... Of All Time

I think I'm gettin the hang of the contributor thing. Here's my latest contribution. Off the top of my head, I was asked to list my top 10 emcees. I won't tell you what I said then, but after a few days' thought, and a little revision (just a little), here's where it stands. My Top Ten in no particular order.

• Rakim, whose albums I can still play straight through (shout out Eric B.)

• Biggie, who told great stories, even when they were about crack and killin kats.

• Nas, who tells very good stories.

• Busta Rhymes, just because E.L.E. is forever ingrained as one of my "happy albums." (One person knows what I'm talking about.)

• Lauryn Hill, who I'd put in my top ten list of musicians in general.

• BlackThought, whose flow I'm inexplicably in awe of.

• Common, because his flows and albums (at least before BE) are 95% pure Soul.

• Dead Prez, as a duo because I don't know which flows are whose. And because Let's Get Free is uniquely sick in my listening experience.

• Mos Def, who, in addition to 2 rap classics, put out one of my favorite soul albums off all time, regardless of how many people are (intentionally) sleeping on it.

• Jay-Z. For better or worse, that kat makes my head bob.

Yes, I realize there's no Pac. Maybe because that kat recorded so much, there's just too much of his stuff that I don't care to listen to. He should've gone Mos Def's route, and he'd have made the list. Aristocrates knows what I'm talking about.

Last thing: Let's say instead of emcees, it was a list of my top ten lyricists of any genre. I can't give you the whole ten, but I can tell you that Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), Damien Rice, and Alanis Morissette would be on it. Absolutely.

52 Books, Week 10: Is Bill Cosby Right?

Don't waste your time on this one folks. It ends up being less a critical look at class distinctions in contemporary black society, more an ad hominem attack on Bill Cosby (which I could have done without especially for 200 + pages). The description of anti-intellectualism is interesting, as well as a small bit about the way we explain poverty in our society (individualistic, structual, fatalistic); but most of the time its a direct attack of Bill Cosby's statements (who knows what I was expecting, with a title like "Is Bill Cosby Right"), but a little more meat would have been filling.

Of particular interest is Dyson's description of seven types of black folk: ghettocentrists, gangstas, griots, gamers, gospelers, gentries, and gayz (why he added the z on gayz, who knows, but knowing Dyson, he probably wanted to make it "hip-hop"). The following are Dyson's words, not mine.

Ghettocentrists: Hold that the inner city is the source of authentic black identity and supplies important standards, norms, habits, traits and behaviors for black community (James Baldwin, Allen Iverson, Richard Wright).

Gangstas: Believe that the lifestyle and ideology of the outlaw, the rebel and teh bandit challenge the corrupt norms of the state, the government, and the rule of law in society (Chester Himes, NWA, 2Pac, Donald Goines).

Griots: Believe in the obligation to presevere cultural memory, racial practice and ethnic solidarity (Marcus Garvey, J.A. Rogers, Maulana Karenga)

Gamers: Include folks who hustel in a variety of guises, and who seize the metaphor of gaming, to explain and extend the trickstering tradition in black culture (Booker T. Washington, Sean Combs).

Gospelers: Represent the spiritual renewal and religious vitality of black culture (Mahalia Jackson, T.D. Jakes, Yolanda Adams)

Gentries: Black aristocrats, black elite, who embody the ideals, norms, behavior and performance of proper society.

Gayz: Challenge the monolithic conception of black identity while forging solidarity in the fight against the terrors of race and class (James Baldwin, E. Lynn Harris).

Like I said, interesting.

Dyson's a pretty compelling orator, so go listen to his speech on Democracy Now, instead of reading this one.

Fever

Based on the response to my introductory post, I told the Generalist my next post would be about puppies. Unfortunately, I have no particularly strong feelings about puppies. I do, however, feel strongly about the voice of the young woman pictured in this post. If you haven't been introduced, her name is Paris Bennet and since the 5th season of American Idol started, she has been regularly snappin' on national television. Here's a link to a previous post about her audition and another link to her performance from this week. Seriously, the quality of this chic's voice is ridiculous (and she knows it).

Enjoy.

Brilliant

Best question asked at work since I've been with my employer:

"Has anyone done research to see if our research was right?"

52 Books, Week 9: No Longer at Ease AKA Hiatus

Looks like we've hit a bad run over here at the generalists show. Going to vegas for the weekend will do that to you. Ho hum. Seems like the truism about working together has become true, "When everybody is responsible for something, nobody is".

For those that missed it, here is the scariest article i've ever read. If you aren't intimately familiar with the issues that black men face (especially poor black men), they're located here to make your acquaintance.

Anyway, back to business:

No Longer at Ease was a good read, and a nice way to break up the monotony of a couple sociological texts. I read Things Fall Apart 6 years ago, and should have re-read it before this one, but even by itself its a very interesting look at Nigerian society circa 1970. The characters are engaging, but even more interesting is the way that Achebe effortlessly describes the dissonance resulting from generational change and society upheaval. Holler at it.

52 Books, Week 8: We Who are Dark

Wow. If I knew this post would directly follow such a controversial dialogue about black class warfare, I would have made book 8 my Marx-Engles reader and tried to write this in Esperanto. GOT DAMN.

Before I start yapping about We Who Are Dark (subtitle: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity), a quick reflection. Honestly, I would have been surprised about accusations of black essentialism regarding cultural responses, but now I realize this type of stuff has been going on for at least 120 years (ask Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Bill Cosby, or Michael Eric Dyson).

As for my opinion on the oscar hoopla. Didn't care for the song, wasn't mad it won the award (now if it was whoop that trick....)

Now on to the book:

Early in the text, Tommie Shelby primarily plays the role of intellectual historian in describing notions of Black Solidarity in modern American history. However, as the book progresses Shelby lays out a pragmatic framework for organizing black folk without using biological conceptions of race, culture, shared ancestry, nationality, or familial ties (which run into trouble in a philosophical tradition for various reasons). What Shelby articulates is a vision of black solidarity based on the elimination of social and racial injustice. Pragmatically, this means organizing around issues that people who the dominant culture identify as black, have a collective interest in. This practical notion of black solidarity, he contrasts with classical nationalism which recognizes the desire for an independent nation state.

The issues Shelby refers to are directly tied to institutional racism, and include

"having one's life prospects diminished by institutional racism; suffering discrimination on the basis of presumed incompetence; enduring arbitrary exclusion from certain neighborhoods, schools, and school circles; being preemptively regarded as unsuitable for intimate social interaction; navigating the social world with the knowledge that one is often the object of unjustified hatred, contempt, suspicion, or fear; seeking to avoid "confirming" an array of degrading racial stereotypes; serving as the perennial scapegoat for social problems and economic crises; and living with the knowledge that one is vulnerable, at almost any time, to an antiblack attitude, action, social practice, or institutional policy. The common experience of racial oppression can be a valuable source of motivation that blacks should continue to harness in the interest of social justice."

Its important to note that Shelby doesn't argue that social notions of black solidarity aren't valuable and necessary, but his work is primarily dedicated to political interventions. He also recognizes the constellation of social and global forces that affect low-income black communities. For example, "it would be impossible to determine whether their impoverished condition is due primarily to institutional racism, the impact of past racial injustice, the increasing technological basis of the economy, shrinking state budgets, the vicissitudes of world trade, the ascendancy of conservative ideology, poorly funded schools, lack of personal initiative, a violent drug trade that deters business investment, some combination of these factors, or some explanation altogether". Touche.

Anyway, this post has droned on for far, far, far too long. There's a lot here, but if you hate repetition (philosopher's favorite trick) and you're looking for practical actions, you will be very disappointed (Shelby is unapologetic about what the book is, and what it isn't). As for me, it was a pretty good read for an ole philosophy minor.

And the Oscar Goes To... (Revised Edition)

So, given the strength of my reaction, it was inevitable that I would write about this somewhere. Why not in a blog? So here's my post:

I'm lying in bed Sunday night, recovering from a dairy-heavy brunch with the family, and the Best Original Song category comes up at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Three 6 Mafia had just finished their live performance, during which I was suprised to learn that Taraji P. Henson (rumored to be carrying Common's love-child and wearing what could easily have been a maternity dress) could actually sing and wasn't lip-syncing in the movie. But I digress...

60 seconds later, Queen Latifah is announcing the Best Original Song category and I figure there's about a 25% chance something terrible will happen. Decent odds.

0.05 hours later, I let out a scream unlike anything I've ever heard come out of my own mouth. If my neighbor wasn't 97 and half deaf I'm certain he would've thought I was being slaughtered. And now the question:

Is it really so bad???

Answer: Yes, that shit is terrible.

I've given it some thought, and I've decided that Three 6 Mafia's "Pimp" is the the 21st Century equivalent of Hattie McDaniels' Mammy. Black people won. But you really kinda wish they hadn't. As Ms. Winfrey put it this afternoon, "Martin Luther King don't know what to say."

1) The song is Not Good. At best, the song belongs in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Seriously, if it took more than 5 minutes to write, they should've asked me to write it. (Interestingly, DJ Paul is quoted as saying to the director, "You know, we don't have any talent. We just talk. We don't have any talent." Hmmm....)

2) It's hard to believe that the members of the Academy thought the song was good. I have a theory... There are 2 kinds of people in the world: those who enjoy rap music, and those who think it's all noise. Guess which kind are in the Academy. So if it's a safe bet that Steven Speilberg isn't bumpin' the "Hustle & Flow" soundtrack (and there is no safer bet), then what happened? I say, being the uber-liberals that they are, they gave the black people the benefit of the doubt. Question though: Could 3 white dudes get the benefit of the doubt for a song about pimpin white girls?

3) Remember when Lauryn Hill won 5 Grammys for Miseducation, and it only confirmed her Quality? And then Alicia Keys won 5 for Songs in A Minor, and Beyonce won 5 for Dangerously in Love (and a collabo with Luther). Point is: the value of 5 Grammys drops significantly when they start handing them out like water. Similarly, remember when Eminem won an Oscar for "Lose Yourself," and it made it seem like good music from any genre could get props from the Academy? Well "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is to "Lose Yourself" what Beyonce is to Lauryn Hill: cool... but not the-industry's-most-prestigious-award cool. And there goes the value of an Oscar.

An interesting final note: Word On the Street is that Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier had words with young Terrance and advised him against performing the song on the show. Apparently they didn't like the idea of potential (black) Academy Award-winner getting pimped out on live international television. (Why Eva Longoria is the source is beyond me.) True or not, I'm posting it because the Elder-Youngin' advice aspect makes it hot to me.

Dave Chapelle's Block Party

Since the consensus seems to be that my last post was a little less than satisfying, I tried to beef this one up a bit.

So I just came back from seeing Dave Chapelle's Block Party, and I'm glad I made it. I was planning on seeing Capote first, but because I can never get to anything on time, the movie started and I just missed it. Oh well, I just randomly wandered around and looked at 40 inch plasma screen tv's which was definitely a pleasant distraction. In the spirit of full disclosure, it would have been incredibly hard for me to not like this movie. Probably 5 out of my top 10 favorite artists in the world were featured, so they basically had to show up and breathe on screen for me to be satisfied. Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, dead prez, Jill Scott, The Roots, Kayne West, Erykah Badu, and The Fugees all showed up for the outdoor concert that was held in Brooklyn during the summer of 2004.

Pharoah Monche, Bilal, and Keyshia Cole were also listed in the credits, but their performances didn't make the final cut. Seriously, if Bilal had got on stage (and momentarily defeated his alleged heroin addiction), this may have gone down as the best concert in history. I was thinking about who you would add to this line up, and there wasn't really anybody missing. D'angelo (circa Voodoo)/Lauryn Hill (circa 1998). That's really it. I guess you could make a case for A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, but I wouldn't (and I have 6 of their cd's between the two groups). The movie is part documentary/part concert, and more specifically just a chance for Dave to get all his favorite artists together on stage.

Sidebar: See this is why I feel like I should live in New York. I would have the opportunity to participate in shit like this. But noooooooo, I have to read reviews on the internet, and go watch documentaries on the movie screen. This is Day 1 of figuring out how i'm going to get to New York in the next 18 months. Unfortunately, I would also have to figure out how to double/triple my salary to be able to maintain my current standard of living. And now, to make the shit even more ridiculous, I just found out the co-con may or may not have been there. Wow (his life, possibly). But I digress.

Back to business. Three major reflections:

• Lauryn Hill was/is probably the greatest singer of our generation. By far she was the most interesting part of the movie. I was fortunate enough to see Lauryn live a couple years ago, but there was something bittersweet about seeing her on stage again. I'd be interested to know what other people thought. At times, the power of her voice was undeniable, and then at other times, it seemed like she was forgetting the words to Killing Me Softly (come on. Killing Me Softly? You proabably made 10 million dollars singing that song). Hey, at least we got 1 great cd, and 1 pretty okay cd out of it. Lauryn, come back. We need you. I defy you to go listen to the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (the song) and not be moved. Her voice is mesmerizing. What makes this even crazier, is that she is arguably the best female rapper of all time as well. Craziness.
• Jill Scott is freaking beautiful. Its really undeniable. I was like damn, Jilly seems to be glowing on the screen. By the way, on Itunes, 6 artists from the show (Dave Chapelle, Common, Jill Scott, Kanye, dead prez, The Roots) put out a playlist of some of their favorite songs right now; and on Jill Scott's playlist (brace yourselves), out of 10 songs, there are three songs from the Carter II. YESSSSSSS!!!. I wish I could tell you how Jilly knocked it out the park tonight. Nobody is seeing her right now, and to think I couldn't stand her when I first heard her on the Roots live CD. My, how we have come full circle. Please forgive me Jill.
  
• Cody Chestnutt should come out with a live CD. That is all.
  

Peanut Butter Jelly Time (The Remix)

We've reached a rare 2006 lull in posts here at the General Musings (and its MY bad, completely).

So, given its Friday, I figured I would provide 4 "random" guys' attempt at providing a little comic relief. Most who have seen this, have enjoyed it - or so I'm told. Here's hoping you will too...

This is NOT the Banana, but his/her/its inspiration is felt throughout...You Know What Time It Is!