New Monument

Remember last month when Bush visited Iraq unannounced and got a pair of shoes thrown at his face? Of course you do, it was hilarious. Well, a few days ago this Shoe monument was built by orphans of the Iraq war. I'm sure Bush had dreams about a monument being built in his honor, but this has to be a surprise

Regardless of your stance on the war, I think you'd have to agree that the person responsible for the invasion of your country walking around smiling, talkin bout how the troop surge was one of the greatest successes in US military history is kinda bogus. It's a slap in the face of the people whose country you crapped on.

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog." With those words, and the hurling of his shoe at Bush, Muntadar al-Zaidi became a national hero. He put an action to the feelings of a lot of his countrymen. Hell, there are quite a few Americans who'd like to throw something more than a shoe at Bush. My GPA in college was higher than his approval rating when he tok that last flight on Marine One after Obama's inaguration.

Bush destroyed lives in multiple countries and trashed our reputation in the global community. I wish one of those shoes had've hit him in his fat mouth mid-sentence.

Do you.

Slumdog Millionaire

I recently saw Slumdog Millionare, and the hype was justified. The story was good, it was told well, and executed well. Here are some thoughts:

I've been to Africa a few times and thought I saw poverty, but some of the parts of India are on a whole different level. The amount of heart, determination, and desperation needed for him to get where got by the end of the movie.

I can understand why some Indians felt the movie was exploitative and/or disrespectful to their country, but you can't deny the facts. Millions in India are living in horrible conditions while they (the offended) are comfortable and well-fed. Don't be mad. If you want India to be portrayed better, then make it better. That goes for any and every country in the world!

M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" is a dope song, and I hope she wins an award at the Grammys'.

In fact it's so dope that one of the hottest rap collabos of the year samples her song. You know your joint is hot if it's being sampled WHILE STILL IN ROTATION! If "Swagger Like Us" wins any Grammy's, M.I.A. should get one too.

Slumdog Milli follows the classic rags to riches plot but the way it's presented makes it fresh and exciting rather that boring and predictable.

GO see it.

Do you.

Keepin up

Man, it is tough to constantly post good new material for a blog! Well, at least for me it is. It's probably becuase I don't have a theme or particular focus - I basically put up whatever I feel like. A lot of times I'll have an idea, thought, or observation during the day, but if I can't jot it down, I'll either forget, become disinterested, or something else will come up and distract me from it. For the moment, I have these quick hits:

• Blago became the second straight bogus Gov. we've had in IL.

I think it had more to do with his horrid hairstyle, than his corruption. If he had been a Chicago politicain, he'd still be in office. SMH.

• Alicia Keys' new album is surprisingly not nominated for Album of the Year.

I thought all she had to do was open her mouth to get nominated. The album was good - surprising omission by the Grammy folks.

• Not a single Republican Senator voted for Obama's stimulus plan.

They just keep looking worse and worse. I understand they're all well-heeled, but the rest of us need a lil help from our Government.

• Obama is shaking things up a the White House with his later start to the day and relaxed dress code. White House staffers are shocked.

Apparently "Dubya" was too caught up on appearances to govern our country.

• I am addicted to Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock.

I'm a young Jimi Hendrix, Jr. in training.

• After many, many listens, 808s and Heartbreaks has grown on me.

I was critical of it early on, but it's full of honesty and emotion, and is well produced. Definitely not his best album, but one that was O.K. and probably very therapeutic for him.

• Blogging takes work man!

Yeah, it does.

Do you.

Blasphemy!

I know what I'm a bout to say will sound blasphemous to hip-hop fans that are about 26 and older but,we need to get past Big and Pac.
Really, we do. I'm a huge fan of both and I can't deny the impact they had on hip-hop's history. Many rappers have emulated their styles and their words (Jigga...). Many rappers owe their careers to the late icons, but at some point the idolization must stop.


People need to stop using them to make themselves money while claiming to honor their memory,(Diddy...) and artists need to stop using unreleased tracks to bolster their own mediocrity (too many to name). True Keyshia Coles' new joint with Pac is hot, but he's been dead for over 12 years. Find another rapper please.

I think our hesitance to release them speaks to lack of any great current rappers and our reluctance to accept atrists that push the boundaries of hip-hop.
Jay-Z - Swagger jacker.
Nas - Inconsistent.
Andre 3000 - I don't think music is a priority for him right now.
Eminem - Less about yout wife and mother please. We get it. Life sucks. Move on.
Snoop - Was on No Limit Records....
Everyone else is too regional to be universally accepted or not commercial enough to be included in discussions (shame.)

Pac and Big were victims of the lifestyle their lyrics glamorized. If Hip-Hop is indeed dead, it dies with them. We have become too occupied as a culture to appreciate the artists we have now. Instead of demanding quality from our artists, we demand reincarnations of Big and Pac, as long as you are not blatantly imitating them. It's a tough thing to have to do, to be a post Big and Pac rapper. Sure it's been done successfully, but their prescences remain havey in the industry.

If we want to emulate someone, it needs to be a person like Cornell West, President Obama, or Colin Powell. We don't need to shuck and jive to be successful or famous. We can be intelligent and articulate. We can respected without big cars, nice clothes, groupies, or guns and we can have self-esteem without drugs and sex.

Big and Pac were legends in their own time, but sadly that time is over. The sooner we realize that, the better off we'll be. Our music will probably get better too.

Do you.