poetry heads in the house?

I started this forum back 2 years ago or so... eyeBored v.2. It was based on this old forum that was entitled something like eYe told him it was art, but just got laughed at based on a track by Latyrx and EL-P. It was mainly a site for my people's who wrote (poetry/rhymes/etc), as well as myself, to keep out shit out there online. It's died down a lot, which doesn't help that I don't write that stuff anymore, but hopefully we will be able to revitalize it. Or get some new heads out there. In any case, just figured I'd give it a shout.

EZ.
respekt2thosewhodeserve.

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2Pac: 10 Year Anniversary

Just wanted to let those who don't know that Pac passed away 10 years ago today. I won't go into a big writing, XXL already took care of that. His death is also still unsolved, but we know the science around that. Peep some YouTube vids I have accumulated:


1: Pac freestyling down the streets of NY



2: Scarface ft. 2Pac "Smile"



3: 2Pac "Changes"



4: 2Pac "When My Homies Call (Live on Yo! MTV Raps)"



5: 2Pac "To Live And Die In L.A."



6: Chappelle's Show sketch on the new 2Pac track...



RIP Pac. You are sorely missed by fans worldwide. Your legacy lives on.

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Jayden Smiles

It's things like this that help brighten our days... I can't wait 'til he gets home.

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America The Ugly: The Mixtape (Sept. 2006)

Yes, this is a continuation of my "America The Ugly" post from July 4th, 2006, as well as my "food for thought" post from 7-03-2006. I've been working on the mixtape tip, trying to get my thoughts and feelings across through song, and it's coming along like gang busters. You guys dug "How To Speak 'Hip'", so we bring you another chapter of my Dub Sessions chambers.

This one is chock full of Hip-Hop. Loads of artists are referenced, from Pharoahe Monch to Company Flow to James Brown to Saul Williams to Nas to Jay Dee to J. Rawls to Mos Def, with many other artists and thoughts sprinkled in. No, this is not solely about the lose of life from 9/11; this mixtape touches on various points in America that piss me off and touch many lives every day.

If anyone has a problem with this, so be it. We cherish our freedom, but we also wish that our leaders would take us seriously, not as a race or as a gender, but as a united people. America, fufill your promise and get us us free!

DOWNLOAD America: The Ugly (The Mixtape)



Tracklist:

01/Dubya's Foreword (intro)
02/Public Enemy "Fight The Power (Extended Mix)"
03/Jay Dee ft. Word Perphect "Fuck The Police (Remix)"
04/DJ Green Lantern ft. dead prez, Saigon, Immortal Technique & Just Blaze "Impeach The President"
05/James Brown "Funky President"
06/Saul Williams Interview (interlude)
07/Mos Def "Dollar Day for New Orleans (Katrina Klap)"
08/Mos Def "Beef"
09/Nas ft. Kelis "American Way"
10/Jadakiss Ft. Styles P, Common, Nas & Anthony Hamilton "Why (Remix)"
11/Malcolm X "By Any Means Necessary" / Oh No "WTF (Instrumental)" (interlude)
12/J. Rawls "America, Fufill Your Promise"
13/Chris Rock "Crackers" / Blackstar "Brown Skin Lady (Instrumental)" (interlude)
14/J. Dilla "Anti-American Graffiti"
15/Company Flow "Patriotism"
16/The Perceptionists "Memorial Day"
17/Pharoahe Monch "Book of Judges"
18/Dubya's Afterword / RJD2 "Seven Light Years (Instrumental)" / RJD2 "Fuck A Soundcheck (Instrumental)" (outro)

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my little mixtape

So yes, my son was born on September 7th, 2006 at 6:02PM. He weighed in at 7lbs. and 14oz., at 21 inches long.

He is my little mixtape... seeing as though I am African American (with some Native American, German, and whatever else in me), and my wife is Part Puerto Rican, Part Polish, part Irish, and whatever else, he is a total mutt, a true combination of styles. He is a beautiful mixtape. He is also not home as of yet... jaundice has set in, so they are using blue lights (phototherapy) to get his bilirubin numbers down, so that he will be able to come home. His life has been hard so far, from getting snipped to getting pricked in his heel numerous times... hell, he was vacuumed out! My wife is sore, we are both tired, and my little mixtape is not making any true noise (well, except when he is hungry, then you best to feed him). Soon come, though, soon come.

So in the effort to get past the suffering and worrying, I have uploaded loads of pictures of him since the day of his birth, as well as some video from earlier today...

Jayden's photobucket stash

I also loaded up 4 viddys of my boy on YouTube:

Sept. 10th, 2006 Pt. 1:





Sept. 10th, 2006 Pt. 2:





Sept. 10, 2006 Pt. 3:





Sept. 10, 2006 Pt. 4:




You'll be home soon, lil' man. And we can't wait.

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The Vicious Circle of Ignorance

Sometimes, you never realize how wide of a scope your blog is on. I got an e-mail from reader Brandon M, who said I forgot to mention something in the latest edition of the shuffle, I forgot to mention the gigantic piece that Nigo (who, for those who don't know, is the creator and owner of BAPE) was wearing to the VMA's... check his blog post on that shit.

How crazy is that shit? Now, the more I thought about this shit, the more I realized how crazy the circle of ignorance is... think about it. We create Hip-Hop, Japan creates PS2 and other electronic shit that we (don't) need. Now, not only do we have lil things on our hips that beep and bloop whenever we need a reminder or to speak to some ignorant person about ignorant shit, but then it turns into a new form of ignorance... the Bruce Lee-roy of ignorance. Basically, it ain't just niggas wearing their pants hangin' down... it's niggas wearing their pants hangin' down with fucking SIDEKICKS and other nonsense. And now, this Japanese dude has gone the extra mile... not only has he been influenced by Hip-Hop's love for dookie chains and loud colors, but he has now topped us, turning our love of excess into a gigantic fucking statement -- iced out monetary symbols. If that ain't Pop art, I don't know what is.

I also have a few more examples of current nigga-rance, in video form:

This pickaninny shit has got to stop. Niggas don't want to be called coon or jiggaboo, but then come out with a fucking dance that looks like some watermelon patch nonsense. What's next, the Ramen Cup Dance?




Thanks for converting a lil diddy youngin's sing about big ears into some bullshit about bling and excess. Thanks a lot, Jibbs.

Fucking ignorant ass niggas, man... can't handle it!

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The Good, The Def, and the SuFi

Yesterday was a geeky labor day for me... for those who don't have digital cable or HBO On Demand, you probably don't care, but HBO has been my favorite channel since I was a shorty, so getting the jump on the new shows is always a plus for me. Yesterday, not only did the new episode of The Wire premiere On Demand (more on that in the near future), but the newest season of Def Comedy Jam, hosted by Mike Epps, also premiered On Demand. I was excited... but then I watched it.

You see, HBO was a haven for bright, young comedians. Some of my favorite specials have ranged from Robert Townsend providing both sketch comedy and stand-up to seeing Whoopi on stage doing her characters to Sinbad being his G-rated self to George Carlin being George Carlin... there have been many highlights, and lately, many lowlights. Def Comedy Jam started out as one of the bright lights...

Hosted by Martin Lawrence, it was a raw, edgey spot for Black comedians to really let loose and not worry about having to restrict or censor themselves on national TV. Loads of stars (D.L. Hughley, Bernie Mac, Cedric The Entertainer, Sommore, Adele Givens, Dave Chappelle, Chris Tucker, Joe Torry, Bill Bellamy, the list goes on) got their first national exposure on that very show. The thing is, with the vulgar nature of some of the C-list comedians, the show began to morph into a caricature of itself, where most of the later episodes were stale mimicry of tired jokes. It was no suprise when it got canceled in the late 90's. Yet, for some reason, HBO felt the need to bring this shit back...

Hosted by "DayDay" Mike Epps, who himself is great at impersonations but kind of juvenile with his original jokes, it does not stray too far from the original setup. The episode they have on there features Tony Rock (Chris' brother), Sommore and some gray suit wearing ass nigga named Capone. Tony Rock tried to be everyone but himself... he dressed like any random hip-hop comedian, told jokes like any random hip-hop comedian, but tried to bridge the gap by adding some political shit in there (immigrants, gay rights, etc), but instead of playing the smart role and injecting real issue into it, he diverted to tacos and dicks, which brought laughs from the audiene, but made his routine weak. Sommore was her usual golddigger self, playing that role to a "T", but the outfit she had on (odd green top sans bra) made me wish they could blur out her saggy chest. I got love for her, she is a Trenton native, but the look just took my mind off the jokes. Capone was a yelling ass suit wearing ass nigga, but his jokes about sex were actually true... it was the delivery that got me. Everything had to be yelled and mean mugged instead of being as suave as his on stage persona (Shaq hat included) would have set him to be. Mike Epps told some remedial jokes, which was normal, and kind of ran out on stage to intro each comedian like a 4 year old running to tell Mom & 'em that John-John was down the street getting into something. Odd all around --- maybe Russell knows what he's doing, but this episode does not really stand up to even the worst shit sandwiches that were lapped up in the original runs' day.

Now on to Dane Cook, who's Tourgasm was the first of his multi-project deal with HBO. The first of (possibly) many specials for HBO, Vicious Circle, premiered last night, and it was a mix of yelling and tangents. New ways to say things and saying the same old shit over again. Dane's kind of comedy is appealing for a few different reasons: he appeals to a very large white college kid crowd, I guess for his stories of one night stands and drunken escapades. He talks about everyday shit, and makes you realize that "hey, I've done that too!", which can be kind of neat, at times. I personally like the way he enunciates and pronounces words, it always keeps you guessing... even if it can be overkill. He does tend to go off the deep end with never-ending jokes, beating the shit out of you with joke fi joke fi joke fi joke, to the point where I think he seriously forgets where he started off. It's comedy for the MTV generation, even to the quick ass cuts and no-attention-span feel of some of his pieces. His storytelling is phenomenal, the way he can pick up on the most minute detail and focus your attention on that piece. That can sometimes outweigh the bad. I think my favorite parts of his Retaliation CD were those bits, the 10-15 minute stories he would tell. I did NOT appreciate him ending his set with fucking DJ Diddles, while funny as shit the first time you hear it, is (at least) a year old... and it's on your fucking CD! I mean, the fans out there already know this bit inside and out. Why subject them to that old material again? I was pissed at Tourgasm for the same thing... I don't think I heard more than one instance where Dane told new jokes. Get with it; this is not TV, this is HBO. The people will scrutinize (and tire) of your old material. Was it that hard to fill the 1hr 45min time slot? And don't think I didn't catch that "black people at the movies" remark you made,doggy... I didn't think you rolled that way, but your true colors have been shown.

In any case, maybe HBO Comedy is going to get better... Katt Williams, aka "Money Mike" and neph from Wild'n Out, has a new special airing this month. Roseanne Barr has one, too, but who gives a shit. We'll see...

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"How To Speak 'Hip'" (Aug. 2006 Mix)

Here's a mix I did for my boy Akzel's "The Unexpected" webradio show down in Brazil. He wanted some proper Hip-Hop, so I gave it to him. It's not mixed, persay, but thrown into a nice stew via Acid, with some classic '50s hipster lingo record jammed throughout. Peep the tracklisting:

khal - How To Speak ‘Hip’ (August 2006)

01/”Basic Hip” Intro
02/Das EFX “Microphone Master (Dome Cracker Remix Instrumental)”
03/”Vocabulary Building”
04/Jay Dee “Fuck The Police”
05/L.E.G.A.C.Y. “Crouching Writer”
06/”The Hang Up”
07/The Alchemist ft. Nas & Prodigy “Tick Tock”
08/”Uncool”
09/The Herbaliser ft. Phi Life Cypher “Distinguished Jamaican English”
10/”Field Trip #1″
11/Company Flow “World of Garbage”
12/Bedouin Ascent “Broadway Boogie Woogie”
13/”Field Trip #2″
14/Styles P “Switch My Style”
15/”Field Trip #3″
16/Buckshot & 9th Wonder “Side Talk”
17/Clipse ft. Sandman & Ab Liva “Daytona 500 (Freestyle)”
18/PackFM “Clik, Clak & Spray”
19/Nas “The World Is Yours”
20/”Put On, Put Down, Come On, Come Down”
21/DJ Krush ft. Shawn J Period “Listen”
22/Busta Rhymes “Ping”

You can dload a high quality (192kbps) mp3 here (right click, 'Save As')*. The post on their blog has a mix that Ak did for that show, which is a load of tech-dnb. I highly recommend it.

Shouts out to Dr. Akzel and the Sub Musica crew. Check out Akzel's "The Unexpected" weekly on Submusica on Fridays (check the website for time and stuff).

Out. *Note: if you right click and Save As, dload the entire file, it might finish dloading as "click.php"... the proper filename is "khal-how_to_speak_hip_(aug_2006).mp3", so if you rename it to that you should be A-OK. This is Dub Sessions, vol. 1... vol. 2 on the way!

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rock the dub presents... dubplate digest.

dubplate digest.

I got tired of having to dig through various websites, newsletters, and AIM chats to find out the most upfront dnb news, as I figure many of you heads are.

I told myself I would do something to help combat that. the dubplate digest is the first step in that direction.

I am trying to grab the newest/freshest dnb news (releases/tracks/tours/etc) from one of the most innovative and diverse genres of music out there. It's needed, honestly. No disrespect to DOA or DNBA or any of the other spots, but I feel as though there is a void that I might have a chance filling.

If you are a label, producer, DJ, promoter, or affiliated with anyone and have some fresh dnb news that needs spreading, hit me up. If you are a fan of the site, spread the URL around. I would appreciate it.

I inted to keep this as up-to-date as possible, so definitely check out the blog everyday for new bits.

EASY!

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Akrobatik's new label: PlayAktion

taken from his MySpace bulletin:

September 1, 2006

For Immediate Release -

Boston-based hip-hop artist Akrobatik has inked a deal with Raptivism/Imperial Records for distribution through Caroline/EMI. The label will be called PlayAktion Recordings, and will serve as an outlet for Akrobatik to release his back catalogue as well as new projects from artists to be signed starting in 2007.

With a huge catalogue of music dating back to 1998, as well as an ever-growing fanbase, the deal couldn't have come at a better time for Akro. With the services of Imperial, PlayAktion Recordings will be able to offer top notch recording quality, competitive marketing and promotional budgets, as well as in-house tour booking and photography.

This has been a busy 2006 for Akrobatik, who is also about to embark on a 30-city tour in preparation for an early 2007 release of his Fat Beats Records album, titled Absolute Value. The album will feature appearances from Little Brother, Bumpy Knuckles, Chuck D., B-Real, and Mr. Lif, among others. His 2005 effort as a member of the Perceptionists, Black Dialogue, was named one of
Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 50 Records of the Year.

For more info on Akrobatik, log on to www.akrobatik.com or www.myspace.com/therealakrobatik

As you may remember, Akrobatik was the 1st Interview on rock the dub. Check it out HERE to get info on his new album, as well as other points of interest. Good luck to him.

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