A raging argument recently emerged in the newsroom – what is the greatest album of the decade? Below is my entry and, shock horror, it is neither a generic indy band nor a ‘cool’ American singer-songwriter…

“A lot of people ask me stupid fuckin’ questions
A lot of people think that what I say on record
Or what I talk about on a record
That I actually do in real life, or that I believe in it
Or if I say that I wanna kill somebody, that
I’m actually gonna do it, or that I believe in it
Well shit, if you believe that, then I’ll kill you”

Eminem - Criminal

To a 15-year-old from a little village in South Gloucestershire, whose narrow music taste ranged barely from Blur to Oasis, American hip-hop generally meant very little.

But somehow, Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP left a lasting mark on me.

Easily the most commercially successful entry on the list, Eminem’s second record became the fastest selling rap album of all time and has sold close to 20 million copies to date.

It is also, aside from perhaps the Strokes’ This Is It, the only entry on the list to have truly changed the face of pop music.

The iconic Stan, The Real Slim Shady and The Way I Am provided the soundtrack to a generation of teens.

But, to me, an angry yet reasonably well-behaved and respectful teenager, The Marshall Mathers LP gave me the opportunity of sticking two fingers up at the world from the safety of my bedroom.

Eminem is one of the great artists and The Marshall Mathers LP is his masterpiece. Album of the decade, no doubt.

“Will the real Slim Shady please stand up”

I have not listened to the new Rakim, except Holy Are You and the song with Maino. Pretty good. Nothing that grabbed me, though.

Is he still hungry? Is he playing with words like he used to? Is he in the same zone? Does he still write his rhymes backwards?

Time caught up with him. It doesn’t seem to bug him too much. Whatever, he has done more than his part. To this day rappers are unable to outspit him. Go back to 1988, the title track of Follow The Leader. Put any up and coming, ribs-are-showing-hungry MC beside that and they’ll break like glass. Besides Tupac Shakur, and maybe Big Pun on a strictly technical level, nobody has managed to update his formula.

On one hand time has been unkind to this great concrete poet. On the other hand his works are timeless, to a much higher degree than other rappers. Comparing him to other greats of his era is not fair. BDP, Big Daddy Kane, NWA, Kool G Rap, LL Cool J and Ice-T all sound dated, unlike Rakim. He towers above them on a plane with other innovative spirits like Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix. There is an eternal freshness and coolness to their music that is unleashed everytime it’s played. He has the experimentalism of Davis and the iconic expressiveness of Hendrix. “He came on stage with lazers in his eyes“. In the words of Dallas Penn:

Performance is personal style and attracts people that can relate. Seeing Rakim at Latin Quarters in 1987 you can best believe that heads were in awe of the way he presented himself. Rappers that had any rhymes during that time had to jump and flail about. Rakim stood in one place and gripped that mic like he was choking that shit. Fools were getting knocked the fux out that night on the Deuce and in the Quarters. Best show evar for me.

Comega has the dopest flow, the deepest lyrics, the illest eyewear (as obvious in the following video), and he gives the hottest, most thoughtful interviews. This one is one of the best yet (professionally done too). He goes in depth regarding Tha Realness, which as the year is coming to an end, I have to put as the very best album of the decade. I’m almost sure of that.

Born And Raised isn’t the masterpiece that I was expecting though, mainly because of some poor production choices (Mega Fresh X, Get It In). Odd, odd since Cory normally has an excellent ear for beats. Still, Mega has improved with the lyrics yet again. If you don’t put Journey, The Rapture and Define Yourself as some the best tracks of the year, I question your taste in traditionalist rap music.

RAPPER JAIL OVER WARNING SONG

Two rappers have been jailed for using an internet song to try to scare off witnesses to the murder of a 24-year-old man in Ealing, west London.

The video warned people who talked to police about the murder of Jason Johnson could be shot.

Ishmael McLean, 22, from Greenford, and Rowan Simon, 18, from Ealing, west London, were found guilty of acting to pervert the course of justice.

McLean was jailed for four years and Simon was jailed for 30 months.

McLean was also sentenced to a year in jail for possessing ammunition, the term to run concurrently.

Message to community

The clip entitled “Wrong Team”, featured a backing chorus sung by several people with a burst of gunfire.

It was placed on YouTube with links to MySpace and Facebook profiles.

It was published on the internet following the murder of Mr Johnson, from Ealing, in November last year.

Oliver Glasgow, prosecuting, said the video to the song was clearly intended to frighten people off from speaking to the police.

Eight people, including McLean and Simon, were arrested following Mr Johnson’s shooting but were not prosecuted.

Mr Glasgow said a man claiming to be an eyewitness had been interviewed by police.

The defendants, without knowing the person’s identity, sent out a message to the community by publishing the rap on the internet.

‘Grim prospect’

“Its connection to this case and its chilling message were immediately obvious to the officers,” Mr Glasgow told the court.

“The video had but one purpose – to threaten any witness to this incident to frighten them to such an extent that they would refuse to co-operate with the police.

“They made it clear exactly what it was they wanted to do to them.

“Namely, kill them or to use their own words, ‘I can’t wait for the snitch to drop, I still show up at his wake just to see him off’.”

Old Bailey Judge Richard Hone said the lyrics meant: “Those who went chitter-chattering to police were themselves in danger of being shot.”

He said police investigating gun crime were faced with a code of silence.

“It is a grim prospect for British justice,” the judge added.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I give, to you, Enemy of the State. This is a brand new lupe fiasco mixtape. I’m liking it a lot so far. You can check out the full album Here

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

WHERE THEY DO THAT AT VOL. 5

CLICK THIS HERE /LINK OR PIX

http://thatcrack.com/mixtapes/dj-ykcor-where-they-do-that-at-5/

“THE REAL MR. HALLE BERRY” STARRING SUPA STAAR

CLICK HERE/LINK/OR PIX

In the chapter Sampladelia of the Breakbeat from Kodwo Eshun’s interesting book More Brilliant Than The Sun the author highlights a development from Public Enemy’s militant paranoia to the slowed-down, full-blown street life hallucinations of Cypress Hill’s Illusions and Sunz of Man’s Soldiers Of Darkness. These are the two first stages of paranoia in rap music.

Eshun’s prose is more than ten years old by now. Today a third paradigm is visible; from the political, to the mystical, to another set of politics. The enemies have remained the same – the government, the police, the record industry, traitors. Chuck D, Ice-T and Ice Cube feared for the loss of their freedom, artists in the next decade fought a battle for their soul – the biblical 2pac, Biggies bleak visions of Life After Death, a praying DMX, the existensial angst of Big Pun, the battle-ready mysticism-futurism and sad soulfulness of Wu-Tang, the post-Native Tounges spiritualism of Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Black Thought. Most popular rappers these days seem to be more concerned with their money being taken away from them.

The struggle for economic independence and creative control (Company Flow, The Arsonists, Non Phixion) that closed of the last millenium was quite effectively recoded into a quest for dollars (50 Cent, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and the underground rappers following them). Both the political and the spiritual-cultural has been pushed to the side. (Of course, we’re not talking definite categories here, but paradigms.)

In the bigger picture we can see that the initial call for social change (MLK, Malcolm X, The Black Panther Party, etc.) was persecuted and beat down and transformed into religious, criminal and antisocial activities. This immense energy invested in bettering ones life and reaching for freedom and independence was rehabilitated into the capitalsit system through self-employment, the hustler gestalt, the propaganda for private profits and a preferance for surface, not substace… swagger, not skills, storytelling, ultramagnetism.

In today’s hip hop scene there are many different choices from which you pick as your design your playlist for a night of dancing and fun. So many artists are choosing heavy beats with a lot of bass that are great for dancing. However, this music does not sound its best when played at a more relaxed volume. This is why Reality Laster should be considered one of the finest hip hop artists in today’s urban music scene.

Reality Laster: The Rap King Of Miami - www.RealityLaster.com

His music has the staying power to sound good both soft and loud. He combines some fantastic vocal styling and rhyming combinations in the verses of his songs with a smooth and mellow chorus that gets into your head and has you humming his music all day. There is bass, as there well should be, but it doesn’t overpower the lyrics and melody of the rest of the song.

It is very easy to buy a beat track from some half-rate internet site, crank up the bass, and rap along. Reality Laster doesn’t do that. He is actually an artist and takes the time to create musical compositions, rather than just modify a beat track. I was listening to his latest single, “Candi Girl” and I really like the aforementioned combination of rap and melody.

Reality Laster is an artist well worth watching. He has actually been producing music since 1999 and has collaborated with a number of other hip hop artists. You have heard his touch in “Street Life” that came out with Drakkari Black last year. Keep your ears peeled for this artist and be sure to check out his website at www.realitylaster.com.

In a sign that there is much good in Hip Hop legendary rapper KRS One of the group BDP ( Boogie Down Productions ) will be helping to feed thousands this Thanksgiving at the very shelter he once stayed in. Let’s hope others follow his example.

Read the whole story here:
http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/blacknewsblackviews.html

“The two people that should be battling are Jay-Z and 50 Cent…I think it would be great for Hip-Hop.”

-KRS-One

Who knows battles better than KRS-One? KRS-One burst on the scene in the 80’s after being initially scorched by the Juice Crew’s leaders the late Mr. Magic and DJ Marley Marl. After that, he set it off on the crew with Boogie Down Productions in what would be one of the most storied battles ever. Those were the days!

But now, today, it seems as though the two mega entities about to go HardBody are Jay-Z & 50 Cent!  50 Cent has been calling out Jay-Z in a number of songs and interviews in an attempted to lure his fellow Hip-Hop mogul into a lyrical championship bout. For the most part Jay has been ignoring dudes.

On Beanie Sigel’s “I Go Off,” 50 Cent says, “Yeah, you changed, man. You let the money change you, Jay. You used to be from Marcy, [Brooklyn] n***a. Now you a pass the Grey Poupon a** n***a. You don’t want the shooter? I’ll take him. [laughs] N*gga, feed the wolves or else the wolves feed off you. Eat your a** alive! I live by a combat’s creed. Strategy. Your move, n***a.” Ouch!

Like I said, Jay has yet to respond. But it seems as though KRS-One, a man whose insights seem to know no bounds, is all for it!  Furthermore, KRS theorizes how it all could make dollars and sense for the two moguls.

“The Teacher” may be on to something. At any rate I’d pay money to see it go down!

-”The BklynBandette.” Mr. Hollywood’s Co-Defendant.

Riktigt stor låt. Sebbe är en av Sveriges bästa rappare och Masse är ett geni (att få ravesynthar att låta så hårda är vad genier gör).

(Kartellen har även den bästa bloggen av alla svenska rappare, inte för att jag följer konkurrensen men ändå).

***

Apropå Stockholmsrappare som förtjänar mer uppmärksamhet: Fittja Chrille har gjort del i tre av svensk raphistorias bästa låtar. Samma Knas Varje Dag. Ainaziz. Och solomästerverket Kårens stolthet.

(Och den här från 2001 är långt ifrån kass).



Wasn’t is just yesterday that when a new 50 Cent album came out, everybody was talking about it? Wasn’t is just yesterday that 50 Cent would have 3 top ten singles on the charts that hyped his album so much that everybody was ready to hear the complete new album? With so many delays and no big hit singles on the radio catching steam, 50 Cent’s new album Before I Self Destruct has seemed to be on the back-burner for people who in the past have been loyal fans. Who out there even knew that this Tuesday, 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct album finally was released? Projections came in today from hitsdailydouble.com that projects that 50 Cent’s latest project will only sell about 150,000 to 160,000 copies in his first week in stores. This is a concerning number as 50 Cent has been known in the past to sell a million copies in its first week in stores. In 2002, his debut album Get Rich or Die Trying sold 872,000 copies in its first week, which spawned hits like In Da Club, Wanksta, P.I.M.P, 21 Questions, and Many Men. It went on to sell over 10 million records and in many eyes became a classic album in hip hop. When nobody thought he could get any bigger, his second album The Massacre was released in 2004 and sold an incredible 1.15 million copies in its first week. Even his third album Curtis which is now known for its Soundscan battle with Kanye West, which he ended up losing, even sold a solid 695,000 copies in its first week in stores. So what has happened to 50 Cent? Yes it seems like 50 Cent is still always in the news, but it’s not for his music anymore….

But why is this? Can 50 Cent still make a hit song? As of November 19th, 50 Cent’s new single Baby By Me, is currently 33rd on Itunes music charts. It hasnt even come close to his catalog of hits from before, and its unheard of, for him not to have a top 10 single going into the week of his new album. At one point in 2005, it didnt seem like 50 Cent could miss when making a hit record. He became the first artist to have three singles in the top 5 on the Billboard charts in one week. Yes I believe 50 Cent can still make quality music but it seems like every time I hear about him in the news these days it’s all about what I like to call “publicity feuds”. He picks fights with the likes of Jay Z, Rick Ross, Young Buck, and The Game to name a few to what it seems like is just a ploy to keep himself relevant. In Mtv’s Hottest MC’s list of 2009, they put him at #9 and the only reason he is even there, is because of his “publicity and web presence”. For an artist that at one point seemed unstoppable, it truly doesnt even seem like it’s about the music anymore. 50 Cent will always stay in the news with his sometimes entertaining ploys but will I ever get an album like Get Rich or Die Trying again? Probably Not

To look at his new album Before I Self Destruct, 50 Cent goes back to his roots and gives his fans the aggressive content that they are used to. With only 3 featured artists on his new album, it seems like 50 Cent is focused to show that this album is more centered around him. Stand out tracks are So Disrepectful, Psycho, Crime Wave, and Gangsta’s Delight where we see glimpses of old 50 Cent. Fans who love his club records will love Baby By Me and Do You Think About Me but none in my mind come close to his old classics.  Overall I see this album as 3rd overall in his discography, behind Get Rich or Die Trying and The Massacre, and in front of Curtis. It is overall a great album and people should definitely listen to it but it is sad to get to the end of the album and realize that we will probably never see the work of Get Rich or Die Trying again.

So is 50 Cent really losing his edge, or have we just put him on such a high pedestal that he just cant reach any higher. In 2008 he still had a net earning of $440 million, noted all of that was not made off of music. 50 Cent has definitely lost some of his stature with his 4th album but he has definitely not become completely irrelevant in the music industry. People all around the world still respect him for his music and would love to see him tour behind this new album but he is not as big as he once was. Maybe 50 Cent has peaked and the days of having so many hit singles all at once are of the past. Jay Z’s 11 number one albums has to be noted as it just comes to show how hard it is to stay on top for so long. 50 Cent’s 4 albums have been good but you start to wonder how many more albums we will see from him. 11 albums seems unreachable to so many artists these days including 50 Cent. It will be interesting to see what the future has in store for 50 Cent but it seems like the days of In Da Club  are far behind him.

“I’m not rapping, but I can kill it.”

Jesus.  I was all caught up in the shoegate banalities and somehow missed this.  I’m surprised it didn’t come crashing through the wall of my apartment like a meteor. Is it possible to come up with a weirder combination of tracks than this and Afghan Women?  Especially when you consider that both music videos were almost certainly shot in Ron-Ron’s backyard.  I’m calling it right now: his next song will feature Tyson and Howard Hughes’ ghost and will be about aliens attacking the G8 summit.

With over 30 million albums sold, 8 Grammys, and 11 number one albums, Jay Z has solidified his name among the all-time greats not only in the hip hop world but in music all together. He is known as the best rapper alive to many and when it comes to live performances, he is known to bring out all of the hits and give the fans what they really want. As a huge fan of Jay Z, the thought of seeing him live was unbelievable to me and when the opportunity came I was ecstatic. With the release of his new album The Blueprint 3, Jay Z was ready to hit the road in support of his new album and on November 10th, he hit Austin, Texas. With over 15,000 people in attendance as they watched the countdown on the screen, the tension in the arena built as everyone knew a hip hop legend was about to hit the stage. As he rose from under the stage in all black with his hands folded as he looked out into the crowd, the place erupted! His new hit single Run This Town began as the crowd began to sing along with Jay Z as they did all night. For the next hour and 40 minutes Jay Z truly gave a performance that undoubtedly shows why he is the best in what he does in the hip hop world. With a full band behind him, Jay Z gave a show that many hip hop artists can’t pull off. With the New York sky line made behind him, Jay Z played hit after hit where the crowd knew every word. The charisma that Jay Z brings to the stage is like no other and even though he has the confidence in why he believes that he is the best, he still has that down to earth feel where he truly appreciates how he got here. “I wouldnt still be here, if it wasnt for the fans”, he said. As he went on to say, “How many hip hop artists can say they are still relevent after 11 albums, not many artists can make it past 4 or 5.” As he loves to say, “From Marcy to Madison Square”, Jay Z has truly made it. With every live performance and every new album that he puts out, Jay Z keeps giving us music that is true to his heart. He will always speak on topics that are relevant in his life and that is why he has made it for so long. As a huge Jay Z fan, I hope this is not the last time I get to see Jay Z and hopefully it is not the last album that he gives the fans to listen to, because Jay Z is truly a genius and still makes classic music that will forever live on. At 38, Jay Z seems to be at an “all-time high” but hopefully like he’s said before on The Black Album, “it’s not the perfect time to say goodbye.”

Set List: Run This Town, D.O.A., U Don’t Know, 99 Problems, Show Me What You Got, Give It To Me, Diamond Is Forever, Jigga My N——, Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Jigga What Jigga Who, P.S.A., Heart of the City, Already Home, Empire State of Mind, A Star Is Born, So Ambitious, Dirt Off Ya Shoulder(encore break) Thank U, medley (On to the Next One, Excuse Me Miss, Venus Vs. Mars, ‘03 Bonnie & Clyde, Lucifer, Swagga Like Us, Can I Get A?), Big Pimpin’, Hard Knock Life, Encore, Young Forever

Greetings!

I had just downloaded The Sun featuring Slick Rick, Rza & Raekwnon. I am not sure why this was never released as a single or appeared on any other Wu albums, but I must say that this is vintage Rap Music period!

I think one of the things I have missed from the Wu of late is their poetic slang. I’ve heard glimpses of it here and there, but not like the old days. I guess everyone has to move on and evolve with each and every new experience.

The Sun is one of those bright Wu joints, which makes it even more of a collector’s item. The beat is like some real early 70’s soul and the lyrics are good because they make an analysis between the Sun in the sky and the Sun with knowledge of self. I think this is a definite buy for those who love some real good vintage Rap Music

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029S1O74/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Warlock Asylum

So I was just searching through YouTube last night, looking for the hottest music and videos on the web, and I came across an amazing rapper called Reality Laster. I can’t believe that I’ve never heard of him before. He’s too great! I listened to one of his singles, called Candi Girl, and I just couldn’t get over how great it is. I must have listened to it about ten times until my roommate yelled at me to get some headphones.

Anyway, Candi Girl is kind of a mellow, hanging out with your girl kind of rap. It’s got a great beat to it and I love the mixing. But what is really nice is the catchy chorus. It just talks about how women are so sweet, which, of course, they are.

Reality Laster: The Rap King Of Miami - www.RealityLaster.com

Then I decided to check out what else Reality Laster has posted on YouTube. He has a lot of good stuff out there. I mean, I listened to Street Life that he made with Drakkair Black last year. The song is great, and the video rocks. They are wearing all these great clothes and there are some awesome cars and chicks in the video too. There’s also a cool video called Banging Body. You should definitely check them.

Actually, I was so excited about the music that I found by Reality Laster on YouTube, that I went to his website http://www.realitylaster.com. There’s tons of great merchandise and you can download a Candi Girl ringtone, which, of course, I did. I can’t wait to get the full album, Remember My Name is released in 2010.

The new single, Show Off, from the upcoming Entermission album by DJ Official is now available on itunes.   The song, featuring Lecrae and Flame, is the first release from the upcoming album featuring over 20 emcees on 16 tracks.  Entermission is the debut release from DJ Official and is set to release on December 26th.  While you wait, download Show Off from itunes and prepare for the rest of the tracks the day after Christmas.

The morning sky is 9/11 blue and the Burj Al-Arab reflects in the stillness of the Persian Gulf. By the time the call to prayer is over and the sun is fully up, is still not quite hot. And this is funny to be amazed by the idea of being outside when it is not hot. But here we are, shivering against the breeze coming in and wrapping up in a towel. The day goes on – in the office a Philippine lady is leaving, her name was Grace, and if we knew that before now, we could not be sure, but she was always smiles and everyone seemed to love her. The Iranians came in full force. Children, soul mates, women in the niqba, French boys in bad jeans – they were all there with the conference room spilling over in the excess of the KFC family meal plans we gorged the spicy chicken breast and piles of chips and began to understand the complexities of the schism in the Shi’ites between the twelvers and the sixers (it is about the true decendancy of the prophet, peace be upon him). Outside the window there is the kick off of the first day of the airline industry conference. The patrol from France is putting on a good show as we eat our biscuits, a tight formation of eight planes jet across the sky leaving trails of the French flag. The French boy burns with pride, and so do we, why not. The F-16 is superior, but these escapades are commendable. And with greased hands we pose for picture and Grace, the Philippine is gone. Back to her backwater village ten hours from Manila. She is going to have a child and hopefully never come back, she is going to eat fish and coconut gravy and take boats along the sea; anything else she does we do not know. Lunch is over and in our office waits a woman from Mauritius. She has ideas that may or may not be true about Ghanaian gold and let them ride; there is no harm in her believing them. It is clear that she is a freak. And the meeting ends with her invitation to come see a hotel and coffee roasting business outside of Addis in Ethiopia. It is harder to end and she sees herself as a salesman, but finally it is over. And the French fighter jets have given room for the Airbus A380. This beast floats so gently against those deep blues of this desert sky, banking and rolling 90 degrees, climbing almost complete vertical, and we choose to be reminded of Hakeem (Ewing never really had that grace) as a giant dancing in the sky. And now we call the French boy and tell him that this is something to be really proud of, and when he says the Germans helped on the engine we tell him to forget this plane – VIVE LE FRANCE. The Airbus loops some more and even the Iranians are impressed. Into the sunset we speed under the encore of the French jets. Over a negroni we watch the polo match where a man is thrown from his horse and the horse collapse on him and the Porsche truck rush on the pitch and him immobilized in a stretcher put into the back. The night is hazy driving back with the tallest building in the world as the only landmark in getting home.

What would you do if your dog made a pass at your wife or daughter?

Certainly the outrage and anger you’d feel was the same that the decent folks in Money, Mississippi felt when they learned that a fourteen year old simian had whistled at 21-year-old human.

That fourteen year old simian was Emmett Till. The twenty one year old human he whistled at was Carolyn Bryant.

Listen. Black people are not human. They are homo erectus. Do a google image search and you’ll see that negros look like them and still live like them in much of the world. Even in civilization, they’ll drag society down to their homo erectus level.

So, the outrage at Emmett Till wolf whistling at a human being wasn’t out of line. Again, What would you do if your dog made a pass at your wife or daughter?

WHAT WE DO KNOW:

Negroes have very dark skin. God gave them dark skin so they could work outdoors all day. The high melanin content in Negro skin makes them immune from getting sunburnt by blocking harmful UV rays. Contrast this with Whites, who have light skin, who God has afforded the luxury of living and working indoors.
Negroes are physically robust. There is no doubt that Negroes have been blessed with superior athletic attributes. Their race is a strong, agile, hardy, and quick one. One needs to look no further to professional sports leagues where negroes dominate. God made them to be so physically powerful so they could work long hours for their White masters.
Negroes are sexually overactive. Statistics prove that negroes are much more sexually active than other races. Negro bucks seek to implant their seed in as many women as possible, giving rise to high illegitmate births in negro communities. Negresses also engage in sex with multiple partners, often having 6+ children each with a different father. God designed them to breed profusely so that White masters could always have a large amount of slaves available. It takes a lot of hands to work the field.
Negroes need White guidance. Look at any community/village/country that is majority Negro. It is infested with a myriad of problems. Rampant crime, fornication, drug abuse, abject poverty, starvation, etc. It is clear that Negroes cannot take care of themselves. God never thought to give them the sagacity to govern themselves since He intended White people to look after them.
Negroes are great dancers and singers. Nowadays people with exceptional dancing and singing talents become celebrities, but in the past those were roles for servants. Kings, lords, and masters had talented servants who could sing and dance and entertain them. God blessed the Negroes with rich voices and agile movements so they could entertain their White superiors.
The Negro diet is tailored to outdoor living. Negroes are very fond of food that is refreshing after a long day’s work. Watermelons and grape soda are good for cooling off after a long day in the fields. It is clear that God designed the negro for an outdoor life, which is reflected in their dietary preferences.
Negroes have lower IQs than Whites. It has been proven time and time again in scientific studies that Negroes rank lower than Whites on average. Negroes are severely underrepresented in any field which requires intense intellectual effort: The fine arts, the sciences, mathematics, engineering, business, theology, etc. God did not need to give them large brains because they were never intended to do this kind of work. This is the domain of White people, their masters.

Global hip-hop doesn’t get much better than this. Rapper/college professor Chang Jui-Chuan is a bonafide star of the hip-hop underground in his native Taiwan, and this collection – largely culled from a 2006 release – has him poised to cross over to an English-speaking audience. A gifted, frequently ferocious bilingual lyricist in his native language, Hokkien and also English, he delivers his English raps in a menacing, slurred Taiwanese-accented drawl. This is conscious hip-hop raised to a power: people have been executed for tackling the topics he addresses. He has little use for globalization:

You say free trade gets us out of poverty and hunger

Free trade saves my family from pistol triggers

Free trade assures good drugs for my son’s cancer

Then tell me why we’re dying faster than ever…

Exploitation disguised as freedom and democracy

Global corporations feed Third World Dictators

Paying less than one dollar per month for child workers…

He fearlessly takes the stand for dissidents who risk their lives around the globe, especially those who dare stand up to the mainland Chinese regime:

…when I’m placing an order on this free-speech website

It’s taken over by the interface in Chinese Simplified

Propaganda’s never simplified, can only be vandalized

I orchestrate lyrical drive-bys

The most potent lyric here is in Hokkien, titled Hey Kid, a scathing account of Chang Kai-shek’s invasion of Taiwan, the February 27, 1947 massacre of Taiwanese nationalist freedom fighters, and the subsequent terror that lasted decades and left tens of thousands of innocent civilians dead. He also addresses spiritual concerns without coming across as doctrinaire (he’s a Christian) and the need to preserve indigenous cultures in the face of western cultural imperialism. The backing tracks here deserve mention too because they’re excellent, ranging from spacy psychedelic funk, to roots reggae (Chang sings respectably well), to ominous, chromatically-charged funk-metal played by a live band rather than sampled. Fans of the best conscious American hip-hop acts: Immortal Technique, the Coup and Dead Prez are in for a treat here. Or maybe this guy can hook up with the Hsu-nami and we can get a real Taiwanese-American crossover.

Well it looks like Mr. Gucci Mane will be out of a lot of money and good publicity for about 6 – 12 months. He was sentenced for probation violation yesterday (November 12, 2009) and immediately handcuffed and taken away. Radric Davis aka Gucci Mane had only performed 25 of 600 hours of community service hours. Yet another rapper at the height of their careers going to jail.

~Signing Off~
AGE

(Taken from a previous blog, More Thoughts on Race and Online Dating.)

It is amazing to me that people can claim that racism no longer exists in America. I know that some narrow-minded individuals believe that they did their duty to eliminate that dark elephant in America’s room by electing Barack Obama, but they merely draped a giant cloth over it.

If you want to see just how racist Americans can still be, look no further than the African-American community. We are gruesomely racist against each other to the point of holding each other back. And nothing is more ignorant and hateful than to call a black person white. Bouji, Oreo, Uncle Tom: those are some of the harsh nicknames we have for our own brothers and sisters that don’t comply with society’s view of what a black person should be. That self-hatred is damaging.

The image many people have of African-Americans.

I’ve dealt with ignorant people that had ill-conceived ideas of black people my whole life. From kids wondering why I didn’t listen to rap music, to being mistaken for British because I pronounce my words, I’ve had my own uphill battle with those that grouped black people by media-forced images. Some of my friends have joked with me about this. I’ve had black peers in junior high and high school pretend to be my friends while hurting me emotionally and physically, making me the butt of their jokes. Even my ex-girlfriend (a Hungarian woman) made an unfortunate “joke” about me acting white despite me being black. Her comment hurt more than nearly any other, as I gave her my love and trust, and got an ignorant comment in return.

Some would say "Oreo." I say "jackass."

And then there are those that have called me that delightful n-word simply based on the color of my skin. Those were the worst experiences of all.

I wish that I was making this up.

No matter where someone lives, how they act or what they like, they will always be an African-American. Those roots can never be escaped. Black people that “act white” is an unfortunate viewpoint of a person so shallow, ignorant and with little insight, it magnifies the problems that we ALL face as a culture — not just the black community, which has a deep-seated problem with putting down people of their own heritage due to low self-esteem brought on by self-hatred from themselves, their families, friends, the black community and negative stereotypes. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Overall, I feel this is a good song.  Like all songs, it has it’s strong points, and it’s weak points, but I feel that in this song, the strong points outweigh the weak points.  I feel that this song is meant to portray the singer’s love for his girlfriend/wife, and it is an apology for cheating, which, unfortunately, happens quite often in the world we live in.  He admits that he was wrong in cheating on her, and that is a good thing.  He feels that this girl that he likes is meant for him, but she isn’t so sure.  She responds to his apology with an attitude of “so you come apologize, and expect everything to be perfect again?”  Quote: “Mmmm whatcha say,  /Mmm that you only meant well?  /Well of course you did  /Mmmm whatcha say, (whatcha say)  /Mmmm that it’s all for the best?  /Of course it is”  I think that she is feeling that he is feeling these emotions at the moment, but that they might not last, and she fears that he may go back to the other girl with whom he cheated on her with.



Another gem from the hidden history of bay hiphop…