A week ago I interviewed bassist Ron Carter.

Ron Carter was born in Ferndale, Michigan. He started to play cello at the age of 10, and was soon playing chamber concerts; (…) later he changed to double-bass. Played and recorded with Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra before first professional engagement with Chico Hamilton, 1959. 1960-2 freelanced with many people including Eric Dolphy, with whom he recorded several times on cello, Cannonball Adderley, Jaki Byard, Randy Weston, Bobby Timmons, Mal Waldron. (Ian Carr, Jazz, The Essential Companion).

His first records were made with Eric Dolphy (another former member of Hamilton’s group) and Don Ellis, in 1960. His own first date as leader, Where?, with Dolphy and Mal Waldron and a date also with Dolphy called Out There with George Duvivier and Roy Haynes and Carter on cello; its advanced harmonies and concepts were in step with the third streammovement.

Carter came to fame via the second great Miles Davis quintet in the early 1960s, which also included Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams. Carter joined Davis’s group in 1963, appearing on the album Seven Steps to Heaven and the follow-up E.S.P., the latter being the first album to feature only the full quintet. It also featured three of Carter’s compositions (the only time he contributed compositions to Davis’s group). He stayed with Davis until 1968 (when he was replaced by Dave Holland), and participated in a couple of studio sessions with Davis in 1969 and 1970. Although he played electric bass occasionally during this period, he has subsequently eschewed that instrument entirely, and now plays only acoustic bass.

After leaving Davis, Carter was for several years a mainstay of CTI Records, making albums under his own name and also appearing on many of the label’s records with a diverse range of other musicians. Notable musical partnerships in the ’70s and ’80s included Joe Henderson, Houston Person, Hank Jones, and Cedar Walton. During the 1970s he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet. (wikipedia)

1981, he was again reunited with Hancock and Williams, when the Hancock quartet, featuring Wynton Marsalis (tpt) toured the USA, Europe and Japan, where they recorded a double album. (Carr)

In 2001, Carter collaborated with Black Star and John Patton to record “Money Jungle” for the Red Hot Organization’s compilation album, Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington.

Carter was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Music Department of The City College of New York, having taught there for twenty years, and received an honorary Doctorate from the Berklee College of Music, in Spring 2005. He joined the faculty of the Juilliard School in New York City in 2008, teaching bass in the school’s Jazz Studies program.

Carter’s authorized biography, “Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes,” by Dan Ouellette was published by ArtistShare in 2008. (Wikipedia)

The actors are Deiter Laser, playing the mad scientist; Ashley C. Williams plays Lyndsey, whom is the strong one; Ashlynn Yennie, plays Jenny, and finally we have Akihiro Kitamura plays the head, Katsuro. I think that the actors did an amazing job and completely believable in their parts. Especially Laser, with the flipping of the switch in the middle of his contact with the girls at first and with the police.

I don’t quite understand how it has gotten its cult following, there wasn’t even one scene in which I had to turn away. I think that was the most disappointing part. So out of bloody thumbs I give this nothing. I guess a black star if you want to use a star system, I still haven’t figured out what I want to use. But this was not a good film and I think it was smart of Six not to tell the backers that it was a mouth-to-anus film.

Cyclone Oswald heads across the Gulf of Carpentaria. Image courtesy AAP

Over recent days, the Gulf and Cape York region has seen the first cyclone event for the year – last night Cyclone Oswald whipped across the Gulf, cutting bringing torrential rain and closing the roads to Doomadgee and Pormpuraaw.  It crossed into the Cape betwen Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw with winds of up to 100kmh.  So it was important that Black Star has launched its Broadband Cyclone Information and  Warning System. This unique system is able to generate up-to-date weather warnings from various sources, including bom.gov.au and oz cyclone chasers on Facebook.

The information is recorded as an announcement, then sent directly to the program logs of remote stations within the network, and played out automatically.   We tailor information not just to the region, but to specific towns and communities with Black Star network stations. It gives people up-to-date messages that no one else provides to them in this way.

It’s a 24-hour job keeping cyclone information up to date . QRAM works with Innisfail-based  Coastal Broadcasters, who provide recorded cyclone updates during the daylight hours.  Coastal Broadcasters also prepare Black Star weather forecasts for our Cape York and Gulf of Carpentaria radio stations for  as a community service.  These run from mornings through to 11pm at night, 7 days a week.

During  this Cyclone Oswald event, QRAM staff continued the updates throughout the night. Gilmore Johnson did the night shift this time, recording and updating cyclone warnings at 8pm, 11pm 2am and 5am to the affected areas.  QRAM will continue to provide this service whenever there is a cyclone event in Far North Queensland.

Black Star relies on new network technology to send program material to stations, no longer just on Satellite technology.  This means the network can guarantee immunity to satellite rain fade, a common problem that occurs during cyclone periods. Remote communities have traditionally depended wholly on satellite systems for the delivery of all radio and TV services in the past and these are among the first services to be lost whenever a cyclone is in the area. On many occasions this has effectively isolated people in the region at a time of great need.  Black Star solves this issue and now we can deploy up to date information to any combination of targeted areas 24/7 and we know that the information will always get through regardless of weather conditions.

Talib Kweli stops by the Hot 97 Morning show with Peter Rosenberg, Cipha Sounds & K Foxx to talk about Kanye & Kim expecting, Black Star, the global phenom known as “Molly”, and more.

George Donaldson is the rugged bald one on the right

Listeners on the Black Star Network will have an opportunity to see the world’s top-selling artists –  Celtic Thunder - perform in Cairns, North Queensland, on January the 23rd, at the start of their Australian tour

If you are looking for a great night of entertainment with music and a show that will take you on a journey back to the Celtic Dreamtime, then you must see this show.

Gilmore Johnson from Black Star interviewed  George Donaldson one of the key artists in the show. A well-established singer in the vibrant Glasgow and West of Scotland folk scene, the Scotsman has performed in folk sessions for BBC Scotland, Glasgow’s own Celtic Connections, the Glasgow West End Festival and at the famed Glasgow Barrowlands. A self-taught musician, Donaldson plays guitar, flute, mandolin, bodhrán and banjo, and has played alongside folk artists including Jim McCann and the Dubliners, across Europe, America and Canada.

Listen here   Celtic Thunder Interview

To date, George has toured in America, Canada and Europe, and has developed a fondness for Germany, where he has a great following. His love of the country, its people and its culture has encouraged him, as an eternal student, to attempt to master the language….!

I went back and reviewed the articles that both he and I wrote for the Axe and it made me realize that what is going on with him has more to do with his age than anything else.  When I was 13 I couldn’t get off the couch without someone helping me.  I told my sister-in-law that if I had to choose between going back and doing my 13th year and doing a tour in Afghanistan, I’d get my passport ready.  Being 13 is hard.

So I called L.J. up last week and made him an offer.  I’d take two of his birds as a consequence and we’d start over on the project.  We are starting slowly.  He tends the birds on the weekend when I’m doing my long shifts.  I take care of them on my easier days.  He buys the food and we switch weeks on cleaning his coop.  If he is doing well by March, he’ll be allowed to get three more chickens.  We’ll see.

Sometimes you have to retrain someone to get good results.  He can’t help what is happening to him, so I figure I will.  I’m glad that I wrote the following piece.  It reminds me of who he is at his core, not who the hormones make him.

- M.O.H.

When a Boy Mans Up

From “Write for me,” by Paapa (bit.ly/V3QSeo)

Paapa’s new song “Write for me” premiered tonight on YFM with Kobby Graham.

————-

Amidst a barrage of azonto beats, mindless lyrics, and money-flashing videos in the Ghanaian music scene, Paapa stands out as a thoughtful and serious artist. A self-described “Ghanaian, Musician, Skillionaire, Dreamer, Forgiven sinner” (his Facebook descrip), his fresh, contemporary, faith-inspired sounds refuse to quite fit into any box.

Mixing slang pidgin phrases with complex sociopolitical issues and soulful melodies, Paapa blends musical styles in a compelling cosmopolitan fusion. Think Lecrae or Mali Music’s conscious Christian rap, John Legend’s coffee piano soul, and Osibisa’s street groovy funk. Paapa writes and produces all his own music, often laboring for months over a single song.

Paapa Kwaku hMensa, who goes by the artist name Paapa, was signed four years ago at the age of 17 to Skillions Records, a Ghanaian label known for producing positive indie music, headed up by rap favorite Jayso. Today, Paapa balances his career as a musician with his schoolwork at Reed College in Oregon, US. Having made the most out of his debut album ‘Solar,’ released in July of 2011, he is gearing up for his second album release, ‘Songs for Kukua,’ coming out this March 6, to coincide with the 56th anniversary of Ghana’s independence.

Paapa synthed smooth tunes as a headlining artist at Accra[dot]Alt’s Ind!e Fuse last month.

Kukua, the name for Wednesday-borns in Ghanaian Akan traditions, matches Kwaku, Paapa’s own Wednesday day-name. The song plays out as a dialogue between the two, Kwaku telling Kukua he “just got a scholarship” and will be “moving to the dollar ship”; that the “cedi and pesewa” (Ghanaian currency) “cannot afford my dreams.” Kukua sings, “Please don’t l-e-eave me-e,” ending in a low tremor, “If you leave / Please write songs for me / And come back to me…”

Jayso (left) joined Paapa at his Family Reunion Concert Jan. 5 at Sytris Cafe. Paapa was signed by Jayso to the Skillions Records team at the age of 17.

Paapa was a headlining artist at Ind!e Fuse last month with Accra[dot]Alt at the Alliance Française d’Accra, performing alongside stars such as FOKN BOIS and Tawiah from the UK (of Mark Ronson collabo-fame). While at school in the US, Paapa keeps his mainly Ghanaian fan base active through social media. Whenever he comes home to Ghana on school break, he hits up a barrage of concerts, and has held three packed solo shows in collaboration with 233 Live in the past year.

Paapa’s upcoming sophomore album, coincidentally corresponding with his sophomore year in uni, promises to be thoughtful, intimate, and deeply musical. A quieter sound and more critical approach characterize “Write for me”; Paapa seems to have grown a bit jaded and introspective since the energy-pumping ‘Solar’ album. With an already evolving sound and promising musical future ahead, we’ll have to watch and see how his story plays out, the songs he continues to write for Kukua.

Paapa had the crowd rocking at Accra[dot]Alt’s Ind!e Fuse at the Alliance Française d’Accra.

————-

“Write for me”
Paapa
13/1/13

Kukua, I just got this scholarship
So I’ll be moving to the dollar ship.
I just want my dreams to set sail
Cause if I stay with you they might fail.

And with tears in her eyes, she said,
“Please don’t leave me
If you stay, we’ll find a way.
So don’t leave me.
If you stay, we’ll find a way.
I promise you.”

Kukua please know,
Say you’re so beautiful,
Black Star my queen.
I love you but guess what
Your cedi and pesewa
Cannot afford my dreams.

She said, “Kwaku, If you leave,
I’ll lose one more piece of me. I’ve lost too many.
But history repeats itself. So it’s time to play a different song.
Cause I need you right here beside me, here at home.
I know that I have got some issues
But ano fit fix alone. I said ano fit fix alone.

“So don’t leave me.
If you stay, we’ll find a way.
So don’t leave me.
If you stay, we’ll find a way
I promise you.

“If you leave,
Please write songs for me.
And come back to me.”

You have to discover things for yourself.  People can talk all day long, but the best teacher is experience.

Here are some lessons that I’ve learned in my life:

1.)  The stove is hot.  If you touch it, you will get burned.

2.)  Don’t pee into the wind.  If you’re a female, don’t face downhill and pee uphill.

3.)  When you stick your tongue on a 9 volt battery – bwbwbwbwbwwhoa!

And, number 4.) Building with pallets may be cheap, but it takes extra time and is not, as you may think, easy.

Why?

1.) These unholy little buggers.

Notice several things with me.  First, they have a twist in them, much like a screw, which makes them difficult to pull.  Secondly, they have no pointy tip, so you can’t really reuse them.  Thirdly, they are built by the lowest bidder, so when you attempt to extract them, the head usually folds up like a wad of gum, making it even harder to pull them out of the board.

2.)  Pallets are made to many different specifications.

I knew there would be some variances between the pallets I was getting.  I didn’t realize, however that nearly every pallet would be different.  There you go, folks.  Advice given.  Take it or leave it.  If you think you can just piece something up by putting pallets together, you are, for the most part, mistaken.  That would be unless you are able to obtain pallets from a place that gets them uniform, for some reason.

We spent some time taking the pallets apart.  My cousin, Jen, advised me to make a pallet pryer.  Haven’t done it yet, mostly because I need to find a sucker somebody with a welder.  After much beating and pounding, I let the kids take over.  Believe it or not, working as a team, they were able to extract boards from the pallets.

3.)  The wood is cheap and it breaks.

I had enough time to frame up the two side walls.  One is off an inch due to variances in wood size, but I think I can compensate by using scrap wood.

With the time I spent taking apart the pallets to get the wood, I could have framed all four walls and possibly the roof if I had a mess of 2×4′s.

Fortunately for you, my darling subscriber, I’m on a budget that doesn’t include building supplies (or gambling in Vegas) and the 2×4 supply on the dump pile has been pretty.darn.thin.

If I wasn’t building for 15+ chickens, I’d change the design.  I’d have six pallets of similar build and cube them.  Slap on a little OSB and I’d be good to go.

But this isn’t that coop.  This is the one-piece-at-a-time, Johnny Cash style, psycho-billy cadillac coop.

Pax Domini Sit Semper Vobiscum,

Mike Oscar Hotel

2012 gave way to many great things in rap.  These are the greatest:

1.  Homophobia & Religion finally get their day in court

For decades in hip-hop we’ve had all these rappers celebrating organized religion and so few delving into it in a real way especially not in the mainstream.  With Jesus Piece and Food and Liquor II coming out this year, there was a lot to be said about religion in hip hop.  Race has always been a huge issue in rap so it was good for a change to see religion get the same attention.  Also with Frank Ocean (the first decent non-straight rapper, yeah you heard me Sissy Rich) coming out as bi this year and Lil B dropping I’m Gay (I’m Happy), people also go to talking about homophobia in hip hop and that let a few unexpected rappers come out in the support of the gay community.

2.  Joey Bada$$ & Pro Era

New York City hip hop is back not solely because of Joey and Pro Era but they are the best young MCs to come out in years.

3.  The Return of Crews

I like seeing all these crews with their leaders coming up (Joey & Pro Era, Kanye & G.O.O.D. Music, A$AP Rocky & A$AP Mob, Tyler & Odd Future, Curren$y & Jets Life, etc.).  The truly great leaders can make average artists great (Kanye & Pusha T), which is always good for a genre like hip hop.

4.  Black Star is Back

Nothing really needs to be said about this now, does it?

5.  Young Chop

Best new producer, I’m excited about the coming years when he branches out farther from GBE.

6.  Honorable Mention: Molly

Molly is responsible for making some of the great minds in hip hop even better: Danny Brown, MC Ride, A$AP Rocky, Kanye, and many more.

Worst thing to happen to hip-hop in 2012

1.  Capital STEEZ Death

This is not only the worst thing to happen this year, it is the worst thing to happen in rap in a very, very long time.  It sucks to see anyone die.  It sucks even more when that person is young. It is a terrible tragedy when that person is Capital STEEZ, one of the best and most promising young rappers in recent memory.  This is especially hard for young rap fans; not only was STEEZ only about 2 months older than me he is the first celebrity of any kind that I’ve cared about that has died in my life time and the same can be said for a lot of people my age.  It came three days after the release of Pro Era’s second compilation album, The APROcalypse, and it made listening to it that much more difficult.  I wish the best to Joey Bada$$ who lost his best friend, the rest of Pro Era, and STEEZ’s family.

2.  White Girl Mob

Ugh, let’s just pray they don’t become popular and start some fucking trend.

3.  Young Money’s Take Over

As previously mentioned, they were nearly unavoidable… although it looks like that’s over!!

4.  Nicki Minaj

She has inspired a train of terribly awful female rappers.  Good for her, bad for all of us.

5.  The End of the Cool Kids

Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks have been putting in solo work for a long time but I was always hopeful we’d get another mixtape or album before the real break up. We also lost Das Racist.

6.  Honorable mention: Molly

Makes terrible rappers even stupider (Trinidad James, Kreayshawn, Lil Wayne, Juicy J, etc.)

7.  Honorable mention: Worldstarhiphop.com grows bigger by the day

Worst website ever made and it is becoming a bigger part of hip hop every day, I just hope they never host a mixtape, or at least a mixtape I want to hear.

Biggest Let Down of 2012

A let down requires expectations.  I expected these to be much MUCH better than they were.

1.       All City Chess Club

If you’re a fan of the new school of hip hop, you’ve been excited about All City Chess Club for years now.  Lupe and Pharrell’s super group has been promising us a mixtape for so long it’s starting to look like it may never happen.  But I do not intend to give up hope.

2.       XXL Freshmen Cover

I mean…Iggy Azalea, Future, and Don Trip.  Seriously?

3.       Wiz Khalifa

I thought this would be Wiz’s year for a comeback.  I thought maybe he’ll go the way of Curren$y and stop sucking and be dope again.  I was wrong; Allderice wasn’t awful but O.N.I.F.C. was. Better than Rolling Papers though I guess.

4.       Snoop Lion

Fuck you doing Snoop?  Fake Jamaican accent?  Terrible reggae beats?  What’s happened to one of the last great living legends?

5.       The Heist- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

I don’t like Macklemore but people do and I see his appeal.  From what I had heard from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis before The Heist I expected something cleaner and more diverse.  Except for the music video for Thrift Shop there wasn’t much good to speak of from this album.

6.       The Weeknd

Where’d he go?  He ran 2011 and was poised to take over in 2012 but he didn’t.  Maybe next year.

7.       J. Cole

Another vestige of earlier years who really should’ve done more but instead disappeared.

8.  Nipsey Hu$$le

Everyone was talking about Nipsey in 2011 like he was about to take over the West coast.  Then nothing worth talking about happened.

9.  Fortune- Chris Brown

Worst album of the year.  I like Chris Brown but I have no expectations of greatness from him.  This is why it wasn’t such a HUGE let down.

10.  Life is Good-Nas

Everyone was claiming Life is Good was the best Nas since Illmatic.  Which, hey, might be true, but it still wasn’t good.

11.  Honorable Mention: Jesus Piece-Game

Great, and I do mean GREAT concept.  Executed poorly. I can’t wait for the next rapper to drop an album about the hypocrisy in religion and hip hop.

Worst Performance in 2012

Their constant production of shit speaks for itself so I feel no need to say anything about any of these embarrassments.  The people on this list are depressingly terrible… at least they were in 2012 maybe some of them will wake the fuck up in 2013.

1.  Kreayshawn

2.  Iggy Azalea

3.  Juicy J

4.  Rihanna
That’s right nigga ain’t NO body safe

5.  YG

6.  Future

7.  Nicki Minaj

8.  Rick Ross

9. Pitbull

10.  Lil B

This is the only one I’m going to say anything about because let’s be honest I am as Based as the next guy.  Lil B is on this list because he is terrible, but he’s 10th because he also is great and he knows it.  I’m all for challenging what is “good” in music but when you challenge it for so long and so stridently like Lil B has it becomes hard to tell if her knows he is making crap music or not.  I mean Lil B you release 1000 mixtapes a year why don’t you just make one of those good so I can prove to people that being Based is a good thing.

This is my first Black Star post so far on the site. I know much more Talib Kweli material than Mos Def, mostly because he came to my high school and made a rapper out of a non-rapper, and not too much of them together, despite how huge of an influence they’ve had on hip hop. I’ve chosen to learn them at an appropriate pace, as to not rush and miss anything. They have a sound that I predict to be compatible with my future, matured music tastes, so honestly I’m content with saving them for a bit. But for now I would like to share this piece from The Hurricane soundtrack, a Denzel boxing movie from 1999. And, of course, it being a Sunday and all, it’s produced by the late J Dilla.