Posts
As we stand on the edge of Black Music Month, I decided to share a classic from an oft-overlooked grouo, Shalamar. Go on and get your boogie together!
READ MORE - The Hump Day Song of the Week: Shalamar " A Night to Remember"
A Night to Remember...
When the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra kicked off their retrospective of SOLAR Records and tribute to Don Cornelius and Soul Train at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with Shalamar’s “A Night to Remember”, it was more than a song, but the theme to the evening. It was truly a night to remember; a night to remember Don Cornelius’ mighty step forward to bring our music and culture into households across America weekly, a night to remember the impact Soul Train had on our community, and a night to remember the memories created by Klymaxx, Shalamar, The Whispers, Lakeside and the rest of Solar’s roster.
The crowd was at capacity before the show started. As DJ Idlemind was spun classic dance grooves the first Soul Train Line of the night began before the festivities officially kicked off, and everyone in the building that night knew there was a party going on!
Read the entire article at Soul Train
When Keeping it "Real" Goes Too Damn Far
Thursday, May 24, 2012
I've relaxed my stance on Reality TV in the last year or so;
partially because I’ve been able to stomach a few shows and also because I’ve
come to realize the genre isn’t going anywhere. I can’t always rage against the
machine. However, please believe there are certain franchises that I will
forever be at war with, mostly because of the characters they create and how
those characters has become the chief media representation of a segment of our
culture. So imagine my surprise and disgust when four Reality personalities
grace the cover of Vibe magazine with “Meet Your New Role Models” superimposed against
their heavily made-up figures.
Over the last couple of years the “Basketball Wives” and
Atlanta installment of the “Real Housewives” have been among the most talked
about reality shows and not because of any outstanding performances, but the
drama held within their one-hour time slots has been riveting, if not embarrassing.
The bankability of those shows have spawned numerous offspring, most notably
the Los Angeles version of “Basketball Wives” and “Love & Hip-Hop”. These
shows have the same premise, putting a group of women who allegedly have some
strain of commonality and following their day-to-day lives.
These lives include fabricated rivalries over the most
trivial of moments, copious amounts of liquors, more B-words than an Eddie
Murphy routine and the latest rage, fights complete with tossed glasses and
other objects, weave pulling and plenty of tears. Essentially, we’re watching
summer on Martin Luther King Boulevard masquerading behind designer names and
high-end locales. Instead of showcasing groups of women thriving in a man’s man’s
man’s world, we get the lowest common denominator and due to mainstream media’s
historic reluctance to accurately and consistently portray women of color in
empowering roles, this is the version of our women that gets displayed on the
Idiot Box several times weekly.
Since Flavor Flav’s Reality rebirth, Reality TV has become the vehicle for resuscitating dying
careers, so when Toni Braxton signed her family on for “Braxton Family Values”,
I’m not sure if she thought Tamar would become the breakout star. However, I’m
quite sure Tamar had seen more than her share of other shows and knew what
works; I’m sure she took note that NeNe Leakes, Tami Roman and Evelyn Lozada were
the most controversial personalities on their respective shows and more
importantly, saw how their profiles and bank accounts exploded because of their
on-screen personas. While Toni thought she would ignite her stalled career and
maybe put a little cash in her sister’s pockets, Tamar figured she would follow
the Reality blueprint to become a star and hopefully find three people
interested in her singing career.
Two weeks ago a Jill Scott tweet prompted a terse response
from Tamar and sister Towanda that launched a few responses from the sisters
and even fans that objected to the way the sisters were immediately offended by
the tweet. If that’s the response garnered by someone saying “a real
representation”, what are you saying to those that routinely go in on you? Not
to mention that your show is not the only game in town, so who knows if Jill
Scott was even referring to that show, when there are so many poor representations
on the air? I guess guilt is heavier than weave…
Vibe has a responsibility to move units and this cover could
possibly be nothing more than an attempt to do so; these women have established
followings and just look at how the internets have been buzzing since the cover’s
release. There’s a chance someone came up with the tag line as mere provocation,
much like Rick Ross appearing chest naked on last year’s “Sexy” issue. Based on
the ratings, the copycat shows and the social media capital these characters
hold, they have become the new role
models. We freaked out because we associate the term “role model” with a level
of positivity, but those words are generally missing from its definition, so
these women have become role models and it’s not hard to see just who they’re
influencing.
Over the last couple of months, Facebook feeds have been
littered with videos of young girls brawling with one another or being
assaulted, bullied or downright degraded by other young women. The most
infamous of which was a video of Tashay Edwards confronting another young lady
over a Twitter comment and commencing to brutally beating the girl down on her
front porch. The entire ordeal was disturbing, even more so that it was
videotaped and uploaded to the internet for the world to see…which we did. In
the aftermath of this beatdown, I came across “The Bad Girls Club” on Oxygen
and have been glued to my TV watching this nonsense, not because I’m
entertained by it, but because I cram to understand its intent.
The deplorable behavior on these shows and lack of
consequences has resonated in the mind of an impressionable generation on the
verge of self-destruction. Take a look at those half your age and realize far
too many of them have half the sense you had at that age and go twice as hard
on the vices you have now. You couple their lifestyle with the celebrated “stars”
of these shows and we have a lethal mix that has spontaneously combusting at
every turn.
Enter “Scandal”, Shonda Rhimes brilliant D.C. drama
featuring Kerry Washington as high-powered attorney/fixer Olivia Pope and in
seven weeks we saw the rejuvenation of a culture…but that’s TV, this is “reality”,
right? If your reality is anything like mine, you don’t know too many women who
behave like the caricatures we see nightly on television and you’re thankful
for that. However, perception is reality and though other cultures have similar
shows that display depraved behavior, there seems to be enough to counteract
the effects of the pigeonholing. I often joke about how Essence rotates the
same five women on its cover, but now I’m thankful they don’t add these four
and a host of others to the mix.
In Today's Sports Pages...
Friday, May 4, 2012
As long as the Nets are allowing Jay-Z to call their marketing shots — what a shock that he chose black and white as the new team colors to stress, as the Nets explained, their new “urban” home — why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment? Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N------s? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B----hes or Hoes. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath. Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way!
It was two paragraphs, less than 90 words, but they survived longer than anything else is Phil Mushnick’s column today. The longtime New York Post columnist called his insensitive and racist remarks an observation on Jay-Z’s artistry, not divisive, racist commentary meant to demean and belittle the man, the borough and the movement that has supposedly help mend some of the divides in our culture.
I’m not surprised.
I’ve never read any of Mushnick’s columns in his near 40
years of service, so I can’t speak of his content, but for his hate to creep
into his fingers is no more surprising than I am invisible in Walmart, parking
lots or how that cloak of invisibility is raised when I’m rocking a hoodie in a
gated community. Mushnick offered up an explanation to The Village Voice in
which he attempted to distance himself from being a closeted racist, but never
discounts the hateful intent of his words.
By deducing Jay-Z to a common thug that wears “Nigga” on his
chest, packs two guns and runs with a gang of bitches and hoes, Mushnick is
able to effectively shut out the Jay-Z that has gone from the Marcy Projects to
one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, all because of his mastery of
an art form that was born to create discomfort in folks like Mushnick. If he
was truly commenting on Jay-Z’s artistry, he may have wanted to start at the
genius level use of words that has created some of the best music over the past
15 years and allowed Shawn Corey Carter to amass a fortune of close to $500
million.
You and I know that’s not what was at work here.
He claims his family was never exposed to the word “Nigga” until
“folks like Jay-Z came along. Outside of his column, he’s told nothing but lies
today, unless his family lived in a bubble. I suppose his family never watched
Quentin Tarentino films, “The Godfather”, “Roots” or any number of critically acclaimed
(read: White approved) works of art. They missed that episode of “All in the
Family” when Archie Bunker said “nigger”. If Mushnick wanted to inspect the
content of Jay-Z’s lyrics or those that have come before, during and after his
reign at the top of Hip-Hop, then he must inspect the conditions that
impregnated these voices and suppress the genius of many children in Ghetto,
U.S.A. It’s obvious he has no interest in that sort of exploration and even
more apparent that his words flowed effortlessly from the tips of his
fingertips, because a man who doesn’t say those words, doesn’t use them with
such vigor.
I don’t know if Phil Mushnick dislikes or even hates Black
people. I know there’s one that he harbors animosity towards and that’s Jay-Z. The
jealousy in his ranting was evident; he’s on the attack because Jay-Z has used
words to achieve fame, acquire a not-so-small fortune, expand into a near
exclusive business arena and that
gets Phil Mushnick’s goat! The fact that Jay-Z’s words have given him passage
into a world Phil Mushnick felt privy too and parts he’s never knew existed
because his way of words probably landed him as far as Long Island and a
timeshare in Key West, while Jay-Z and Beyoncè enjoy rarified air. That’s
enough to curl the fingers above a keyboard and unmask your hate through dashes
in a rant about the new color scheme, location and logo for a basketball team.
By the way, how many dashes are in “nigga”, certainly not the five
you added in your article Mr. Mushnick.
I'm Disappointed in America: Mary J. Blige
Monday, April 2, 2012
I love Mary J. Blige. I don’t love her in 2012 the same way
I did in 1992, because our experiences have led us to different places. She’s
achieved worldwide stardom and earned millions of dollars, battled addiction
and K-Ci’s ugly ass, but she’s still standing after all of these years and
belting out anthems that directly reflect our community (for better or worse).
Mary’s newest anthem isn’t about loving the wrong man or a volatile
relationship, it’s about chicken! A fried chicken snack wrap from Burger King at
that! Come on now, you’re Mary J. Blige, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, loved by
millions and you’re talking about three cheeses and fresh lettuce? Damn! I’ve
been troubled by “Hood Love” and “Mr. Wrong” for the message they send to
women, but the message you’re sending to everyone here is disturbing.
Did you miss the “Ain’t Gonna Shuffle No More” segment of Eyes on the Prize? Artists bowed and
danced for Mister Charlie so you could stand on a stage in front of thousands
and sing your life. Marion Anderson and Nina Simone are rolling over in their
graves at you singing about some damn fried chicken! There’s the possibility
that the check was too good for you pass or someone in your ear thought this
would be a good look for you. Once again, you’re Mary J. Blige, you had
millions of women and young girls rocking blonde streaks and baseball caps, you
were his lover and his secretary…now you’re the damn chicken lady!
I’m unsure how you overlooked the connotations of this
commercial and I guess that’s where our experiences have differed the most; I
understand that I’m not threatening singing about chicken, but I’m a menace in
my Polo hoodie…
See it for yourself here
Raise the Level of the BOOM Inside Your Ear
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
I want you to do yourself a favor.
When you take your hoodie off and change your profile picture from Arizona Iced Tea and Skittles, keep your commitment to social justice. Find ways to be involved when it’s not en vogue. The tragedy of Trayvon Martin cannot be lost if and when George Zimmerman is arrested, because a greater crime will be committed if all of the awareness and outrage simply dies down once this is not a trending topic anymore.
We’ve reached the one month mark since George Zimmerman stepped outside of his mind and snuffed out the 17-year-old’s future, but the fervor of activism is at an all-time high as rallies are popping up nationwide. Hoodie pictures are the phenomenon, tribute songs are being recorded and justice being demanded, but what happens tomorrow?
Read the rest at Mused Magazine
The Hump Day Song of the Week - Public Enemy "Fight the Power"
What we need is awareness, we can't be careless...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
