like me. This little truism, however, is neither judgment nor dismissal. It does not make the music good or bad and hardly makes me superior to crunk's enthusiasts, adherents, or target audiences (far from).

Whatever effects it produces emanating from headphones or car speakers, crunk is undeniably club music. And on that level (and having consumed a sufficient amount of spirits), I can most certainly appreciate it. There are few feelings in this world that match the collective energy released in a club when the right song comes on at the right time. In a way, it seems like Lil' Jon's goal is to hit that spot every single time out the box, on some no let-up steez. It's the sonic dissonance of classic P.E. and the pure aggression of "Ante Up" distilled down to their essences and Southern fried for the new millenium -- at least until the Next Big Thing.

But all that is really about form. What about content? In the end, although the sound of crunk doesn't always move me (call me Sir Nose), the real issue is content. It just gets ever harder for me to swallow the ignorance. Same reason why I can't really get with Dip Set, G-Unit, et al. I'm not saying cats are ignorant, but they damn sure do traffic in ignorance. To what extent do we participate in, and implicitly endorse, the degredation of whole sectors of the populace by our consumption and, in the case of dj's, circulation of what they're feeding us? At what point in the food chain do we assert our power? Is it really too trite to talk about responsibility? (Either "ours" or "theirs").

Obviously, this is all part of a long-standing, unresolved discussion in hip-hop that pushes its way to the center every now and again but mostly resides somewhere on the margins. It's messy, no doubt, and its complications resist stock moralisms -- the places where race, class, gender, power, sexuality, and politics bleed together are always like that. Non-C.Delores Tucker/Michael Powell-esque answers are in short supply. However, it only takes being around some 12 year olds for a little while to realize just how real and just how high the stakes are.

What next?

flat foot hustlin'

2004-11-30T19:13:00.000-05:00

Considering that the NAACP is about as relevant today as a new MC Shan album, the news that Kwesi Mfume is stepping down as president would be pretty unremarkable were it not for the backstory (two things you can alway count on the NAACP for: inflated membership numbers and a good backstory). Seems that Mfume and Julian Bond had, uhh, differing views on the appropriate position of the organization vis-a-vis the Bush Administration's steady decimation of civil liberties, civil rights, and the regulatory state. While Bond was bringing a little bit of ruckus to El Presidente at the organization's convention this summer (the same one to which Bush declined an invitation to speak; first President since Hoover to do so), ol' Kwesi was trying to politic insider style, bearing olive branches and whispering sweet nothings in W.'s ear.

Old-fashioned Beltway dealing, Bookerish accommodationism, or merely a strategic attempt to get the Man (and his accountants) off the group's neck? You be the judge.

In any case, Kwesi's looking at the front door. Who's next up to bat? Rev. Al Sharp-tone? Lani Guinier? Colin Powell? Tavis?

take your time, change your mind

2004-11-30T01:12:00.000-05:00

Santa's Ghetto 2004 (anarchist British artists' collective "rallies against the commercialisation of christmas by selling lots of stuff.")

* * *

The Enlightenment repeal was even more complete than you thought. Lost in the big picture dread of Nov. 2nd was the news that the good people of Alabama (narrowly) voted down an amendment that would have struck from the state's constitution the sections which mandate segregated schools and provide for poll taxes. Nevermind Brown, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the entire history of African American civil rights activism since Emancipation -- the total sum of which ensure that said consitutional language is null and void and, well, unconsitutional. Apparently those quaint states' righters fear the proposed modifcations would *gasp* make a publicly funded education a consitutionally-protected right and *double gasp* might even necessitate an increase in taxes to pay for it. George Wallace would be proud.

* * *

Was Spain in on the deal? Can't call it. But lest there be any confusion, On & On is fully aware that there are dirty hands all around.

live in the light

2004-11-28T23:54:00.000-05:00

On my list of things to do before I make moves in a few weeks is to visit the Romare Bearden retrospective at the Whitney. I've always regretted not having studied more art history and there are times when I fear I am on the cusp of exposure for my particular cultural illiteracy. I've realized, however, that a) it's never too late to bone up and b) the best way to learn is just to get out there to museums and galleries (preferably free ones) when the opportunity strikes and don't be afraid to follow what you like -- as opposed to what you think you're supposed to like.

There's a great interview with Branford Marsalis on Bearden here. To my mind, Branford's view of black culture has always been more nuanced and far more appealing than the rigid conservationism of his more famous brother (As an aside: I must say, I've had a strange "relationship" with Wynton, dating back to my earliest years of self-conscious jazz listening around age 9 or 10. I liked Wynton back then -- I think his image of upright respectability and appreciation for the past appealed to me. At least until my mother, who turned me on to him in the first place, tried to throw said image back in my face. This came in the form of an argument we had, ca. 1985 or so, about Michael Jackson being "weird" in which she held up Wynton Marsalis as a paragon of normalcy and purveyor of "good" music. If memory serves, the episode ended with me running off, on the verge of tears, exasperated. It's been pretty downhill with Wynton and me since then, with a couple of brief upswings here and there. Although, as subsequent years have amply demonstrated -- and as mom never misses an opportunity to point out to me -- Mike is weird).

Not to detract from Branford's other insights about art and culture and race but the true highlight of the interview is the following:

Is there something musical about his use of color that has echoes in the use of timbre?

I don't know if it's musical. It's obvious that the black Americans are the descendants of Africans, and Africans wear very colorful clothing. Now, because I am very successfully colonized, I can't go around wearing no yellow suit. There was a time when I came to New York and I was less colonized and I could wear a blue suit and red shoes, but if you understand culturally the role that color plays in African society, Romare's colors make perfect sense. They express a relationship to a culture, and Romare naturally understood that.

(There's a West Indian joke in there somewhere but I ain't goin' there.)

* * *

There's nothing funny about innocent children and mace. Nevertheless, I can't say I'm really mad at any wrench in the hypercapitalist works this time of year. The complete and total conflation of the winter holidays with sinking oneself deeper into crushing debt ("Who would use pepper spray in Toys "R" Us?" asked shopper Patricia Field, of Los Angeles. "Who has that sick of a sense of humor to ruin Christmas?") is one of the greatest conspiracies of the 20th century. I actually had family members who left the house at 6:30am on Friday and did not return home until well after dinnertime in the relentless pursuit of something called "sales."

"Black Friday," indeed.

* * *

In a more just world, the revelation that the British government had full prior knowledge of the coup plot in Equatorial Guinea financed by British citizens (including the son of Margaret Thatcher), to be carried out by South African soldiers of fortune, and made no movements to stop it, would be the final straw (weak pun) for Blair with elections looming in '05. Alas, shares of accountability for those in the halls of power are trading mighty low these days and there's no reason to believe that a scandal involving a little-known West African country -- no matter how much oil it possesses -- will do any more to shake up the status quo than did those non-existant WMDs.

it's jiggaboo time

2004-11-22T19:44:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting home Friday night flipping back and forth between Pacers-Pistons and Knicks-Rockets, not particularly caring much about the outcome of either meaningless mid-November game. I turn back to the game in Detroit in time to see the headbanded Stephen Jackson swinging on fans like his kidnapped daughter was being held for ransom somewhere in the Palace. I. was. not. ready. After giving myself the remainder of the weekend to process both the event itself and the gamut of ensuing commentary, I will defer to the Sports Guy for the wrap-up.

In other news, a tremendous public service has been performed here. Sans breakout hit>, Voodoo has aged well, helped by its coherence. Worth a listen if you haven't in a while. Meanwhile, these leftover demo morsels are like finding $20 in some jeans you thought you'd lost but were really just hiding in the back of the closet awaiting several springs worth of cleaning -- that much more valuable after all this time. The knock of "Funky Drummer" is the needed complement to the lazy afternoon of "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" and the acoustic version of "Spanish Joint," also recorded during these sessions.

Now, I realize that my own die-hard fondness for the album has as much to do with the live performances as it does the actual retail product. I caught two stops of D'Angelo's tour that year (2000) and both easily rank among the top shows I've ever attended. If that cat could've gotten off of his perfectionist horse to sign off on the planned live album, it woulda been game over (you need to get up on the Brixton Academy and Stockholm boots by any means necessary). Instead, we are left waiting -- and rifling through the pockets of old clothes.

come on feet

2004-11-20T01:43:00.000-05:00

Work. Deadlines. Pressure 'pon pressure. Blah blah blah. You don't want to hear it, I know. I'm coming back strong though post-Thanksgiving in the two week run-up until I ease back (hardy har) to A-F-R-I-C-A to close out '04.

I'm taking requests for post topics, btw. (Who loves ya?)

zombie

2004-11-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go

Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop

Zombie no go turn, unless you tell am to turn

Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think...

Zombie o zombie. Zombie o zombie.

Tell am to go straight. Joro-jara-jo...

Tell am to turn right. Joro-jara-jo...

Tell am to turn left. Joro-jara-jo...

Tell am to go kill.

Zombie o zombie.

make you feel that way

2004-11-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

Of the ever-growing list of hip-hop artists who've passed away in the two decades I've been a fan, I would say that three of those deaths really stunned me (Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay) and only one -- maybe two -- truly touched me in an emotionally significant way. In most all of the other cases, I was able recognize the obvious tragedy of a young life ended "prematurely" and, usually, the loss to the greater thing called hip hop represented by the individual's passing even if I was not quite moved to shed a tear or put their CD on repeat.

Hearing the news of O.D.B.’s passing on Saturday night got me thinking about fandom and death and the emotional ties that bind. It made me reflect on my own complicated, even unpredictable, history of mourning and grief. Why do some deaths shake us so while others we simply absorb and easily move past?

To take but one example, I thought Big Pun was a phenomenal talent – largely underappreciated in life – and I played Capital Punishment consistently when it came out. When I learned of his death, however, I was sad but not particularly surprised. He was, after all, obscenely overweight. By contrast, Magic Johnson’s H.I.V. announcement sent me into a tailspin. I had grown up on Magic and the idea of his mortality (and, in some ways, his self-induced death sentence) was a huge load for me to bear at that time. Like so many others, I was mourning him before he was even gone – and, probably, more than I eventually did Eazy-E, who did in fact pass away from A.I.D.S.-related illness several years later.

I was not enough aware of his significance at the time for Scott La Rock’s death to mean much to me. Trouble T-Roy was the inspiration for one of the greatest hip hop songs ever recorded but little more to me. Subroc was a member of one of my favorite groups of the early 90s but, if anything, I mourned the group’s demise as much as anything else.

No, it was Tupac’s death in 1996 that first really caught me off-guard. (Before that, of course, there was John Lennon’s murder the day before my 7^th birthday that plunged all the important adults in my world into very visible, very deep sadness. There was also the tragic end to Marvin Gaye’s life a few years hence, an event I recognized at the time as being supremely f*cked up, even if I didn’t yet have an appreciation for his music. Alas, here I am betraying my relative youth and my membership in what the marketers and critics call the hip hop generation).

In truth, I wasn’t much of a fan of Tupac’s music. As an MC, he never really spoke to me. (Chalk it up to me being an East Coast nerd.) He was, however, an icon with undeniable charisma and talent and, like most, as he lay in his hospital bed recovering from his Vegas gunshot wounds I fully expected him to roll out to fight another day. I was riding the Peter Pan bus from Boston to New York to see about a girl when I got the news. The bus had just crossed into Manhattan and was making its way down the west side when I tuned my yellow Walkman (!) into Hot 97. The usually unbearable Angie Martinez spoke in somber tones as she fielded calls from listeners. I stared out the bus window into the New York night stunned. I remember looking around at my fellow interstate travelers, trying to figure out if anyone else had heard – or even cared.

It was Biggie’s murder, though, that really messed me up. I grew up on Run-DMC, PE, De La and Tribe. I had love for the Jungle Brothers, Brand Nubian, BDP and Kane. My college years were all about Boot Camp, The Pharcyde, Wu Tang, and Snoop and Dre. But it was Christopher Wallace, more than anyone else, who united people. In short, Biggie was the man. We dissected his flows, admired his swagger, and marveled at his strategically revealed vulnerabilities.

I woke up early one Sunday morning, went into the living room and turned on the TV. I made my way to MTV just in time to see the all-too-brief, all-too-sketchy MTV News report that Biggie had been shot and killed the previous night in L.A. Total disbelief, followed by the overwhelming need for more information. I woke up my girlfriend and told her the news and then we remained glued to the television for most of the rest of the day, waiting for further details – as if a timeline of events or eyewitness testimonies would make it make any more sense.

But that was over seven years ago and by now death, loss, and mourning have become ritualized in hip hop. Each life lost is briefly recalled and then slotted somewhere into the familiar pantheon of “fallen rappers.” Room is made for singers (Aaliyah, Left Eye) and lesser-known rhyme purveyors. Tribute t-shirts are followed by tribute songs and posthumous recordings, remastered and remixed for new audiences and new markets. We lament what might have been even while we grieve for what is. And then we wait for the next one.

Of course, this both is and is not about hip hop. Parents in black communities and urban communities and poor communities have long become accustomed to burying their children and people under 30 have come to anticipate the funerals of peers. Hip hop just adds a layer of celebrity and relative fame and thus elaborates and stylizes the ritual. Some of us, then, project our pain and anguish and grief onto those whom we do not know while others reserve those kinds of feelings solely for those close to us. Who’s to say which is better?

tearz

2004-11-13T23:09:00.000-05:00

R.I.P. Russell Jones.

bridging the gap

2004-11-12T10:06:00.000-05:00

Black skateboarders in Bed-Stuy: Mos Def works the angles in his video for "Ghetto Rock" (scroll down to the bottom right of the page for link).

what do i have to do to prove my love to you

2004-11-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

Two interesting tidbits from today's NYT story on the Gonzales nomination. Seems he may face some resistance from conservatives who feel his stances on abortion and affirmative action aren't hardline enough. If you're going to carry that water, 'Berto, apparently they expect you to carry all of it.

Then there's this: "Alberto R. Gonzales - the White House declined to release his middle name, saying that Mr. Gonzales prefers the initial - was born on Aug. 4, 1955." Not coming up off the R., huh? That's real, real suspect. If any Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee had a sense of humor, they would question him about the R. under oath. C'mon, Chuck, pull your weight buddy.

get down do the latin hustle

2004-11-10T15:04:00.000-05:00

Ashcroft's out and apparently Alberto Gonzales is in. The bright side? That takes him out of the running for the Supremes. The down side? Well, it's pretty much all downside after that. Let's take just two. Given his official justifications of torture as a tool of interrogation, I think it's safe to say that we won't see any easing of the screws (if you will) of the USA Patriot Act under his watch. More likely, we get the full blown remix for the clubs.

Meanwhile, folks are setting their sights back on affirmative action and, as usual, scapegoating black students in the process. All of which pleases W.'s other favorite Latino/a, Linda Chavez. Any doubt about how Gonzales rides on this one?

It's a new day, children. Study your lessons. Do the knowledge.

elephant

2004-11-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

So, what's the NAACP going to do when Bush replaces either Rumsfeld or Powell with Condoleezza Rice sometime in the next few months, as The Weekly Standard recommends? The speculation about Condi getting a promotion is all the rage in the land of punditry. Where the Standard, talking about the keys to a successful second term for Mr. Mandate, really earns its stripes is with the following:

Scandal in Bush Two? Who knows? The first Bush term was free of a major scandal, a fact worth boasting about. The truth is that a scandal isn't automatically crippling. It was with Nixon and Watergate, but it wasn't with Reagan and Iran-contra. Why not? Reagan was an inner-directed leader able to shut out the buzz and gossip in Washington and concentrate on his agenda. Reagan's second-term accomplishments were impressive: sweeping tax reform (with Democratic support), concessions from the Soviets, victory of democracy in Central America.

*Pause*

All right. Nothing to see here, folks. No "major" scandals to speak of (War? What war?). Just business as usual. Just like our lord and saviour Ronnie, who didn't let a little nuissance like Iran-contra stop him from piling up deficits, single-handedly winning the Cold War, propping up murderous regimes in Central America, and freeing the slaves.

(This is what it must be like to live in the "faith-based community.")

* * *

Rich blogger, poor blogger.

Most bloggers desire a wide readership, and conventional wisdom suggests that the most reliable way to gain Web traffic is through a link on another weblog. A blog that is linked to by multiple other sites will accumulate an ever increasing readership as more bloggers discover the site and create hyperlinks on their respective Web pages. Thus, in the blogosphere, the rich (measured in the number of links) get richer, while the poor remain poor.

This dynamic creates a skewed distribution where there are a very few highly ranked blogs with many incoming links, followed by a steep falloff and a very long list of medium- to low-ranked bloggers with few or no incoming links. One study by Clay Shirky, an associate professor at New York University, found that the Internet’s top dozen bloggers (less than 3 percent of the total examined) accounted for approximately 20 percent of the incoming links. Some link-deprived blogs may become rich over time as top bloggers link to them, which helps explain why new bloggers are not discouraged.

Consequently, even as the blogosphere continues to expand, only a few blogs are likely to emerge as focal points. These prominent blogs serve as a mechanism for filtering interesting blog posts from mundane ones. When less renowned bloggers write posts with new information or a new slant, they will contact one or more of the large focal point blogs to publicize their posts. In this manner, poor blogs function as fire alarms for rich blogs, alerting them to new information and links. This self-perpetuating, symbiotic relationship allows interesting arguments and information to make their way to the top of the blogosphere.

Whatever would we do without a well-defined hierarchy?

Ring the alarm.

what if we all stopped paying taxes?

2004-11-05T16:36:00.000-05:00

A while back I mentioned my romantic imaginings of myself as an essayist. Now I'm thinking I should scale back my ambitions. Maybe I really just want to be like one of those cool provocateur bloggers who writes effortlessly and with supreme confidence, slashing and burning through the fields of pop and politics. Instead, I just meander along, asking an endless series of only semi-interesting rhetorical questions and creating an ever-widening trail of links out into the ether to which no one ever responds (except for my cyber-acquaintance, Professor B).

(Is this my first blogger indentity crisis? How post-modernistically clichéd).

Let's move on, shall we?

* * *

I quite like Yancey Strickler's take on the chasm between rural and urban America. It's a useful addition to the discussion taking place over here on the same topic. I don't know if somewhere in there it is necessary to distinguish between the genuinely rural (with a particular relationship to the land) and the suburb, small town, and exurb or if that unnecssarily muddies the waters between red and blue. Either way, the moral rectitude of increasingly economically downpressed people like these, who claim the election as a victory for people like themselves, remains some sh*t around which I cannot wrap my mind. I am fully aware that the term "false consciousness" is a favorite of elitist intellectuals and armchair revolutionaries like myself but, I mean, damn, where else am I supposed to go with this?

* * *

Checked out Antibalas live for the first time last night. Also had a chance to build with some of the band earlier in the day before the show. While I don't really dig their latest album -- the didacticism overwhelms the groove at times -- I appreciate the spirit of what they're trying to do. (And, like The Roots, et al, I don't blame them for their audience. I did almost have to step to the 200 lb. whiteboy doing the funky chicken in front of me, however). They are keeping Afrobeat alive by paying homage to Fela while slowly (perhaps sometimes too slowly) moving beyond him to connect the Afrobeat aesthetic to various funk, jazz and Latin sounds. Their cover of Hector Lavoe's Che Che Cole from a couple years ago, for example, is phenomenal and I think really shows the possibilities of the group and its various corollaries and side projects.

* * *

Two responses to "Read Books, Get Brain":

1) Is Akademiks f*cking serious? American teenagers were sufficiently hypersexualized before this doomed-from-jump, slicker-this-year ad campaign. I mean, really doe.

2) A-c-a-d-e-m-i-c-s on the other hand wish there were some sort of positve corrolation between the consumption of the written word and the proffering of fellatio and cunnilingus. If there were, grad school wouldn't be a fraction of the socially-desolate, humorless "apprenticeship" it is in reality. Oral exams, indeed.

* * *

Feels so good to be a Crooklyn Dodger. (via Gawker).

twice inna lifetime

2004-11-04T13:17:00.000-05:00

How does one engage with reactionaries and those sympathetic to or manipulated by their ravings? I thought I was plenty despondent until I read this article about the role of "values" in the election. Consider:

1)

"Most Americans don't want to sit down and explain to their children why they live in a country where men can marry men, why there's polygamy -- because that would naturally follow, we would argue," Bauer said yesterday.

If two men could marry, so could three, four, or more, Bauer said. Moreover, he said, "textbooks could not talk about 'mothers' and 'fathers.' They could only talk about 'parents.' "

Paul Schenck, a pastoral associate with Gospel of Life Ministries who has spoken to tens of thousands of people in hundreds of churches, explained why he and others are so focused on marriage.

"The Democratic Party stands for, by and large, the dismantling of marriage as we've known it as a civilization," he said.

11 states offered voters a chance to ban gay marriage, and in every state they did so. Gay rights groups spent nearly $3 million to defeat the anti-gay amendment in Oregon and lost by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent. In Mississippi, 86 percent of voters nixed gay unions.

The thing is, I firmly believe that in 20-30 years gay marriage (or, at the very least, equitible civil unions) will be widespread across the country, even in states that are now voting to ban it. Despite the best efforts of stone age fundamentalists, human progress will march steadily forward. The question remains, though, how do we get there?

so much trouble

2004-11-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

Bring back the Curse.

I would gladly trade a lifetime of baseball-related misery for a stop to the madness. (And while we're exchanging the Sox' World Series title for an end to the Bush nightmare, let's give Curt Schilling back to the Diamondbacks.)

black steel in the hour of chaos

2004-11-03T00:55:00.000-05:00

Two long days in Philly doing voter turnout work. Call it the political education of Wardell Franklin. Learned a lot and definitely took some satisfaction seeing Pennsylvania go so decidedly to Kerry. I hope the Dems learn the lesson here.

Much more on all this later. Right now, I'm struggling to stay awake, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, waiting for the results from Ohio.

He. can't. win.

For the love of f*cking humanity...

evil vibrations

2004-10-29T22:36:00.000-04:00

The spate of election- and Iraq-related news in the past 48 hours has done much to shake me out of any Sox-induced haze I may have been in. Back to reality, like a muh'f*cker.

Even allowing for the possibility of statistical error and inaccurate estimates due to insufficient sample size, the very idea of 30-100,000 Iraqi civilian deaths since March 2003 is abhorrent in the most profound way.

Bin Laden raises up and the cable "news" networks are tripping over themselves to figure out how his appearance is going to tip our already imperiled election. Suits and countersuits are virtually inevitable, whether or not we believe Antonin an'em will find a way to run game. John Edwards, acting president of the United States, anyone?

Profiles in courage: the soldiers who said "no" to suicide, contrasted with Rudy's absolutely shameless passing of the buck down the chain of command.

* * *

Other than being just generally annoyed and unhappy, I can't seem to articulate a more thoughtful response/critique to this latest sign (via Gawker) that Brooklyn's Clinton Hill has jumped the shark. A longer post on gentrification is probably on the horizon, just not tonight.

* * *

Over the course of my life, I have gone through various periods of collecting, at times of a rather intense nature. Baseball cards for about two years when I was a lad. Comic books before that. I've been a regular purchaser of music -- first cassettes, then CDs, now records -- since the age of 10 or so. In college, I began to accumulate books. I stood apart from many of my peers in that I held on to most of my course books, rather than selling them back to the college bookstore for a pittance. Before long, I started buying used books in my major field because "I might need them someday." The first stages of bibliophilia had begun to set in.

I suppose I took some of my inspiration from my mentor, a professor of African American literature who had begun his career as a Milton scholar. His office was floor to ceiling bookshelves on all four walls, meticulously organized by field and sub-field, every usuable inch of shelf and closet occupied by the printed word. I was duly impressed by that alone until I had occasion to visit his second campus office when I TA'd for him one semester (he taught in two departments and kept an office in the "other" department which he virtually never used). The second office was similarly crammed with books, mainly "classics" and those from secondary and tertiary fields which he taught only very rarely now. As I got to know this man over the years, as he mentored me and encouraged me to pursue graduate studies of my own, I began to appreciate the depths of his book acquiring obsessions, his need for multiple editions, complete sets, and the like.

It didn't take much effort to appeal to my own packrat tendencies, inherited from my mother, or my romantic view of the distinguished person of letters (qualities, I must admit, I still retain to this day to some degree) to push me further along on the path of bibliophilia. Regular visits to used bookstores and trolling the 'net for out-of-print copies of books I had no immediate need for soon followed. I had chosen a life of the mind, I told myself, and building my personal library was an essential part of it all. In all, I could well relate to this completionist's tale.

Ultimately, things changed a bit for me. I eased back (if you'll pardon the pun) on the book purchases and started opting more and more for libary copies when they could be had. What spurred this shift? In a word: records.

After flirting with the idea since I first started listening to hip hop, I finally took the plunge and began building a record collection about three and half years ago. It didn't take long for addiction to set in and, as any true user can attest to, it's very difficult to sustain multiple addictions at once. In this case, my pockets put limitations on my acquisitiveness. As of now, I get much more satisfaction from my music -- and records in particular -- than I do from books. I've become much more selective in the books I buy, sticking mainly to things I need for my research or classes I'm teaching or plan to teach. Nevertheless, I still get twinges of the old collector from time to time (like "digging" for that first edition Lamming a few weeks back).

'Nuff respect to Arturo Alphonso Schomburg.

flyin' high (in the friendly sky)

2004-10-28T09:24:00.000-04:00

I'll never forget my first game at Fenway. My 4th grade teacher, Mr. Swaim, took a group of us one Saturday late in the school year. He was a die hard baseball fan who had grown up in New England with the Sox and took it as his responsibility to pass on his passion to his young charges. In addition to working Jim Rice and Dwight Evans into our word problems, from time to time Mr. Swaim would portray favorite mythical figures as part of his pedagogical repertoire. First among these was Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourne, a legendary character who pitched for the Providence Grays and Boston Beaneaters and threw 73 complete games, winning 60 of them, in 1884. Mr. Swaim was a tall, gentle man with a bushy red moustache who reveled in the theatrics of playing a 19th century baseball star surrounded by a ragtag, multicultural group of 10 year olds in the early 1980s.

That first trip to the ball yard was on one of those scorching, unbelievably humid days that always seemed to figure into the last couple weeks of school. I vaguely recall some parental concern as to whether an afternoon spent in the unrelenting sun of the Fenway bleacher seats was such a wise idea. No matter, our intrepid group was on a mission. Wear your hats. Drink plenty of water. Generous amounts of sunscreen for the melanin-deprived among you.

Other than the heat, ingrained into my memory is the sharpness, the vividness of the colors. The lush green of the grass, the crisp whiteness of the uniforms. It was like I had be lied to in all those games I had seen on TV. Why hadn't anyone told me that I would get this close?

The love affair could properly be said to have begun that June afternoon at Fenway, in the blazing hot plastic seats in right-center field, 400 some odd feet from homeplate. I'll spare you the story of watching Game Six of the 1986 World Series a couple years later alone in my room. Lights out. Glow of the 13" television my mother bought me on a whim and regretted for the duration of my adolescence. Slow roller up the first base line. Innocent, giddy, childish joy washed away with the only tears I ever shed over professional sport.

Because, if I may shamelessly (Crassly, even. Please allow me this one indulgence. Yes, I do know better and, yes, I do have a modicum of perspective on this whole thing) quote the right Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , "It doesn't really matter with me know. Because I've been to the moutaintop."

The boys did it. They finally did it.

I guess we can all move on now.

take it back

2004-10-26T19:38:00.000-04:00

In my effort to swing Michigan away from W., I wrote an impassioned letter to my dear old grandmother today asking her to vote for Kerry. I pulled out all the stops -- gentle persuasion, subtle reasoning, guilt. She's nearly 100, so I didn't think she was ready to hear about teenage Bush protesters being threatened or U.S. negligence leading to the death of Iraqi security forces or most of the, I don't know, hundred other reasons why G-Dub: The Remix is not a sequel any of us should have to live through but I tried my best to make it plain. Gotta do what you can do, right?

Speaking of which, any Philly heads got the 411 on voter turnout/mobilization efforts down that way? If so, hollerate.

* * *

Gammons trying to ensure that I stay hooked on this Sox lean beyond '04. Must. Resist.

* * *

Our friend T-nicks has a couple of treats over at her site. New MF Doom, with a Whodini vocal sample, off his MM...Food album, out next month. Also, some slow-moving electrofunk from Sa Ra Creative Partners. Good looking out, DJ No Name.

before i let go

2004-10-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

For the past two weeks I have literally been dreaming about the Red Sox. Random players, past and present, creep through my mind's eye, giving me fitful nights' rest. Games I've watched on TV, games I make up in my head force me awake in a state of disorientation: Did that really happen? This is not healthy. Especially not for a grown ass man with other, more vital things on his mind. I think I need for this season to be over (I mean in a good way, baseball gods. In a good way).

If the Sox pull this off, I will seriously consider retiring from watching professional sports. Straight up. I will have been to the mountain top. Especially with these guys handling their biz, week in and week out, what's there to look forward to? (OK, so there was a little disappointment this weekend but, in the grand scheme...)

In lieu of sports, maybe I'll take up a new hobby. Or, better yet, complete my dissertation.

* * *

Getting quite a few hits for the David Owen "Green Manhattan" article. Be interested to hear from more of you about it. Our friend, Professor B, has already weighed in. What say the masses? Environmentalist urban planners, stand up!

shootin' the gift

2004-10-22T12:27:00.000-04:00

Can somebody please explain the R. Kelly - Jay-Z relationship to me, separating fact from fiction? What oil greases those wheels? I cram to understand.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez foils the bootleggers; intersection of Fulton & Nostrand Aves. plunged into chaos.

Tupac is for the children.

What will four hours of the Iraq war buy you in homeland security?

Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, ya' dont stop. New Nas video, featuring his pops, Olu Dara. (courtesy of Royal Magazine).

"Yeah, we been talking for a while now. The chicken is getting cold." (Madlib interview wherein he finally gets his own crib; expresses indifference about performing; and continues to perpetuate the myth of Quasimoto and Yesterday's New Quintet).

altitudes (flyin' high)

2004-10-21T18:16:00.000-04:00

The one and only 9th Wondra now laying tracks for the 'Yonce an'em. Who woulda thunk it?

(*Thinks back fondly to the days of yore when these guys were posting up MP3s on messageboards tryna make a name for themselves*)

appreciate

2004-10-21T08:56:00.000-04:00

Thank you to our friend, S/FJ, who kindly reminded us earlier this week that "gloating is wrong." We will, therefore, simply sit back and sip the nectar of the purest satisfaction, our bellies full, and smile.

poisonous darts

2004-10-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

From the mouth of John Dean, former counsel to Nixon and author of Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush:

If one looks at all of the so-called Watergate abuses of power, in the Nixon years, everything that's been catalogued, those for which he was going to be impeached, if he had not resigned -- nobody died. Today people are dying as a result of abuses of power. And tomorrow, given some of the policies, it may get worse...

...If a president is to ever give a false statement to the Congress -- there is just no question that this is a high crime and misdemeanor. And it is clear that George Bush has committed a high crime and misdemeanor. Now, have I called for that? No, I have not. But I certainly, as a former White House counsel, you've got a president who's treading in dangerous waters...
...I barely recognize the Republican Party today. In the Republican Party that I was active in, it was really a party of moderation. What I think the party is dominated by now is a radical philosophy.

This is a good government issue, not a right-left, Republican versus Democrat [issue]. Therefore in the book, I cite one Republican after the other who are complaining about Bush's secrecy. Now these people don't think this is good Republican politics, they don't think it's good conservative politics; they think it's bad government.

If Bush and Cheney are reelected, what I think they'll do is not dissimilar from what they did in their first term, where their goal was to get reelected. It would be to indeed infuse the government with their radical-type thinking. They're not about to send the neoconservatives home. They're not about to change their radical environmental policies. And it'll really be a difficult time for the country. Damage could be done that we'll never unwind.

I wouldn't use the title, "Worse than Watergate," if I didn't truly believe that what's happening in this presidency is far worse than anything that did happen during the Nixon presidency.

Video here, full transcript here. (Shout out to my boy T-bone over at MotherJones.com).

* * *

"Real" journalist : blogger :: full-time academic : independent scholar?

The idea of pursuing one's scholarly interests free and clear of the bullsh*t of the academy is a very seductive, alluring idea. No departmental politics, no tenure clock, no anti-family pressures? Great.

No health care, no library privileges, no income? Hmm, maybe not.

* * *

Hol' up. Iraq is paying reparations? To Halliburton, Bechtel, Texaco, Shell, Philip Morris, Pepsi, and motherf*ckin' Toys R Us?!!

Wow.

Just wow.

(if loving you is wrong) i don't want to be right

2004-10-20T00:25:00.000-04:00

footprints

2004-10-19T13:23:00.000-04:00

The Lox/D-Block get together with the new wave Native Tongues to discuss the superior services of the Rapper Dentist Daddy.

* * *

A fairly compelling article by David Owen in last week's New Yorker (alas, no link) got me thinking (again) about sustainable urbanism. In "Green Manhattan" Owen makes the relatively counterintuitive argument that the hyper-compact existence necessitated by life on the island of Manhattan is actually a model of environmentalism. By virtue of being packed together like sardines, New Yorkers -- or Manhattanites, to be more precise -- waste far fewer energy resources than do their counterparts in either sprawling suburbs or even nature-rich rural areas. Less electricity per capita, less gasoline, etc. It's an interesting argument -- that density is a good thing -- whatever its limitations. Owen talks, for example, about the paradox of certain forms of mass transit and the unintended negative consequences they can have. Commuter train lines, while inducing people not to drive their cars into cities, can also facilitate the growth of suburbs themselves by, in effect, making it easier for people to live outside the city center.

Peter Gordon, it appears, was not impressed with Owen and serves up a rather condescending dismissal. I agree there are some critiques to be leveled at Owen, not the least of which is the fact that he scarcely touches on the reality of inequality within his dense, "green" utopia. Life in a Harlem highrise and an Upper East Side townhouse ain't hardly the same thing, environmentally or otherwise. Who is able to live in the city and in what conditions are not trivial questions.

But where does that leave us? In the United States, suburban sprawl (ie. low density, car-centric living) is marching on unabated. Meanwhile, worldwide "megacities" defined by the favela (sprawl of a decidedly different variety) are becoming the norm. The fact is people are going to live in cities or in some kind of geographic/economic/cultural proximity to them. Natural resources are, presumably, finite. Encouraging density in urban living seems almost punitive and, yet, the options seem equally bleak.

What we gon' do? © E. Badu

* * *

One mo' gin.

you've got a friend

2004-10-18T09:08:00.000-04:00

Dear Limey a**holes... (aka the "special relationship").

they don't dance no mo'

2004-10-17T13:16:00.000-04:00

All they do is this.

(Moving along...)

* * *

Things nobody is talking about with two weeks to go until the election:

Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and torture.
Poor people (it's all about the mythical "middle class").
Cities.
Black people.
The environment.
HIV/AIDS.
Mass incarceration.
Brown people.

Add on.

700 mile situation

2004-10-16T13:38:00.000-04:00

Slowly recovering from my 18 hour, six state road trip. Things I am thankful for:

I did not hit a deer (unfortunately, mom dukes was not so lucky with her brand spankin' new Prius last week)

I did not get a speeding ticket this time around.

My iTrip attachment. That thing is a godsend out in the backwoods and definitely saved me during a crucial stretch across I-80 through western Pennsylvania at 2am. (It hardly works in the big city -- too much interference -- but is perfect for desolate stretches of highway in rural America). Too bad I didn't have a car charger for my iPod. Had to ration out my battery power by listening to AM sports talk radio for long stretches.

The old horse of a car performed valiantly.

Not all academics are awkward, socially unsure beings. (Met some good folks at the conference last week).

Should Bush and the forces of Evil win this thing, I must bear a small piece of responsibility. During my week and a half in the middle west, I did no rallying of the troops, no get-out-the-vote foot soldiering. I didn't even vandalize the ubiquitous GOP lawn signs that were everywhere I turned.

I am ashamed.

I vow to do my part in the next two weeks by (miraculously?) convincing my 98 year old grandmother, a lifelong Republican who finds Kerry to be a "smug know-it-all," to vote for the senator from Massachusetts. The day before I left, she said that, as her only grandchild, she would "do anything" for me. Well, Grandma, I'm about to cash in....

* * *

What did I miss while I was away?

* * *

The New Danger: Self-indulgent experimentation or genre-defying innovation? You make the call.

As for me, I'm only in the middle of my first listen. Not won over yet but still open to convincing. What is up with Mos' wild homophobia though? Am I the only one who notices this?

* * *

Ubiquity Records is really starting to make some noise. New stuff from the Platinum Pied Pipers just out and now they've added Breakestra (whom I've always liked) to the roster as well. Plus, Sa-Ra Creative Partners in the pipeline. Oh, and has anyone heard the Roy Davis, Jr. album?

* * *

It's been quite some time since I indulged myself in the simple pleasure of a good novel. While I was away I did just that with Richard Price's Samaritan.

Price is a writer with a real love for cities. He neither romanticizes nor sensationalizes, which is refreshing. Even more refreshing is a white writer who can write about race with some measure of sensitivity and nuance without pandering. In this case, race informs the story and world the characters inhabit but it's not a book "about" race in the inner city either. The characters are eminently believable (save for a few, select monologues) and the way Price fits them together within the narrative is what gives the novel its great pacing. The last 10-15 pages took a little something away from the story but the book still stands strong.

Freedomland next?

* * *

I am still a believer (although my faith is shaken somewhat). Again, I have no choice.

re:definition

2004-10-11T15:17:00.000-04:00

Apologies, gentle reader. I have several days remaining in the land of Bush-Cheney lawn signs. I promise a return to regular postings come the weekend. Can't. think. straight. in. this. environment.

Highlight of the past week: Finding a 1st edition copy of George Lamming's In the Castle of My Skin in a used bookstore in Milwaukee.

Lowlight: My grandmother telling me she thought that W. was a decent man and "well, somebody has to go out there and get those terrorists."

Go, Sox.

act like you know

2004-10-05T23:05:00.000-04:00

In preparation for an exceedingly long overland journey (don't ask) to our nation's heartland tomorrow, I am getting my Slsk on and loading up the Ipod with various and sundry goods. Some new stuff, some older stuff. The aforementioned Kweli, De La, Zap Mama, What's Going On Deluxe Edition (2nd disc includes a great live performance at the Kennedy Center), Res, Lewis Taylor, Sly, Oumou Sangare, etc. Who knows, perhaps this will inspire me to write some reviews of a sort upon my return.

* * *

What's really good with the little birdy whispering in W.'s ear on the low low? I mean, it's just too easy.

* * *

a) You would think that for his once a month public appearance they would treat Dick Cheney to some sun. $20 says that the person who moonlights as his make up artist is in fact a mortician.

b) John Edwards blinks a lot.

(I'm afraid that is as penetrating and substantive an analysis of tonight's debate as I am up for at the moment).

* * *

1-0.

humble mumble

2004-10-04T22:46:00.000-04:00

Been in a little bit of a zone the past several days, trying to get ready to give this paper at a a conference later on this week. I am so very much not in the mood for the small-talk networking dance with the socially-awkward academic crowd -- and as the young, black, he-speaks-so-well guy, at that -- but this is what I signed up for and sometimes you have to waltz the waltz (tapdancing being another matter altogether). My plan is to listen to generous helpings of both MF Doom and Nina Simone before and after each conference day as a prophylactic against taking "them" (or myself) too seriously. In any case, I think the conference should actually be pretty good and I'm probably just projecting a whole host of other anxieties onto this particular gathering that belong elsewhere.

* * *

The fact that my travels this week are taking me away from home and interfering with my watching of the Red Sox' march to glory only adds to my displeasure. Nevertheless, I am ignoring S/FJ's ad hominem taunts and focusing on the task at hand. My boy TF's Halos are hot; really wish the Oaktown crew could have taken care of business. However, I have no choice other than to believe. And believe I do.

* * *

A lot of talk about Kweli's album and it ain't good. Can Mos compensate for his one-time (sometime?) partner and become mighty yet again on The New Danger? I have my doubts and yet I find myself consistently giving Dante far more latitude than he probably deserves at this point in time. Expectations are a b*tch, aren't they?

* * *

Will the real neocon please stand up.

* * *

Remember when VH-1 played Michael Bolton videos and had one of those racially coded anti-hip hop ad campaigns also frequently found on the Lite FM radio stations piped into your dentist's office?

Yeah, me neither.

(Caught a screening of this film earlier this summer in London. Some very memorable performances, a few great insights, and a fair amount of comedy. Consider this an endorsement).

hypnotize

2004-10-03T22:28:00.000-04:00

It's like riding in a car that has shoddy brakes and no reverse gear.

whatever you say

2004-10-01T13:10:00.000-04:00

Real quick, 'cause Lord knows I got things to do right about now...

Kerry showed some fire last night and brought a little bit of ruckus to G-Dub and his wholly indefensible foreign policy. As I've stated before, I've given up on speculating about "undecideds" and "swing voters," because the notion that people can't make up their minds about this President and his record gives me agita. But clearly, by any measure, Kerry took Round 1 and one hopes that counts for something.

I think he missed a couple opportunties to really put Bush on blast -- as, for example, with the supremely absurd missle defense system (ie. Star Wars) that doesn't work and yet will receive $10 billion next year, or roughly twice the budgets of the Bureau of Customs & Border Protection and the Coast Guard. (Admittedly, I'm not sure if Kerry actually supports Star Wars -- as Clinton did -- and I'm a bit afraid to do the research to find out). Kerry really needed a better response to Bush's blathering about his boy Vlad-uh-mer and the always undifferentiated, amorphous category of "terrorists" (ie. evil-doers, those with hatred in their hearts, blah blah blah) that W. invokes in place of an actual analysis. And oh how I wish Kerry could have just turned to George and said, "Mr. President, freedom is not a strategy" after one of W.'s vacuous responses about how he plans to "win" the "war on terror."

With all the focus on Iraq and stability in the Middle East, I think Jim Lehrer really dropped the ball by not asking the candidates about Palestine. Kerry made a couple of references to Israel's security but that needs to be more than just a peripheral topic in this campaign because damn if that and oil aren't pretty much the A and B of what this whole thing is about. There was also no discussion of U.S. relations with Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, though one imagines there being little difference in the positions of either candidate towards those countries.

I still have major problems with Kerry and the Dems but at least this morning there's a glimmer of hope that he's not going to go out like a straight sucker.

* * *

Hype Williams + Superfly =
Belly + Singleton's Shaft =
BET movie of the week fodder, ca. '06.

* * *

Happy Birthday, Naija. We gon' make it © Jada.

put your hands where my eyes could see

2004-09-29T22:55:00.000-04:00

No need to speak Arabic(/Farsi/Kurdish) as long as you have your trusty Iraq Visual Language Surival Guide handy. Just point. And shoot. Imperialism's just that easy. (via Boing Boing)

here's what's left

2004-09-29T01:20:00.000-04:00

A confession: I've never read V.S. Naipaul. My boy D. was always trying to put me on back in the day. A House for Mr. Biswas and alla that. Read some interviews here and there and skimmed through a random essay or two but, for whatever reason, I just never bit. Figured I'd get around to him sooner or later, either in the course of my studies or on my own. Never happened.

About a month ago, I read one of Naipaul's short stories in The New Yorker. Hated it. In a very 7th grade English student kind of way, I found myself unable to separate the loathesome class pretensions of the middle-aged British protagonist from Naipaul himself. The character was so unlikable that I almost felt vindicated for holding out for so long. "See," I said to myself, "I knew there was a reason you hadn't read this guy yet. Look at all the time and aggravation you saved yourself." I didn't totally convince myself, but I gave it a shot.

Then, after reading this recent interview of Naipaul, on the occasion of his latest novel, I feel all the more justified in my ignorance. He's every bit as unlikable as the socially awkward, condescending academic (or whatever he was) in the short story I read.

So, am I actually missing something or can I blissfully move along?

* * *

Second confession: when I grow up, I want to be an essayist. Not necessarily like this guy (although I appreciate the general lesson of what an essay should be vs. the essays one learns to write in school, duke needs to chill with the museum tour guide tone, the wholly unselfconscious Eurocentrism, and complete overreliance on rhetorical questions throughout). Naw. I want to be like Richard Wright or Baldwin or maybe Arundhati Roy. Come with some fire. Passion. Wit. Style.

Here's hoping I don't become a dull history professor instead.

* * *

america magazine, the bookend to Don Diva?

Clearly, they're not trafficking in irony. Because if they were they wouldn't be quite so shameless in their hustle. Here's what they say about their intended readers:

Urban culture is one of acquistion; measured not just by what you have but how much you have, and who has the best.

The 'bling bling' ethos is alive and well, and america's audience is at the center of the universe -- successful, independent, young men and women with a lust for only the finer things in life and the discretionary income to get what they want.

Are you for real? In '04?

Yo, Smokey, meet you at the Harlem Club.

basic instruction before leaving earth

2004-09-27T20:17:00.000-04:00

Being a fairly irrelegious person living a typically secular blue state "intellectual" life, I appreciate thoughtful insights into the curious (often hypocritical and/or irrational) piousness of my fellow Americans. Given the never-far-from-the-surface presence of religious rhetoric in political discourse (if you can call it that), made me welcome this here all the more.

* * *

Is the "war on terror" anything more than a massive PR campaign to convince Americans to buy a shoddy product most of whose manufacturing has been outsourced overseas while the American workers still on the assembly line suffer in unregulated factories with no unions?

* * *

Mike Davis, "Poor, Black, and Left Behind":

On the fortieth anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the United States seems to have returned to degree zero of moral concern for the majority of descendants of slavery and segregation. Whether the Black poor live or die seems to merit only haughty disinterest and indifference. Indeed, in terms of the life-and-death issues that matter most to African-Americans -- structural unemployment, race-based super-incarceration, police brutality, disappearing affirmative action programs, and failing schools -- the present presidential election might as well be taking place in the 1920s.

F'real.

* * *

Somebody owes me an explanation (Nay, that means you). Why come nobody told me that there was a film about the Nigerian celebrity-spotting/society magazine Ovation? I need to see this, yo. That magazine is hee-larious. (I would link to it but they ain't got a functioning website).

* * *

A proverbial motherlode of classic hip-hop videos (BDP, Ultra, LL, Kane) in .wmv format right hurr (spotted via Spine Magazine).

don't look any further

2004-09-26T14:03:00.000-04:00

"Hermaphrodite horsewoman charges town with bias."

The Boston Herald revels in all its tabloid glory by running this as the top story in this morning's online edition. Once you get past the low grade shock value, it's actually quite an interesting case.

Consider that if this story were in the Times it would be one of those sympathetic human interest pieces about life out there in the world-that-is-not-New York City (or, more accurately, that-is-not-Manhattan-south-of-Harlem) that the paper runs on an almost daily basis with the implicit intent of making its readers feel enlightened and morally superior to the cruder elements of our society. Furthermore, one could well imagine Pina's story appearing in Social Text, the tangled threads of race, gender, power, sexuality, and class sufficiently pulled apart and analyzed. (As it stands, I have my own dissertation to write, so I'll have to allow somone else to pen that article).

* * *

Reading the lengthy feature on politics and blogging in this weekend's NYT Magazine left me with a decidedly poor view of Markos Moulitsas, author of Daily Kos. For all of his talk about blogging revolutionizing American politics by giving "the people" a voice, Moulitsas merely positions himself in the age-old role of political power broker -- endorsing candidates, witholding support from others, ranting when the party doesn't consult him on decisions great and small. Can't be the king, want to be the kingmaker. GTFOH with that 21st century Tammany Hall BS.

* * *

In the current rotation:

- James Brown, In the Jungle Groove
- Beastie Boys & DJ Green Lantern, New York State of Mind
- Aretha Franklin, Gospel Greats
- Bobbito & DJ Spinna, Melody Man: The Wonder of Stevie
- Danny Krivit, Edits by Mr. K
- Roy Davis, Jr., "I Know What You're Thinking"
- Red Astaire, "Rollin' Stone"
- DJ Language, Theme and Variation, Vols. 1 & 2
- Jackson 5, "It's Great to Be Here (Kenny Dope remix)"
- N'dambi, "Call Me (Yam Who rework)"
- Mobb Deep, The Infamous

Have thus far resisted temptations to DL the new De La or Kweli albums. Having pretty much only heard singles thus far, will likely buy both "blind," so to speak, later this week (a sign, perhaps, of latent optimism, considering my disappointment with both Bionix and Quality). Additionally, Jilly from Philly has quickly fallen off for me after a week or so of steady listens. Surely she'll receive another run down the line.

runnin' away

2004-09-25T15:43:00.000-04:00

CBS is all kinds of confused right now. On the heels of the National Guard report fiasco, they are now burying a story on the Administration's own use of suspect documents and shoddy sources (see: Niger uranium) to justify its invasion of Iraq until after the elections.

CBS News has shelved a "60 Minutes" report on the rationale for war in Iraq because it would be "inappropriate" to air it so close to the presidential election, the network said on Saturday.

The report on weapons of mass destruction was set to air on Sept. 8 but was put off in favor of a story on President Bush's National Guard service. The Guard story was discredited because it relied on documents impugning Bush's service that were apparently fake.

CBS News spokeswoman Kelli Edwards would not elaborate on why the timing of the Iraq report was considered inappropriate.

The report, with Ed Bradley as the correspondent, has long been in the works. Originally scheduled for June, it was first put off because of new developments, Edwards said.

Wouldn't want all that useful information getting out to our otherwise grossly underinformed electorate in time for them to actually do something with that knowledge, now would we?

* * *

Granddaddy Bush bankrolled the Nazis and collected checks from companies that used concentration camp slave labor? Holy Carlyle Group, Batman.

* * *

A sad, sad, day in the Nation.

* * *

Finally, a major gas face to all y'all b*tches (and I mean that in the most expansive, inclusive rendering of the term) who fronted on the MJ party I played at last night. That includes those that came but were too-cool-for-school and did not dance. May you be consigned to round-the-clock Ciara for the next six months straight.

tainted

2004-09-23T19:19:00.000-04:00

"Neo-soul" is like political correctness. If it even exists, it's almost exclusively as a straw man.

Does it suck?

Well, before you can answer the question, there's a whole heap of parsing to do, starting with nailing down the "it." Is it Jill Scott? Is it Maxwell? Is it D'Angelo? Is it The Roots? Sade? Musiq? Alicia Keys? Low End Theory? Glenn Lewis? Yahzarah? Lewis Taylor? Fantastic, Vol. 2?

How much of whatever definition one devises is about the aesthetics of the music as opposed to the structure or the content? And what part of it is actually visual and not aural (the accoutrements of "soul", as it were)? And what about audience? To what extent do listeners create the boxes into which artists are inserted, as compared to the All Powerful Record Labels? (for whatever it's worth, Kedar Massenburg, is widely credited for coining the term "neo-soul," ca. Brown Sugar).

Suffice it to say that no shortage of words have been spilled over such. Personally, I'm not feeling the passion for the challenge tonight. Anyone else want to pick up the gauntlet?

me and those dreamin' eyes of mine

2004-09-22T23:44:00.000-04:00

Flies from Bogota to Boston to hit the walk-off HR in the bottom of the 12th? That's gangsta.

Orlando Cabrera, I salute you.

Is it too early to talk about the playoff rotation? I think not. Word on the street is that Francona's going with Pedro, Schilling, Lowe as his 1-2-3. Lowe? Lowe?! Was Francona at Saturday's game in New York? And I love Petey but you can't make these decision based on his fragile ego. In the postseason there's no good reason for not putting your three best starters out there in order of effectiveness. Francona's on that Bobby and Whitney if the rotation is anything other than Schilling, Martinez, and Arroyo, in that order.

End.

the start of your ending

2004-09-21T22:23:00.000-04:00

You will no doubt be comforted in the knowledge that, as of November 2001, the State Department's own assessment found that Al-Qaeda had operated in some 45 countries -- none of which were named Iraq. (link spotted via the Voice. Get it while the getting's good, something tells me it won't be up for long).

Incidentally, what are the odds of a Coalition of the Willing being mustered for an invasion of Switzerland?

no games

2004-09-21T16:55:00.000-04:00

The government of Sudan continues to deny the nature of the crisis in Darfur and, as a recent Amnesty International mission to the region has concluded, has failed to diarm the Janjawid militias or to disentangle them in any way from the government's own forces. Meanwhile, over 1,000,000 people have been displaced and upwards of 10,000 are dying each month, principally from malnutrition and preventable disease. There are some signs, however, that the humanitarian crisis is easing somewhat, though the situation remains "precarious" overall, especially for those who are still fleeing the violence of the militias. Oil sanctions against the government of Sudan appear to be remaining at the level of threat for the time being.

* * *

What do Rwandans and American neocons have in common? Apparently, a visceral disdain for the French.

But if making (retaining?) French the official language after independence was some kind of manifestation of neo-colonialism, what do we call the move towards English? Neo-neo?

* * *

The problem with Kerry is really not his alleged "flip-flopping." If anything, it's his consistency -- at least on the questions of the so-called "war on terror" and Iraq. Kerry has been the quintessential Democrat and Democrats long ago abdicated their duties as the party of opposition. Now you have a candidate who can in no way be characterized as anti-war (focusing on this war, if we can) with a party base energized by their very opposition to said war and a majority of the electorate who are also deeply alienated by and angry about the same. All that being the case, if John Forbes can carry this message into the debates there's still some hope.

* * *

Illadelph, stand up.

down jimmy

2004-09-19T13:03:00.000-04:00

By and large, I think Kelefa Sanneh is a solid writer who generally does a good job of translating and interpreting pop/"urban" (*cringe*) culture for the New York Times-reading public (given that I occasionally find myself doing the same thing in my classes for that audience's children, I am hardly in any position to toss stones regarding the nobility of that project). I think Sanneh's pieces sometimes lack a certain kind of bite or critical edge but that may just be a function of my own cynicism seeking a fellow traveler. Still, there are plenty worse keepers manning the cultural gates out there (*cough* Touré *cough*) which, I suppose, is why I was rather disappointed by Sanneh's review of the new R. Kelly and Nelly albums (that's 4 new discs between them, for those scoring at home).

The premise of the article is that mainstream hip-hop is in the midst of a "grown-up" trend, trading throwbacks for button-ups a la Mr. S-Dot while trying to cater to a more "mature" listening public. This dynamic, Sanneh, argues, is exemplified in the double album offerings of both the Arruh and Nelly.

OK, fine.

Except that R. Kelly's not a rapper (Sanneh acknowledges as much in the article's second paragraph but doesn't really go any further with it).

Now this is either completely beyond the point or the very point itself. I mean, I'm no dummy (well, I may be, but not for this reason). I realize that the conflation of hip-hop and R&B is a horse that exited the barn roughly a decade ago. And for that reason, maybe we don't need to talk about it anymore because it's just, like, there. I don't know though. I tend to think it's sometimes necessary to either re-draw the lines or, at least, remind ourselves where the lines once were and reflect on what happened to them (and not just for nostalgia's sake either).

Then there's the part where he's talking about the two Kelly discs, the secular Happy People and the "sacred" U Saved Me, and likens the split to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below which strikes me as a lazy and not very useful comparison that probably obscures more than it reveals.

But that's not my ax to grind either (because, let's face it, that's all just a lot of nitpicking, innit?).

What irks me more about Sanneh's take on Kelly is how he gladhands Robert's pedophilic predelictions. It's not that Sanneh avoids discussion of Kelly's fondness for underage girls, but rather the sort of flippant way he talks about it -- both in its own right and how Kelly's sickness shapes his music and the public persona he is attempting to project. Sanneh, for example, concludes his discussion of Kelly, with the following:

Still, there's something rather unambitious about this set, especially coming from a singer as ambitious as Mr. Kelly. He seems to be courting grown folks by streamlining and simplifying his music, leaving out anything that might give older listeners the creeps. Perhaps it's not a bad legal strategy, and there's enough good music here to keep listeners stepping and praying for years to come. But Mr. Kelly does sound somewhat stifled. So here's hoping his next album is filled with smut, frustration and bad faith - you know, kid stuff.

Smut. Kid stuff. *wink wink* *nudge nudge*. Not the first, certainly won't be the last.

Nevertheless, I think it's a problem that Sanneh avoids any real discussion of complicity: of the record-buying audience, of Kelly's peers (particularly his on-again-off-again-things-have-quieted-down-let's-get-this-money-again tour partner, Jay-Z), BET, MTV, the NAACP, etc.

By contrast, this piece from up North (link courtesy of zentronix), which pairs R. and Kobe, cuts through the bollocks and refuses to give Kelly a free pass -- for his personal transgressions, his audacious image-creation, or his all-too-frequently vapid musical stylings. Yes, "Step in the Name of Love"/"Happy People" is a great song (oh, right, those are two different songs) but that doesn't mean we have to invite the Pied Piper to play at the 8th grade dance.

(By way of pre-emption: the slope of music and morals is, of course, about as slippery as they come so let's just go ahead and withhold the Miles and MJ commentary for the time being, shall we? One thing at a time, s'il vous plait. It's just that, with all due respect to my friend Mr. Jones, I find myself unable to "defer to Dave Chappelle on this one.").

Lastly, speaking of playing hip hop interlocateur for the blue staters...

And, yes, I'm avoiding talking about the Red Sox. Thank you for not asking.

ready or not

2004-09-17T14:27:00.000-04:00

love's gonna get'cha (material love)

2004-09-16T23:40:00.000-04:00

That's a Ferrari from what we're told.

***

So wrong, but so right: For someone who most often uses his PDA as a calculator, I should be slapped for the mere fact of even clicking on something like this. (link courtesy of Street Dreams).

screw face

2004-09-16T09:48:00.000-04:00

My new favorite black contrarian, Norman Kelley, is at it again, haranguing and browbeating Ivy League black intellectuals (shouts out to my boy Fo for the link). Once again, the thrust of his argument about "market intellectuals" is on point, while the shots he takes at Gates, hooks, Dyson, et al have about a 1.5 to 1 ratio of cheap to humorously stinging. Is it just me though, or is Kelley essentially just re-writing the same article over and over again -- which itself is probably just a condensation of his latest book? (see my "public service announcement" last month). And is there any chance that Kelley will show up next month to this conference and do a Zell Miller on Marable's home turf? Stay tuned.

***

Illegal war in Iraq? So sayeth Kofi.

***

The "Ill Community" insists that you dress for success. Take heed, people, take heed. No more white tees to the job interview.