Burger King Commercial...for kids? I don't think so.

I thought the McDonald's commercial was bad with the slang terminology thrown in there. But wait it gets worse...it's Burger King's turn...

Hip- Hop started with us...

Kool Herc. Anybody remember him? Maybe, some know him as Clive Campbell from Kingston, Jamaica. Yeah, Clive started hip-hop. He took something that he fooled around with down at home and brought it to the Bronx, where it exploded to a multi-billion dollar industry. You know what's even worse, this man ain't even a billionaire. Ain't that some shit?!?!? Bill Gates, started Microsoft. Instant billionaire. Richest man on the planet. DJ Kool Herc, started hip-hop. Never made one hit. But you know what? It's cool. We love him because he kept the peace. When there was violence in the BX, Kool Herc would 'break' out his turntables and mix some funky James Brown records and spin it and switch it up so the youth and the people of the day would have something to get down to. He didn't need millions of dollars to be heard. He just walked up into the park, took the power from the streetlight and it was on and poppin' for the rest of the night. We have something like that down in Jamaica, it's called Reggae Sunsplash.

Reinvention of style & dress

Mi a talk about dem tight-fittin' capris wit da Adidas, off-white, wit the off-white cap and the marina wit da hole in dem, make 'em look like fishnet. AH WHA DAT!! Now that style, believe it or not, is actually quite comfortable. If you've never been to Jamaica, then imagine a beautiful day, about 90 degrees outside but there's a nice breeze blowing through. Now think about what I'm wearing, is that not quite comfortable? I think so. Jamaicans are not into basketball shorts because we play futbol and run. You wear shorts above the knee for more mobility. If ya want to look sexy and trendy, ya wear da capris or denim shorts wit a breezy shirt or marina so ya don't make pools a sweat. Remember, Jamaican men must always be ready for a You never know what may pull her ova to you. One more thing, there's this new fad or I guess it's been here for a while, to wear these tight, skinny jeans and push them below the ass and wear a belt, I might add, a name belt at that, with some kind of name brand sneaker or shoe that match the tight polo or short-sleeve shirt with chains that you can probably buy at a thrift store. I'm not against the style of dress but some take it too far so that it's overdone. There is a limit but some have gone past it a long time ago. Personally, I don't like it, mainly cuz Jamaicans have, what my grandfather likes to say, chicken-legs, where the legs are skinny like a chicken's, so the skinny jeans thing may work. However, for me, my thighs are a lil' bigger than a chicken's so those skinny jeans would be too skinny for me.

On a lighter note, well not really...

If you haven't heard this song, you should listen to it. Shit is deep...

Mockery...

I know I'm supposed to wait til I get out all the kinks out but too many people pissed me off today with their fuckin' ignorance and disrespect.


OK, this topic pisses me off. I HATE when people misuse the accent or americanize popular Jamaican sayings. That shit is so fuckin' annoying!! If one more person says, "Yea man, BOOUP! BOOUP! BOOUP!" You know what I'm a do, mi a box ya in ya rassclaat!! Mi a tomp ya in ya face!! Now I understand, when you encounter Jamaicans, you cannot help yourself but notice our beautiful and unique accent that is special to the people of the Caribbean. However, using it as a tool to describe a culture requires some ignorance and stupidity. If you say, "Jamaica, Jamaica, Welcome to Jamrock!" I'm goin' to ask, 'Where is that from? Who created that song? What is the song's deeper meaning?' If you can't answer those questions, you need to educate yourself about our culture and our history because shit like that is offensive to our people and our nation. HAVE SOME BUMBACLAAT MANNAS! A WHA YA TINK DIS IS? EEEH? Don't intertwine violence and Jamaicans either, if you don't know, you better ask somebody! DON'T ASK ME FOR NO GODDAMN WEED!!! I hate that shit! Don't ask me if my cousin is Usain Bolt! Don't ask me for some curry chicken, some rice & peas with some cabbage because you tink that's all mi eat! Stay in school. Don't ask me about the latest dances or what she said! I'm not your fuckin' translator!! If you don't know, you better find out...

And It Still Continues...in more a sophisticated fashion....

This is fuckin' unbelievable. I don't know if I could have this much restraint...Bless that man, for real...This is copied directly from CNN...

NFL Player Detained While Relative Died

PLANO, Texas (March 26) - A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.

Officer Robert Powell also drew his gun during the March 18 incident involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats in the Dallas suburb of Plano, police said.

"I can screw you over," he said at one point in the videotaped incident. When another officer came with word that Moats' mother-in-law was indeed dying, Powell's response was: "All right. I'm almost done."

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle apologized to the family and announced that Powell would be on paid leave pending an internal investigation.

"When we at the command staff reviewed the tape, we were embarrassed, disappointed," Kunkle said. "It's hard to find the right word and still be professional in my role as the police chief. But the behavior was not appropriate."

Powell, 25, a three-year member of the force, stopped Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano after Moats rolled through a red light.

Police officials said Powell told his commanders he believed he was doing his job, and that he drew his gun but did not point it. Kunkle said Powell was not necessarily acting improperly when he pulled his weapon out, but that once he realized what was happening should have put the gun back, apologized and offered to help the family in any way.

"His behavior, in my opinion, did not exhibit the common sense, the discretion, the compassion that we expect our officers to exhibit," Kunkle said.

Moats' wife, who was in the car along with other relatives, said Powell pointed his weapon at her.

"He was pointing a gun at me as soon as I got out of the car," Tamishia Moats told The Dallas Morning News.

The Moats family did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press. Powell did not respond to requests for comment through the Dallas police union.

Video from a dashboard camera inside the officer's vehicle, obtained by Dallas-Fort Worth station WFAA-TV, revealed an intense exchange in which the officer threatened to jail Moats.

He ordered Tamishia Moats, 27, to get back in the SUV, but after pausing for a few seconds, she and another woman rushed into the hospital. She was by the side of her mother, 45-year-old Jonetta Collinsworth, when she died a short time later from breast cancer.

"Get in there," said Powell, yelling at Tamishia Moats as she exited the vehicle. "Let me see your hands!"

"Excuse me, my mom is dying," Tamishia Moats said. "Do you understand?"

Ryan Moats explained that he waited until there was no traffic before proceeding through the red light. When Powell asked for proof of insurance, Moats grew more agitated and told the officer to go find it.

"My mother-in-law is dying! Right now! You're wasting my time!" Moats yelled. "I don't understand why you can't understand that."

As they argued, the officer got irritated.

"Shut your mouth," the officer said. "You can either settle down and cooperate or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."

By the time the 26-year-old NFL player received a ticket and a lecture from Powell, about 13 minutes had passed. When he and Collinsworth's father entered the hospital, they learned Collinsworth was dead.

Kunkle said the video showed that Moats and his wife "exercised extraordinary patience, restraint in dealing with the behavior of our officer."

"At no time did Mr. Moats identify himself as an NFL football player or expect any kind of special consideration," Kunkle said. "He handled himself very, very well."

The Moats family, who are black, said they can't help but think that race might have played a part in the white officer's behavior.

"I think he should lose his job," Ryan Moats said.

When the exchange was at its most contentious, Powell said he could tow Moats' SUV if he didn't have insurance and that he could arrest him for fleeing because he didn't immediately stop when Powell turned on his sirens. The pursuit lasted a little more than a minute.

"I can screw you over," Powell said. "I'd rather not do that. Your attitude will dictate everything that happens."

The ticket issued to Moats was dismissed, Dallas police spokesman Lt. Andy Harvey said.

Texans spokesman Kevin Cooper said the team had no comment.

Moats, a third-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005 out of Louisiana Tech, was cut by the Eagles in August and later signed with the Texans. In three seasons as a backup, he's rushed for 441 yards and scored four touchdowns.

He was a standout at Bishop Lynch High School, a private school in Dallas, rushing for more than 2,600 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior.

Rock For Haiti

I wanna give a shout-out to the people that performed at the Rock for Haiti concert (Truth Be Told). The concert was very informative in the beginning and poppin at the end. Those pictures and images were disturbing but that's the truth right in front of your eyes. I jus wanna say blitz was off the chain. His performance this year was crazier than last year. For those that didn't attend last year, it was his first time coming to Lehigh so he was up on stage by himself kinda getting to know the audience asking us questions doing a Q&A kinda thing. I appreciated that and his promo album that he was giving out was hot. But this year, he brought the whole embassy and shit. Yo, mad shout-outs to that man for doing his thing.



Now y'all can't tell that this shit ain't hot. Biggups to this Blitz the Ambassador for comin' thru and rockin' the house.

Robert Farid Karimi- Self (Remix)

I jus wanna let y'all know that Self (Remix) was hot. I didn't go Thursday or the free night cuz I had shit to do but I went Saturday night and that shit was poppin' although there was only about 7 people in all of Touchstone Theatre excluding Robert Karimi, DJ D Double, the man on the lights, Karimi's cameraman and the lady at the door. I thought that was pretty pathetic. For a man who was on Def Comedy Jam and has won numerous Poetry Jams, I believe more people should have came. It was a shame because after the show I stayed back and spoke wit Karimi and DJ D Double and their video/camera man and they were a little disappointment at the turnout Saturday night. They told me to give the class mad props for coming out and supporting them because they liked the feeling of having a packed audience. They said that's why they keep doing what they do. They were also upset that you guys didn't stay for the 'talkback' cuz that's when they let y'all know upcoming info and events. So I stayed and learned more about Karimi and DJ D Double. I ended up getting the soundtrack for the show which is hot, I might add. I also transferred info DJ D Double and Karimi so if y'all wanna know what's coming up or what they are up to, let me know. I'll post DJ D Double's info if y'all liked his mixes, www.deftal.com & djddouble@gmail.com. DJ D Double is on XM & Satellite radio, I forgot which station, contact him if you wanna know and listen to more of his music.

Nightmare

Real Shit

I was listening to some songs today and I felt like you should hear some of this shit too. This shit is real for me.



The Corner- Common

Now A Dayz (That's What's Up)

"Don't Mess With Me" Street

My Hip Hop Generation

Yo, what's good. I'm critiquing this artist, Nightmare, on his piece, My Hip Hop Generation. Nightmare, up until this point as been a quiet artist making little underground rhymes here and there. He hasn't really come out with a certified mix-tape or something he can put his name behind. When I spoke to him last he said he was working on a piece called "MC Name". He didn't really go into any more detail than that, but I expect the piece to be crazy hot.
Now the piece he just did, My Hip Hop Generation, is a sensitive piece. It's about an altercation between he and his brother about when his brother was shot a couple of years ago. The spoken word piece/dialogue was very real and it talked a lot about the hip hop generation and how it affects the youth of every age. When his brother first starts out talking about what he is wearing, the Stan Smith's, the Brooklyn Express jeans, the 'Don't Mess With Sesame Street' shirt and the LA Dodgers cap are all examples of items that glorify hip hop. He makes sure that he is color-coordinated and matching from head to toe, literally. The shirt, is a great example of hip hop's effects on the media when they change a children's show into something 'gangsta'. He continues to go on about his gang life, the Crips. The artist makes a great recognition to the creator of the Crips, Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, with his rhyme saying, "Ok, Tookie, calm down, what's your name then, Pookie?". His brother continues about his gang name and what the 'central message and image' of his gang portrays. As the rhyme continues, a form of the effect of media shows it face again with his only way of creating income is selling weed. Now, there are definitely other ways of selling weed but because he is a paraplegic he believes he has no other way of making money. His brother continues to speak about when he got shot and who's fault it was. The artist is called a Captain Save-A-Ho, which is a rhyme from Eazy-E for brothers that save gold-diggin' hoes. The anger continues to swell until the artist calms the whole scene down and ends it on a positive note.
This artist has great potential for a very positive and successful future. We should hear more from him in the upcoming months. I rate this artist with a 3.8 out of 4.

Hear me out, tell me what life is about...

Here's a little something, I was thinking about a couple of days ago. Tell me if it's something plausible and something I can perform for you.

It's funny when you wake up in the morning and your brother is in you face, like, "How I look?" Now, I'm thinking to myself, saying to myself, "Hmm, what is this nigga wearing? He has on black, white & blue Stan Smith's , some blue jeans from Brooklyn Express, a name belt that has an 'S' on its chest, a shirt that says 'Don't Mess With Sesame Street' and a LA Dodgers cap, not Miami Heat." So I say to him, "What's all the blue for?" He tells me, "Motherfucker, I'm crip." Now, pause, stop, rewind, wait a couple of seconds....play. "Now, what the fuck did you just say?" I said, "I'm Crip, nigga." I'm like, "OK, Tookie, calm down, what's your name then, Pookie?" He's like, "Na, it's P-Loc." I say, "Word? That's dope, but why a gang, why Crips?" He tell me, "These are my niggas, my brothers, we stay together, we're loyal and we protect one another, almost like a brotherhood, just with more paranoia. A gang is just an emphasis on our central message and image of brotherhood/loyalty." I said, "What about a fraternity, something with less modernity that has brotherhood & loyalty, but is less violent, you see?" He tells me, "No, that's not how it is, that's not how it's gonna be. So today is the day I need you to do something for me." I say, "What's that?" He says, "I need you to sell this weed for me, while I'm in Jamaica." I'm like, "No, I refuse, to meet my Maker." He's like, "It won't take ya, long to get the concept down, you won't be gone by the time I get back around." I say, "I'ma be doin' this for a month. You gonna be in Jamaica, smokin' blunts." He's like, "Please, this is my only way for income, remember? I got shot two years ago, four months before December, now I'ma paraplegic, with disabled members. As a matter of fact, this shit is your fault, I remember! Fuckin' Captain-Save-A-Ho! If you didn't help that bitch, I wouldn't be in this predicament." I say, "Yo, it's not even like that, if you weren't a part of a gang, you wouldn't have gotten sidetracked. Let's remember, you do start school a month after December. Let's try to stay alive, cuz life gets hard in the winter. Truce?" "You right, deuce."

No Time For Fake Niggas

I enjoyed Tara's teaching and knowledge of hip hop. Although, I do think she went a bit fast it was all for good reason and she had a lot of knowledge to drop on us young bucks. Anyway, I appreciated the fact that she went all the back to Bessie Smith and explained that origins of hip hop were based in the blues and jazz. A little background on Bessie Smith: She was on July 9, 1892 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her father, William Smith, was a laborer and a part time preacher. He died before she could even remember him. Her mother died when she was nine, leaving her in the custody of her older sister. She and her brother performed on the streets in front of saloons to make some money for the household. She would sing and dance and he would play the guitar. She was eventually signed with Columbia records and was known as "Queen of the Blues" for records like, Gulf Coast Blues and Downhearted Blues. Her nickname "Queen of the Blues" was upgraded to "Empress" after about 160 recording with Columbia records. Her most notable recordings were with the finest musicians of the day, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Green, Joe Smith, James P. Johnson and Fletcher Henderson. Bessie Smith died in a car accident on September 26, 1937.
Here are a couple of recordings of Bessie Smith as well as Gill Scott-Heron, who I did not speak about....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcrx2-vvwC4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCrtErmipXE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I54DgVennXU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM_r9qDDmyc&feature=related

The Real Ol' School

I have appreciated everything that Kashi has been teaching and it has inspired to look up and research everything that I read in out text. I really liked the Danny Hoch film and Rennie Harris' performances. The reading within Part II No Time for Fake Niggas: On the Question of Nigga Authenticity by R.A.T Judy was very informative and forced me to really think and value my vocabulary and what one additional letter can do to a culture. I especially like when the author breaks down, thoroughly, the difference between a badman and bad nigger. That shit right there is the truth. I want to bring the part of the article where the author explains, or tries to explain, the difference between a nigger and a nigga to comedians and all people that like to make these kinds of jokes so that they know the true distinction for themselves and maybe in the future they can make more informative jokes about their culture.
Other than that, I've looked up a couple of things on youtube that the book kept repeating. One of the main artists that the book continuosly calls on to show where rap beats originate is James Brown. So I put up one of his songs that you can probably figure out was mixed in one Grandmaster Flash's mixes for a party. I also put up Sly & the Family Stone which Afrika Bambaataa used for his mixes. Finally, I put up, I believe, one of Grandmaster Flash's first mixes for a club party.

Slick Rick speaks French...

As I was rehearsing the song, I found out that most radios edit out part of the last verse of the song, "The Show" with Doug E. Fresh. The part about "Michelle" is always skipped. Well, I looked it up and I found out that he actually speaks French to this girl in an attempt to woo her. That part of the song goes,

Michelle, ma belle.
Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble,
Tres bien ensemble.

Now, that part of the song translates to: Are words that go very well together, very well together.
I don't know about you, but I was buggin' out when I found out the man spoke French. I mean it's not that far-fetched being that he was born in South Wimbledom, England which is only about two hours from France. Another thing about Slick Rick is that he wears an eye patch because he was blinded as an infant in his right eye, so he began wearing an eye patch at an early age. Just flexin' my knowledge on Slick Rick...

Nightmare

White Chicks Breakdancin' Scene

Check this out. I just remembered that in the movie White Chicks, they do an old school breakdancin' scene in the club. I pulled it up from youtube. The stunt performers that do the breakdancing scene in the club are Eddie L. Watkins & Marshall Virtue. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbHqb6nrOpA

The basic knowledge (bio and background)

I guess I haven't fully introduce myself. My name is Kadeem Samuels and I am sophomore here at Lehigh University. I hail from the rugged streets of Bronx, NY where I have resided all of my life. My parents and my grandparents are from Kingston, Jamaica. (Actually, my grandfather was a country man, from Clarendon, BIGGUPS!!!!!!) But anyway, they moved here in the early part of the 70's and have been here since. My mother is a RN (registered nurse) and she raised me practically by herself and to this day, will bust my ass if I get out of line (it's a blessing and a curse). I have three brothers, one older and two younger. Patrick, the older one, (is crazy, nahhh....well kinda) is kind of like my vision or video, if you will, into the 'hood or how I grew up. I basically watched him and made notes of what to do and what not to do, I'm not saying he was my guinea pig, but my mother always taught me to heed warnings even when they are not directly obvious. But, he is blood and I won't forget what he has taught and is still teaching me about what it means to be a brother and a black man in this society. Solomon and Quinton are the two younger ones. They are some bad ass children (excuse my French, but it's true). I have gone through hell trying to help my brother and mother raise these two scoundrels. My little brother, Solomon, is in high school and was a rascal as a little child. (He used to get me into so much trouble when he was a baby, damn I hated being the middle child when I was younger...) However, he is learning to be responsible and is turning into his own person. He still is bad but he my brother so what am I to do. Now, the baby, Quinton, is a slick little punk. He thinks because he's a charmer, he can get away with anything, but AHA! Kadeem will not be fooled. I know his little tricks and I catch them before he can carry them out. Nah, that's my baby brother and he moved down to Jamaica, I think, two summers ago. I miss him very much and I wish I could see him every time I went home. That's a basic bio and background of me.

This is my boy gettin down'

I would like to introduce my boy, Kevin Ruiz from my high school, Fordham Prep. He was a senior when I was freshman. He just graduated from Lehman College with his B.S in Mechanical Engineering. His breakdancin' always fascinated me and he actually put up some stuff of him getting down and I want to share that with you. We actually have a wrestler on the team that can get down too, but that's another story. Check him out.


http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=32100051#/video/video.php?v=507396306892

http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=32100051#/video/video.php?v=503002197722