When the revolution becomes televised

I thought Chocolate Rain was about racism and this guy was a PHD student?

"Real gangstas never snitch!"

These niggas are co-d's for life! I'm from the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, but the biggest gangstas I've ever been exposed to aren't from up the hill (Ocean Hill), they're from Capitol Hill. These folks pillage and plunder for oil, tobacco, and guns. Bush's dad was actually a co-conspirator in the biggest drug trafficking ring in history (Iran-Contra). However, unlike our gangsta rappers, these apoplectic imbeciles actually abide by a g-code. These niggas never snitch. They actually abide by the Samurai code (death before dishonor) and will quit before they snitch (see Alberto Gonzales). Condoleeza Rice held President Bush down so well at the 9/11 Commission hearings that she made Eve look more like a regular Urban Thespian as opposed to a Ride or Die Chick (see her go from Aftermath to Roots to Ruff Ryders to Aftermath to Full Surface).

Wait, Didnt Cheney shoot one of his friends last year? His man didn't even press charges. Can you imagine that conversation?:
Cheney: "Just say it was a hunting accident and you made a mistake and jumped 100 feet up in the air got in the way of my
bullet... I'll make sure you're famiy is taken care of"
victim: "but what about my health...my family needs me, my wife...my kids, they won't believe that!"
Cheney: "Ok so don't say anything or I'll kill you and your whole family"

Gangsta.

Shark siting

I love Keyshia Cole and I think she is one of the flyest chicks out...but why does she have grey baby teeth?

Tighty Whiteys shouldn't be so close

Quick question for Chris Stokes....Is this how they were discovered?

Does anyone care?

I can't wait for that new Omarion and Bow Wow Album! I'm sure it's gonna reshape the landscape of music! Ok seriously, what's Bow Wow gonna do on stage while Omarion is performing? Will he rap while Omarion wiggles? Will Omarion wiggle while Bow Wow raps? I'm sure it's gonna be exciting...can't wait to see!

Boring ass video of the day

Not many words for this one right here. The record doesn't even sound mixed. I heard the writer's version (Woodworks) of this song and it sounded better than this. If you listen closely you can actually hear the writer's voice in the background. Jaheim is another jail dude notorious for being gay and proud but commercially straight (whatever that means). Sad thing is that I really like him (pause), but who the hell casted bizzaro Julissa to half-ass act in this straight to you-tube clip.

Jaheim - Never [New Video]
Uploaded by Yannicklord

Not your average jail dude...

I'm not a big fan of this guy but he always makes for an interesting interview. The whole spiel about boxing instead of gunplay is dope and it seems sincere. LMAO at Punching bag P!

Chris Brown and Tina Davis!!!!

OMG!!! I had this crazy in depth analysis of the Chris Brown/Tina Davis Scandal....but no one cares...at all. Sex and Drugs run rampant in the music industry and if she helps him make a hit record...everyone'll get over it.

Question of the day- If Tina is the female counterpart to R. Kelly, did she pee on Chris?
2nd Question of the day- Did he like it?

P.S. Chris has a monster smash duet with Jordin Sparks on her album

Hip Hop is Dead....Nigger!

Now nobody wants to be the uncool person that says, "Nigger" is a dumb name for an album...but I'm too cool not to be cool.

I'm probably too old for this hip-hop stuff but at 31 years old, its still in my blood. I love this culture of hip-hop, complete with ignorant ass icons like Flava Flav, handicapped niggas like the Ying Yang Twins, and intelligent executives like Steve Stoute and Jay-Z. I love the entire hip-hop community but my favorite rapper is Nas. However, that album title is foul. The album title is self-serving and being validated under the guise that it's meant to "take power from the word." Is anyone gonna feel less of a sting if a white person calls them a "nigger" because Nas named his album "nigger."

I actually would have less of a problem with the title if he had simply said, "my record sales are declining and I need a very controversial marketing technique to draw interest to my project." But he said, " I want to take power from the word." Nigga Please. Once again, Nas is my favorite...Illmatic made me want to be a rapper...but hip hop is smarter than this and Nas is smarter than this.

Nas has been our modern day Langston Hughes...not our modern day Dick Gregory. Now Dick Gregory can put out an album called Nigger because he's going to spend time on that album proving how intelligent he is. While Dick Gregory appreciates his humble beginnings and his role as an Activist, Nas is ambivalent towards his genius and potential political power. My point: if you're not doing something to change the plight of the nigger, dont exploit that nigger.

Now I can be proven completely wrong if Nas puts out an album that contains groundbreaking content visually and sonically. I would hope if he read this then he would be motivated to do so. Now this may actually be the hidden purpose of my blog...to inspire...which would then make my blog a double entendre of prose and purpose! This would then make my blog a rap....(insert name change)....at this point you can also refer to me as MC Esquire! Holla! (I thought it was funny enough not to delete it when I thought you might think it was corny).

At the end of the day, my point is that we shouldnt just accept that album title, we should expect something more with that album title. The word "Nigger" has been used for centuries to denigrate and insult our people. But it wasn't just used by white people. I actually think that it's cool that we have taken ownership of the word...but I don't think it's cool for us to commercialize the word because at that point we lose ownership. The people that make the most money off of this album are the white owners of Universal. Commercializing the word "Nigger" will not marginalize it's meaning. There are 400 hundred years of lynching, beating, slavery, classism, and poverty built into that word. And now I have to hear some white kid say, "I love that 'Nigger' album." Nas, you're making the aforementioned scenario perfectly okay.

I care about Hip Hop and I believe it still has tremendous value in the market place without the fighting, the guns, the drugs, and "Nigger." But if "Nigger" has to exist, please make it mean something...or else...Hip Hop is Dead.

American Gangster

So I resisted the temptation of my local bootlegger and saw American Gangster on Thursday at Midnight in the Movie Theatre. And while the goal of many bloggers is to say something amazingly shocking or witty (or at least have shocking titles), all I can say about American Gangster is that it was "cool." It was by no means a cinematic breakthrough and it actually did Harlem no justice. The movie was "cool." The saving grace of the film was actually the acting....yeah I'd have to say that when I sum up the film I can really only say that it exhibited pockets of great acting.

Now there were obviously moments of extreme pleasure (PAUSE) while watching the film, but for most of the film I sat in my seat waiting for the aforementioned pockets of great acting. While Ruby Dee played a limited role in the film, she radiated on screen and gave a clinic for classic overacters like Cuba Gooding Jr. Her role as the matriarch of the Lucas clan defines how a supporting actress should play her role. Ruby Dee's eyes told the story before Frank Lucas could say a word. Her eyes told you that she didnt agree with Frank's lifestyle but that she was tired of being poor. And while she was an old-fashioned woman from the south, you believed in the insight she gave Frank towards the end of the film.

Clarence Williams III (Bumpy Johnson) is a genius. His role, albeit brief, as the mentor and predecesor to Frank Lucas showed so much complexity in 15 minutes that I had to go research his life and what it meant to the Harlem scene during his time.

Russell Crowe did a good job playing the unbelievable character of Richie Roberts. Richie Roberts was the cop turned prosecutor who cheated on his wife, abandoned his son, and slept with every woman in sight, hung out with drug dealers and gangsters...but wouldn't partake in any corrupt police activities.....yeah right! I believe the writers didnt even believe that Richie Roberts was completely clean from the corruption. But that's why I say Russell Crowe did a good job because his character was more fictional than Spiderman. In fact, Richie Roberts is portrayed as a prosecutor hellbent on cleaning up the streets by catching Frank Lucas, but a few years later becomes a defense Attorney and is hired by Frank Lucas. Oh and Richie Roberts and Frank Lucas are friends now.

Common had three lines in the movie...not really worth mentioning but "I used to Love H.E.R." is my favorite hip hop song. T.I. was pretty good shedding the skinny tough guy image. But the standout hip hop feature in the film was RZA. Rakeem played a cop part of Richie Roberts crew and did a decent job in spite of his horrendous speech impediment and the sizeable amount of script he was responsible to read.

Finally Denzel. The gift and the curse with Denzel is that he's always good. So for him to get an amazing review he has to be more than amazing. Now like I said earlier, this film revolved around pockets of great acting. There were moments in this film where Denzel was amazing. He absolutely murdered Russell Crowe in their interrogation scene. However, the problem was that Denzel didnt have much to work with.

Unlike Malcolm X, Harlem Nights, Glory, etc., which were also period peices, American Gangster did a horrible job of making the audience feel the period. Harlem has a culture all its own and it was completely lost in this film. The dichotomy and complexity of poor but flashy African Americans vs. Rich and Uppity Negroes has defined the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. The scene in Malcolm X where Denzel is preaching on the street is classic...but I didnt get a sense of any Harlem culture in American Gangster. And thats where I hold Ridley Scott responsible.

I say American Gangster is a cool film that employs pockets of great acting.