It's Over - My Arm/Back/Neck Hurts

Friday is here and it's the final countdown to my departure from Colorado Springs and return to the BEAN! I'm heated that my flight won't get in until after midnight. I'll be missing the graduation celebration for my man Mike "the Mayor of Roxbury" Curry. He's one of the folks responsible for Afrocentrics from back in the day.

Anyways, I'm sitting here watching Ted Koppel interview Michael Eric Dyson and Shelby Steele discussion Bill Cosby's speech on Black responsibility. Wasn't that a few months ago? Maybe this is a re-run. Still mad at myself for missing most of Dyson's speech at the NSBE National Convention in March. The image to the right should conjure up recollections of the late eighties. I know I was in 5th grade rocking several medallions, a high top fade, and Martin/Malcolm/Mandela tees. But I think I took it to a whole 'notha level. I'll be vague about it for now, but let's just say my arm is numb.

In the slow nights I've spent here, I've come across a few sites I want to bookmark, so now is the best time as any to link to 'em.

• OverHeardInNewYork: a collection of sayings that random eavesdroppers hears during the daily grind on the streets of NYC.
• Movie Pooper: There are plenty of movies that I just plain will not go to the theatre to see or may never actually see. But sometime you do just want to know how it ended. In 3 sentences, this site summarizes the last few moments and plot twisters of over a thousand movies.
• Wax Facts Press: An indie outlet with a very interesting book, Rakim Told Me, by Brian Coleman
• A Salue to Weed Carriers: another blogspot blog, this particular one tracing the Jaz-O/Jay-Z history. Great thoughts.
• Kay Konnect: A sister with a great head on her shoulders and a deep, strong love for the music and culture. Kay is the Editor in Chief of Mixtape Magazine. Here's an article on her from Urban Connects. Hopefully, that Mixtape Mag site will be launched soon enough.
  

As much as I've been jocking Common's BE lately, how about some garbage rap to bring some balance. I've heard Will Smith's latest single a few time and it's a no-go or in other words - hated it - like Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier used to do one In Living Color. Peep a brief dis review article from the Village Voice here.
And lastly, I'm somewhat stuck between elation and lament when I hear that both MOP and Mobb Deep are close to inking deals with G-Unit. Yeah...word yo.....that Gorilla Unit. I kinda felt the same way when the Roc-a-fella deal went down for MOP a few years ago. Pure skepticism. If they do get down, I wonder how it would work out. Neither group is down for backing down. The stick to their craft with a simple array of enthusiasm, consistency, and discipline that I just love. I would not like it one bit if 50's recent bitchy ways start to rub off. But I'm confident in my people. Billy Danze and Fizzy Womack (L'il Fame) don't play that shit, dun. But it would sure bring up some interesting complexities. Both groups have laced tracks with the whole LOX crew (Ya'll Don't Wanna), the same one 50 started acting shady with becase Jada did a song with Ja Rule. How gay is that? Hell...QB's finest even did it up with Benzino(Bang Ta Dis, No Parts of Us). He needs to realize that there are too many degrees of separation when you're fucking with real music. Keep it up and someone hungrier will eat him up and bruise his image just like he did to Ja. All credibility lost and he tries to salvage it with trying to bribe the streets that he's still got his ear there by bringing in ghetto heroes. It's just something really fishy about it that's not sitting right in my stomach and I can't quite put my finger on it.