Old School Mondays

Here we back from turkey day vacation. I was watching some rock & roll hall of fame thing and I just loved the rhythm and blues part. Man, I tell you I am so for learning musical instruments. To be able to convey your feelings and tell stories after having mastered such a tool. The way to go for sure. Well enjoy this selection of Old School Mondays people and I leave you with a little bit of Jimi to set it off.

Das Boot, Painting Excursions

I have been fiending to go and paint. Been really wanting to pull out a 2 man production but just not prepared enough to make it happen this time around. So for now this is enough just to get my feet wet before diving in. Linked up with Sye early this morning and started on our painting adventure. With what ever scraps I had I was able to pull this together. Got to pull out my "get busy" FC gloves.

The roughs all set up and ready to go. He got all crazy with his kung fu technique.

Sye, fast as lightning bro.

Just trying to stay at a steady pace

Complete and ready to go. I had to laugh cause Sye did white highlights (had him up against the ropes). A rarety for the man. We really wanted to add a character but didn't get a chance to beat the clock.

Cooking in Hells Kitchen, Word To The Motha, Inside the Studio

These are all the pics from the Session at ITruth's studio. It was a breath of fresh air for us. I knew that this experience would give us the boost we all needed. The location alone brought back memories of all those times we used to hang out there for New Year's Eve and of course the good old times of the Duece (42 St) before it turned into disney land. There's a great little sangria spot on his block as well as this seedy (can appear to be) bar that is definitely a locals bar. So after the 3 floor walk up and cracking jokes, Fuse and Blust walked in and automatically loved ITruth's vinyl collection.

A pic of his 12" and 45 collection

Fuse showing us one of his favorite album covers.

So what the pic is blurred, too much energy in the room (not because of the beers).

from vinyl to serato

Bluster chopping it up.

Took me back with this one. This was an old illustration pen & ink I did for Rappages Magazine back in the 90's.

Bode broad and Cheech Wizard on the walls.

These are some of the trinkets he has there. Old Sticker Courtesy of Dontay TC5, PNB stencil (So ahead of the times, PNB Helped lay the blueprints for street fashion today) and a wonderful cluster of stickers on his frig.

While we had good tunes going we all got into our sketch session

Blust watching Fuse do his thing

The start of the 2 page Bluster so effortlessly does

Near completion. Now I just need to get a pic of that 2 pager from ITruth.

DJ I-Truth Word To The Motha Pt. 3

It's that time again kiddies. Get your ears ready for another blast from the MotherGreen camp. DJ ITruth with a serious selection for you to groove to. This is number 3 on deck so take your time and let it sink in.

For Your Downloading Pleasure

WordToTheMothaPodcasts

Country Time..Lemonade was a Popular Drink and it Still Is

Bluster hit me up the other day to tell me about the new issue of Juxtapoz magazine and how it's about this crew called the BarnStormers. I remember he mentioned the story to me about him going down to North Carolina to paint. I was like, dudes are serious about bombing some barns and guess what, they were. It's dope to see heads from the crew get more exposure. It's time to let the next people up to bat. Long over due for some heads but all in due time. If you have a moment go pick up a copy and show some support for the crew.

Write up on Bluster

Write up on West. They also have Doze Green in this issue as well as a few other heads.

Classic Blackout

I had a long talk with my Father in Law about music recently. I put on the DVD of Fania Allstars: "Nuestra Cosa (Our Latin Thing) and it brought back memories for him and opened up a conversation about playing instruments and how now it appears to be non existent. We would then continue to discuss how music and learning to play and instrument as well as reading music helps you to learn coordination. Ten of course it goes into how the youth no longer have as much access to learn how to play instruments. I was blessed with the skill to draw. My brother and sister both can draw but musically my sister surpassed my brother and I by learning how to play the flute and the piano.

A little further into the conversation we discussed how the barrio used to always have people playing music and is filled with so much energy. To play music you have to love what you do. Why is it in places where instruments can't be bought we create new ones instead?? That is creativity at its best.

Bluster One showed me these videos and I lost my mind. Had to use 2 of the songs he has posted on his site. A great way to start off the morning for sure. These tunes can bring the dead to life.

Japanese Man Marries Video Game Girlfriend

*smh* Some people (read Shino) will probably be mad that I'm reporting this but hey it's real. This Japanese guy has taken his obsession (my opinion) with a Nintendo DS video game character to the point of marrying it. I'm sure this man would not be pleased with me calling his new wife an "it". You just have to see the video to believe it.

Battle of the Aint No Sunshine's

I was discussing Buddy Guy with a co-worker and she brought up that he did a version of Aint No Sunshine. I've always loved this song and was kinda blown away when I heard the version done by the late great (still can't believe I'm saying this) Michael Jackson. In case you haven't been exposed to the greatness that is this song lets go through it.

Bill Withers


Michael Joseph Jackson


Buddy Guy & Tracy Chapman


Tom Jones

Black Book Sessions

As of recent I've been dealing with certain things that have taken precedence over my painting (going out and painting that is). So in order not to get backed up I decided to let loose a bit into my black book. When I show the crew everyone has funny comments about the pieces. Dontay TC5 thinks I've lost my mind. Sye TC5 tells me he doesn't have time to do black books but he'd rather make time to go out and paint, which he does religiously. Bluster FC is constantly sketching and painting which lets me know that I can always make some time to release some steam and do a page in my black book. I have a few things I'd love to experiment with but haven't figured out how to go about doing so. Back in the days I hardly did color pieces. Now it's just about growth and trying to experiment, which I have yet to do because in my crazy mind I'm trying to work it out. All in due time but for now I present my recent black book session editions.

DJ ITruth (aka Kare One) told me that he just saw this movie called El Super Beasto by Rob Zombie. So once I saw it I got hooked. Pas Primero piece.

Bluster FC getting busy on one of his late night drawing excursions

Move Your Bag Keep Your Life! D-Train Killing

I've been bothered many times by folks who choose to have a bag placed in a seat on the train. Now I'm not bothered by just the bag on the seat instead it's the general apathy towards moving it for a human to sit. COME ON PEOPLE! If your bag is so precious that it cannot sit on the floor, place it in your lap. It's quite simple to me. However it seems not everyone feels this way and on this past Saturday aboard a D-Train in Manhattan this mindset caused a fatality.

Two NYC MTA riders are on the D-Train in they city. One has a seat with a bag on the seat next to him. A man who is standing would like to sit in the aforementioned seat but is denied much like driving to hole on Shaq. The problem is the sitting man was not 7'1 nor 300+ lbs. He also didn't plan on the man he was denying having a temper and a knife. The standing man apparently an exterminator stabs the man siting in the neck and kills him.

Should this man have stabbed another man because he was denied a seat for a bag, probably not. Do I understand his frustration? ABSOLUTELY! The arrogance displayed on the MTA on a daily basis can be quite ridiculous. Now I don't see this shooter being seen as some sort of Bernhard Goetz, the city isn't in the same space currently. However I do feel some folks might not have so much sympathy for the "victim" in this case.

Lesson to be learned: MOVE YOUR BAG!
Read the full story HERE.

Swing, Swing, Swing & Chop, Chop Chopper

Recently I saw the movie Chopper which is based on the life of Aussie Mark Brandon "Chopper" Reid. It all started over a conversation about the movie "Bronson" and then she mentioned to me to check out Chopper (Choppah w/an Aussie accent). Later on in the week the dvd was given to me and here I am. I was told that he is quite the character and that Eric Bana (Hulk, Black Hawk Down, Munich, Star Trek , Troy etc.) specialized in comedy and that this was one of his first dramatic roleshe played. I was like, Huh??? Basically Chopper has that charisma that will always make you laugh. I can't help but feel certain things are so outrageous that they can't be made up. To make a long story short, go and take some time to see this film. I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

New President of Europe, Behold A Pale..

This is the type of stuff I read about in those New World Order books back in high school. Europe no longer being a "continent" but a unified front. The whole world following suit soon after is how the books has it all playing out. I haven't felt like this since I first saw smart card commercials back in the late 90s. Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy has now been elected by the European Union officials as the first European President.

Read the full story here.

Smart.fm My New Addiction

An old friend of mine told me months ago about a new job she was taking at a website called Smart.fm. Immediately it sparked my interest because I'm currently a member of Last.fm (the music streaming community site). She told me that Smart.fm was a website where you could learn almost anything you want for free.

For some reason I took my sweet time getting really into the site but once I did I was hooked. I've been teaching myself Japanese off and on for years now. However lately I've gotten a little more serious and started studying how to read the language. I now use Smart.fm on a daily basis to help with my reading comprehension. The really dope thing is that they monitor how much you study for the day so you don't over do it and cram. I highly recommend this site and they even have a (free) app for the iPhone.

My Name In Lights Even When I Didn't Win

Photo by Shino Yanagawa

I forgot that while preparing for the first Hip Hop Karaoke Championship in 2008 I got called for a phone interview. In the mayhem that followed the sound check that fateful day at the Highline Ballroom I must have blocked out this interview. Needless to say it has been unearthed and I've made it available for your reading pleasure. It's in PDF form so you can see how it was intended in print for rather than a simple copy and paste. I think the article is pretty well done and with the new championship coming up it's kinda ironic.

Congrats to the contestants who have been picked thus far to compete for the coveted $1000 and bragging rights. Come check me out Dec. 4th (Ether Day) rocking the Mercury Lounge for the second regional HHK competition.

ENJOY

Song of the day: Carly Simon - You Belong To Me

I discovered this song while working retail in a past life. This song would play daily for a month on my store's monthly CD. I never knew who sang the song nor did I know who Carly Simon was at the time. I would learn years later that she's the God Mother of a good friend of mine John Forte.

Enjoy people.



New Version w/ Forte'

Shaniya Davis, 5 Years Old, Not Like This...

This story has made me sick to my stomach. This poor little girl could not have possibly done anything in this lifetime to deserve such treatment and neglect. A mother of age 25 prostitutes her 5 year old daughter? Files a false report that the child was missing when she apparently gave the child to some man to have his way with. To read the full story of the charges click here. As I type this ABC is reporting that the body of this little girl has been found dead.

If we can't protect the babies who can we protect. My heart goes out to the father of Shaniya who admittedly made a mistake by allowing his lovely daughter to be alone with her mother. It's a shame when a child being with their mother is a mistake and even worse in this case fatal.

She deserved better.

Old School Mondays

We didn't forget about yall. Lets walk through old hip hop for a sec.




To the cops of Suffolk county...


Classic Finesse (oh it's like that now!?)


DJ Premier laced Joe on this one. Peep the Sheepskins!

Dock Ellis & The LSD NO NO by James Blagden

This video is crazy funny. To be the first one my brother James has ever worked on it's dy-no-mite! I've never heard of this pitcher Dock Ellis before, but I love him now. This video is the story of what can happen when a sports star just doesn't give a damn. James Blagden is a talented illustrator hailing from Denver residing in Brooklyn. Visit his work at www.jamesblagden.com

Enjoy people.

Charles Barkley Goes In On Sammy Sosa

I don't know if you've been following sports news but Sammy Sosa has decided to take it light (literally). I'm not gonna weigh in on this because, it's whatever at this point. Dominican man goes and lightens up his skin. Eh what else needs to be said? I'll tell you what else, whatever Charles Barkley has to say.

Hip Hop Karaoke Championship 1st Round

Tonight at Brooklyn's South Paw it's going down. My man Josh Diggs fresh from the altar along with J New and DJ Wex are giving us another HHK Championship. This time there will be qualifying rounds leading up to the big night. Tonight is going to be a lot of fun and if you've never experienced HHK I weep for you.

The sign up starts at 9pm and show starts at 10.
It's 5 bucks with the flyer and 8 without.

See you there and if you need convincing...

Goodie Mob Reunion Show @ BB Kings Tomorrow

One of the greatest groups in hip hop hailing from the south have reunited. Tomorrow on stage together all four original members of the Goodie Mob will perform. It's been years since Big Gipp, Khujo Goodie, T-Mo and Cee-Lo have rocked together. They first got together back in ATL and that day the Atlanta flood rains started. The Goodie have two banging albums under their belt (one classic).

If you are able to I say get a ticket and witness history. If you are unfamiliar peep game and learn yourself on Hip Hop royalty. The show will start at 11:30 and feature Slick Rick.

1st single, classic.


The title track from their classic debut album.


Another Goodie Mob jam!

Freestyle for the iPhone

When I first heard about this new iPhone app I thought "of course... there's an app for that". Apparently with this app you can write and record songs to original beats. The app has a notepad, a microphone and 10 tracks for the user to record to. Freestyle is also endorsed by my boys Tanya Morgan (Brooklynati in stores now!). For a limited time it's available for free on the iTunes store.

Check this video of the boys Von, Don and Illyas using the Freestyle app.

Empire State Of Mind Draws A Line?

I remember hearing about a new Jay Z song on the Blueprint 3 that was supposed to be crazy. Now I had already listened to 3 weak songs from the album so I wasn't really in the mood. A friend of mine at work said he really liked the album and suggested that I listen to ESOM. So I went on You Tube and listened. The song had a nice beat and seemed to be an anthem. However it didn't move me much even though I acknowledged that it wasn't a bad song. Once Jay performed this song on MTV's VMAs I thought it would be big but not as huge as it is now. I mean the man opened the Yankees 1st home game in the World Series to this song. However on the flip side of the success of this song there is a conversation being had regarding what view of New York does it represent.

No one can deny that Jay Z is a man who pulled himself up from the gutters of Brooklyn NY. The thing is he did that a long time ago. Remember when Jay released his debut album in 96 he was riding around in a Lexus and reading the magazines about living the high life. Jay's mind has always been in that space but as he moved through his career there was always a sense that he was making a way for us to do better along with him. Some might say the overall air of this Empire State Of Mind song gives the impression of a man who is now above it all and rubbing elbows with the city's elite, alone.

I will now post an entry from one cat from Okayplayer who says it all better than I could. I give you OKP L.E.S. Now mind you L.E.S. wants us to know that he's not rallying against Jay-Z, but only describing why he's turned off by the whole thing.

"this is the anthem for the New 'White Washed' New York"

Michael Bloomberg just bought himself a re-election, and changed the law. while I'm very happy the Yankees won, the average person in New York cannot afford to go to a game in the new Stadium, which is basically a giant shopping mall that happens to have a ball field. Big and small business are closing down left and right, even in wealthy neighborhoods like the Upper East Side. Small businesses in working-class neighborhoods are in serious trouble if they haven't already closed down.

So hearing this sentimental, commercial, New York Jay-Z anthem rubs me the wrong way. As a matter of fact (i've always been a big Jay fan) it's the first time i almost feel resentment toward him. He has now gone to the 'other side.' I was never turned off by Jay braggin' about getting money, women, jewels etc. but this song is more of a statement, in my opinion, that he really is an elitist. When i saw Michael Bloomberg introduce Jay at City Hall I thought to myself, these are the people in the top bracket of income in this city and country. they have more in common with each other than they do with me. I can't relate to either of these people and they have all this power politically and culturally. So while i did not cast my vote for Mike Bloomberg, I will also not cast my vote for Jay-Z.

It's a wrap, times up, Jay's term is up, this is the first Jay album I didn't buy or even listen to. Jay is talented and i love his body of work over all. but we need
new voices in New York. Jay-Z is no longer the voice of any people but himself and the elite in this city.

Now I ask you all, do you agree or disagree. State ya biz (c) Young Vito voice of the young people.

Back In The Days w/ DJ Shark

Another night in Deity where folks were getting down to the sounds of my man DJ Shark. I was pretty battered from a sparring session earlier in the evening however I still made it over to the party. You see this was a makeshift birthday party for Shark San and his lovely wife Kazumi was leaving to go back to Japan in a few days so it a special occasion. The turnout was really good. I ran into my homegirl Cynthia in the place to be with a friend in town from the Bay Area. The music was tight as Shark moved smoothly through the mid 90s with uptempo grooves like Janet Jackson's "Alright" and Wrecks N Effect's "New Jack Swing". A lot of my Japanese friends were in the house.

It was good to see people like Toru and Harue having such a good time. I even ran into my friend Hiroko who I haven't seen in months. She seemed to be in good spirits and fit right into the fold of the evening. There was this one Japanese cat dressed in a Cross Colors jacket (you heard me right) and a flat top dancing mega hard. On the flip side was this older Black dude who kept dancing very weird with every woman in the place trying to corner them off for who knows what. You could see many women running from him throughout the night.

All and all it was a good time at Deity. It could always be better though, especially once they get better speakers with more bottom in the basement.

Check these photos provided by Ivan Lam.