Notes from a Friend's Town

Rock the Bells made a tour stop in New Orleans recently. Ghostface & Raekwon performing Only Built for Cuban Links & Mobb Depp performing Infamous all at the House of Blues, one night only. I grew up in the mid 90s so I recall WuTang Clan & their offerings during that era. It was a grimey and dark time. Their descriptions of New York City life during that time reflected said reality. Crack cocaine had spread across the country and those involved were often shrewd businessmen whose patience often was thicker the dirty currency crammed deep into their dungarees. Their music would often transport you to a brutally honest space in time where your life could end for less than the change in your pocket. They were an untouchable group of Super Niggas, determined to make it known that money doesn't alter behavior patterns. They we(a)re WuTang. Sadly enough, they appear to be the same as 40 year old men. The show was an excellent show for the Hip Hop purest, one of the estee...

1. Pulled a Larry Byrd without a foul rose up snatched my Guinness off the ground & hit him with a pound and told homie hold it down - AZ 2. I respect the distance for it preserves the integrity of the moment, it aims to allow nothing to interrupt the truth. I miss you though & there's no substitute for that. So instead I tread forward facing the pass, sights locked on the difference as the whole system becomes a clear image. 3. Mary came by today & she sat with Moms for hours. They talked around each other like three decades hadn't pass that they were friends throughout. She filled the cracks in her voice when I asked how was everything & I pretend I couldn't hear the putty. 4. Modern man needs the wilderness, he needs to know that he can throw all of his might at nature & it not even ripple past where stands without him harnessing fire. He needs to exert his strength so he can discover his limits & view the blessing that is a boundary. 5. The r...

1. Once you begin to develop a feminist understanding, especially as a man of color, it becomes very difficult to view things outside of that context. More often than not, the lens of scrutiny causes the most discomfort when you place your familial reality underneath it . 2. It's amazing the shit you'll accept when you think a dream has come to fruition, even if the dream isn't actualized in it's entirety. What kind of dream doesn't come true completely? It's unfortunate that fear & emotional issues prevented the possibilities from being explored completely, off paper, in the five dimensional world. 2a. Fuck niggas, bitches too, all I trust is my pride & this'll do. 3. The quickest way to compromise contentment is to introduce the situation to inquiry. 4. What's the score with the false friends?? It shouldn't be that much of a chore to maintain a vested interest in the person you declare your friend. It shouldn't take an act of congr...

Props to Know the Ledge for the info

1. Michael Sterling Eaton is director for Gil Scott Heron's Me & the Devil which in my humble opinion is an awesome audio-visual  experience. 2. Kanye's latest video for Coldest Winter works out quite beautifully as well. 3. Swizz Beatz, an art officado ?! 4. Stussy put together a nice 3 part documentary on J Dilla, give it a gander and learn a new thing

It's Valentine's Day!! I've put together a short list for you play as you celebrate "love" today. I'm sure you're resourceful enough to find, if you don't already have, most of these tracks. Made for Love - Jose James I Want You (Accapella & Congo Mix) Marvin Gaye After the dance - Marvin Gaye Makings of you - Curtis Mayfield Teach you a lesson - Robin Thicke Sweetest taboo - Sade The Point of it all - Anthony Hamilton Who Needs Forever (Thievery Corporation Remix) - Astrud Gilberto Hypnotic - The Roots Turn ya lights down low - Lauryn Hill They don't know - Jon B

Just a few tracks for all of your sun filled festivities We Fight, We Love - Q Tip Run to the Sun - N.E.R.D. Unexpecetd Delight - Flying Lotus Mr. Moon - Jamiroquai Gobstopper - J Dilla Venus 2 Mars - J*Davey Skyscrapper - Ben Keney Juice - Drake Let's Call it Off - Peter Bjorn & John Restless - Unkle Come Tommorow - Van Hunt Telephone - Erykah Badu Hearbreak Hotel - Jackson 5 Montego Bay Spleen - St. Germain In the Space - Janko Nilovic Accident - TV on the Radio

with that in mind here's an update of whats currently in rotation

I'm working on these papers that are due pretty soon and these tracks are making things move a bit smoother It's the simplicity of her voice that keeps this track on repeat. She is wonderful musician who extracts these beautiful notes from her Bass & then she sings, adding icing to the cake. Madlib = Top 5 best producers of all time. Mamao is the drummer for Azymuth

The pics speak for themselves

Static - Kenna Sao Paolo Nights - Jackson Conti I Adore You - Esperanza Spalding Who Needs forever - Astrud Gilberto (Thievery Corporation Remix) Only & Always - Muhsinah Sparks - Coldplay Black Magic Woman - Santana Just Kinda Waitin' Round - Squat Minor Walk - Dizzy Gillespie Pape Ndiaye - Orchestra Baobob I Ain't Got No, I Got Life - Nina Simone DayKeeper - Foreign Exchange ft. Muhsinah Surboard - Antonio Carlos Jobim Cupid - Sam Cooke Serve this Royalty - Cody Chestnutt Believe in God - J Dilla There is a way - Mos Def

Gnarls Barkley - Going On This track is from Gnarls Barkley's latest album Odd Couple . I played this song for hours one day as I was sketching out my 5 & 10 yr plan edits and it just made the whole process much more imaginative

Truth be told I had been going back & forth about catching this show. I've been a loyal fan for almost a decade & this was the first time I've been able to catch his performance, but I still wasn't dead set on being there. The venue (HOB) has grown old to me but it's the avg size venue of choice for a good number of shows that come to town. So I did what any loyalist would do & got there way early than I should have. I had my ticket & stood inline quietly, hoping to conserve as much energy as I could for the night that lay ahead. It's been a while since I've seen a performance that was so effortless, yet still very well put together. Mos barely followed a his set list & he performed the oldest material first, just to weed out the groupies. Truth Universal opened the night off right. Raw energy, gusto, all of the ingredients that make for a kick butt performance (or a serious ass kicking). The Dj did a pretty good job filling in the time be...