Clean Or Dirty

The infamous "Snack Man Ambassador" strikes again. This dude is so focused you can't sleep. Right under your window he will leave his mark!!! Peep the fresh video from Wane COD and Ewok One.

where the wild things go from wane Peterkin on Vimeo.

Callifraffiti

I've seen this before and just came across it again. This is definitely not an easy style of writing to do. Any hand style takes time to master so I gotta give it up for sure!! Watch the video to see how graff has many different hand styles.

Old School Mondays

It's funny all this time we've been doing OSM and I don't recall ever putting a Busta joint up. I mean from L.O.N.S. (Leaders of the New School) to Dangerous. Been really enjoying "Return to the 36 Chambers" too. Heavy Rotation for real!! So here's a few jump offs for todays edition of OSM.


Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My E
Uploaded by snaap92i. - Explore more music videos.

Busta Rhymes - Dangerous
Uploaded by rikma. - Explore more music videos.

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo (High Quality)
Uploaded by tallassmofo2. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Jazz on Sunday Morning: Chico Hamilton

Peace Family,

Thanks for joining us here at MotherGreen & h.k.m for another Sunday Jazz Session. today I'll be highlighting some of Chico Hamiltons' work. ENJOY!!

A Guide To Art Vandalism Tools

This is just a snippet of the pages in this home made encyclopedia. Our good friend Bluster had this in his possession. It was unearthed recently while moving things around in the Hyena den. I asked if I can borrow it so I can scan it in and pass it off to the you. Didn't have enough time to scan them all in but you get the idea from the few I did.

Y'all So Stupid

I was checking out Ket's blog on 12 oz Prophets (for more click here) and he was talking about this guy. I took time to watch the videos and again enjoyed the humor regardless how sick it is and wanted to pass the word on. Peep the videos.

Close Encounters

I saw this video and had to share. It is utterly fucking amazing!!!!! I love videos that are well animated because it shows another level of creativity. This goes right up there with Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" & "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"

Word to the Motha 5:19 - Learn English

Here we are with the latest edition of Word to the Motha: Learn English. Enjoy people

Download here.

Tanya Morgan - Bang + Boogie (Official Video)

Tanya Morgan continues to keep the Brooklynati movement moving with their new video Bang + Boogie. One of my favorite joints on the album (Just Not True is my absolute fav). This video showcases why we need more acts like these brothers on the scene. Also, peep Von Pea rocking that good MG Performance Shell. Looks fly right? You want one don't you? Hit us up so you don't miss the bus.

TANYA MORGAN - BANG + BOOGIE from AAC FILMS on Vimeo.

GURU: Rest In Peace

To hear news of the other half of Gang Starr passing really gets me down. I have so many memories right out of high school that goes right back to those songs. I remember when I used to bring the tape with me to bump in O Doggs GTI or this supped up Pick Up and he would be like "I ain't trying to hear that duke he aint that nice" LOL. It grew on him of course. None the less respect is due and the MG Fam would like to take a moment to give thanks for laying down tracks that helped shape our lifes.

Fame City Kings

To read more click here

12ozProphet Presents... KEO and DASH167 from 12ozprophet on Vimeo.

Word to the Motha Preivew

I just finished this piece was really excited to work on it. When I spoke to DJ ITruth a couple of weeks back he told me he just finished a recent podcast and wanted to call it "Learn English". I usually like to sit and build with him on the inspiration for his episodes. He was telling me he got the idea from those schools that teach english around the city. We've all seen them, a group of eclectic non english speaking kids taking a cigarette break in front of the building. Then you see those ads of the perfect "learn to speak english" candidate who has just enough facial features to relate to several different nationalities and or ethnicities.

Once he passed me the podcast I was open. It was so on the money. The wheels began turning and it all came to me while helping a brethren of mine move. Of course it helped that he has a large vinyl collection that I was able to leave through during a break. All of these record covers were all hand painted. Amazing shit really, like the time dedicated to those covers makes the record even more impressionable. Unlike nowadays were we are satisfied (not) with a picture of the artist and that's that (real clever). Then I took it to some Tony Allen and Fela Kuti album covers which are all just sick and have a strong message to match the content.

Here is a video teaser showing how the art was created. It also comes with a nice chunky beat provided by DJ ITruth as well. We will post the podcast for you to download on 4/21/10 (later on this week).

Old School Mondays

Soul music is the food of my spirit so I want to take today to celebrate soul music.



Sorry for the quality but you know how ****** is with his stuff. Great song.



I learned about this song working retail. Shouts to Ann Taylor Loft store cds lol.


One of the greatest to ever do it, may he rest in peace.

Jazz on Sunday Morning: The Original Swing Street

Peace family,
The first time I heard about the original swing street was at Bill's Place in Harlem Mecca-NYC. I was accompanying my brother Allah B to go check out one his childhood friends. Allah B and Bill grew up in Harlem, and are still close friends. I had a great time hanging out with Allah B, Bill, his family and special guests, which included Governor Patterson (Lieutenant when we met).

Here is a clip from Bill:



Check out this article about swing street:
http://http://www.nypress.com/article-12372-the-rise-fall-of-the-original-swing-street.html

Here are Allah B's Top 5 Jazz joints for your listening pleasure:

Bollywood and Anime in America

This weekend the Museum of Natural History in NYC is having a huge event celebrating the embrace of both Bollywood films and Japanese anime by America. I am a huge fan of Anime and therefore will be in attendance. If you're looking for something to do on Saturday or Sunday during the day, this is your event. There will be a few films being shown on both Saturday and Sunday, PLUS a live performance. A Japanese hip hop artist named Shing02 is gonna perform on both days. Look at the video below for an example of how dope Shing02 is.

Full Event Info

Hip Hop Karaoke Championship VTech Wrap Up

The sponsors of the 2nd HHK Championship, VTech put together a reel for the event. Watching this video got me super jittery and makes me sad I'm gonna miss the next HHK this month. It's all good though, because instead I'll be enjoying my birthday in Japan (pics to come). Enjoy the video and I'm still waiting for the individual performance videos to come out. I need to see Doni D's "Gimme Some More" again, he killed it.

Enjoy

FULL SCREEN
The Sounds of VTech / hhk_2010vid

Opens Minds Sees, Open Heart Listens

As a kid (still am a big kid) I loved to watch cartoons (still do). I mean that was my thing, so much that I tried to major in it with the little time spent in college. What I now realize as I got older is how some of those cartoons as we were kids were so free to be ... well racist.

To be honest when we're young we really don't pick up on certain things. I think it's because we have certain level of innocence or as I like to say "being pure of heart". Just to think how much stuff we witnessed and heard and never really began to pick up on it till we realized it was us that was being picked on or being closed out because of our ethnicity.

The beauty of youth - childhood is that you don't see any separation. It's just kids being kids and wanting to have fun. I like to keep that outlook now and be able to say that we are all in the same boat with these times of financial hardhsip. The thing that separates us today is the all mighty dollar and it's not the individuals but the access the dollar allows.

Sorry, I definitley got a bit carried away but back to the original topic. I definitely don't want things to be so P.C. that it turns everything into a fake world. I'd like to think that something like this lets us look back to see really how the media played such an important role on how people were portayed. These images came be the seeds for many different outcomes. It all depends on who is in care of these impressionalble minds. When I came across these, so many other cartoons came to mind but I wasn't able to find any. A lot of different images flew around in mind mind that to me were really crazy. I loved these cartoons and still do because they are a part of my childhood. I just figured I'd share a couple and see how people feel about it.

Kuntaw Arnis Demonstration

Three days a week I practice Kuntaw in Brooklyn with my fellow Kyuds and Guro. This Filipino art has been a part of my life in one way or another since I was a kid. My father learned the art while he was stationed in the Philippines back in the 80s. In the video below you will see two Kuntaw Kyuds doing a great Arnis demonstration. You see in Kuntaw our weapon of choice is two sticks. These two guys inspire me to reach further in perfecting my practices.

What's Wrong With Williamsburg.

Over the weekend I went to Williamsburg to work on a side project. Once that work was done, I found myself ready to head to Queensbridge via the G train. However before I would leave my beloved Brooklyn I had to eat something. I had not eaten a thing and the day was halfway done, so I decide I'll stop off and grab a hero from a corner store. Kool and the Gang right? Wrong...WRONG.

I saw two deli's along Metropolitan not far from the train station. I start to think "I'll pick one and if I don't like it I'll check the other one out." I went and peeped the first one and the layout looked fine enough. I was put off by the hipsters who stood in front of me in line, but hey I'm no jerk so I'll play nice. Then I notice the names for the "special" sandwiches in this establishment. There were names like "M.J. Forever", and a few obscure movie names... lame. Once it was my turn I asked the gentleman behind the counter how much would a hero with ovengold turkey, swizz cheese, lettuce and tomatoes would cost. The man looked at me with a straight face and said $7.50. I sharply replied no thank you, and left with a taste of disgust in my mouth.

I went across the street to the neighboring deli and got the same sandwich I previously asked for with Kettle chips and a water for $7.25. Now this is what a meal of this magnitude should cost in Brooklyn. That experience nearly ruined my day. Needless to say, I pretty much hate what Williamsburg has become. No it's not new, and no I didn't just develop these feelings this past weekend but COME ON!

I concede and now acknowledge Willy B as the Manhattan annex it wishes to be. You guys can have it, anything past Graham is dead to me.

Old School Mondays

I decided to do this edition of Old School Mondays a little bit differently. We've been doing some spring cleaning and I came across some treats that took me down memory lane. Some of it wasn't all music though, instead it was some literature. Not like these are major books but to leaf through the pages put a smile on my face and it helps me to see how far we've come as youth.

This stack of magazines had a few of my ego trip issues, (Yes Ego Trip was a magazine before they created those books we all know and love: Big Book of Racism & Rap List) as well as the very first issue of XXL. Is that magazine even still around?? I remember the first issue of Vibe also but I am sure it got tossed out.

Now these take me back. When I was in grade school, like every other kid I loved to play sports wether it was baseball (a wiffel ball bat filled with news papers/rocks etc...duck tapped shut and a blue ball) or games like Man Hunt. Collecting comic books and cards was a part of my childhood and this find was more about the stickers that came in that pack of cards.

Every kids favorite alien....80's babies that is.

I came across a box of cd's. They were all singles and I am glad I kept them all. Man there were so many groups and artists out back then. I mean the music was very diverse and truly embraced the youth. Of course you also had a lot of trash back then too but when you knew what was what, you stayed clear of that crap.

Just to name a few of the cd's, Nas - it was written, Goodie Mob - Soulf Food, UTD (Mos Def's first debute) - Manifest Destiny, Dru Down - Can You Feel Me and Smif N Wessun - Sound Bwoy Bureill. Since not too many people know of Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD) I put a link for you to enjoy.

Download Here

Sofrito: For mi Gente

Peace party people, Our brother in arms, DJ ITruth truly stays busy. He's always creating good vibes for us to live by. He takes the time to school us with some classic tunes as well as I like to say, "providing the soundtrack to our life". This is one of my favorite mix cd's he made so I just wanted to share it with you all. It contains some Marco Antonio Muniz, Bobby Cruz, Xavier Cugat, and Chuco Avellanet just to name a few. Download it and give your ears (and soul) a treat.

Download here.

Song of the Day : Ghostface Killah - Mighty Healthy

Peace

Today's entry comes from Tony Starks himself. When the Supreme Clientele album began to come together the first two singles were HEATROCKS! This is the first single and video from that album. Just an indication of the classic that would follow in full length form.

Pixels

This is a well done video. Me being an old school gamer I loved how they incorporated many of the golden age games.

Enjoy

Che Grand's 3rd Annual 99 Cent Party

It's going down once again. The bol Che is putting together a jammy jam for the people. We can expect dope performances from the Lessondary crew (Tanya Morgan, Spec Boogie, ELUCID...etc). Last time I went I had a blast, and that was before Che's album EGU dropped. The Lessondary are family with MotherGreen so we support them always. Come out and have a blast, this time it's in Brooklyn!

In the meantime listen to this HARD track from my man ELUCID called Laser Days.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Why You Should Read PLUTO (Manga)

I am currently enthralled by a Japanese Manga (Comic) called Pluto. It's written and illustrated by one of my favorites Urasawa Naoki. Urasawa is also the author of one of my favorite anime/manga stories Monster. If you haven't seen that anime, do yourself a favor and go to www.veoh.com. I've uploaded the whole series for your viewing pleasure.

The Pluto story takes place during a specific story arc in the historic manga/anime Astro Boy. The setting is basically that of a murder mystery. In this world humans and robots co-exist and sometimes its not so smooth. Someone is killing off the most strongest/unique robots in the world. There is a very dark mood in this book which I can dig. The future overall seems pretty sterile, however that could be due to the main character being a robot. The art and story are both extremely well done. I say you should pick this one up, you wont be sorry.

Dr. Jay's Interviews Just C

My brother and partner in MotherGreen Just C was recently interviewed by the Dr. Jay's blog for his position during the day, running Artful Dodger. I have personally watched this young man grow into a strong leader still looking for pointers and ways to expand his expertise. Just is certainly a gentleman to look out for in 2010.

Peep the storay (c) Camp Lo

“Artful Dodger is an incredible brand with a lot of room for growth, and Scott Langton is a visionary designer,” Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter said in a statement about the annexation. “They represent what’s next and new in fashion, and we are glad to have both the brand and Scott as a part of our family. Artful Dodger represents the first of many acquisitions that will begin to shape our joint venture with Iconix.”

Since taking off, the brand has brought a new creative genius into the mix—meet Just C.

I got a chance to sit down with him to get the 411. Check it out.

54 People Arrested On Easter / Jesus Wept

I was out last night for a local birthday party in Bed Stuy with my lady and some friends. I noticed a large amount of youths on the Shuttle headed to Franklin Ave. Once we got off around there we walked to Nostrand Ave. and it seemed that about 50 teenagers were swarming the streets. It was like school just let out. I saw all kinds of cops paroling the area and I knew no good would come of the mix.

Fast forward to this morning I go online and see an article by the NY Joke(Post) about 54 people being arrested in the city due to an Easter Sunday rampage. Apparently a bunch of kids were running wild between 34th street and Time Square. Four people were shot and 1 woman was hit with a BB gun. The word on the street is that most of the cats involved were gang-bangers, which is quite interesting as yesterday I watched HBO's "Bastards of the Party" documentary. These gang members here really need to redirect their energy to doing something positive and productive.

Where is the focus people?

The Full Post Story
The Full NBC Story

Song of the Day : Dionne Farris - Hopeless

This was the jam back in the day. Straight off the Love Jones soundtrack. Wonder what ever happened to this woman with such a lovely voice. Also peep Randy Jackson (American Idol) in the video.

Janelle Monae - Tight Rope (feat. Big Boi)

Now this is a jam! Janelle Monae with the first single off her new full length album. If you haven't seen this woman live you suck. Get a clue people.

Blackbook Session

Sometimes I stop and think to myself, what am I doing right now?? I enjoy drawing and painting and at times some of my own crew says things to me like, "wish I had as much time to waste as you do" but I stop and laugh. The silly things we enjoy to do I say do them to the fullest. Those are the things that keep up young at heart. We can always make time to do things that bring ourselves a sense of happiness and well being.

Since I did "waste time" as it was put to me I've decided to make another video of a black book session until I am ready to go and paint. This is inspired by Street Fight aka Coonskin which is an animated classic by Ralph Bakshi who has done, Fire & Ice, American Pop, Lord of the Rings and Felix the Cat just to name a few. He's been a huge inspiration to me since I was a little snot nosed kid drawing and chasing after big brother. You can check more by clicking here.