Are we really having this conversation? Seriously?! I wonder what this meeting looked like when they said they were going to include this segment. Had to be an awkward moment. Then they looked at the black guy in the room and probably said, "you got this right."
No doubt the President is a cool dude. Sure he chills on the sideline at a basketball game, tells jokes and appears on ESPN to go over his NCAA Tournament bracket and even talks about putting a court on the grounds of the White House. Yes, the President always appears cool, calm and collected. He's got that chill walk and is confident but do we need to use the term "Swagga" to describe it? And if we do, does a black guy have to intro the piece for CNN or be the resident expert on the term? And furthermore does the song "Swagga Like Us" need to be playing in the background. Pretty funny moment for CNN in my opinion. Talk about a news segment that went wrong.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A bit of sports... Is There a Better Starting Five?
A friend of mine posted these five as the starting line up on a dream squad: Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. This team is obviously based on these players at their prime and not if they suited up today. I thought that it was a pretty serious starting five. If you look at these players and their attributes and it's hard to argue that there is another starting five out there that would compare. Thought that I would post the team here and open it up for another five. Who you got? I'm down to start the debate.
What I'm Listening to Right Now... Melanie Fiona
Listened to Melanie Fiona yesterday after a post from Questlove on Twitter. She has some good, good music. Had to share it today. Check her out.
www.myspace.com/melaniefiona
Check it... Peter Hadar
Peter Hadar must have grown up in a house listening to real R&B and soul music. You can hear it in the inflection of his voice and the soultry feel of his tracks. He mixes soul music with a little edge. The result is dope. This my friends is the definition of baby making music (be careful... haha). Perhaps it's the reason his EP, available on iTunes, is named "She's 4 Months". He definitely brings that heat in his music. When I heard Watermelon, I said to myself "uh, oh".Check him out, he definitely has quality music.
www.myspace.com/peterhadar
What I'm Watching Right Now!
An older joint but worth the watch. Shad does his thing! Pay attention to the lyrics.
www.myspace.com/shad
Why I'm Laughing ... The Three Day Rule
I don't even watch this show but came across this link. I don't know if heads wait three days or anything anymore (or if they ever really did for that matter). Most are probably throwing a text the next day. Thought it was a funny clip. Had to share.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Check It... Caits Meissner
Check out Caits Meissner, the twenty-four-year old multitalented individual, who calls herself a “cancer style, homebody, creative pushing, hard shell and soft underneath.” She’s dope!
Meissner, who grew up in a small town outside of Albany, New York credits the small town living for a part of who she is today.
“I believe folks that grow up far from cultural centers are a special breed,” she said. “We are forced to create our own magical existence in the middle of the distinct nothingness.”
Meissner moved to Brooklyn when she was 18 to attend art school and as she puts it, the rest is history. But the small town lessons remain.
“I've always made things and sought out what was not handed to me,” she said. “Must also be my pops for his undeniably fly taste in music and insistence on hipping me to the goodness.”
Meissner is definitely creative (she must have been put on to some fly music and goodness, because her craft shows it). Enter her MySpace page and you’re impressed by her spoken word. Then you should dig a little deeper and you’ll find yourself visiting several pages created by Meissner, which include her poetry and design work.
We reached out to her for a Q&A. Check out what she had to say.
The Mad Bloggers: How would you describe what you do?
Caits Meissner: Hmm, this is a tough one. I usually just use a lot of slashes, you know: poet / writer / performer / graphic designer / educator / music-maker. I'm still looking for an all-encompassing phrase (open to suggestions!) Really, I write. I take that writing and find places to publish it. I also speak it out loud on stages to audiences. And put it to music. I try to make sure what I create is honest. That is really my only requirement and the rest falls into place from there. Labels are hard because they keep you stagnant and stuck. Hasn't anyone ever told you that coloring outside of the lines makes the best pictures? Then again, labeling helps our brain process a pretty insane world. I think art breeds that insanity, but in a good way, and stretches our minds beyond the easily processed. So I suppose just being called Caits shall do.
TMB: How long have you been doing the spoken word thing?
CM: It must have been February of 2006 that I first stepped on a stage. It has only really been a blink in the grand scheme and it's funny how this stuff just starts to define you. "Well, I guess I'm a poet now..." Truthfully, I've been writing since I was able to hold a pen. That counts for something, too, right?!
TMB: Who do you work with?
CM: Many brilliant folks! My last EP showcased production by Afta-1, Young Raven and Jory Leanza-Carey from Broadcast Live, as well as singing from Yarrow of Lady OsoFly and the inimitable Honey Larochelle. I've collaborated with singer-songwriter Tomas Doncker and a whole slew of poets, too many to name. Currently I'm working on music with the aforementioned Yarrow, as well as MC Eagle Nebula. Just released a track on producer Just Plain Ant's album "Dig Deep," and have upcoming work with German producers Comfort Fit and Portformat, as well as Spain's The Aftermath. Working with singer Maya Azucena on a few joints. It's an incredible, ever-expanding list. I can't wait for you to hear it all!
TMB: Is this your career or do you have a "day job"?
CM: I have a day job, as many of us still do. Pretty blessed to tell you that my pay-the-rent work is something I'm also passionate about. I teach a few hours a week, elementary and middle school students, various multi-media art classes with a slant on academic skills and critical examination of the world. My kids provide endless inspiration and unparalleled joy. Plus, I get to sleep in late! I also freelance graphic design for various projects (holla if you need work). That’s what I have a four-year degree in. All is creative, fulfilling and challenging and adds back to my artistic life is varying ways. However, the jury is still out on what the summer will bring, so send on some positive energy, dear readers!
TMB: What's your inspiration?
CM: Love, heartbreak, friends, other poets, musicians and this terrible and fascinating city. I've answered this questions so many times and it's always the same: I find inspiration in the smallest things, peeling a morning orange, and in huge concepts, death, decay and spirituality. The goal is to approach life with an unabashed curiosity, and to try and remain open in the face of threat and be open to getting hurt as growth and fodder for your art. Keep feeling.
TMB: Who are your influences?
CM: So many people! Wow, where do I start? Let's do a "lately" list. The poets I've been reading lately are Yusef Komunyakaa, Roger Mitchell, Erica Miriam Fabri, Marty McConnell, Patrick Rosal, Hafiz and that's just the tip of the iceberg, really.
In terms of spoken word, I grew up inspired by folks like Sarah Jones, Gil Scott Heron, The Last Poets, Ani Difranco (don't laugh), Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez and of course, the brilliant lyricists I found hidden in my Dad's record collection. I was also a hip-hop obsessive and listened to copious amount of rhymes that influenced my early work a great deal. In fact, it's still inspiring me.
I'm lucky to count myself among a rich artistic community in NYC and beyond, where the friends I name dear to my heart also make music and poems that do something holy for me. Now, that's blessed.
TMB: What's your future plans with your craft?
CM: Ok, that's a hard question. I'd like to seriously work on more music, pursue publishing, tour more often, secure a manager/booking agent (know anyone?) and keep creating art that moves people. I just want to follow my heart and see what rises. Can't go wrong if you are following what directs YOU verses you always directing its path. Hard work with a little bit of faith.
TMB: You seem to be a real creative purpose, what other projects are you involved with?
CM: Hey! Thanks! I'm working on two separate collaborative hip- hop music projects at the moment, as well as my own tracks here and there contributing to other's albums and the like. There is a new-media publishing project being cooked up between a fellow poet/designer and myself. A collaborative tour in the works with poet James Caroline out of Boston (book us!) I'm also currently in the middle of the NaPoWriMo Challenge, where poets are challenged to write 30 poems in 30 days for April (National Poetry Month.) I intend on editing the work for release in chapbook format sometime in May. Look out for this.
TMB: How can people get your work?
CM: Hop on my myspace page to order my CD (or download it) and cop the chapbook. Folks can also email me, if they wish, at caitlin.meissner@gmail.com.
For more on Caits Meissner, check the MySpace (www.myspace.com/caitlinmeissnerpoetry)
It Will... Stream of Consciousness
If you listen to this track and you're pissed when the joint reaches 1:37, then you need to get on twitter and follow @StrmOfConscious and tell dude to finish the track stat. When I first heard this track, I thought there was something wrong with the computer when it suddenly stopped.
He is in the studio currently working on his project, which is a good thing. He's working on some real and thoughtful tracks for the album. He's got that political Dead Prez vibe to his music. We have an interview on the way so you can learn more about the artist. But in the meantime, enjoy this track and join the movement to get this to the full length that it deserves. On a serious note, check dude out and look out for the interview coming soon!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
LeBron James & The Cavs Spoof The Heineken Commercial
Hahahahaha! I gotta say, that dude is hilarious. Gotta be the kid in him. I can hang with dude. He's a clown.
THE BRIEFING: K'naan Response
K'naan responded to the recent South Park episode via Twitter. Pretty dope response to what's going on, so we felt the need to repost here. We featured his point of view on the site before (A Different Point of View).
If you're on Twitter follow K'naan at twitter.com/Iamknaan. Here's what K'naan had to say.
Just a few days ago, I was cracking up, laughing about the hilarious episode South Park did on Kanye. I often hold the creators of this show with a certain regard, for I believe, good comedy will from time to time, hold a mirror up to society's collective face. So that we may look at ourselves and burst out in laughter, even if the frowns of self examination follow. I gotta say though, Kanye handled it well. The homie and I have some mutual friends and I don't remember ever making a remark to anyone about his personal choices. Even when his presentation of his own ego swallowed him whole, I always found the honesty in his music more of an appealing focus. Now, what I wanted to write about isn't really Fishsticks, but honestly, who would have thought South Park would be the first major American TV program to do a real piece on the Somali piracy crisis?
First of all, they used real Somali voices, which is always a point of charm for the Somali people. We DON'T LIKE NOBODY PLAYIN ON OUR LANGUAGE!! Black Hawk Down was unbearable in that, it was like being told you were watching a true portrayal of the Bronx's early days of Hip Hop, except Cool Herc and em spoke with a German accent.
The F*&#!!
Secondly, they touched on the supreme lawlessness, poverty and humanitarian crisis facing the country. Cartman says "In Somalia, people have no laws, they have no rules and they never grow old" The response? The golden truth of the Somali tragedy: "They never grown old because they die before they're 30!"
They talked about the toxic waste issue which I have been quite vocal about. "Even the fish here are radio active" says Kyle. Could 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper or any of the supposably serious outlets not have looked into this issue? Should it take a witty jewish cartoon boy to make this statement? Well, I think the answer is: When fear grips the rest, comedy is where the truth is left. It happens everywhere. In Somalia, when political theatre was being suppressed, and serious poetry could not be composed to criticize oppression and inequality, the poets would use comedians to get the word out.
So while we all find relief in laughter, I would argue that there is more to the chuckles than meets the ear. Because even pain is funny, so long as we're not laughing at it, but about it.
South Park is not without its imperfections though. It seems the clever creators can also be guilty of the African stereotypes. If you look at the emotional moment of the episode, presenting the young Somali pirate's puzzlement over the American's fascination with lawlessness and piracy, he explains "my mother is dying of AIDS". Now while the disease is a major issue in some African countries, it's about the same of an issue in Somalia as it is in Greece. The reason for the comparison is that the two countries, Greece and Somalia, are roughly around the same in their population. The HIV prevalence rate for Greece is 0.2, while in Somalia it's at 0.5. Unicef estimates that in 2007, the number of people in Somalia living with HIV is 24, 000, Out of an estimated 11 and a half million people.
It's a relatively low number considering most of the new cases stem from high border crossing and mass internal movement. For greece, it's at 19, 000 out of its 11 million population.
So Clearly the problem of AIDS in Somalia, isn't comparable to say that of Botswana, with its heart aching 23.9 prevalence rate for its meager population
of 1.8 million. And while it's important to say something about the HIV problem in Africa, Somalia is the wrong country to profile it through. I suppose it would strike us all as odd, if some American sitcom, (during the warm and fuzzy parts where we all get our life lessons) made a remark about Greece's "AIDS problem". So is it acceptable to do so about Somalia because it's in Africa?
All in all, while a part of me wants to resist being vocal about Everything Somalia, I can't help but speak on what I am most passionate about. One blogger said it best, "FatBeard is to K'naan like Fishsticks is to Kanye".
We can all complain about the imperfections of major media outlets, but I wanna take a moment, to thank God for Jon Stewart, thank God for Dave Chappelle and thank God for South Park.
Peace.
K'naan
Saturday, April 25, 2009
THE BRIEFING: Terrence Still Upset
Your boy Terrence Howard is still a bit upset about being replaced by Don Cheadle in "Iron Man 2".
He said in a recent interview, "Marvel made a choice, and it was a very, very bad choice. They didn't keep their word. They didn't honor my contract. They produced a great bounty with the first one but they put it all in the storehouse and you were not allowed in. They did the same thing with Gwyneth Paltrow, from what I've been told. They did it with almost everyone except Robert Downey [Jr.]. One of the things that actors need to learn to do is always stick together, one for all and all for one."
Wait, did he say "One for all and all for one"? Oh, guess dude thought he was going for the Three Musketeers movie. Nah Terrence, this is Iron Man. Good thing he has that blockbuster Fighting out right now! (riiiight). Terrence is falling into that Cuba Gooding boat and just taking whatever roles (both of these guys are talented but after doing some good movies, seems like they just accept any role that their agents sends over).
After reading about this interview, reminded me of that interview with Jamie Foxx about Terrence Howard.
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