This industry is like bacteria and my flow is a germ

If Katrina was coming to Charleston, my fam would have been audi 5000 - ebonics for gotten the fuq out of dodge. But I sympathize with those who were not able to get out of town. For those at the Superdome, I know shT is real hectic right now. And there are even some fellow bloggers based in the 504 who haven't posted in a few days and I hope they are all right. There's one that I believe I will personally try to send something her way and will post details once it is confirmed that the info & addresses are legit. And all that water...it's like floating malaria. I feel for my peoples who are from down there, GLee, LatoyaW, NoraJ, and even distant cousin TLang from Mobile. And the crazy shT is that hurricane season ain't over yet, potna. I originally had some something really poignant to write, but the hurricane blues took over. My bad, yo. Maybe next time I'll gather up enough thoughts to yap about the last few days and other personal observations. And no...no deep heart-o-heart talk was held. It ain't happening. Fuq it.

It's downtown Baghdad

My condolences goes out to all of those who have lost a life in the devastation that was Hurricane Katrina. Being form SC, I can truly empathize with what it feel slike to be on the verge of losing everything - even when it's not much. I can remember the preparation in advance of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 as if it were yesterday. I also remember the looting that took place then, as itstill appears to somethign that just it.

Disbelief is the word that comes to mind. On Monday, I stood at the edge of the large pit of what was formerly the World Trade Center complex in NYC. I was in a a state of disbelief that I had been on top of the Observation Deck at one point in my life - the observation that no longer exists. Disbelief that I-10 - the same I-10 that I traveled on many times in my high school days on trips between the East Coast an San Antonio - was broken into two. There is an entire section of a fuqing interstate missing. I drove over that shT, son. WTF?!

From the womb to the tomb, Presume the unpredictable

So this isn't really a post about much or maybe it is...

Anyways, the downtown project wrapped up well. We got a lot of work accomplished based of the vague requirements originally presented to us. Of the 5 staffers, 2 are on their way back to college, 2 more have 2 more weeks before the senior (12th) year starts, and the recent collge grad and uber developer landed himself a job (that starts next week). So basically, this entire summer was his interview.

Now on to more pressing matters, I didn't make it out of dodge until Friday afternoon and was literally on the extreme verge of calling it quits with this Baltimore trip, but I just bychance happened to hear the guilt trip message as I was checking my voice mail and let's just say it made me hop on the Mass Pike Westbound. But I damn sure didn't make it all the way down there.

I had to swing by NYC for a lil bit. So after I did my usual neighborhood stakeout on Crotona Ave, I found my cousin Freddy and caught up with the rest of the fam. Mind you, my job is gatekeeper. I keep in touch with A LOT of my family. We have sets like gangs. This is the Crotona/Fordham fam; all the Nuyoricans like whoa. We chilled for a few hours and you know I had to do the photo shoot. It was definietly good to see all of them - only one person was missing but I hear he's stepped is game up and is doing really good right now and I'm very poroud of him. We all have our differences, but we accept each other as fam and that's some real love when we get together. I need to get them down to SC soon. Hell...maye I'll kidnap them in the morning and roll down to MD with them in tow. Hmm...

So anyways, I make my way down to 147th & Lenox in Harlem to link up with my other cousin JJ. This is the cousin who just 'found' us at the end of 2004, but it's all love. The resemblance is uncanny and he's mad chill with a decent head on his shoulders. We're still bonding so I need to definitely keep in touch with him and check in on him reguarly. He's a true NYC point guard (on some Rucker shT yo. Word) with some past missteps, but still with the potential and time to do somethign with all that talent. So we shot the SHT for a few on our way to Queens to link up with my cousin (and his brother) ONION. We joked about we knew exactly how to find him and sure enough he was located withtin 5 minutes perched on park bench in Woodside projects. We chilled there for hours until about 2:30 or so and called it a night and now I'm back at my Uncle Woody's crib in Harlem pretending like I'm actually going to wake up in the morning to get my a$$ on the road in time for the cookout in Carroll Park. Yeah...we'lls ee about dem apples.

But anywas, back to ONION. I also saw my other cousin, IMPH. And don't bother asking about how they got those nicknames. I don't even know....but I do have my ideas on how. And yes, these are not some made up blogger pseudonyms. These are legitimate, go in the hood and ask for Onion and do a hooty-hoo in the right direction so yo can find him. Feel me? Anyways, it was both and bad to see him. And if he happens to search for me and reads this, then it ain't rocket science to figure out why. Making moves is a just a term for blowing smoke in the air if you ain't going nowhere but the hood. I love the streets, and sometimes, they even love me back. But more often than not, the streets are cold, fickle, unstable, and mundane. All the ceelo, blunts, shadowboxing, nigganomics, po-po, coronas, and purple haze in the world ain't meaning a damn thing in life if that's all life is about. I can say word any louder than that. But of course he wasn't really trying to hear us, so I think JJ and I will have to try to kidnap him and do our on hands-on intervention. Now I have a new source of frustration...although I was expecting 95% to see, hear, and experience exatly what we did tonight.

Through the lights cameras and action, glamour glitters and gold
I unfold the scroll, plant seeds to stampede the globe
When I'm deceased, by then the beast arise like yeast
to conquer peace leaving savages to roam in the streets
Live on the run, police paying me to give in my gun
Trick my Wisdom, with the system that imprisoned my son
Smoke a gold leaf I hold heat, nonchalantly
I'm grungy, but things I do is real it never haunts me
while, funny style niggaz roll in the pile
Rooster heads profile on a bus to Riker's Isle
Holdin weed inside they pu$$y with they minds on the
pretty things in life, props is a true thug's wife
It's like a cycle, niggaz come home, some'll go in
Do a bullet, come back, do the same shit again
From the womb to the tomb, presume the unpredictable
Guns salute life, rapidly, that's the ritual

To flatter me is strategy It gotta be more complex than chess

Ended up in Target tonight with sis and saw a kid and his pops in there shopping for clothes. They were probably there for some back-to-school gear, but I immediately had a sever case of 'deja vu like a muthafuqa.'

what is done is done
what is not done is not done
let it go...like the wind

To make long story short and quite impersonal; POPS grew up down south, while POPS' pops lived in NYC. So anyways, I looked at the two of them and saw my own reflection. Naturally, I was usually a little heftier than this kid, but still you get the gist of it. Speaking of heft, do they make boy clothing in size HUSKY anymore? The midget hasn't reached that stage yet, but I always had this feling in the back of my head that it was some cruel joke that I wasn't in on the punchline. Nevertheless, seeing the two of them made me think about fatherhood and what it meant to me then, as I got older, and now that the roles have evolved to the point where I'm the father. And speaking of which, I value that father term dearly, but time will only tell how life's deck of cards will eventually play out. I want to remain a father. I don't want to just be a daddy. Maybe that thinking only makes sense to me becuase it ain't that clear cut, but I'll leave it in God's hands and hope to be able to do right by the midget and his moms no matter the weather. Because I damn sure don't have any intentions of disappearing, regardless of circumstance (plus I wouldn't want to be known as simply a 'donor'). And for some reason I have the urge to call my pops right now but I'm resisting. I've resisted for long time now. I think I'll give in eventually. We've only had but a few in-depth talks about life and real shT so maybe we're due for another. Another decade has passed. Maybe I'm completely over my chldhood and we can finally move on, huh? Maybe...we'll see. It's odd how I can freely tell someone else to heed Sonia Sanchez' words (above), but can't swallow the pill myself in one gulp. Fuq it...time to schedule a field trip. If only the wind would come scoop my a$$ up and give me a quick ride down there. Now, wouldn't that be the shT?!

Instead of preachin death in my songs, I breathe life

Yo... just because I want to it don't mean I will
And just because I'm angry it don't mean I'd kill
And just because she looks good it don't mean I'd hit it
And just because I'm horny, it don't mean I'm widdit
Just because I make records, don't mean that I'm gassed
And just because I'm rappin, don't mean I chase ass
Just because I'm whylin don't mean I can't stop
I got discipline baby, and I use it a lot
-Guru (Gangstarr), "Discipline"

Shackle me in chains. Tamper with my brain. Spit a ten digit number when you call me by my name.

See, their system has been aimed
For every 211 and every 187, my n!ggas is to blame
What happened to Diallo is a motherfuqin shame
How 'bout if I spit .41 at you and end the game
ALL disrespect intended, to any lieutenant,
who feel offended, by the way I represented

-Billy Danze

Just read a friend's published short story and it was a good read. I'd offer a link to another but - alas - I could not find it online.

Even with all the efforts to curb N!gganomics by po-po, Bruce Wall, and regular folk; shT is still hectic. Phonte's comments in that article I posted previously are ringing in my head right about now. And here's some insight from Styles P that really gets to the heart of the inner feelings of brothers who know what's up but still yearn for progress. You may not agree with all he say, but I feel him.

"You see, I'm a gangsta, and a gangsta ain't somebody who runnin around killin people. A gangsta is a n!gga who takes care of home, his people and lives by the 'rules' and lives by the 'code.' A gangsta is a nigga who work 9-5, who just knows the rules of life and knows how to respect a man and how to be respected and he knows where to take it when he's disrespected. You don’t have to be on the streets sellin crack and dope to be a gangsta. You can be a poet, a doctor, a construction worker or whatever. Like if 'you' do something to me, I don’t believe in stoppin until my point is proven. I'm not gon' stop unless you stop me or unless I'm incarcerated or bleeding badly or I'm dead."

But on the reals, this dude had a lot on his mind and said a lot of things that I've been thinking lately - with the exception of the mid-life crisis shT. We need a come up. Which reminds me, my man Horace Small holla'd last week and wants to link back up with me and L and whoever else we'd like to bring along for another informal chill session with the OGs. If it's going to go down how it needs to go down anytime in the forseeable future; it's gonna have to start with us. I told him I'd bring some of my peoples, but I'll see who's really about the business and who ain't when that time comes.

Hit up three of the four cookouts and had a cheeseburger at 3am courtesy of GregL. At least I didn't have one of the burgers where he accidentally left the meat separator on the patty and grilled it. Also, brought my man BruceP out the woodworks to meet some peoples. I'm proud of that dude. He really came up and I feel like he's doing his thing the right way and has a great head on his shoulders (in no small part thanks to his crew of big brothers I might add). Also chilled with NickS for an extended amount of time and even linked up with fellow Kakalak native Brandon, so I'll put him on in the coming weeks. He's peoples of peoples, but we played ball together before we knew any of that, so it's all good.

I missed the entire Roxbury Film Festival. Shame on me, but oh well. Fuq it. However, I did start my photo project that has been a good 6 years in the works today with a few snapshots of some Dudley murals.

And as for the cat from last week. RIP. I know he saw me hop in the truck, but I guess I started the engine and rolled the windows down a little too quickly for him to get away. My bad, duke. But I did call animal control to scoop him up. Hopefully, no one from PETA will ever see this.

I'm missing the midget a little and trying to grasp how my great-grandmother conned me into meeting her in Baltimore this weekend. Also, somehow I heard a little rumor that he she has travel plans for next week that I should know about, but - alas - I had to find out second-hand. A phone call will have to be made to square that up - fo' real fo' real. As much as I love Carnival time; I'm going to have to have to break the streak and bow solemnly bow out of this year's fete festivities. Sigh... B-More betta have it poppin... Hopefully, the cousins I'll meet are chill and will put me on to some good posts to chill once the old-schoolers call it a night. And no - I intentionally will refrain from listening to go-go music. I will buy an iPod on Thursday and return it on Monday if it comes down to it. Yeah, it's like that. But I am looking forwrad to some good crab cakes and a dose of family, new faces, good food, and a neighborhood reunion that I've never been to but have always heard of and never truly got to experience until this coming weekend. The sun betta be blazing...Word.

I marched for civil rights so you could make the fuqin whisper song!?!?

"Niggas would rather be famous broke people than be anonymous millionaire"

Our work email server is down so I've been catchng up on some reading and visited Project Hip-Hop in Dudley Square. Here's an interview with Phonte of Little Brother. He drops real insight.

"I got sprayed with hoses, chased by pit bulls, white folks calling me nigger everyday just so you can be a mothafuckin' P.I.M.P. and all this shit?"

I said it before and I'll say it again. Support this group. It is ironic how the slights are turning out to generate even more publicity for the group's than the magazine's expected. I hope the hype is not too much that The Minstrel Show will not live up to the lofty expectations suddenly heaped upon it. But Phonte said a lot of shT to get son thinking...

Trapped between midnight and the sunset's shadow

The Lizard Lounge was very refreshing. Even if the crowd is seemingly wack-at-first-sight, things have a way of surprising you. Abena, the featured poet from DC, was aight. The open mic was very dope. And as always, Iyeoka said some stuff that had me (internally) on the brink of tears.

It definitely felt damn good to be up on that stage though. I stumbled through the same piece that I wrote in Carter Park for Blackout back in July. I even penned another joint while Conscious and I chilled at a back table. But I'll save that for the next time. And the one thing I need to do is try and record some of these things because the Jeff Robinson Trio seriously blazes cats with some ill background instrumentals. Word.

Annoyed

...night-time lament on an evening wasted on lazy-ass ball players, tow trucks, the And1 Tour, limited parking, and a fuqing Rolling Stones concert. F the Rolling Stones...I need to take a shower and eat dinner. I think I'll just vent at the Lizard Lounge tonight. I'll write somethign on the way. I need some chicken...and waffles.

not feeling this all that much

Sticking together - The Boston Globe

shouldn't there be a plot or moral to the story or something?

The Minstrel Show

I was listening to Litte Bother's Chitlin Circuit album tonight and, in particular, the track, Doin It. This is one helluva song if you have yet to hear it. With some heavy thump in the trunk and real talk, it stands out as one of my favorite from this dynamic trio. And each time I hear the song and the rest of the album, the more and more anxious I am to hear their upcoming album, The Minstrel Show. The first hot joint from the new album is entitled, Lovin It and I - am - lovin - it!!! I really, really, really hope these guys blow up major. They deserve it. Hip-Hop deserves it. Black people deserve it. It's like that, yo. Support that real shT.

"In keeping with the theme of the album, we basically wanted the cover art to look like a parody of TV Guide or something and we take it even further on the insert. Even if people don't get the joke at first, I think they'll be surprised to see rappers smiling for a change. It's just a way to make Little Brother stick out even more amongst other stuff that's in the marketplace now."

"Our whole stance with this record is - we don't hate G-Unit, Lil' Jon, Cassidy or whoever cats wanna classify as 'commercial' rap. We're just tired of the same shit being done over and over again. There shouldn't be 30 G-Unit clones for every 1 Kanye or Common that slips through the cracks. The game just needs balance, man. I mean, shit...Tribe Called Quest is my favorite group ever, but if all I heard was their music on the radio all day, I'd get tired of that too."

Little Brother will be coming to Boston on Saturday, September 17th at the Paradise Club on Comonwealth Avenue. I AM THERE. Side note: I was talking to a friend of a friend Thursday night and she mentioned how she was mad that she missed Black August - just like I did. I don't feel as bad now...but it still stings.

Blue Eyes Meets Bed Stuy

On the road today...West Roxbury and Roslindale at client meetings, but this track is what it's all about. A blending of eras, ages, and genres. Who is the King of new York?! It doesn't really matter as long as your shT is blaze.

This dude is a d!ckhead

Ain't no more to it. I'm really done with him. I refer to him as Puffy. None of the other dumb shT. A press release because you want to change your nickname VIBE.com: No More "P" for Diddy?! Give me a fuqing break. How many more significant hings could have been worth that time and effort. Get off that vitamin water and bring it back to reality, D!ckhead. My rant for the day...and i'm probably not done yet because I'm sure someone will mention this shT to me later. And as a reminder....Support That Real Hip-Hop! Not that watered down shT. Fuq a Bad Boy. Word.

Busy Weekend

Just finished a 12-minute meeting downtown at the job piece. It's our next-to-last week on this project at Court St and things have developed well. More to come on that later. There is a lot to do this weekend and so little time to cover all bases. The midget will once again get on the road and be AUDI 5000 for a few days. he fell down some stairs (an entire flight) so we chilled hard since I've been back. So let me count the ways I may try to chill even harder...

Roxbury Film Festival: I want to see Favelas Rising, A Letter to the President, Hip Hop Is, and Portrait of a Black Girl, among others...

Jaguar Wright: She will be in the Bean on Saturday performing at a free concert at Franklin Park. I was interested in checking her album out until I ended up listening to it as background music on my flight to orlando last Thursday. Let's just say that while I'm feeling honeydip, I may have to pass. The songs didn't sit too well with me. I thought she would have more fire. But then again, maybe her live set is the joint.

Cookouts: My man GregP is throwing one at his crib in Hyde Park along with his frat peoples. Plus, he's good peoples and I've been to it the previous two years. My homegirl BootCampNancy and her roomate, BushyHead, are having a going away get-together in Dorchester. Nancy is good peoples and I'll see soe other friends and have a lot of laughs. And My homegirls BostonZeta and A(E)lma(O) (or Chica Tierna) are throwing a joint shindig in Brockton that should goo into the wee hours of the night.

And 1: The And 1 Street Ball Mix Tape Tour is coming to the Garden on Sunday. I think it costs $20 or so, but I'm thinking about checking it out.

Comedy: I need to show my man CoreyM and hiy boy, ChrisT, some love and hit up their Big Funny Sundays routine at the Emrald Isle in Dorchester.

Spoken Word For the Soul; From the Heart: And if I really get adventurous, I cold hit up the Lizardf Lounge in Cambridge Sunday night and stop fronting and get my a$$ on the stage and get back to what I know in my heart I need to be focusing more attention and effort. The spoken word is real like that, son.

Recaps: I still have yet to post a decent recap of the cruise and I probably won't except for little tidbits here and there. Oh well. Some of the memories are fading already.Plus, I still need to talk about the Court St project, the dead cat, homebuying, and gas prices.

I just killed a cat...

I just killed a cat...

Angel on my main shoulder tellin me remain sober

While reading about the impending approval Real ID, a soon-to-be federal ID card, I recalled an incident on the boat this weekend. The one consistent answer that I give to the question, 'what irks you,' is the 'absence of common sense.' Now I completely understand the need for a company to offer services for a fee, but some muthfuqers just don't need to be running scams like it's free crack day.

For starters, don't oversimplify your explanation of a technology service to a fuqing technology guy and then have me realize that it was all bull. So basically, here's the situation. I'm trying to print some quick copies of some photos that I had taken that night before. I've got them on my SD card from the digital camera and had also already trasnferred them to my laptop and could move to a USB drive as well. So I ask the dude at the 'Internet Cafe' how much for the prints and what equipment was he wrking with. So after getting the gist of his explanation as being 'we have a card reader', I go upstairs to get the joint and run back down. Mind you, I skated on dinner because this was a rush job. And we hadn't even started with the appetizers yet.

Well lo and behold, I get back to the Cafe nd pop the SD card intot he card reader. For the unclined technologists out there...the card reader is connected to the computer. Just so we are all on the same page. There is also a printer, which is connected to all of the computers that they have networked in the Cafe. But the card readers is only hooke dup to this one PC. So anyways, after a few awkward seconds of me feeling like a clueless dummy, dude comes over and we go at it for about 5 minutes. That's all it took. I really am an extremely nice and personable person. Because some muthafuqers need their jaws rocked.

In summary, they expected me to first pay an activation fee to use the PC, then pay a connection fee to connect to the Internet, and pay a set rate by the minute for my airtime. The Internet and airtime is important here because the only way these geniuses figured they could configure their system was to have users upload the pictures to their email accounts, and then download the files to the computer so that they could be printed. Yes...all of you tech-savvy readers can collectively yell WTF right now. Go ahead...do it again. So me beign the tactful diplomat that I am opted for the high road and just shook me head in deisbelief and did not feel like spending any more time on my vacation explaining to some random muthafuqer who should know what the fuq
he was doing that I should be able to print directly form the card reader to the printer without all of that other bullshit. But alas...he was retarded and I had to wait until today to print my pictures. Mind you, I know several dozen engineers who would love to run an Internet Cafe for a cruise line. But I digress....

Here's a flick of the Orlando sunset this past Sunday as Song/Delta flight #2014 sat on the runway 5 hours after its scheduled departure and an hour before it was cancelled. And for the crate diggers, the title is from "1-9-9-9" with Common and Sadat X on the Soundbombing 2 album.

Bystander says slaying was 'an assassination'

Apparently, the best t-shirt I peeped on my vacation has a double - and equally troubling - meaning. Same Shit. Different Island. Only this time, it's Same Shit. Different Hood. Sigh...

Bystander says slaying was 'an assassination' - The Boston Globe:
"Bystander says slaying was 'an assassination'

By John Ellement, Globe Staff | August 16, 2005

Aaron P. Stewart and his 13-year-old son were standing in front of their mosque in Roxbury Sunday afternoon when Stewart saw a man with a gun chase down a young man in the street, shoot him several times, and return minutes later and fire more bullets into his head.

''It was an assassination,' Stewart said yesterday in an interview on Shawmut Avenue near the intersection with Williams street, the same place he was standing about 2 p.m. Sunday when Boston's 44th homicide of the year occurred. ''People were stunned.'

The shooting took place as a youth instruction program at the Society of Islamic Brotherhood mosque was ending; about 30 men, women, and children were leaving the building. At the sound of gunfire, some of the children ran, crying, into Dayib Cafe, two doors from the mosque, witnesses said.

Police did not release the identity of the victim yesterday and are still hunting for a suspect.

Witnesses described the scene as disturbing.

A worker at Dayib Cafe, who asked that his name not be published because he feared retribution, said he was leaning against his car taking a cigarette break when he first saw the victim, bleeding from the right side of his head, walking down the street. Suddenly, the worker said, the shooter, who was wearing a red T-shirt, came up behind the wounded man and started firing.

He fired several shots into the wounded man, who fell to the ground. The shooter was standing within 2 feet of his victim and calmly started walking away, but suddenly returned to attack his victim again, the witness said.

''He came back and put two more [bullets] in his head,' the worker said yesterday. ''I saw the guy walk in front of my face and [the shooter] kill him in front of my face. . . . It was unbelievable. I did not sleep last night.'

The worker said one of the leaders of the mosque, Imam Abdullah, was sitting in a car on Williams Street with a member of the mosque who is an off-duty police officer from another state. After the gunfire, he heard the off-duty officer shouting: ''Where's my gun? Where's my gun?'

The worker said the imam and the officer then drove the wrong way on Shawmut Avenue chasing the shooter, who ran across Melnea Cass Boulevard and into a housing development.

They returned a few minutes later without finding the gunman, and the imam tried to help the victim, witnesses said. The imam could not be reached for comment.

Stewart said that at the sound of gunfire, he pushed his son into the doorway of the mosque. ''He was frightened,' Stewart said.

The worker said children from the mosque who heard the shots, many of them crying, poured into the cafe and asked to call their parents.

According to two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation, the victim has been tentatively identified as a 27-year-old man with a criminal history who has previously lived in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Cambridge.

Spokesmen for the Police Department and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said the name of the victim was being withheld pending confirmation and notification of next of kin.

''The evidence suggests that the victim was targeted,' said David Procopio, Conley's spokesman.

Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.

Amidst the harbor lights which remain in the distance

A good vacation is a beautiful thing. I am so worn out right now it is not even funny. I have to admit that my first cruise experience was much better than I had anticipated. Carnival is the bomb diggidy. And the Bahamas is a beautiful land of pristine beaches and gorgeous scenery. The 2005 Woodlon Family and Friends Cruise was definitely a wonderful experience (as usual) and I can't wait for the next go around.

As for the "harbor lights" citation, if you're still guessing, it's fro mBlack Star's track, Respiration, fro their debut album. It's the same song that featured Common with the dope ass chorus that goes:

So much on my mind I just can't recline
Blastin holes in the night til she bled sunshine
Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine
Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline
Yo don't the bass ride out like an ancient mating call
I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathin
Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening
Sigh before we die like the last train leaving

This past weekend was a new level of relaxation. I got to catch up with my much of family and crack jokes, take pictures, and enjoy the good company, good food, and an overall good time. From the beach to the party to the parasailing to the jet skis to the lunch buffets to the cancelled flights, it definitely stands out as one of the most memorable vacation experiences.

All Aboard

There are only a few hours left unil I board a plane destined for Orlando to embark upon the tremenously interesting adventure that is my family reunion. We are setting sail from Port Canaveral for a few days of relaxation, food, comraderie, jokes, food, laughter, and more jokes. When we get down, we get down. What was billed as the Family and Friends Cruise should prove to be just that. Although none of my primary crew of friends opted to join us, I still managed to have two tourists join me from 'up north.' I just wish it could have been the larger crew originally envisioned. But there should be no drama as we set sail for a fun-filled sea-faring adventure aboard the Carnival Fantasy. With exception harbor cuises, this will be my first cruise excursion of this magnitude. And to that the fact that we will be hitting up the Bahamas (yeah minor omission), and I get to add a third locale to my list of foreign lands visited (although I swear the Bahamas is just a teritory and not a country).

Anyways, no midget stories to tell. He's been on a whiny spell lately, so if I lapse and have to choke his a$$ next week, chalk it up to perr pressure or something to that effect. We had our NSBE chapter meting on Wedesday night, and had a great presentationof STEM outreach programming by Steve King and Charlie Martin, to former Raytheon veterans. But of course, guess who had to be escorted off the premises (ok well just to the hallway) not once; but twice? Yup, you guessed it. Lord...give me the strength...

..to choke his a$$ on mo 'gin. So until next week...fight the power...Be yourself...Support real hip-hop...Be happy. Word.

Berklee City Music Blowout Concert

One of TechBoston Consulting Group students, Jonathan Lewis, was one of the students who won a full tuition scholarship to the Berklee School of Music last Night. The Herald has a quick snippet about it.

Hotline: Berklee winners
Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Pianist Abraham Olivo of Hyde Park and guitarist/drummer/songwriter Jonathan Lewis of Dorchester were among six Boston 18-year-olds those awarded a full four-year scholarship to study at the Berklee College of Music at last nights' Berklee City Music Blowout Concert.
Vocalists Shannon McField of Allston, Trevor Tyrell of Dorchester, Leslie Echevarria of Boston and Ashley Rodriguez of Chelsea were chosen to fill the remaining four places at Berklee.

Big props and shout-out to Jonathan Lewis, whom I continually hear is a great young man with a bright future. In justthe short tmie I've known him since i've joined TechBoston, he has definitely stood out in terms of his professionalism and maturity. The midget and I got there kind of late due to some technical (mental) difficulties at UPS in South Boston. A 45-minute wait for what, exactly?

I'm from the place where hardcore is beautiful

So goes a portion of the chorus from AZ's hot joint, The Come Up. With DJ Premier laying down the smacketh, this track comes off as the smoothest thing this year since sliced bread. So to take it to the opposite extreme of musical wizardy, there's some dude named Cowboy Troy, who I will not do the free publicity of linking to his site directly because that would be a heinous breach of integrity on my part and constitute of conflict of interest for which I will burn. So anyways, he shouldn't be hard to find, but let's just say that his fan club is called the Hick-Hop Federation. Nuff Said.

And in other head-shaking events, I do not know when this picture was taken or where it was from (I'm guessing a lakers game) but this shT is HILARIOUS.


It pains to me to see that gun play is not just a American 'hood phenomenon. But what is really beautiful is the announcement of Michaelle Jean as Canada's new Governor General. She is replacing Adrienne Clarkson, who was born in Hong Kong. Mrs. Jean, a Haitian-Canadian, is now a new role model for people whom just her ascent will do much to uplift their lives. And that truly is beaitiful.

Brace 4 Impak

I just so happened to pop the Da Beatminerz' album, Brace 4 Impak, in the whip Saturday morning. What a great album. Anyways, hearing Krumbsnatcha that morning, I now realize I hadn't made mention of his apparent absence from the Hip-Hop Festival. And I also forgot to mention that L the Headtoucha was there and that I had gotten there too late to catch the Perceptionists (Akrobatik and Mr Lif) rip it down. For the uninformed Krumb is from Lawrence, L from Worcester, Ak from Codman Square (Dorchester) and Lif from Boston. Oh well. Here's Krumb's verse from the track Let's Talk About It (TROY Remix).

For every bulletshell that fly, or raindrop drip from the sky
Tears from the universal eye
Gunshots and needles, the problem of my people
How fate can meet you, behind the next desert eagle
We celebrate life like it's close to our death
Teachin all the seeds, with every strength in my breath
Pour my thoughts out and let it spill on the paper
Wrenchin my heart for every word, I stress in major
Like a drug dealer paranoid on point
Sendin kites to my dawgs locked in the joint
Does this world know me, cause right now I'm lonely
Pourin liqour for my homies, somebody show me
Big L, Stretch, and Tah, all gifted
Trouble, Big Buff, plus my man Scientific
Long live the martyrs of this game, embracin your names
May you be sheltered from the flames, God bless!

Music Lover's Lament

There's a reason why I shrug my shoulders a lot. I like - better yet - I thrive on spontaneity. But with that impulsive planning comes pitfalls. Sadly, I will yet again miss Black August. As much time as I spent making sure everything was all set and that all of the logistical puzzle pieces fell into their proper spots, my dumb ass forgot to actually buy tickets online early. So goes my life story. Ok, well not really, but in terms of music, there has been a lot of missed opportunities. The amount of anticipation had commited to being in attendance at the show - which should be pretty damn hype at this very moment I'm writing this - was ridiculous. But alas, I goofed on the one ounce of preparation that mattered.

On to other matters...

I'm feeling the RoxVote purpose. The site is not live yet, but there's a
Globe article talking about the voter registration effort in Roxbury. Maybe I should I volunteer.

But the better article is one on Omekongo Dibinga. I remember seeing him perform back in the day when I used to frequent the Boston spoken word scene. Glad to see the brother is doing his thing. And yet, I still have not made any headway or made any moves to get back on stage. Lament, lament, lament. Anyways, I need to get back to writing my daily to-do lists to keep focused. He taught a class at Renaissance and is doing a doctoral program. Sound vaguely familiar? Yup...that was supposed to be part of the plan. Gotta regain my focus...

And in yet other news, I don't know Bruce Wall, but I like his style. I know of his technology labs, but the small, yet meaningful efforts and attention he has drawn to youth violence is admirable. I need to get more involved. Lament, lament. But the mention of Grove Hall in that article did kindle an encounter from earlier today. As I'm about to make a left off Blue Hill onto Warren, who else did I see but two NOI brothers shopping the Final Call. One of whom I am pretty sure was Minister Rodney Muhammad himself. He gave me the real deal speech and I still turned him down. In retrospect, I should have hit him off. While I am not necessarily a fan of selling newspapers on the corner, he did specifically say that "we're trying to make a difference and stop all of the shootings and killing that have been going on." I think I kept it moving because in my mind, I said to myself, 'how in the hell is selling these papers gonna accomplish that?' But apparently, the aditional presence they provide in Grove Hall has been a factor in stemming an drama in that particular part of town. So I need to make sure I go find Brother Rodney and hit him off proper.

And who knew that the simple poster that hangs in the midget's room was conceived by a Bostonian and even has an organization (World Unity Inc.) behind it.

Back to the Essence

The midget and I had a very tiring, yet fun-filled Saturday of excitement. We started off with some of his requisite whining for no damn reason and when that was over, we tried copping a digital camera from Ritz Camera to no avail. Other then the Sony CyberShot - whihc always seem to be overpriced - no other camera brand has really convinced me yet of its image quality. But the sample print I made the lady behind the counter scan didn't come too bad. So anyways....next.

We hit up Boston Market to get our gyts right prior to heading down to Government Center (City Hall Plaza) for the Hip-Hop Festival. I get a few calls from some folks that checked in to see if I was going to make it down there, so you know we had to rep. Anbd man....what a great scene. The FEstival was great. Sprinkled with a cast of a few so-so performances by some lame dudes, there was enough raw energy to keep it thoro. Kiki Breevelife did her thing, but I now realize that I never really had a visual to match the skills. Let's just say I'm a bigot, because I would've never have been able to put two and two together on that pop quiz. But she did rip it. Although I haven't been hearing much from her in about a year or two.

The two finalist crews from Friday night's United Style's breaking competition went toe-to-toe in a fly display of skillful body contortions. The Floorlords hosted the event and served as judges, but they did their thing later one. One crew was from Orlando and I belive they were called the LabRats - but they were kinda wack - and did not win. Seeing them perform brought me back to a place and time where I really felt the music and culture with an innate naivety that I'll never regain. Two of my older foster brothers, Jeff and Marvin, were regarded as the best DJs in town and used to do parties damn near every weekend. So of course, I was always around for all of those set-ups, mic checks, and 'let-outs. Yes, from an early age, I've been chilling at let-outs for longer than you can imagine. So anyways, the real point to this story is that I need to go do some research. There used to be a place called County Hall or something like that. It eventually became the King Street Palace, but back in maybe '85 or so, let's just say your boy was young, chubby breakdancer and I think I won either 2nd or 3rd in a breaking competition. I still don't know what ever happened to that trophy. Oh well.

So back to Saturday's show. Project Move got on stage and delivered a lively set that definitely had the crowd feeling them. I think they just made a little buzz for themselves. Plus, one of the performers is Raheem, my man Con1's homey. So I'll defienitly have to show them some support because they laid it down how it should be done.

Medusa, a homegirl from LA, laid it down and got a lot of love for her tracks. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling her all that much. Chalk it up to the neck spams I caught from having you-know-who smacking me on the top of my head. Oh well.

Anyways, in what I considered to be the main highlightof the night, Edo G got on the mic and tore shT down. Unfortunately, Jayshaun and some other dudes made the set highly unappealing because they were just yelling too fuqing much. It kinda took away from Edo's thunder, which is unfortunate because he IS the de facto Boston hip-hop legend and I think it would have been best if bhe had been the finale. But he still laced it anyway and gave great rendintions of Boston, Sayin Something, and I Got To Have It. Great crowd participation.

But if you wanna see extreme crowd participation on some x-games type steelo, the man himself, Supernatural, was bananas. Although he still remains a highly underground emcee, hi rep is still solidified as one of the greatest freestylists ever. Check the resume. Well, he got much love for his One Mic joint where we kept reincarnating himself as other rappers with their voice and breath control to match. But of course, the rhymes were all his. His Biggie impersonation was very on point. Then he jumped into 3 Words, where he randomly had the crowd drop 3 words for him to repeatedly insert into an off-the-dome verse. They gave him kinetic, Africa, and subliminal to work with. That crowd was on cloud nine by then. But the real show-stopper of the night, and by far, the best performance of the entire festival was when he had the first few rows hold something, anyting in the air. i've seen this done plenty of time by tis one dude locally at Critical Breakdown and the IBLT open mic from back in the day, but Supernatural took it to another level. From fake watches, to baby bibs, to driver's licenses, B hats, mouthpieces, and Eternity perfume, everything that they could find, he found a rhyme. Hip-Hop at its finest. Impromptu, spontaneous, and energetic.

And lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Special Ed, MC Lyte, and Big Daddy Kane. Lyte served as MC as well as emcee for the show and did a damn good good. I'm not sure who in the hell is Mayor Menino's right-hand person though. He got on stage for a little bit and as leaving says, 'Thank you, MC." MC? The look of bewilderment at everyone in the crowd was quite obvious. But anyways, she did her thing up there interspersed with some freestyles and plus for her UPN show, Half and Half. Special Ed did his thing, spitting I'm The Magnificent and I Got It Made, among others. And I damn near lost my mind when he kicked his contributions to the Crooklyn Dodgers classic. Kane capped the night off with Raw, Smooth Operator, Warn It Up, and Ain't No Half Steppin.

It was truly a beautiful event and brought back what hip-hop is all about. The Herald did a decent article to review the event, which was a little better than the lackluster preview article that the Globe did a few days earlier. All in all, I cannot complain. It actually was a great, positive event that exposed a lof of artistry and skills that don't normally get their shine. I even ran into a few folks that should have been up on that stage as well, like Big Brother Sadi and Big Shug. And I got a few free CD joints courtesy of my homegirl Nema at 97.7, my man Dj Jayceeoh, and the man himself, DJ Statick Selektah. I'll soon be popping those joints in the deck and blessing their eartubes. Word.

Don't Cha

As you all should know by now (all five of you), I'm much more of a hip-hop enthusuast than any other genre of music. But for the non-believers, there are plenty of selected soft music gems on which I don't sleep. You can add Tori Alamaze's Don't Cha to that list. And no, she did not jack the song. As much as I enjoy saying their name, The Pussycat Dolls are wack and essentially released Tori's track as their own. Industry rule #4080 at its finest. There is a history and storyline to the entire unfortunate incident, but I'm hopeful than homegirl will eventually get her just due. And it definitely has confused more than few people who have heard the other joint with Busta on it. This episode isn't even new news anymore, but I just now felt like writing about. It kinds reminds me of the Black Moon and Jay-Z/Just Blaze issue where Dj Evil Dee concocted a sick beat for Stay Real, which in turn popped up as the hit, My Name is Hov. But naturally, the hit's validity is questionable. I don't care if your name is Hova or not. Some of his rhymes are straight doo-doo (yeah I said it, b!tches). And speaking of Doo Doo, that just so happens to be the name of a really dope track out right now on the underground by Scram Jones. I'm still looking for it....Very nice song. Word. And lastly, don't cha just wish I had posted more in-depth analysis of my birthday week. Oh well.

Complex Soul

Very interesting.

Boston Hip-Hop Festivalb

The show is on Saturday from 4-8pm at Government Center. On Friday night, there is a show at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center on West Newton in the South End. This venue is also referred to as Villa Victoria or the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. From 8pm to 1am, the
Floorlords will be performing along with many other dancing and breaking crews like Skillmethodz (FL), Phaze 2 (IL), Labrats (VA), Ground efx (MA), Problems kru, and New York Kingz. There will also be an Art exhibit and MC performances by Project Move, Ed OG, Supernatural, Medusa, and others.

Failure ain't even in my vocabulary. Even though I just used the word.

Feeling this quote by MF doom from aninterview he did with The Wire. No...now that wire. But seriously, he has a lot of thought-provoking things to say about his experiences and what he brings to the table. It's funny how this dude has a hardcore cult following like Animal House, but still is relatively on the low. Hopefully, he'll eventually get his just due. I need to go give that CD that my rommate bought another listen...

Rainy Birthdays Suck

A wide-reaching gray cloud looms overhead today as I transition into the stratos of 'old-man up in the club' territory. Someone asked me last week if I were the type of person who gets all introspective on my birthday and I wasn't sure how to respond. So now my answer is 'I guess so' becuase now you've got me thinking. I didn't really tell anyone (as usual) so I'll just let the ball bounce as it may. I do like how the FaceBook puts you on bounce so I've already got up thrice there. Gotta continue Friday's round of follow-up calls and emails for work, get a new inspection sticker for the whip, and scoop the midget from daycare. Other than that, I hope to chill, unwind, and take it easy as sit back and relax....(RIP BIG). Tiem to get introspective...