ThinkNEG 1 Year Anniversary

Friday evening I got to check out the ThinkNEG 1 Year Anniversary Show. Props to the good homey Kels for coming through for me. The show was a dope celebration of underground/independent rap music that was both positive and energetic. Emcees Outtasight, Denim, Fresh Daily, Homeboy Sandman, AC, and Loj were in the house to show off their respective works. Breez Evahflowin' passed through to show love and Amanda Diva was in the audience chillin' like a villain. Peep the pics...

I know the talk of the town has been the DNC, and rightfully so. I'll have a post up in due time with my thoughts on everything. Politics is an interesting ballgame.

Out of commission...

Yeah I know. I've been MIA for these last few days. I'll have some stuff up in a second. Props to ThinkNEG for the dope show on Friday evening.

Friday Night...

Y'all gotta come out to this. Props to Kels. Click here for more info.

The Free Nas Concert

I know, I know. Not the best pictures. Forgot the camera. Again. My bad. And my video footage has terrible sound quality. I owe it to myself to be prepared next time. Anyhow, the performance was dope. Nas delivered once again going through his lengthy catalog of music. This performance reminded me of his Hip-Hop Is Dead show at Nokia Theatre 2 years ago (I guess because he opened performing tracks from his new album). The best part of the show is when he starts doing tracks off of Illmatic. There's nothing like hearing "NY State of Mind" live.

This just in...

Just got back from this...

Free Nas concert @ Webster Hall. I'll talk about it later when I'm all rested up.

Kyle Baker @ Jim Hanley's Universe on Sept. 3rd!

I passed by Jim Hanley's Universe today--one of the illest comic book stores in NYC (with Midtown Comics and Forbidden Planet right up there as well)--and saw this flier up. Kyle Baker, one of the best comic book writers/illustrators in the industry will be doing an autograph signing on September 3rd.

One of his most poignant works is featured in this ad for the autograph signing. A few years back, Baker published a graphic novel based on the life of Nat Turner (aptly titled Nat Turner), an ex-slave who escaped and led one of the largest slave revolts in American history. The novel is black and white and features no dialog--the entire story is told through pictures.

I really recommend checking the graphic novel out and checking out the autograph signing. I'm sitting here picking my brain trying to figure out what I did with my copy of Nat Turner. I might've let a professor borrow them. Or maybe they're in my desk drawer....

Stoli Adventure

Last night Neurotic Neuron and I found ourselves at an event sponsored by Stolichnaya. The event was fun (although somewhat crowded).

Not the best pictures, but I wasn't hip to bringing my camera. Afterwards, Neurotic Neuron and I found ourselves eating at a famous establishment known throughout NYC...





Yum.

Potential Friday Fun....

Props to Hoodman for sending me this.

Hmm, maybe if I go, I'll wear my white Vans Chukkas....

Visually Bloggable: Finally the video for Kanye's "Good Morning"

Found via 2 Dope Boyz by way of Kanye Live.

For those that don't know the story behind this video, allow me to scratch the surface. here;s what I know: Way back around December, a rugged video of this song began surfacing around YouTube. Apparently the animated video was produced in preparation for the Murakami art tour that went around the country. An official high quality video for the song was never released...until now.

I was wondering if they were ever going to release this video. For a while I thought they were going to scrap it and just forget about it. Glad they didn't. The animation is great and the song is damn near the story of my life (well at least my college years). I'm surprised they're still releasing videos for the album being as how it's close to a year old.

I also think think this video plays out like a great internet video game. I mean c'mon--that'd be a great feature on the Kanye site--"Help the Kanye mascot get to his Graduation!"

My Long Lost Nas "Untitled" Review

Yeah so I promised to have this up a while ago. My bad. Long story. I won't go into details. Enjoy...

By now everyone is probably well aware of the current controversy that has swirled around this album—it’s initial title, Nas’ changing the title last minute, criticism from Black leaders, etc.

With this type of clamor, the bar for excellence was set pretty high for the album. Virtually every notable Hip-Hop blog throughout the internet was receiving leaked material from Untitled. Nas’ marketing team even set up a blog/site, NasIndepdenceDay.com, to promote it.

Does the album live up to the hype? Yes, it does, but it’s a more confident yes for those that are already fans, or for those that have an understanding of Black history. The album sticks to a theme, the 400-year-history of Blacks in America, which, in Nas’ eyes, are summed up in the controversial six-letter N-word.

Untitled opens up with “Queens Get The Money”, a slick track that not only takes a shot at 50, but reaffirms Nas’ presence as one of Queen’s finest. Next the album goes right into “You Can’t Stop Us Now”, which features the sample as the RZA single off of DigiSnax. In just his first verse alone, Nas touches upon the often unexplored history of African Americans in this country: “We act like we home, matter of fact - we are home/Bad attitudes, octoroon skin tones/Slave food turned to soul food, collards to neck bones/Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag/Bet she had a nigga with her to help her old ass!”. On “Breathe” Nas compares takes a moment to acknowledge the highlife he is living, while reminiscing the past.

The album’s lead single “Hero”, gives Nas a moment to explain his decision for an album title change. On “Sly Fox”, Nas manages to break down the FOX channel and shed light on the biased news outlets ways. “Watch what you're watching/ Fox keeps feeding us toxins/Stop sleeping/Start thinking outside of the box”, he raps on the chorus.

“Fried Chicken” and “Project Roach” maybe the most creative songs on Untitled, and perhaps the most creative songs to be made by a New York emcee this summer. For those that didn’t hear the internet-leaked “Fried Chicken”, the song makes the analogy between the unhealthy dish to a promiscuous woman: Both satisfy you for the moment, but will probably hurt your health in the long run. “Project Roach”, though striking in concept, is somewhat unfulfilling given that it only features one Nas’ verse. It feels more like a Last Poets track featuring Nas’ than vice versa.

“N.*.*.*.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)” has Nas’ delving deep into the ghetto with description that include girls who “dye their hair with Kool-Aid” and women who “talk about their sugar level”. It’s an introspective song and sticks to the them of the album.

Some may see the production as a downside, a criticism which has stuck with Nas since I Am. Some may long for more production from Salaam Remi, while some purists may stick their noses up because DJ Premier had no part in the album (again). Another downside is the exclusion of “N----r Hatred” and “Be A N-----r, Too”. The former was featured at the beginning of the music video for “Be A N----r, Too”, and would have been a great way to open the album. “Be A N----r, Too” was left out due to sample clearance issues.

Also cringe-worthy is “We Are Not Alone”, a relatively light-hearted song that has Nas’ rapping about aliens and UFO sightings, which despite Nas’ intelligence, is so out of left field that many may be left shaking their heads. Some may also gawk at “Make the World Go Round”, Nas’ collaboration with Chris Brown and the Game, and deem it yet another attempt at breaking into commercial radio, but this particular writer actually enjoyed the song. For one it could have turned out a lot worse and two the Game verse was solid. Who says Nas’ isn’t allowed to have some fun?

The album is a satisfying listen, but makes you wonder how it would have turned out had controversy and sample issues not get in the way. Though the album may turn off some, those that have an understanding of what Nas’ was going for will more than likely enjoy the album. Ultimately, Untitled stands as one of Nas’ better albums and attempts to explore ground that has been pioneered by others in the past.

Visually Bloggable: Donny Goine & Fresh Daily Kickin' It In BK

This is part of Donny Goines "Bars" segment--an ongoing video log where Donny Goines kicks it live with another rapper. This would be the 13th installation (yeah I'm late), but there's nothing unlucky about this. Both Donny Goines and Fresh Daily do their thing on this. If you like Fresh's t-shirt, check out Sneaktip.

Visually Bloggable: Daddy Yankee Endorses John McCain

Much props to Miss Info for finding this.

LOL. To be frank, I respect Daddy Yankee for not keeling into the "Obama is a rockstar" ideology. His reasoning for endorsing McCain seems justified. I think McCain needs to capitalize off of this and have Daddy Yankee record "McCain-solina" as his campaign song. Maybe McCain will let Yankee live in one of his houses.

Post-Monday Movie Analysis

So I finally got around to watching Pineapple Express the other day. Despite the laughs, I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed it that much compared to other Judd Apatow gems like Knocked Up and 40 Year-Old Virgin. In fact, I enjoyed Tropic Thunder more than Pineapple Express. This isn't to knock Judd Apatow (one of my life goals is to appear in one of his movies), but there wasn't anything profound about Pineapple Express.

I know what you're all thinking. "Profound? What were you expecting from a stoner comedy? Heck, how is any Judd Apatow movie 'profound'?"Surprisngly, most of Apatow's movies have been profound in the sense that the main characters are all going through genuine human experiences and emotions. Knocked Up played out like a documentary in some way, despite the overt and absurd humor. The concept of having to take responsibility for an unplanned child is something many young adults face.

On a side note, as much as I enjoyed both Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, I can't help but notice the almost offensive Asian images depicted in both movies. I say almost offensive because...well I laughed too. Of course if they went any further, than I might be pissed, but the reality is that both moves were borderline offensive. Bobby Lee must have sold a small bit of his soul for that paycheck.

Between these two movies and the Mummy 3, I wonder if Asian people are like this inside joke amongst Hollywood writers.

Dear Summer...

Took some time off from blogging. Had a nice relaxed weekend (sort of).

My boy Neurotic Neuron brought up a problem to me earlier today. Apparently, anyone checking out my blog gets prompted to download one of the mixtapes I put up last week. I took out some HTML to fix it. If anyone is still experiencing this problem please let me know.

Since there isn't a whole lot to blog about (I'm still getting accustomed to that TI, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z song--props to Real Talk NY) I figure I take the time out to be nostalgic. The year 2008 is pretty monumental to me. It represents roughly 10 years since I started getting into Hip-Hop, and it represents an era to my respective generation and I. This doesn't mean that I don't recall any music prior to 1998; it means that the music we remember the most came out between the years of 1997-1999 (1996 depending on when the song dropped). It's not that I wasn't listening to anything before then, it's just that our formative years were defined best by that respective bracket.

I'd really like to put more songs on this playlist, so anyone read this feel free to make suggestions. For now, take a trip down memory lane.

Visually Bloggable: New Obama Ad

Found this on Obama's YouTube by way of TIME magazine.

7 houses? Wow. I kind of want to do some research into that though. The timing for this ad is pretty interesting--Obama's at the cusp of announcing his running mate.

HA!

Saw this at Eckerd. Found it to be amusing. Stay hydrated in Gotham.

Where is Yellow Rebel?

MY BAD FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES!

The last few nights were hectic. Here goes....

So I attended the Blitz the Ambassador show at SOB's on Tuesday night. Show was DOPE! Blitz brought out a live band to perform with him which I thought was great. The opening acts were cool too. The good homey Loj (of NEG) came through and did some joints. J. Ivy (of College Dropout fame) did a short bit.

I was also blessed to be in good company. I saw people who I went to college with in there(Ant, Ms. Cozi, Bebster, & Ms. Lopez--I see y'all! And my bad to Ms. Cozi for not saying goodbye), as well as numerous industry folks. Big ups to Homeboy Sandman, Kels, Craig (aka Hackman), Mickey Factz, and Sickamore--all of whom were in attendance.

On Wednesday, Bodega Steve, Craig (aka Hackman), and I hung out with G-Reg (or "Greg") who was going back to school. We decided upon eating at Grimaldi's once again (since G-Reg had never been there before).

After all that, I went back to get change so I could go this Remy Martin/David LaChapelle event. David LaChapelle is a world famous photographer and director (he filmed the movie Rize) and was commissioned to redesign the Remy Martin bottle, which the event was in celebration of. Steve Harvey was in the house as well as the Retro Kidz and Dox. I left for the city in a little bit of a haste, so I forgot to bring my good camera. For those under the age of 18 (or those not cool with artistic nudity), just be warned that the pics below feature painted models.

I also wore these...


I also bought some Halal food on 6th Avenue...

Most of you are probably disgusted by the way it looks. Now normally I don't go for it, but the truck was operating at a convenient hour and the price was right. And it was the best Halal food from a late night truck I think I've ever had. If you're ever on 6th and you don't have Chipotle $, I highly recommend going to the truck. I'm starting to think Halal is the new Mexican food (with Mexican food being the new Chinese food--word to Yummy Taco).

My Thursday was wild crazy. I was all over Manhattan like clockwork. Towards the end of my day I found myself at Training Camp looking at sneakers...




Alife sneakers were on sale and I began considering these rain sneakers. Why? Because of the colorway. Those are the Yellow Rebel colors (er...and the Wu Tang colors).

Later on Homeboy Sandman handed me some CD's...






After all of that I ended up at this spot called 55DSL where Pete Rock was spinning. Unfortunately the line was moving kind of slow, so I decided to dip. Window shopped on Broadway before deciding to leave.

And these are the reasons why I haven't been hitting y'all with updates as I should.

Watchmen Movie In Jeopardy?

Peep the quote from The Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Bros. is scheduled to release Zack Snyder's big-screen adaptation of the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons comics series on March 6, but a federal judge in Los Angeles complicated that plan Wednesday when he refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by 20th Century Fox against Warners over rights to the property.

Judge Gary Allen Fees ruled that Fox has established enough evidence to support its claims that it holds the distribution rights to the film version of the 1980s graphic novel about damaged superheroes.

Asserting what it calls its "long-standing motion picture rights" to "Watchmen," Fox said Monday that it will ask the court to "enjoin the release of the Warner Brothers film and any related 'Watchmen' media that violate our copyright interests in that property."

Wow. That kind of puts a damper on things.

Visually Bloggable: Kanye performs "Spaceship" & "All Falls Down"

If there's anything I wish I had $ for this summer it would be the Glow In The Dark Tour. Hearing Kanye perform these gems takes me back to my senior year of high school when I was bumping College Dropout heavy. What made the album so relevant to me was that it came out around the time that I was graduating high school, so in a sense it sort of "prepped" me for college (despite the anti-higher education sentiments conveyed in the album's title). It's stuff like this that makes me nostalgic.

We Thought This Day Would Never Come....

Via AM NY

I'm shocked honestly. We're about to headed towards an economic recession and they want to lower the drinking age. It makes too much sense. Something tells me it's not going to happen.

Tropic Thunder/Last 40 minutes of TDK

So Bodega Steve and I went to check out the controversial comedy, Tropic Thunder. I'll admit, I was resistant when i first heard about it, but I lightened up and ultimately decided to check it out. Anyone interested in seeing it please remember that everything about the movie is intended to parody Hollywood.

Over the top? Yes

Offensive? Definitely?

Hilarious? Absolutely.





We also caught the last 40 minutes of TDK afterwards. I tell ya, that was the best movie of the summer.

Audibly Bloggable: Sunday Mixtape Madness!

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I said I would have some music to share with you all. Here it is.

I like music. I also like free music. I also like making free music available to those that might be interested. With that said here is some music from Hip-Hop artists slowly trying to make a new name for themselves in the digital age. If you're an A&R (or ex-A&R), please take notice...



Here's a link to 8thW1's Crazy 8's mixtape which came out last week (yeah I know--I'm late like Kanye's sophomore joint).



My dude out of Queens, Homeboy Sandman has a new mixtape out as well. He keeps it funky.

This is a mixtape from dude out of Brooklyn named Print. His mixtape Comic Books, is crafted like (you guessed it) a comic book, with Print playing the part of Superman. What stuck out the most to me was that this mixtape circles around a comic book theme, but is really a lens for seeing life in a different way. The titles of the songs have real-world counterparts (eg. "Phantom Zone" is prison, "Metropolis/Gotham" is the city, etc.) This might be a bold statement, but I see something in his music that I see in Lupe Fiasco. D/l it and let me know your thoughts. Peep his Myspace too if you get a chance.

This here is a mixtape from my Da Vinci the Verbal Arteest. A fellow blogger, as well as goal oriented individual, his music is soulful hip-hop that is reminiscent that bangs outside of the mainstream. Click here to d/l. Click here to peep his blog.

IT'S RACISM....IT'S ALWAYS RACISM: 3 Updates

Complex did a hilarious feature about anti-Asian racism...props to Miss Info for putting us all on

Re-zoning at Willets Point...(via NY Times)...there's an underlying racial element to all of the re-zoning taking place in NYC. Although, it's one of those institutional things that they try and justify and when you take a step back a few years later you realize "hey that was pretty messed up". New York is rapidly becoming a corporate playland. The bigger question is why are they going through the trouble of re-zoning these areas which are already congested and highly-populated? It's food for thought.

Dart Adams is always on-point...

Back To The Grill Again....

Didn't blog yesterday. My bad. I was busy trying this Chinese Ice Tea....




As you can see I paid for it. The drink contained prunella--something I'd never had before. Hard to describe the taste. Let's just say it's something you'd have to get used to. I didn't like it initially, but after a few more sips, I enjoyed it.

Anyhow, I got some new music coming up in a bit. Stay tuned.

Audibly Bloggable: Greg Street ft. Lupe Fiasco, Wale and Kardinal Offishal

Wow, it sounds as if this Greg Street album is going to shape up nicer than a good barber (*drum and bass please*). Dude has Lupe, Wale & Kardinal Offishal on the "T.R.O.Y." instrumental. Click here for d/l. Definitely peep this track.

Long Day.../White Vans Chukka Discovery

Had a long day. Tired. It was cool though. Sleepy.

I was swung past the Urban Outfitters on the upper West side just to see what sneakers they had. Apparently they had the White Vans Chukkas that I have turned into a theme on this blog....





I was kind of tight. I ordered mine from Zappos.com (a great footwear site by the way), and although the shipment was free and the service was great--it's just sort of irritating to me that if I had just taken the time to explore a few spots, I wouldn't have had to place the order. On the bright side If I need to purchase another pair I know where to look. Got some more fresh music coming up soon...

Audibly Bloggable: Charles Hamilton "Windows Media Player"

Lol. Creative track. D/l here. Props to Ldnx10 for the hook up.

Oh What A Night....

So I ended up at the Fader release party for their 55th issue.

In celebration of the event, they had the cover girl herself, Estelle, perform for everyone at Le Poisson Rouge.

Also performing was rock band Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (who also graced the cover).

I didn't stay for Estelle's entire performance unfortunately (it was getting late and it's a pain dealing with the subway @ night), but I managed to get some pics via the camera phone...

And just to keep things brief and funky shout-outs to the following people:

Shanae (holding me down!)
Illmind
Xavier (the security guard who watched the bags)
Dox (I stay seeing dude at like every event)
Mickey Factz, Precize, Steve-O & Saint (I see these guys everywhere)

Also on a high note I came back home to find out I received my order for...

Yes I ordered the limited edition autograph copy of Janelle Monae's newly released Metropolis EP. The EP comes out today so go out there and buy it! The only thing I need now is for Ms. Monae to sign my sneakers (Jovian, if you're reading this, maybe you could hook this up) .

Yellow Rebel's Cult Movie Madness

So these last few days I took the time out to watch 4 movies that were loaned to me by Bodega Steve (who by the way is upset that no one's responded to the contest that I'm holding for him). I watched 4 movies, each of whom have their own cult following. The first one I watched was...

I'm not going to go into much detail about this. you can either watch it yourself, or Wikipedia it. This movie was BUGGED OUT. In some ways it gave me the same vibe as The Machinist--both movies are creepy, unsettling and deal with a guy seeking some type of solace from something constantly haunting them. Both are also BUGGED OUT movies.

Aright, this isn't really a cult movie--just a low budget hood flick. I owe it to myself to watch this being as how I've talked to Mobb Deep's crew before. Surprisingly, it was actually sort of decent (and I mean decent by Killa Season standards). It's actually one of the better hood flicks that I've seen before, and it really reflects the Mobb Deep album of the same name.

This is an old Jamaican movie that put Jimmy Cliff on the map. It's about a country boy who comes to the city with the hopes of landing it big within the music scene, only to be sucked into the drug trade and violence. The movie has a great story, a cool soundtrack and some ill vintage gear.

Maybe because it's still fresh in my mind, or maybe because it was just so well-done, but La Haine might've been the best movie out of the four. La haine is a french for "the hate" and deals with the anti-police sentiments shared by the French youth in France's housing projects. Marginalized by society, the 3 main protagonists, Hubbert, Vinz and Said (pronounced like "Sayed"), go about their day doing nothing. Each of them is of a different ethnic background--Hubbert is of African descent, Vinz is Jewish and Said is Arab. The movie illustrates the issue of classism/racism, and provides a striking look at the mentality that these French youth have. The issue explored leans more towards class than race, since all of them are not bound by ethnic background, but by their place of inhabitance. Shot in black and white, think of this movie as Kids meets Friday, but with police brutality and social marginlaization replacing sex. The ending is either brilliant, or whack depending on opinion. I for one thought it was great.

R.I.P. Isaac Hayes

I found out about this via The Hollywood Reporter. It's troubling hearing this, especially after Bernie Mac's passing.

My Long Lost Nas "Untitled" Review

...will be up soon. My bad.

R.I.P. Uncle Bernie

I found out about this through NahRight. Sad to here.

Jay-Z + Mike Bloomberg...

Via NYC.gov

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is certainly one of them. I would post the caption "WE RUN NY", but that's too easy. This pic will go down in the same pages as the Jay-Z + Bill Gates pic.

I'm surprised I didn't find out about this the day of. How I found out about this is pretty funny. My brother, whose been situated in Manhattan but wants to come back, tells Father Rebel that he needs to come back tonight because "a rapper and the mayor are going to be shutting down the streets from Lafayette to Park tomorrow". Of course my dad's first instinct is to ask me if I know anything about it. 'Cause you know, I HAVE to know everything that involves a rapper.

Come to find out that the whole little press thing for it took place right where Father Rebel's job is situated.

Props to OnSmash (and Sickamore). Hov, if you're reading this holler @ me about preparing a speech next time. And Mr. Bloomberg, please try and refrain from using terms like 'kickin' it old school'. It makes my entire generation cringe hearing you say that.

The idea sounds interesting, although I imagine there might be a lot of drivers that will be pissed if they didn't hear about this initiative. Plus there'll probably be craploads of people on the subway wanting to check out this event (and you all know how I feel about the subway on the weekends). For more info check out NYC.gov.

Visually Bloggable: Fat Boys Swatch Ad (circa 1985)

Via Complex Magazine.

This might be the funniest thing I saw all day. The rappin' chicken nuggets one is pretty notable too.

The White Vans Chukka Journal Entry #1/Queens Reigns Supreme!

I've been slacking with my posts. My bad folks. Just to give you all the heads up, I've been slowing down with the posts mostly due to my planned re-launch. I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag too soon, but I wanted to take the time out to explain why I've been so lax with posting lately. In due time I will notify you all when the new blog/site is up. Some of you should expect emails in regards to it.

So a few days back I announced my White Vans Chukka Journal. My plan is to hipster-fy a pair of all white Vans Chukkas. Some of you may wonder why I would want to embark on this project. I figure it's time to get over being all uptight about my kicks. I mean this rule only really applies for Chuck Taylors and Vans (or any canvas sneaker for that matter). The last few times that I've worn them, nothing too poignant has happened to them. However, I took a major step in getting over sneaker uptight-ness yesterday by making a major move. I had someone sign my sneakers with a Sharpie. But not just anyone...

Yes, LL Cool J signed my sneakers. I'm not going to go into details how this happened. It's kind of random/last minute. I thought it'd be a nice touch to the sneakers (plus a great conversation starter). LL is a pretty down-to-Earth guy and downright funny. His album, Exit 13, comes out on September 9th and will be his last album on Def Jam. It's cool seeing someone from Queens do their thing for this long.

Later on after dinner, some guy bumped into me while I was walking to the train station, stepping on the left sneaker. At first the Metal Gear Solid alert went off in my head, but it quickly went away. He did me a favor.



I'm one step closer to achieving hipster-dom for my Vans. I'm wondering if I should even wear them anymore given the signature on one of them. I know LL Cool J is an icon, but I started wondering if I should go around and collect autographs on these sneakers as well as get them dirty. We'll see....

Blueprint 3?

BLUEPRINT 3 from kwest on Vimeo.

Found this on NahRight. Also on Kanye's Blog. Between the recent Glow in the Dark show and Rock the Bells, I'm starting to regret not going to either or. Sheesh.

Visually Bloggable: NERD ft. Kanye West, Pusha T, & Lupe Fiasco "Everybody Nose" Remix

Via OnSmash.

This is precisely the funky, spaced out video that I was expecting. Talk about glow in the dark.

Possible Weekend Activity

Heard about this. I might roll through. Anyone else down?

Dag...

I was going through my NY Times feed and I noticed this....

You can click the photo to view the full article.

This article struck a chord with me. I know it sounds sort of absurd that some Asian kid from Queens would be affected by soul food dying out, but when I first started messing with southern cuisine, it was in Harlem.

When I started high school, a good friend of mine that resides in Harlem put me on and it's sort of sad to see it go. The particular statement that kind of upset me was this:

"...and an outlet of Manna’s Soul Food Restaurant will most likely be shuttered by the end of summer, the casualties of a planned shopping mall, also on 125th Street."

We used to eat at Manna's all the time. I've been well aware of what was happening with the restaurant, but actually reading about it and the problems being faced by the other establishments is sort of depressing. The article also sites Copeland's, another great soul food spot, that closed some time ago. The places that warranted me the most memories are gone.

My bad....

My bad for taking so long (and special shout-out goes to Shani-O--you can stop tapping your feet now). Since I don't have anything to serious to post, here's an interview Video Vixon helped me out with....

Leave feedback.

I'm alive on arrival....

Yeah, I know, no updates. Been kinda/sorta busy. Bear with me. I'll have something soon enough.

My Weekend Re-cap...

I didn't do whole lot this past weekend. It was more like sporadic stuff that accumulated to make it interesting. Saturday evening Bodega Steve and I went to Video Vixon's crib to finish editing our interview with Theophilus London...

If anyone is interested, feel free to check out the interview here.

After picking up some Yummy Taco (which, for those non-NYC people, the best Chinese-owned Mexican fast food chain in the 5-boroughs), I noticed some booming noise down the block. After finishing our food we collectively agreed to check it out...

The name of the spot was called Rango and they played straight dancehall throughout the night. It was a fun experience. It's been a minute since I been to a dancehall party

Sunday I had to do some family stuff, which is largely the reason I didn't go to the Janelle Monae performance at Central Park Summerstage. My apologies goes out to the Wondaland Art Society.

During the evening I finally got around to seeing Hellboy 2: The Golden Army tonight. I went by myself , since there wasn't much to do and I've been dying to see this movie. I figure the time to see it would be now, since I got TDK hype out of my blood.

To put it bluntly, Hellboy 2 is a cheesy movie. But cheesy in a very good, humorous and entertaining way. This is not you standard fare comic based movie, where something profound is supposed to come out of it. It's about the son of a demon who manages to make good in the world, all while having to deal with a bureaucratic agency, girl problems, and a millenia old elf prince trying to rule the world with a fleet of golden robotic soldiers. I mean he suffers from pretty human issues.

In all honesty, I was never a fan of the comic book, but after watching the first movie in 2004, I became more intrigued by Michael Mignola's character. Since then i've tried to get into the comic book without such luck, but part of the reason why is because what is depcited on screen is partly Guillermo Del Toro's reinvention of the character (with the co-sign from Michael Mignola). Del Toro manages to bring a sense of cynicism to the Helloboy character making him more likeable, multi-dimensional and funny.

The movie reminded me of Men In Black and Star Wars with a Lord of The Rings spirit. If you;re a fan of any of those movie (or anything Del Toro does), I strongly encourage you to see this movie.

Now all I need to see is WALL-E and The Wackness. Later this month I'll probably check out Star Wars: Clone Wars and Pineapple Express.

Frickin' A maybe I should've gone to Rock The Bells this year...

Via OnSmash.

I went to Rock The Bells last year and had a pretty terrible experience. The music was good but it was packed, humid and raining on and off. We didn't stick around for Rage Against The Machine, despite some of us being fans. My friends and I aren't exactly huge on mosh pits in that type of weather.

Anyhow, Nas was on the bill for yesterday's show and now I'm pissed I didn't go. I've never seen him and Jay on stage together, and it would've have been nice to see "Black Republicans" performed live.

Janelle Monae @ Central Park Summerstage Today

...and I probably won't be going. Sadly. Love too. But to truly enjoy Summerstage you have to be on line by 10AM, and I feel like sleeping in. Plus, I have to get the squad interested and more than likely they're not going to want to be up. It's all good. I strongly encourage anyone in the tri-state area to go on ahead and check it out. I feel guilty though. Number one, y'all already know I have an infatuation with her music. Number two--I haven't been to Summerstage in a few years!

Last time I went, was in 2006 for the Ecko Save the Rhinos concert, which wasn't really a Summerstage event. It was Marc Ecko event in which they rented out Summerstage for the purpose of their event.

The White Vans Chukka Journal Introduction

My bad. These last few days I started slacking again. I'll be back on the grizzly soon enough. Working on a few things, including that Nas album review, the K-Salaam + Beatnick album release party rundown, as well as other assorted projects on my plate.

I also had this idea for a sneaker journal that I wish I would've thought of earlier. I bought some white Vans Chukkas recently on Zappos.com...

As you can see, they're pretty darn white. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics when I received them , hence me using this stock photo. I've worn them once while walking to my house and once on the subway thus far. My plan is to document their rise to dirtiness.

And I mean I want them dirty.

Like transplanted, hipster New Yorker dirty.

Like McCarren Park Pool on a Sunday dirty.

Like Williamsburg thrift store dirty.

And I want you all to see.

Thus far there's nothing too serious that's happened to them. A lady with a stroller went over them by accident when I was walking to the subway. At first I was peeved, but I quickly shook off the feeling. She did me a favor. I'm trying to get over the need to have white sneakers looking crisp all the time. The dirtiness authenticates them (go and ask my Chuck Taylors).

Right now it's nothing serious. You probably won't even be able to see the stroller marks...

However, in due time you will see stronger signs of authentication. Stay tuned.

Visually Bloggable: Guy Does Piano Cover of Nas' Album

Same guy who did the Lil Wayne piano cover. This guy never ceases to amaze me.