As a black man, I cannot lie and say that I wasn’t extra proud when Obama (a half-black man) became President of the Most Powerful Nation in the World. It was nice to finally be able to say to my children “you can be anything you want, even President” and mean it. But what I’m not extra proud of is how he got there and what happened after.
No, this is not an exposė and I’m not implying that he got there by some illegal means. What I’m talking about is the black voters and Obama groupies who became seasonal political analyst during his run and then went back to watching Tyler Perry shows and forgot that there’s still a government out there that’s not meeting our agenda.
I don’t know if you noticed folks, but Obama has not improved the black situation here in America at all. Now the black situation is by no means his fault, but if you let black voters tell it during his campaign you were liable to see one of us on tv bragging about how Obama was going to cure her cancer (hyperbole although one voter did actually believe that Obama was going to pay for her gas and mortgage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI). I’m not saying that the state of America is Obama’s doing either. My issue with this blog isn’t even with Obama (although I do have issues with him, that I will discuss another time). My issue is with all those black people that thought they were auditioning for “Meet the Press” two years ago that have reverted back to political ignorance and not noticed that there’s still a lot of work to be done. My hope was that when Obama went into office it would spark more interests in political matters in my race. While I’m not implying that the average white person is any more politically educated than the average black person, what I do know is they don’t have to be. The people in charge will be a little more concerned about their interests than ours. So we have to be a little extra diligent in staying abreast of what’s going on with our political leaders than white people. I’m not in any way saying that white people love their political leaders. Just that in certain situations (education in urban areas, police governance, etc.) black people have more to think about than their white counterparts when it comes to their public servants’ agendas.
Black people have to get stay active when it comes to paying attention to local and regional politics because believe me, that affects us more than what Obama does on a national level. We need to stay abreast of the views of our congressman because, if you stopped watching CNBC, the climate of the country is changing and people are going to vote in office whoever is screaming “Fuck Obama”. With the rise of the power of the Tea Party and a lot of angry, scared Americans, we could find ourselves back in the Reagan era. Pay attention to who yields the real power in this country, cause it ain’t Obama folks. Its Congress. They’re the ones that declare war. They’re the ones that pass laws. They’re the ones that determine the budgets. They’re the ones whose decisions on a regular basis affects us.
When you watch a political thriller its never the President that’s involved in some scandal. Its always some crazy, greedy senator. There’s a reason for that. Some of them are crazy (cue: Christine O’Donnell) and many of them are greedy (cue: about ½ of them). So learn about your congressman’s or representative’s views. Learn about PAC money, what it is and how it affects your candidate of choice. And then stay active. Its cool to have guilty pleasures like Jersey Shore and Real Housewives of Atlanta. But balance it out with learning about the Real Government of America.
ONE
Here are some websites that I think are the most non-biased and most informative for the average voters.
http://www.congress.org/
http://www.npr.org/
http://www.house.gov/Welcome.shtml
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
SOYLENT GREEN IS CHEAP!!!!
Any one who’s a friend of mine on Facebook, may have noticed my occasional “workout” updates. While I too am trying to improve my health by at least doing my part in the exercise portion of maintaining a healthy lifestyle the one part in which I fail miserably is the diet. While the biggest reason for this is because I am usually too busy to cook dinner (and because I’m not a fuckin’ rabbit and likes me a good burger every now and then) another reason is because eating right is just freakin’ expensive.
Tonight, I was watching a program on Bloomberg television regarding the debate between organic vs conventional farming methods. Those who know me know I am a bit of a tree hugger (and the only reason I own a truck is because of my damn ex) and do get concerned about environmental issues. Organic farming falls into this range because, for those who don’t know, organic food is grown without the use of pesticides or other man-made fertilizers and therefore does not pollute the water supply via the soil. Despite my interest in science, I am by no means a scientist. Yet, logic dictates that growing food without man made toxins and fertilizers seems like a good and healthy thing. While scientifically, organic food does not possess any more nutrients than conventionally grown food, there is the potential for carcinogens (those things that cause cancer) to fester and grow in our bodies over time (5-10+ years) and make us sick. Yet, I’m not here to talk about the health benefits of organic food. I think that speaks for itself. What I am here to write about is, WHY THE HELL IS IT SO DAMN EXPENSIVE!!!
From watching this program I learned that the major reason for its expense is that it is labor intensive. Instead of using a chemical fertilizer, sometimes farmers have to hand till and remove weeds. While this is all well and good, I can’t begin to understand how this, obviously much healthier long-term, option will ever become available for the common middle-class citizens. The biggest consumers of organic foods, at a quick glance, are college-educated, intellectuals. But they don’t just eat organic food because they’re smarter. They eat it because they can afford it. Well, the rest of us “regularly educated” folks, enjoy eating healthy and not getting cancer-causing agents in our bodies as well. But yet it always seems that anything that is good for you in this world, is expensive. Pretty messed up. The organic farmers and the entire organic industry better figure out some ways to make organic foods more accessible to the everyday man, or it will continue to be looked at as just some elitist brand of staying healthy.
Tonight, I was watching a program on Bloomberg television regarding the debate between organic vs conventional farming methods. Those who know me know I am a bit of a tree hugger (and the only reason I own a truck is because of my damn ex) and do get concerned about environmental issues. Organic farming falls into this range because, for those who don’t know, organic food is grown without the use of pesticides or other man-made fertilizers and therefore does not pollute the water supply via the soil. Despite my interest in science, I am by no means a scientist. Yet, logic dictates that growing food without man made toxins and fertilizers seems like a good and healthy thing. While scientifically, organic food does not possess any more nutrients than conventionally grown food, there is the potential for carcinogens (those things that cause cancer) to fester and grow in our bodies over time (5-10+ years) and make us sick. Yet, I’m not here to talk about the health benefits of organic food. I think that speaks for itself. What I am here to write about is, WHY THE HELL IS IT SO DAMN EXPENSIVE!!!
From watching this program I learned that the major reason for its expense is that it is labor intensive. Instead of using a chemical fertilizer, sometimes farmers have to hand till and remove weeds. While this is all well and good, I can’t begin to understand how this, obviously much healthier long-term, option will ever become available for the common middle-class citizens. The biggest consumers of organic foods, at a quick glance, are college-educated, intellectuals. But they don’t just eat organic food because they’re smarter. They eat it because they can afford it. Well, the rest of us “regularly educated” folks, enjoy eating healthy and not getting cancer-causing agents in our bodies as well. But yet it always seems that anything that is good for you in this world, is expensive. Pretty messed up. The organic farmers and the entire organic industry better figure out some ways to make organic foods more accessible to the everyday man, or it will continue to be looked at as just some elitist brand of staying healthy.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
New Track from Cashmere the PRO - Exhibit C...different defendant
Just Blaze laced this beat. I had to do it. Brace yourselves!!!!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A quick clip from Cashmere the PROfessional's upcoming video "We Blaze"
Been playing around with my new video editing software. Here's what I came up with.
Just a preview.
Just a preview.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The Tiger and the Pretty White Girl
The title of this blog sounds like it should begin with “once upon a time”, however, this is not an imaginary story and its happened more than once and the time is now. After a little hiatus from blogging recent events have stirred something up inside of me that I had to address on this keyboard and that America needs to address in general. And what is this issue that needs to be addressed? Its how America treats and deals with its most precious resource. No, not natural gas or children. I mean its MOST precious resource.
Pretty White Girls!!!
There is nothing that America values more than its pretty white girls. And every black celebrity had better take note of that. Pretty white girls are untouchable. They are princesses and virgins, pure as the driven snow ::sarcasm::. And any black man attempting to contaminate or mistreat one will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I wish I was joking. But media history has shown this to be 100% truth.
We all know how only 50-60 years ago black men were beaten and killed for just LOOKING at white women. Well that over protective attitude has not disappeared. Its barely changed. In fact now, its morphed into “ok, we’ll let you date and have sex and marry our white women, but the minute you fuck up, BAM, we’re hanging you.” And this has happened to every major black celebrity that has been involved with a scandal with a white woman. Most recently is Tiger Woods. Here is a man that is now regarded as the most dominant figure and famous man in sports. He is a hero to many and role model to almost everyone. For golf. Not for the way he lived his life, his humanitarian efforts, his strong spiritual background or his patriotism, FOR GOLF. Outside of the golf tournaments and the little bit of papparazi moments we’ve gotten, we have no idea what this man was like behind closed doors. But Buick and Gatorade still loved him. And so did we. And now we found out he cheated on his wife and he is a monster, whose actions are reprehensible. He is the poster child for immorality and despicable behavior. Really? First, I don’t condone infidelity. Tiger is wrong for cheating on his wife, no question about that. But we didn’t adorn him with the title “Most Dominant Sports Figure” for his ability to be loyal. So why the sudden disdain for the man? Not just because he cheated.
But because he cheated on a white woman.
Some of the biggest celebrities in the world have cheated on their wives. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Bill Clinton to name a few. But outside of Clinton (who was President so that trumps everything) the only difference with these other celebrities and why they weren’t crucified for their indiscretions is because their wives weren’t white. These were also the most dominant figures in sports at one time and their “trangressions” passed through the media quite easily. Oh people spoke about it and shook their heads, but they still retained their greatness. But when you look at celebrities like OJ, even though he was never convicted of it, committed the most heinous crime against a pretty white girl, the media and the public are calling for blood. I honestly believe this is the very reason why McCain choose Palin over much more qualified female candidates. See those other, more qualified candidates, just weren’t pretty white girls. And you’re allowed to talk crap about ugly people regardless of race. But he knew that America would never allow Obama to say one negative thing about Palin, his pretty white girl. A fact that Obama was careful to acknowledge.
The media’s coverage of missing people only extends to pretty white girls. Paris Hilton and countless other worthless celebrities get fame for merely being rich pretty white girls. You would think that Girls Gone Wild videos would ruin the lives of tons of pretty white girls, but it doesn’t and they know it won’t. Because they are still looked at as precious commodities. Troubled youths who had a moment of immaturity and should be forgiven. Their lives are not ruined, not over, in fact, that’s just the beginning of illustrious career of half-assing their way through life because they are pretty….and white.
Yes, this is America’s greatest resource. The fairy tale princess. Disney’s model of beauty and purity. And black celebrities had better remember it. Or pay the consequences.
Pretty White Girls!!!
There is nothing that America values more than its pretty white girls. And every black celebrity had better take note of that. Pretty white girls are untouchable. They are princesses and virgins, pure as the driven snow ::sarcasm::. And any black man attempting to contaminate or mistreat one will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I wish I was joking. But media history has shown this to be 100% truth.
We all know how only 50-60 years ago black men were beaten and killed for just LOOKING at white women. Well that over protective attitude has not disappeared. Its barely changed. In fact now, its morphed into “ok, we’ll let you date and have sex and marry our white women, but the minute you fuck up, BAM, we’re hanging you.” And this has happened to every major black celebrity that has been involved with a scandal with a white woman. Most recently is Tiger Woods. Here is a man that is now regarded as the most dominant figure and famous man in sports. He is a hero to many and role model to almost everyone. For golf. Not for the way he lived his life, his humanitarian efforts, his strong spiritual background or his patriotism, FOR GOLF. Outside of the golf tournaments and the little bit of papparazi moments we’ve gotten, we have no idea what this man was like behind closed doors. But Buick and Gatorade still loved him. And so did we. And now we found out he cheated on his wife and he is a monster, whose actions are reprehensible. He is the poster child for immorality and despicable behavior. Really? First, I don’t condone infidelity. Tiger is wrong for cheating on his wife, no question about that. But we didn’t adorn him with the title “Most Dominant Sports Figure” for his ability to be loyal. So why the sudden disdain for the man? Not just because he cheated.
But because he cheated on a white woman.
Some of the biggest celebrities in the world have cheated on their wives. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Bill Clinton to name a few. But outside of Clinton (who was President so that trumps everything) the only difference with these other celebrities and why they weren’t crucified for their indiscretions is because their wives weren’t white. These were also the most dominant figures in sports at one time and their “trangressions” passed through the media quite easily. Oh people spoke about it and shook their heads, but they still retained their greatness. But when you look at celebrities like OJ, even though he was never convicted of it, committed the most heinous crime against a pretty white girl, the media and the public are calling for blood. I honestly believe this is the very reason why McCain choose Palin over much more qualified female candidates. See those other, more qualified candidates, just weren’t pretty white girls. And you’re allowed to talk crap about ugly people regardless of race. But he knew that America would never allow Obama to say one negative thing about Palin, his pretty white girl. A fact that Obama was careful to acknowledge.
The media’s coverage of missing people only extends to pretty white girls. Paris Hilton and countless other worthless celebrities get fame for merely being rich pretty white girls. You would think that Girls Gone Wild videos would ruin the lives of tons of pretty white girls, but it doesn’t and they know it won’t. Because they are still looked at as precious commodities. Troubled youths who had a moment of immaturity and should be forgiven. Their lives are not ruined, not over, in fact, that’s just the beginning of illustrious career of half-assing their way through life because they are pretty….and white.
Yes, this is America’s greatest resource. The fairy tale princess. Disney’s model of beauty and purity. And black celebrities had better remember it. Or pay the consequences.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Are we there yet?
This all too familiar backseat cadence has plagued family vacations since the invention of the automobile. As kids, we loved dropping the “are we there yet?” on our parents. Unfortunately, it tends to lose its humor value once you become the parent. It’s just simply not that amusing when you’re attempting to navigate an SUV across three lanes of interstate traffic to the island sounds of Spongebob Squarepants. Yes Mom and Dad… now we know what it feels like.
But let’s be honest… kids aren’t stupid. They know damn well we aren’t there yet. The answer is never a “yes, we’re there.” This question is rarely, if ever, answered with a sound “yes” or “no.” Instead, they tend take a different shape: “Does it look like we’re there yet?” “Ask again and we won’t be going anywhere.” And even the borderline inappropriate “Shut up before I throw your PSP out the window and fasten your mouth closed with the seatbelt.”
But the truth of the matter is that no one will ever get a firm “yes.” Everyone in the vehicle knows you’re not there or you’d be there. The car is still moving, the kids are still yelling, and your spouse is still arguing with the GPS. “No damnit! We are not there yet!” So how do you know when you’re there? Well, now that’s a good question.
As we grow older, “are we there yet” begins to take new meaning. “Is this where I’m supposed to be? Is this is good as life is gonna get? Have I reached my peak? Have I progressed and achieved success in relationships and in my career? Am I happy? Where am I going?” Ironically, we spend our childhood joking about why it’s taking so long to get to a destination, never understanding the true complexity of the question when applied to our ambitions.
I guess if you find yourself asking “am I there yet,” you probably aren’t there. As kids, we knew that at some point, we would be there. It may take a couple naps and a few slugfests with your siblings, but eventually you’d have a chance to massage out the numbness in your left cheek. Once real life kicks in, you may spend years grinding it out on your leather ass without ever putting the car in park.
Just like those family trips in the station wagon, life’s journey requires quite a bit of planning. You can’t expect to reach your destination without mapping out a solid course. And perhaps that’s the one thing many of us overlook. Instead of putting together a 1-year, 2-year, or 5-year plan, we simply assume that if we keep driving we’ll eventually get there. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. In order to truly achieve the success we desire, it may be helpful to install a primary navigation system.
If you’re still struggling to keep the car on the road, writing out a plan of action can help. Parking your goals next to the rusty ideas in your head will only make it that much easier to dump them into the incinerator when things aren’t working out as expected. Yes, it would be nice if we could simply enter our 5-year coordinates into a GPS device and let a soothing voice direct us to the pot of gold. But for now, we’ll have to find our own path. So get out that notebook and start planning, because on the road of life, you’re likely to run into construction, roadblocks, and hordes of idiot drivers. But that's nothing you can't handle with a little preparation and a set of new tires. Giddy-up.
Nuke -The Truth-
But let’s be honest… kids aren’t stupid. They know damn well we aren’t there yet. The answer is never a “yes, we’re there.” This question is rarely, if ever, answered with a sound “yes” or “no.” Instead, they tend take a different shape: “Does it look like we’re there yet?” “Ask again and we won’t be going anywhere.” And even the borderline inappropriate “Shut up before I throw your PSP out the window and fasten your mouth closed with the seatbelt.”
But the truth of the matter is that no one will ever get a firm “yes.” Everyone in the vehicle knows you’re not there or you’d be there. The car is still moving, the kids are still yelling, and your spouse is still arguing with the GPS. “No damnit! We are not there yet!” So how do you know when you’re there? Well, now that’s a good question.
As we grow older, “are we there yet” begins to take new meaning. “Is this where I’m supposed to be? Is this is good as life is gonna get? Have I reached my peak? Have I progressed and achieved success in relationships and in my career? Am I happy? Where am I going?” Ironically, we spend our childhood joking about why it’s taking so long to get to a destination, never understanding the true complexity of the question when applied to our ambitions.
I guess if you find yourself asking “am I there yet,” you probably aren’t there. As kids, we knew that at some point, we would be there. It may take a couple naps and a few slugfests with your siblings, but eventually you’d have a chance to massage out the numbness in your left cheek. Once real life kicks in, you may spend years grinding it out on your leather ass without ever putting the car in park.
Just like those family trips in the station wagon, life’s journey requires quite a bit of planning. You can’t expect to reach your destination without mapping out a solid course. And perhaps that’s the one thing many of us overlook. Instead of putting together a 1-year, 2-year, or 5-year plan, we simply assume that if we keep driving we’ll eventually get there. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. In order to truly achieve the success we desire, it may be helpful to install a primary navigation system.
If you’re still struggling to keep the car on the road, writing out a plan of action can help. Parking your goals next to the rusty ideas in your head will only make it that much easier to dump them into the incinerator when things aren’t working out as expected. Yes, it would be nice if we could simply enter our 5-year coordinates into a GPS device and let a soothing voice direct us to the pot of gold. But for now, we’ll have to find our own path. So get out that notebook and start planning, because on the road of life, you’re likely to run into construction, roadblocks, and hordes of idiot drivers. But that's nothing you can't handle with a little preparation and a set of new tires. Giddy-up.
Nuke -The Truth-
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 review
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
RocNation, 2009
Just in case you missed the first two installments, the Michael Jordan of rap has returned yet again to map out another blueprint for the industry. The Blueprint 3 tries to stack up against its predecessors, but falls a bit flat of rewriting history. Don’t get me wrong, Jay-Z is arguably the best to ever do it and there’s definitely a good chunk of solid music here to sink your teeth into. Unfortunately, the overall experience feels more like a Chinese buffet than a square meal—initially satisfying but leaving you hungry for more almost immediately after consumption.
When I first listened to The Blueprint 3, it was hard to ignore the initial assessments, printed reviews, and forum banter. The overall consensus is that The Blueprint 3 is an exceptional album, but perhaps this is actually just an indication of how stagnant the game is in 2009. Although this isn’t Jay’s best work, it still manages to stay afloat in today’s watered down market. Don’t get it twisted; Jay is a beast, combining his airtight cadence with clever wordplay and veteran charisma, but something is missing here. Although Jay tries to shift create an album suitable for old school heads, the underlying themes here don’t feel mature or inspired.
That being said, The Blueprint 3 is still an enjoyable experience, even if it does fail to harness the replay value of efforts like Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, The Black Album, and even American Gangster (which is a far more enjoyable experience in terms of content). The Blueprint 3 opens with the ambient Kanye West/No I.D. production “What We Talkin’ About.” Here Kanye swaps his traditional time-shifted vocal samples for atmospheric chords and plodding drums, creating a subtle backdrop for Jay to address critics, the game, politics, and the current economic situation.
The rest of the album flirts with this type of mellow production: beats are stripped of typical head nodding drums and orchestrated samples are often swapped for heavy synthesizers. This vibe carries over into “Thank You,” another Kanye and No I.D. beat collaboration that bounces along over a subdued big band loop and reverb-heavy snare. Although the production is far from lackluster, I can’t help but feel like Jay has recorded this song about six times already. You won’t find much replay value here minus some cagey lyrics like “Heaven knows that I've made my mistakes/ Thank God what a guy as I say my grace /Who woulda thought by making birds migrate/For the winter I be fly all summer might I say.”
In the grand scheme of things, the neck-snapping No I.D. produced single “D.O.A.” seems a bit out of place, especially when The Blueprint 3 isn’t exactly deprived of auto-tuned vocals. However, this is easily one of the better tracks on the album as Jay massacres the current T-Pain trend with scalding ferocity… uh! Here the album begins to gain some momentum with the second single, “Run This Town” featuring Rihanna and Kanye West and the NY anthem “Empire State Of Mind” featuring Alicia Keys.
“Empire State Of Mind” is arguably the best track on the album. Jay paints a vivid portrait of the Big Apple’s conflicting themes with commentary like “Hail Mary to the city you’re a Virgin/And Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends/ Came here for school, graduated to the high life/Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight/MDMA got you feeling like a champion/The city never sleeps better slip you an Ambien.” I also have to tip my hat to Jay for reaching out to the gorgeous and talented Alicia Keys. She sounds absolutely stunning on the song’s hook, channeling Broadway’s infectious blacktop energy with soulful passion.
“Real As It Gets” featuring Young Jeezy tries to keep the momentum going but fails to really make an imprint. This isn’t a terrible cut, but I was expecting something epic from Jay and Jeezy. Instead, we’re greeted with familiar ‘top of the world’ subject matter and production that sounds more like a movie soundtrack than a platform for two giants to scale.
The Swizz Beatz crafted “On To The Next One” is quite possibly one of the most irritating songs I’ve ever heard on an album of this caliber. Swizz often gets criticized for his lazy production, but you can’t completely discredit the guy. He’s definitely made his mark and created some memorable beats for the industry’s best... this is definitely not one of them. I can imagine Guantanamo Bay guards using this track to torture prisoners into revealing the location of terrorist cells on US soil.
Timbaland makes a few appearances on the album with the songs “Off That” featuring Drake, “Venus vs. Mars,” and “Reminder.” Even though Jay has received some criticism for the Timbaland tracks he selected for The Blueprint 3, I think all three are pretty fresh. On “Venus vs. Mars,” Jay flips a back and forth flow over filtered string samples, eerie synths, and hollow kicks. Here Jay uses a relationship with a female companion to construct some of the most jaw dropping lyrical content on the album. Instead of simply rehashing the typical “Me And My Girlfriend” format, Jay does his best yin and yang impression:
Hov’s a Blackberry Bold, Shawty’s a Sidekick
She used to have a man, I used to have a side chick
Shawty got wind, I had to blow the chick off
Got rid of him, they both took the sh!t hard
Shawty play the piano, me I play the white keys
Shawty from the south, oh I think she like me
Shawty like Pac, me Big Poppa
Screaming hit em up, I’m screaming who shot ya.
The rest of The Blueprint 3 is pretty hit and miss. On “A Star Is Born” featuring ‘rated rookie’ J Cole, Jay creates a timeline of his career, paying homage to the artists he battled and befriended along the way. “Already Home” featuring Kid Cudi and the Neptune’s produced “So Ambitious” show signs of life but are easy skips if you’re looking for something more uptempo. “Hate” sees a return to traditional Kanye territory as an auto-tuned vocal loop allows Jay and Kanye to vent their frustration for—yes, you guessed it—haters.
Borrowing a sample from Alphaville’s familiar “Forever Young,” the album closes with “Young Forever,” a nod to living a remarkable and inspirational life. Ironically, this could be the reason The Blueprint 3 doesn’t really fulfill my expectations. Instead of giving us a focused album, Jay tries to balance familiar ‘living large’ themes with the vision of a successful adult. Unfortunately, it fails to capture the true essence of NY hip hop or the maturity and hindsight of a grown man who’s seen the game from every angle. We know the architect is capable of crafting a monumental product, but attempting to build a revolutionary home from this blueprint will ultimately result in an unstable foundation.
As a rap album, 4 out of 5
As a Jay-Z album – 3.5 out of 5
Nuke -The Truth-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)