From Russia, With Blocks

So one of the greatest tricks of elementary school education that I uncovered as a collegehigh school student was that all the holidays and celebrations that are inherently “American” are hella fucked up. Columbus Day (Kill the Savages and Take Their Land), Thanksgiving (KTSATTL II: Whitey Strikes Back), Black History “Month” (Here’s your twenty-eight days) etc., etc. But don’t shoot me! Its really about the celebration (OF PATRIOTISM!111) with friends and family right? And BBQ. Yeaaaah…

Fuck Yeah!

Perhaps as a reward for America’s thankless effort in the War Against Terror, some patriotic archaeologists have found the home of our 1st founding father himself, George Washington, in . While growing up, I envisioned Washington, Adams and the crew as crazy rugged, statuesque, super-people (Culture II Anyone?). Reading about them in history books and stuff, you get a lot of “pulled up by the bootstraps” epic hero shit.

But apparently these “humble beginnings” were as real as Washington’s fabled wooden teeth (i.e. as fake as a wooden nickel):

Dr. Levy and other members of the excavation team said the foundations, stone-lined cellars and other remains suggested that this was far from being the rustic cottage of common perception, but instead one befitting a family of the local gentry. It was a much larger one-and-a-half-story residence, with perhaps eight rooms and an adjacent structure for the kitchen.

Did you ever doubt it?

Call & Response

The Coup - Piss On Your Grave
(from Steal This Album)

Boots & Pam the Funkstress’ humble tribute to the #1 whitey. This song helped me understand what “privalege” is, both the white kind and my own.

your hands is soft as a peach/
cuz you ain’t never did work/
been rich ever since/
your daddy’s dick went squirt/
have you ever hurt from your back?
ducked from rat-a-tat-tats?
seen your mama on crack?
lived in a pontiac?
drank baby similac/
so you could have protein?
(just for enough energy
to hustle up some mo’ green?)

I ain’t no white person, but I’m a college student who don’t gotta worry bout the bills. Uncle Sam takes care of those thanks to my Vietnam Veteran Dad. Is it hypocritical to hate the military/industrial complex, but take and be thankful for their money? Oh opposing truths!

People say I have really soft hands. I wish I had the bankroll to match. Ah well.

PS: Gotta love the mini-skit halfway through—I too, love DC.

I found out awhile back that there is a new law in L.A. targeted towards Taco trucks that make it a misdemeanor to sell tacos for longer than an hour.

This is a M***af****n’ outrage.
(more…)

Nitro Microphone Underground
“Down the Line”
“Akugidenwa (Prank Call)
”
“10 Muri”
(from Straight From The Underground)

J-rap is an intriguing genre if anything. A lot of the vernacular is taken from the US Rap scene, but according to the wikipedia article
, Japanese rappers are able to “express themselves in a more Japanese style, both in basic language and in regard to themes”. Yet when I went over there back in 2005, I sampled what was current on the Tokyo scene (aka “The Bay Area”). I heard a lot of shit, and everyone wanted to sound like a Japanese DMX—Barks and all.
But forreals though, Japan’s hip-hop/rap scene is developing into its own, and some of that shit bangs! Some of the pop stuff like the Teriyaki Boyz is aight (think Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift), but the real gold is in the underground rap/hip-hop scene.

Nitro Microphone Underground is one of the first j-rap artists who didn’t sell out and pop out their act, and were recognized by the industry for it. With “Down the Line”, the members of the group (Dabo, Macka-chin, Deli, Suiken, Gore-Tex, S-Word, XBS, and Bigzam—its like a Japanese Wu-Tang) take turns passing the mic after 24 bars. Each distinctive flow & swagger is punctuated by a beat the hits the rewind button between each rapper, giving the track a fresh restart each time.

In “10 Muri”, you might recognize some famous samples which are long standbys in the rap producer’s lingua franca. And the memorable, chanting chorus “けっこ、マジ、けっこ、マジ！” (kekko maji kekko maji - “I’m fine. Forreals?”) knocks up the appeal.

“Akugidenwa (Prank Call)” has a lot of the crazy space shit that Japanese producers (and Pharrell) love to include in the background of their tracks. Just as how the Neptunes craft the perfect beat that matches a particular artist’s style, NMU’s hard-hitting delivery matches the repetitive beat perfectly, and shows off the crazy potential of japanese lyricism.

By keeping true to hip-hop (w/o the beats, the MCs are nothin!) NMU makes sure that even if you can’t understand their flow, you can at the very least listen to some high-tempo production with some of the craziest loops since the Neptunes.

Speaking of loops, I also copped some Nujabes shit over there, but couldn’t find anything from Fat Jon or Tsutchie (shoutout to Champloo Fans!). Note: I didn’t look TOO hard.

You see, Japan is a crazy place for hip hop gear collectors. Not only vinyl, but shit from all 4 elements have a strong representation in Japan, whether through special limited editions gear, crazy tech, or bumpin producers. There are even services out there where you pay people to peruse through Japan’s crazy used CD/Book/Video stores to look for that vintage recording/print that you just can’t find anywhere else. I don’t even wanna talk about the shoe/streetwear scene over there. BAPE
is a Japanese phenom after all.

PS: Looking at these
makes me wanna be a sneakerhead. “Anti-Babylon Equipment” Can it get any more “Crazy Engrish Oxymoron” than that!?

The Cult of Veganism; or, Sit Down & Shut Up, Little Brown Girl

My friend Lenah has been going through a similar situation. There are no winners in the Oppression Olympics. All struggles are interconnected. Get over yourself.

Dammit.

Force of Nature - Same Ol' Thing

While I’m taking notes, I need to type the kanji for “person”, so I hit the familiar command:
⌘+space, to switch into kotoeri (Japanese typing) mode.

But instead of typing “hito” for 人 (ひと-Person).
I keep typing “ppl” (PeoPLe).

How silly. The mind is so strange sometimes…