Cuz...

I'm very sorry I missed this when it came out.

20 degrees with no jacket.

It's really tiring to hear fellow bloggers complain about how bad rap is, how rap (beef) is boring, etc. To me, this sounds like empty talk. For one, there are people with excellent taste sharing that new new for you you. If you don't know where to look, that's one thing, but to complain that nothing good exists is tiresome. To be clear, I am not thinking of the (thankfully) dead argument about "real" rap or whatever, just good music regardless of its source. Secondly, there is so much music of all kinds out there, including rap, that it is nearly impossible to be up on everything as it happens. So, while I haven't been following the latest in Rick Ross leaks, though I have heard something about Weezy saying he's "in the all black Maybach, sittin' in the asshole," I do have plenty of time and energy to look for somewhat old or overlooked records that I didn't check for when they came out because I was busy or doubted the quality of the full album.

About three years ago, I remember being home for spring break and doing what I do normally when I was back at my parents' house: watching TV and eating food out of boredom. I didn't have a car, and being on the internet all day didn't appeal to me, so those were my last two options. It was abysmal. Anyway, I remembered seeing, in the fall I believe, the video for Da Backwudz single, "You're Gonna Luv Me," and during spring break, I saw the video for their second single, "I Don't Like the Look of It." I was pretty sold on them as a group.

Keep in mind, at this time, crunk was king and at this point in time I was decidedly against Southern rap in that manifestation. It was nice to hear a song like "You're Gonna Luv Me" that let the beat breathe as opposed to trying to start a riot, and if you watch the video, the duo felt very entrenched in the culture of Atlanta. They weren't trying to imitate anybody else from their city and still felt authentic, which I think is hard to do when such a strong movement exists. The simultaneously bizarre and brilliant choice of sampling the Oompa Loompa song for their second single was too creative to to hate on, and they really did the beat justice. Reading this, you may think I picked up Wood Work, their first (and at this point, only) album, excited to hear what else they had to offer the rap world. But, I figured that it would be like many other rap albums released since 2006: an uneven affair with the singles as the best songs, a lot of trend chasing, and one "reflective song." Sometime a couple weeks ago, I was reminded of their existence, though I forget how, and decided to finally give the album a listen three years later.

Now, if you were to listen to only the two singles mentioned above, you might think of Da Backwudz as extensions or updates of OutKast's stylings. Personally, I tend to think of Field Mob as more fitting of that description. A better example of a group of Southern rappers similar to Da Backwudz is more likely Trenton Takes favorite Jim Crow. Both work with similar A-Town heavyweights Organized Noize and Mr. DJ for a track, are more playful in tone than OutKast or other DF members, and Crow's Nest and Wood Work are both mainly backed by one producer. In the case of the former: Jazze Pha. The latter: Milwaukee Black. I think many of us agree that having a primary producer for at least a debut album is good for all rappers, and it is certainly the case here.

Something that is really striking to me about Wood Work is that it really plays like it was meant for vinyl or cassette. That is, it's tone switches halfway through the album as though there are two separate sides. The first half is where the heavy hitters can be found: both singles, a good intro (what?), a great Killer Mike feature. Side A sort of falls off when the snoozer "Fantastic" comes in (read SMS's take here). The second half is really the impressive part to me. These guys show a lot of depth in their subject matter, are introspective, and with help from Sleepy Brown, Gipp, and George Clinton, how can you really go wrong? With those names, I guess I can see the OutKast tribute thing, but none of those songs remind me of DF at all, except maybe the album closer "Smoke N Ride."

As rappers, Big Marc and Sho 'Nuff are competent enough. The second half of the album is really interesting to listen to, since they show great range that was sort of missing from their singles. This is certainly worth a listen, in my mind.

I Don't Like The Look Of It (Oompa) (Feat. Caz Clay)
Whatcha Know 'Bout My Life (Feat. Big Gipp)

Always bop, bop hard.

For anyone like Michael Steele who has stuggled with how to relate and communicate effectively with young black people, here's this handy video on just that.



Honestly, every time I read about what come out this guy's mouth one of two things happen. First, I laugh hysterically. Second, I just want to shake my head. Never have I seen someone struggle so much to try and relate to people to get their attention. OK, maybe Saigon is worse in that respect. But really, between "We are all good," "Some slum love out to Gov. Bobby Jindal," and "off the hook," I don't know how much of this I can take. It's going to be a long two years.

That's W-I-G-O-U-T.

Due to my work week, I can't really afford to have a typical Friday night, and since I was alone in my apartment, I decided to watch She's Gotta Have It. If you've ever seen any Spike Lee movie from before this decade, you probably already know what kind of man Spike tries to triumph, which made watching this movie, for me, really frustrating. Briefly, you've got pretty boy Greer Childs, unemployed fool Mars Blackmon and the "well-meaning" Jamie Overstreet. In a movie that is about a black woman in the 80s trying to find her own identity, that has female characters that don't feel like they only serve a purpose as background, the dudes in this movie feel really kind of flat. As soon as you meet Greer, you know Spike is going to make it seem like he's the absolute worst choice for Nola. Watch School Daze, his hate of pretty boys beats you over the head. He felt like a kind of cinema straw man, though him calling Jamie and Mars "ghetto negroes" was pretty awesome.

Mars... really had no business dating Nola in the first place, so I couldn't see him as any sort of real option from the start. Unlike Greer, he's one of those "real" black people Spike Lee loves, which seems to be the only reason his character didn't get any real sort of comeuppance or judgement in the end. He's supposed to "grow up" and that's it. As though Spike couldn't bring himself to judge someone who's kind of an idiot. Let me be clear: I love Mars in every way, but in the context of this movie, and the serious turn it takes towards the end, the Hood Rat archetype has to be put in its place, not simply tossed off as immature. As a side note, living in Boston and watching Mars come down hard/truthfully (you be the judge) on Larry Bird was such a sweet moment. "Nobody can cover him," my ass.

Then there's Jamie... who rapes Nola (or to use her words, "near-rapes"). But somehow I should not really feel like he's a bad person, because Nola can't make up her mind anyway, so it goes both ways? This is where he lost me. The inability to come to a conclusion is the definition of a Spike Lee Joint, and while it's great in Do the Right Thing, here... I'm not sure.

ANyway, does anyone remember Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Dogg's first foray into TV? I imagine Dogg After Dark can't hold a candle to this:



At some point I'll write about actual rap music again. I've been listening to The W after the release of Raekwon's new singles. I'll get my thoughts together in a little while.

Ghost Deini: Style Visionary

Patrick recently had a snow day, and reminded of a great song. More importantly, he reminded me of how ahead of the curve Starkey Love's sense of style is. Observe:



The video for "Run." I just love that hat. Keep in mind this video is now five years old. Now, take a look at something from Michael Kors at this year's fashion week in New York:



But somehow, it looks lamer when not worn by the Wu.

Buy your own damn fries.

Unlike Brandon Soderberg, I am not a serious comic book reader. I suspect those of you who skim my blog from time to time aren't either. That said, I have always loved the daily comic strips that came in the newspaper. Back when I was younger, instead of reading the news to see what was happening with the Thunder or news of actual importance, I'd read the entire comics page. This did lead to a small (and in hindsight, bizarre) obsession with "Dilbert" and "Robotman," now known as "Monty." Now that I think about it, I haven't the slightest clue what drew me to those two. But I digress. I don't think I have to tell you that there weren't many daily comic strips about non-white/animal/Prince Valiant people, and there still are not. Sure, there is "Curtis" and "Jump Start" and possibly a few others that I wasn't exposed to. But "Curtis" wasn't in my local paper, and the concerns of "Jump Start" were too beyond me; I didn't have kids, and I was too old to relate to the younger characters in that strip. Luckily for me, "The Boondocks" made it to the Trenton Times when I was thirteen.

In order to explain why I loved this strip/show so much, I have to share a bit of my own background. As the name of the blog suggests, I was born and raised for a time in Trenton, New Jersey. Due to circumstances out of my control, my family moved to a nearby suburb where my brother and I (or my brother and me) spent the remainder of my childhood. If you know anything about the premise of "The Boondocks," then you can imagine why this strip was right up my alley. I am nowhere near as angry with white people or frustrated with black people as Aaron McGruder, but when you're one of two black people in your neighborhood over the age of ten, it's refreshing to know that there is someone out there who struggled with some of the same issues as you. Like the imcomparable Riley, my younger brother was also a bit of a fool, used to be obsessed with rap to the point that it distorted his worldview, and thought that I take everything way too seriously. To be honest, the character I have the most in common with, and miss now that the strip is a TV show, is Michael Ceasar. Part nerd, part rap lover, and optimistic most of the time seems more like me than a revolutionary 10 year-old. Besides, he is the character responsible for the greatest story arc in the comic's run.

I don't want Ceasar's exclusion to be any sort of main critical point about what is missing from the show now. I am so happy Uncle Ruckus exists in this cast of characters, he's provided so many great jokes. I would like to see more of Jazmine, if only to laugh at her. Whenever the third season starts airing, I hope there's an episode with her talking about her bi-racial new hero, the President... or Halle Berry or Alicia Keys. Taking the strip to TV also lets McGruder indulge a bit to our benefit (like Charlie Murphy, Samuel L. Jackson and any number of rappers helping with voices) and fleshes out the world he created just a little bit more.

There are a host of issues I could bring up with this show, from its sometimes disagreeable politics, its treatment of rappers as insecure homo thugs, and R. Kelly. But I thought I would just share why I love this show so much. I thought about having some songs you could download at the end of the post, but McGruder's a pretty straight ahead rap purist, so it'd be a wasted effort. You can really check most episodes for some reference to the kind of music he likes, whether through the soundtrack or in the script (the "Dwyck" reference in the lemonade stand episode). You may also want to check out Boondocks Bootleg. It has short clips on the typical haircuts of black men, an "Ask John Witherspoon" segment and the "Negro News Brief." It's kind of hit or miss, but worth checking out nonetheless.

In somewhat related news, these audio clips are kind of great.

Negro please.

As Joey pointed out for the former leader of the Carter Administration, Taz, take off that silly ass hat. There's more of Mr. Arnold's fashion nonsense at the Complex blog.