TIME has this dope photo essay on what it’s like “Behind The Scenes With Barack Obama.”
The above shot was taken in Pennsylvania after Senator Obama learned that his opponent for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, had just won the primary there.
This one was taken the night before the polls opened in Indianapolis.
I’ve been in the gym getting ready for summer. And I know/hope I am not the only one. The weather is warming up and I plan to spend every available weekend on a beach somewhere. (If you live near or in a beach community please send ya boy an invite.)
The first summer holiday is Memorial Day weekend. Where are you going, what will you be doing? Is your body ready for the beach?
I got up early this morning and ran down to this lil hood breakfast spot on 125th and Amsterdam Ave. I am addicted to the pancakes there. Everything else is crap shoot. I think they deep fry the bacon. I prefer the beef sausage.
I left my camera at home so here are a few flicks from the BlackBerry.
If I knew then what I know now, I would have never globetrotted with those insane student loan refund checks all through undergrad and grad school.
I had the brains and the test scores for scholarships and fellowships and what not, but I was too busy being grown (re: ignorant) letting student loans fund the fiestas.
I’m paying for it now.
A brotha is considering a PhD program of some sort, partly because I want to one day be a professor at some prestigious university, but also because I want to put a freeze on these damn loan payments.
Education should free. No?
Can we prevent the revitalization of urban neighborhoods from turning into regentrification? I won’t pretend to have the answer to that question however, the residents of a small upstate New York community are entering a long rumored revitalization. Many fear that it will ultimately lead to regentrification where long standing residents will be displaced once the new curbsides, coffee shops and couture arrive.
I recently penned a story where I interviewed local councilmen about the thoughts and concerns of their constituency. Peep an excerpt:
“Once you get the residents to buy into the idea of revitalization, you have to educate them on what the process is going to be,” says Lee. “You cannot expect them to understand all the advocacy that needs to take place and who are going to be the players. Right now, most people are questioning ‘what’s in it for me?’ And if you can’t help them to understand that job opportunities, programs to assist their families and their children are going to come out of this process there is going to be difficulty in getting their support.”
So NeYo is out with a new song, video– whathaveyou titled “Closer.” Has anyone listened yet? Anyone give a damn?
I love the “new” sound… Hell, it makes me feel very very. I blasted it while getting dressed the other day.
NeYo - “Closer”
I was floated a memo that hibernation season was over and us grouchy bears had to come up for air. So this morning I left my hideaway and headed down to the beach for a moment of sunshine.
I was asked by GIANT magazine to put together a 300 word (or less) review of Mariah Carey’s new project E=MC2.
For a fan like me… 300 words ain’t shit. But I did my best….
Peep an excerpt:
Say what you will about Mimi and her long-time partner in hitmaking, Jermaine Dupri, but cuts like “I’m That Chick” and “I’ll Be Loving You Long Time” walk the line of crunk and classy like MC in some Jimmy Choos and low rider jeans. “For The Record,” “Love Story” and “Bye Bye” are carefully laid ballads but “I Wish You Well,” with its glass-shattering vocal flourish, is the icing on the cake. And around here… we love cake.
I recently wrote a story for the Minority Reporter on how Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (who claim Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a graduate) initiated an endowed chair in King’s honor and revitalized it’s Black Church Studies program.
[click image to enlarge]
The announcement of this effort was timely as the American public just recently swallowed all the hoopla surrounding Senator Barack Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright– which the school and several of it’s black alum have addressed.
“There are large segments of the American population, particularly the white sections of the American population who have little understanding of the black church,” said Bay. “…Here at the school the Black Church Studies program does not just prepare leaders of the black church, but exposes all of our students to the history, the legacy and the importance of the black church experience. We also think we have an obligation to the larger community not just to our students and the Black Church Studies will have impact on that as well.”
~ Eugene Bay, CRCDS President
I hung out with some of my friends on Saturday night. At this point, it’s all a blur… good thing I take a camera with me everywhere I go. [I got careless with the clippers and had to shave off my beard.]
Fela Kuti -”Mistake” (Live At The Berlin Jazz Festival 1978)
[click image to enlarge]
The local faith community in the city that I was born and raised (Rochester, NY) is in full support of presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama. However, don’t assume it’s because ole boy is black.
Peep an excerpt from an article I wrote for the Minority Reporter.
Rochester, NY Faith Community For Barack contends that its endorsement of Senator Obama is based solely on his beliefs, his proposed policies, his opposition to the war in Iraq and major poll results and is in no way related to race as many have assumed.
“There may be a tendency to think that we are supporting Barack primarily because he is of African American persuasion, when in fact he is bi-racial. He is just as much white as he is black,” Bishop Melvin asserted. “We support his policies. We believe that he is the best person to bring this country together.”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recently told the editors of the Washington Times that the United States suffers from a national “birth defect” with regard to race.
“Black Americans were a founding population,” she said. “Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together — Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. That’s not a very pretty reality of our founding.”
“That particular birth defect makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it, and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today.”
Later, CNN’s Lou Dobbs expressed his sentiments on Rice’s statements– letting out a racist, Freudian slip.
I guess Condi was right and I guess this is still the good ole U.S. of A.
Peep this old school Letoya Luckett that has the fire and spunk of the Queen Bey.
And before you run up out of here, peep that new Jay Z “Ain’t I”
A few weeks ago, a buddy and I were coming from having drinks and witnessed a car accident.
Can we give a crazy phat shout out to God? No one was hurt.
The good people over at FADER put together another issue focusing on Africa because– “Africa-in its multitudinous zigs and zags-is not just the most newsworthy continent in the world right now, but, in many ways, the most culturally influential.”
I love FADER for it’s ability to take an in depth look at the ideas, issues and inspirations of the creatives that trend spot, trend set and pioneer pop culture.
Rarely, however, does anyone acknowledge Africa’s incredibly relevant and totally fucking awesome exports, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to do just that. We’re not proposing a rainbow at the end of a very dark day-the bleak reality of the carnage on the ground will dismiss anyone’s fantasies-but this issue is something to be taken in hand and perhaps remind the world out there that Africa is a dynamic and complex continent of civilizations and cultures before it is anything else. ~ The FADER
Put together by contributing editor Edwin “Stats” Houghton the issue features stories on South African kwaito music, the band, BLK JKS and Ghanaian hiplife including the electrifying Esau Mwamwaya to Malian throat singing and fashions from Mozambique.
It’s not without reason that the popular image of Africa is outlined in chaos and heartbreak: political upheaval, disease, genocide, corruption and what has seemed like-in the lives of the FADER staff, at least-a continuous march towards an inexorable decline, buffeted only occasionally by good news. ~ The FADER
[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FULL COLOR PDF OF THE AFRICA ISSUE]
or
listen the audio from the issue here (over 35mins of dope African jazz/dance music)
I am in a music state of mind today. While scouring the internet for some interesting sounds for my iPod, I stumbled across this compilation titled Gold Digging.
The series features original tracks as sampled by Kanye, Jay Z and Mary J. Blige.
Some classics include Barry White’s “Its Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me” and Rick James’ “Moonchild” and all the good shit that a lot of music newbies probably thought were Mary’s original compositions.
[see comment section for full track listing]
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD GOLD DIGGING- AS SAMPLED BY MARY J. BLIGE
While you were counting sheep, we were minding other folks’ business.
Hear This: Nelly featuring Fergie - “Party People”
