Touré vs. Stanley Crouch…And the Winner is!

After last years overflow of televised debates about rap (BET’s Hip Hop vs. America series and Oprah’s townhall meeting, etc.) I can say I’m pretty tired of the back-and-forth about rap’s pros and , uhem, cons… Though I’m always drawn back in by a little jousting via the pen. So, last week, I was definitely sucked into the essay battle over at The Daily Beast between writers Touré and Stanley Crouch about the merits—or lack thereof—of rap music. Crouch, hearing about Jay-Z and other hip-hoppers possibly being a part of Barack’s inauguration, rehashed his almost 20 year argument that the music is nothing but minstrelsy and a criminal influence that needs to be done away with, going so far as to give his own statement that “hip-hop is dead” saying:

“We are approaching a time of no mo hos. No mo bitches. No mo black nigger motherfuckers. The denigrated appear to be losing a taste for the hatred, the pornography, the violence.”

While Touré, in response, made the argument that, once again, black boomers, in their one-sized criticism of hip-hop music and it generation, refuse to see the more constructive and complex hip-hop music that is out there saying:

"It’s easy to point at a segment of any culture, especially the basest part, and represent all young white women any more than the buffoons Crouch points at represent all of hip-hop.”

Between the two arguments, I would have to say Touré won (if there were a winner to pick). His point that, while rap is filled with ill behavior and lyrics, there is currently—I’d even say more so than in a long time— a lot of “mature and classy” hip-hop not being observed by hip-hop hatin’ boomers like Crouch. Though Touré’s final point that hip-hop and its generation is a certain way because the older generation wasn’t there is kind of a cop out, an argument I’ve heard numerous times before and have taken with a grain salt. On the one hand, I do believe certain dysfunctional behavior, especially when it comes to violence and treatment of the opposite sex, is a result of no guidance from the elders. Black music that celebrates violence and misogyny is only the result of ignorance, laziness, greed, and no will to bite the hand that feeds. And that’s not a lack of common sense. That’s just a denial of it.

Anarchist of the Month: The Lockers

Inspired by my video post for Thelonious Monk, I had to bring my choice for December’s “Anarchist of the Month” a little closer to the age of, well, pre-hip-hop. And so I chose the pioneering street dance troupe the Lockers, who innovated and popularized locking. The group’s founder, Don Campbell, invented the dance in 1970 while trying to overcome a shyness for dancing, locking his body into various poses in between moves. In the process, he created a new street dance revolution that—especially after he formed his crew—became the boogie emblem of post-black power urban America, stylin’ and on the move. I know I’m not the only one who sat stiff and glued to the TV watching the Lockers on Soul Train or What’s Happening (Rerun was a member) and feeling an immense sense of pride. Here was a ghetto dance posse who, more than doing the latest dance, rocked a new dance vocabulary, one that supremely showcased the confidence of young people of color. And, moreover, had impacted everyone from the Jackson 5 to Dick Van Dyke, and influenced future street dance movements from electric boogaloo to voguing. Not to mention the stars the Lockers became (appearances on Saturday Night Live and the Grammys) and the superstars some of its members (Fred Berry, Toni Basil, and Shabba-Doo) would become. Below is a video of the Lockers rocking the Train. Enjoy.

Governor Paterson and Saturday Night Live: Ya Blind Baby! Ya Blind to the Fact…

In the world of TV comedy there are a few signs of desperation (and a time to pack it in), one of them being an extremely poor joke. Recently, Saturday Night Live’s came in the form of that ill-scripted and ill-executed skit making fun of New York Governor David Paterson. SNL player Fred Armisen, playing Paterson, made the governor appear as if he was a blind, bumbling fool, incapable of running the state. Then came the flack from the Gov and the blind community. But my problem with the skit wasn’t with it’s skewering of blind people or the handicapped (though Governor’s Paterson’s point about making blind people look incapable of doing important jobs was valid). God knows pop culture has produced too many honest chuckles at their expense; one of them being Damon Wayan’s character Handi-Man.



My problem with the SNL bit was how much it proves that this 33-year-old sketch comedy institution is over and should be laid to rest. For the weeks leading up to the presidential election, Saturday Night Live heavily relied on it’s players doing impressions of the candidates, most of which have been sorry one or two-note jokes (much like the Gov. Paterson skit). They briefly hit pay dirt—and scored some ratings—by bringing Tina Fey back to do Sarah Palin and adding a special Thursday night political special before the election. I give them credit, 33 years is a long wait before “jumping the shark.” But when your show has not been must-see, late-night funny TV for six years, which SNL hasn’t been, really, since Will Ferrell left in 2002, it’s time to, maybe, think about calling it quits.

As a fan of SNL, like so many, I’ve heard people sound the death knell a few times before. There was the brief period in 1980 before the arrival of Eddie Murphy and after Eddie left in 1984. The ’85-’86 year was a particularly dry season. Some even sounded Taps with the ascension of Chris Farley and his fat frat boy humor. Only, those comedic droughts, at most, lasted a year or two. Following the departure of SNL’s last breakout star, Will Ferrell, the show has not been able to find that one anchor to make the cast gel or shine. Nor has it been able to fully recover with consistent breakout material, save for the few film shorts/videos like “Chronicles of Narnia” and “Dick in a Box.” And the only ticket they have to stay relevant are the politicians. But, even with our political figures, they seem unable to push the envelope for any real, gut-busting humor (say, a Gov. Paterson not being too blind to see America’s greatest city about to sink into a fiscal toilet). So SNL, in my eyes, continues to look like the bumbling fool, stumbling on like a blind man looking for the joke it lost some time ago.

Jamie Foxx Callin' Out Terrence Howard

Oh, I had to post Jamie Foxx on Big Boy's radio show responding to Terrence Howard dissing his music. Hilarious! I've often wondered if movie stardom would slow Foxx's comedic skill. Nope. In fact, he says he's going on the road.

Funny Warning on the Obama Name Craze:

Below is a hilarious email I received warning, well, creative-name-loving black people to, ah shoot, just read...

*MEMORANDUM* *

TO: * ALL BLACK PEOPLE *
FROM:* YOU KNOW!! *
RE: * NAMING YOUR CHILDR EN *
DATE: * EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

Please don't start naming your children after the President…Obamanesha , Obamalaya, Obamaria, Barakesha, Barakyah, etc. Don't start that mess! PLEASE!!

YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY RECEIVED THE MEMO AND HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!! *

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Wow, I don’t think a louder political statement has been made with clothing items since feminists supposedly burned bras in Atlantic City. Of all the insults and expletives hurdled at President Bush, especially over his war in Iraq, I’m sure none hit home like the shoes being hurdled at him by that Iraqi journalist. By now Bush knows the cultural insult implied by the attempted assault with footwear (the same ending Saddam’s statue met when it fell). It means you are the lowest of the low. But I wonder if it dawned on him, finally, how despised and vulnerable, he has become. And, when I say vulnerable, I don’t just mean the 7 seconds or so it took for Secret Service to respond (guess they were also distracted reading My Pet Goat), but how REALLY much of a prisoner to bad history and global ill-will he’s going to become. Well, since we can’t ascertain this from what he says—joking afterwards—let’s see if he gets it from the look on his face during and after the shoes whizzed by….

The Cure For Black Youth: Raise Them Like Sasha and Malia! Stop the "Magic Negro" Ride (Finale)

For my final thought on the faith we’re putting into the Obama example, I’d like to discuss the children (cue Marvin Gaye’s “Save the Children”). This one was inspired by Juleyka Lantigua’s essay “Let’s Raise More Healthy and Happy Black Girls, like the Obama Daughters” in The Progressive.

Using the wholesome and well-nurtured models of Sasha and Malia, Lantigua pleads the case for improving the lives of black children who are poor, come from broken homes, and are over weight. Her solution for such problems—“providing a stable and nurturing home”—is an obvious one. Though what black families may achieve—“then we may relish seeing more adorable kids like Malia and Sasha Obama”—is a bit overstated. Like you’ll create a master race of clean black children who’ll all exemplify the supreme examples. Now don’t get me wrong. I totally understand advocating on behalf of African-American child locked in the cycle of poverty and lack of stability. And Lantigua does acknowledge that many black children don’t have the resources of the first family. But why should folks get stuck on Malia and Sasha as the ones to be like. Is there only one way to look or be a black Beaver kid? What? Kids who are poor and from single parent or foster homes can’t be adorable, well-mannered, and in shape?

In the end, I know——as a journalist myself—-stories have to be written and timely subjects have to make them relevant. Only, looking to the Obama phenomenon as the cure for what ails Black America, just keeps folks in the pathological cycle of wishful thinking that only yields, well, no damn results.

Could Obama Have an Effect on Publishing? Stop the “Magic Negro” Ride—I Want to Get Off (Part 2)

Of all the thoughts on what an Obama presidency could change for black America, I found the most humorous one on opportunities for black authors. A couple of weeks ago, my homegirl Lori L. Tharps wrote a piece for Theroot.com titled “The Obama Effect on Publishing” where she discussed the idea of a black president possibly easing the rough road of black authors in the white world of mainstream book publishing. You know the issues: the limited ideas on what black stories should be told and limiting black books to only being marketed to black people. Granted, a number of the people Tharps spoke to, like literary agent Marie Brown, were skeptical that such a change would occur. But there were folks, like author Bernice McFadden, cited as examples of optimism, McFadden going so far as to pose the question on her blog: "Will a black president help me, a black writer?"

Mind you, as an author, I immediately thought about the same effect, though I only thought in terms of negro authors writing on President-elect Obama. I know the media industry only thinks in trends. (Please, you don’t think CNN was thinking black prez when they greenlit D.L. Hugley’s show?) But that’s as far as it goes. Because—and let’s be clear—if a slew of blacks winning Oscars and black films opening number 1 at the box office hasn’t opened the floodgates for black Hollywood and those three black doctors from Newark hasn’t caused African Americans, en masse, to rush the academy wishing for medical degrees and a black race car driver hasn’t changed the many narrow minds of NASCAR…You see where I’m going with this? What helps change things for blacks in the market (being we used to be items in the marketplace) is what it’s always been: demand. (I’m totally with my man Ta-Nehisi Coates over at The Atlantic: the belief we’re putting in Obama’s win is scary.) So, unless you’re writing an Obama book (which I’m sure many of us are), don’t look for the doors to magically open wider…And don’t look for those shelves of street lit at Borders—the ones overrunning the African-American Lit section—to disappear. And don’t think the “NOs” white publishers have been hitting you with are going to turn to “YES” when it comes to deals, ideas, and marketing. Come January 20, 2009 all over America, it will be business as usual. So Black authors, you voted for change in the Washington. If you’re looking for change in the publishing house, that ticket you still have got to continue writing yourself.

Stop the “Magic Negro” Ride—I Want to Get Off (Part I): Crouch and the Black Nationalist

The first few weeks of speculations about “what the black president-elect means for black America” was fine in the euphoria of the election. But after spending a little over a month reading articles and essays—mostly by black conservatives or striving black Gen Xers— on the topic, I have to officially step off the elation of November 4th and start questioning the faith and power pundits and writers are putting into Barack’s win. (As much as black people argue we are not a monolith, we sound like we’re backsliding with these sweeping reactions we expect to occur within black America.)

For this part, I have to start with Stanley Crouch’s essay “The End of Bad Boy Thinking” for The Daily Beast, where he argues that an Obama win dispels the words, philosophy and work of black nationalist leaders/thinkers of the last 50 years. I was particularly drawn to his word on how Barack’s win redeems Martin Luther King against attacks by Malcolm X and his ilk. On them, Crouch writes, “Living or dead it is now time that they be seen for the fools, frauds, defeatist demagogues, and saber-rattling charlatans that they have always been. Such people had accused King of being hopelessly optimistic about an America that would never accept more than certain kinds of black "tokens." But, in the context of the presidential election (as it was during the hey days of civil rights), that is still exactly the case when it comes to power and politics for black people. Black or white, America understood Obama had to fit the profile (non-threatening, unencumbered by history and racial politics, and—let’s be honest—yellow) to get as far as he did. Granted, America has come a long way with this election, but the rules of getting the figurative keys to the executive suite have not changed: the clean, upstanding negro gets them and the angry, downtrodden negro, when denied, has to take them. And while Barack ran one of the best races in presidential history (sidestepping racial bombs with the grace of OJ in his prime) he had to come in the token package. Besides, had the economy not been in the toilet would we be sitting here euphoric over a black prez. I think not, which puts some validity into the nationalist rhetoric that’s been spewed and “hustled” over the last half century. Stay tuned for Part II.

Ximending Graffiti Art Exhibit

Something is going on in Taipei on 12/12 in Ximending. It involves the best graffiti artists in Taiwan, so if you've got free time, get up there and get yer culture on!

A Bite of Chocolate News

I am a fan of Chocolate News, and had to post this because it shows how left field David Alan Grier can go with his comedy—a huge lesson future afro-comedians can learn from when searching for material.

Chocolate NewsWednesdays 10:30pm / 9:30c

African Springs

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A Chunk of "Scream"

A book promo job is never done. And so the push continues... The good folks at blackpower.com are running an excerpt of my book today. It's chapter 7, Gangsta Chic, where I discuss Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and the growth/mass marketing of the gangsta's life. Take a look and tell me what you think...

Serving Up the President-Elect on a Platter

I knew the commercial below existed for about a week, but never paid much attention to it...until this afternoon. I figured the new president-elect would complete the holy trinity (King, Kennedy and now Barack) hanging on the living room wall's of big mamas—do they still exist—everywhere. But now those commemorative plate folks have made it official, especially for white consumers. This is one of the funniest examples of white people patting themselves on the back for voting in the black guy...LOL. (Note: check out the dude looking up proudly at his new Obama plate propped up on his desk.) I only say this because there are hardly any black folks—or their sentiment—in the commercial, except, briefly, at the end. And so when the white guy, seated with his family on the couch, says, "I never thought this day would come," you kind of chuckle at the irony. Not to mention at the bottom of Barack's photo, the plate reads, "Change Has Come." But, judging from this commercial, not much has in their company's marketing strategy. What, they couldn't find an Asian and Latino family to round things out...LOL. Enjoy, if you haven't seen it already.

Screamin' On Brooklyn College

On Wed., November 19, 11AM, your's truly will be speaking in the Woody Tanger Auditorium at Brooklyn College Library. I was invited to speak by Professor Philip Napoli (who adopted my book for his course on American Popular Culture) and the History Department to talk about Somebody Scream, pop culture as barometer for change in society, and hip-hop and the election of President-elect Barack Obama. As always, it should be live.

R.I.P. to Damon Dash's Days of Big Pimpin'

The collapsing stock, credit and housing markets aren't the only indicators that the iced-out chickens have come home to roost. Now the New York Daily News has reported that Damon Dash, Roc-a-Fella Records founder and pioneer of hip-hop's bling era, is flat broke and dodging debt collectors. I guess Chris Rock was right about his assessment of those who are rich ("some shit you can lose with a crazy summer and drug habit") and those who are wealthy. Too bad we have to learn the hard way....Ah well, in honor of the, uh, good ole days, when we were all drinking the ghetto fab Kool-Aid, let's remember Dame's former fortunes the right way: by watching him pour liquor on big tittied video models in our favorite video, "Big Pimpin."

To the Break of Dawn: Are We Officially in the Post-Hip Hop Era?

In the wake of Obama’s victory, we all heard the chorus of black punditry telling us what the victory meant for African Americans. Along with predictions like “smart will be the new cool” and that growing up poor and fatherless will no longer be an excuse for idiotic behavior, there were ones obviously aimed at the power of hip hop. “Brothers are gonna have to start pulling their pants up,” I heard one talking head say (a sentiment even uttered by the president-elect). Gangsta rap will no longer be relevant. Rappers, along with singers, ball players, and other entertainers will no longer be THE role models to follow. Although I think many of the predictions are a bit lofty, I do agree, at least that the era of hip-hop being black America’s cultural and social center is passing with the arrival of a new, black president. Note: for all the purists, gangsta rap heads, and true-schoolers out there, this isn’t another declaration that hip-hop is dead but that, yes folks, we’re officially in the post-hip hop era.

Only, contrary to popular belief, what signals this shift isn’t that Obama’s win will eclipse hip hop, but that hip hop’s ultimate victory was it’s ushering in a Barack Obama. And when all movements accomplish their monumental task(s) they fade from the limelight, becoming another part of America’s cultural tapestry. The Harlem Renaissance went out with the coming of the Great Depression, but it’s leaders, ideas and works fueled the freedom struggles of the ‘60s. The civil rights movement, victorious after the passage of the Civil Rights Bill of ’64 and the Voting Rights Act of ’65 (and other bits of legislation), died with the assassination of Martin Luther King. Though America is still living to fulfill “The Dream.” Moreover, the Black Empowerment movement, ultimately killed by the U.S. government, waned during the years following its most shining moment, the National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. Yet the movement’s ideals of black pride and empowerment are a major part of black America’s thinking (whether we manifest it or not is debatable…LOL). So, too, it goes with hip hop.

Hip hop, started in the ’70s as a revolutionary cultural movement to give black and brown (and, hey, some white) urban youths a means to shake up the world’s idea of style, creativity and beauty. And, over the next 30 years, its music and style not only changed America’s cultural paradigm (not to mention becoming the new affirmative action for a post-civil rights generation), it became the banner under which a new reality of race was beginning to form. Particularly with white kids, along with a global community of colorful youth, who adopted hip hop as their cultural voice, arriving at black culture not only as pedestrians but also, as writer Carl Hancock Rux wrote in the case of Eminem, being “born into it.” While this “wigger” fascination with hip hop—fueled by that youthful need to scare the hell out of their parents—did feed off stereotypes, it socially disarmed this new generation of young “White Negroes” and their peers not only about ideas of black culture, but also notions of black identity and black people “keeping it real” and blacks with money and blacks with enough intelligence to beat a corrupt system and, most of all, blacks in power. And, when it came time to beat back the Republican Party monster and possibly change the course of history, who did they get behind? A young negro candidate who listened to Jay-Z, brushed off the haters at rallies, fist-bumped his wife, and promised to make a change. While, ultimately, it took a multi-culti coalition of voters to get Barack in, it was the enthusiastic support of young white, black and brown youth that got the Obama phenomenon rolling. And while the movements of yore laid the major groundwork for such an event, hip hop, at least I think, helped seal the deal.

So with that said, I think hip hop should be given major props. But, as new social and cultural standards are being discussed and set following Barack’s victory, I think we also need to deal with the fact that the best and most influential days of hip hop have past. It’s gone from Bronx playgrounds to mansions, from mom and pop labels to the boardrooms of multinational corporations, from grassroots organizing to major political events like the Nation Hip Hop Political Convention. But it’s also gone from “Fight the Power” to, well, take your pick of self-degrading lyrics involving the n or the b or the h-word (a debate we’re all simply tired of) and you get my point. With new things on the horizon, hip hop’s not going to die in this wave of optimism, but it will have to share the space with a fresh idea—from where, we don’t know—that will definitely be thrown in the mix.

Why Jesse Cried a River

Among the multitude of reactions news cameras caught on the night of November 4, none reflected the historic moment more than Jesse Jackson. Standing in the crowd of dazed and overly ecstatic Obama-supporters, Jackson, with finger in mouth, cried uncontrollably. Almost, and I hate to say, like a 5-year-old boy who’d dropped his ice cream. While his outpouring of emotions was understandable—being an icon of the civil rights movement—him crying a river for a man he’d said he wanted to castrate baffled as many people as it touched. And it posed the question to many who watched: while Jesse wept, was he honestly crying for Barack’s win or was he tearfully mourning the passing of his own legacy.



History clearly states Obama wouldn’t have won had there not been a Jesse Jackson. Two decades ago, HE was the first black candidate to seriously have a shot at the White House. He’d built his international profile by negotiating the release of two captured American pilots in Syria. He’d assembled a national Rainbow Coalition out of folks—blacks, working class, progressive whites, Latinos, gays, youth, etc—standing outside of Reagan’s Revolution. His 1988 campaign raised millions, registered millions to vote, and out of the 54 primary contests, he came in first or second in 46 of them. Most notably, Jesse opened the door for a Barack nomination when, according to writer William Jelani Cobb in a September 2008 issue of Vibe, he “negotiated for the Democratic Party to switch from winner-take-all primary elections to distributing delegates proportionately,” which is how Hillary Clinton lost to Obama.

Unfortunately, after his ’88 run, Jesse’s legacy and relevance seemed to diminish with each mishap and misstep. The child produced by an extra-marital affair. The growing image of Jackson as an “ambulance chaser,” not really wanting to confront substantial issues but rather chase the racial topics that get maximum media coverage. (One topic being at the top of his past agendas was criticizing hip-hop music and rap artists). Then there was his mercurial reaction to Obama. He’d outwardly supported the candidate until the truth came out during that interview on Fox News. You know the one, where after the cameras supposedly stopped rolling, Jackson complained about Barack “talking down to Black people,” then pantomimed the famous nut cut. Many had speculated then that the civil rights leader simply couldn’t contain his jealousy of the young politician who could possibly go where he couldn’t. And given how Obama got past Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Jesse couldn’t really get beyond Farrakhan (ya’ll remember that association coming to head with “Hymie Town”) you could see how far skillful campaigning by a black candidate had come.

But I think when Jesse watched Barack become President-Elect Obama, his torrent of tears was the melting of his burdens. Him being overwhelmed by the history of the moment was a given. However, over the last 20 years, he’s been a man searching for a cause and a substantial place in history. Not as someone who almost got to the mountaintop, but as the person who took folks there. (Remember, Jesse got an ego, too.) And on election night, he got to witness the fruits of his greatest moment—beyond the ill- conceived marches and movements and, hm, relationships—come true. And so he cried like a kid who dropped his treat, then looked up and saw a younger, smarter kid offering him a tastier one.

The Day After: They Still Call It the White House, But...

That's a temporary condition. Can ya dig it, CC! I'm like everyone else: speechless and amazed. So the only way to express my feelings is to let the folks who sold me this idea 33 years ago, Parliament/Funkadelic, remind us of their prophecy. President Obama. Damn, that sounds like the future....

If Barack Wins, Black Folk Get the Leftovers Again!

Funny how the lack of money changes everything, especially the dynamics of an election. Weeks before America’s economic free-fall, Barack Obama is head-to-head (some even say trailing) with John McCain in the polls. The biggest factor: white working class voters unwilling to vote for an African-American. Now we’re headed into —gasp!— a depression and the polls start turning in Obama’s favor. Whether you believe in surveys or not, the shift in numbers, while possibly signaling a change in voter attitudes (don’t believe it), also point to America’s tradition of handing off power to black folks when the well has run dry. A possible Barack win during these uncertain times, with America’s economic and fiscal landscape pretty much in ruin (not to mention the War, inflation, growing unemployment and jobs moving overseas), eerily reminds me of the rise of African-American mayors starting in the early 1970’s.

A number of major American cites had become “Chocolate Cities” following the rebellions of the ‘60s and early ‘70s. The population change—along with one major legislative one (the Voting Rights Act)—helped empower blacks to elect African-American mayors in record numbers. Kenneth Gibson in Newark, NJ. Maynard Jackson in Atlanta. Coleman Young in Detroit. Richard Hatcher was tagged as one of the “black power mayors” when he was elected in Gary, Indiana. Finally the dreams of the civil rights and black power movements seemed to be coming true now that folks with dark faces were in charge politically.

But what these mayors, and their constituency, had inherited were no longer power centers. They’d won power in cities beginning to suffer from abandonment, on the way to becoming, according to a 1971 report by the National Urban Coalition, “black, brown and totally bankrupt.”

Manufacturing jobs, once the economic rock of urban centers, were now moving to suburbs and rural areas. Services in these cities were cut. Buildings and streets suffered from neglect. And crime, along with all other social ills (take your pick) began to rise. So while these political wins were great for the history books, they were, in truth, hollowed victories. Why? Because, while black people may have gained political power, what we gained power over was dying when we took the reigns.

Thus lies the dilemma of Barack possibly winning the White House. Chris Rock recently joked that, if he wins, the next day, what ever services you need a black person to do for you won’t get done. Why? Because we’ll be celebrating in the street.

But judging from the economic and political shambles America is in right now, will we be, once again, celebrating that one of us has made history but has won power over a land whose expiration date has passed?

Waaasuuuup! Then and Now...

Who says pop culture isn't a barometer for checking the climate of change over the last 10 years. Check out the Waaaasuuup guys commercial, then and now. Makes ya wanna holla, laugh and cry.

1998


2008

What You've Always thought: Undecided Voters Are, hmm...

For anyone still trying to figure out what an undecided voter is, the New York Times sketches a pretty detailed picture of them with this report . Interviewing several undecideds, you can actually see what the dog Brian from Family Guy was saying when he opined that this segment of the voting population (roughly 4%) are "the biggest idiots on the planet." Just check out the internal struggles of these swingers:

Mr. Finke lives in a red state, Kentucky, with his wife, Shelley, who is also a gray state citizen. She works out of their home, where she helps manage her husband’s second career as a jazz trombonist.

“I tend to be a procrastinator,” said Ms. Finke, 44, who said she operated best with deadlines.

She voted for Mr. Bush twice and describes herself as “a conservative person at heart.” At the beginning of the campaign, she was suspicious of Mr. Obama “because of the whole Hollywood thing,” but she has since warmed to him.

“My opinion of Obama has definitely risen during this campaign,” Ms. Finke said. “And my opinion of McCain has fallen.”

So it sure sounds as if Ms. Finke is moving toward Mr. Obama, the Illinois Democrat, right?

Not so fast.

“I’d say I’m leaning towards McCain,” she said. “For as awful as things are with this Republican administration, there’s something about the whole conservative thing that appeals to me.” Put her down as “leaning McCain” then.

“But maybe I’ll vote for Obama,” she said. “How many days are left?”

Two, as of Sunday. While many people in this campaign-saturated country are relieved that the election will soon be over, some of the undecideds figure, What’s the rush?

“I might flip a coin,” said Vasilios Gerovasiliou, 64, of Concordville, Pa.

So, there you have it: the definition of a swing voter is a white, conservative voter yanking your change. I say let's move on....

Is the Right to Vote Fading?

Remember the email rumor of the late 90's that said the Voting Rights Act will end in 2007, thus ending black folks' right to vote. A far fetched notion, back then, until we hit the 21st Century and the election—and eight glorious years—of George W. Bush. Although this decade of a Republican White House hasn't proven as tumultuous for African Americans as the last 12 under Reagan and Bush I, voting in hotly-contested presidential elections has. First, there were reports in 2000 of voter suppression and "irregularities" in predominantly-black counties like Gadsden where 12.4 percent of ballots were invalidated because of faulty counting machines). Coincidentally, the recount battle over Florida is how the GOP, uh, stole the contest. Next came the 2004 presidential election—another Bush win—and numerous reports of voter suppression in Ohio. And a month before this year's election the New York Times reports that in at least six states voters are being kicked off the voting rolls or being blocked from registering "in ways that appear to violate federal law."

Now I'm not one to give in to conspiracy theories, but I am one to ring an alarm if a dangerous pattern seems to be developing. And a viable threat to the African-American vote and their voting rights, especially in swing states, is what I see coming, at least every four years. Yes, there's no Jim Crow South or poll tax or Grandfather clauses to overtly keep a certain segment of African-Americans from the polls, but there are new, covert techniques to institute an old result (black voter disenfranchisement). This is what our so-called civil rights leadership need to currently keep their eye on because, while there's a federal law which gives black folks' the right to vote, their are 21st Century means, used by unseen hands, of slowly and covertly taking that right away.

Anarchist Graffiti Gets a Simulcast Deal

Long time, no posts. If you were miffed by the lack of entries, sorry. But, hey, life happens. And mucho has certainly changed since we last wrote. Barack was barely keeping up with McCain in the polls just two months ago. The country's economy drops like a 747 in massive turbulence. Foreclosures on the rise. Unemployment on the rise. McCain rallies damn near become Klan meetings (surprised no one yelled "Nigger" in between all those shouts of "Off with his head"). Barack wins two debates. The country sees Palin for who she REALLY is. Then, whoa, things change in Barack's favor. Ah well, the 4th still looms. But other things have changed as far as this blog goes, which is part of the reason I haven't posted in a while. Last month I cut a syndication deal with the upcoming site Blackpower.com to share content. So, until the site finally launches, I thought to put Anarchist Graffiti on a brief hiatus (though in blog time, months seem like years...LOL). In the meantime, I also used the time off to work on projects and try (operative word being "try") putting together another book project. Though that, as I learned from working on Scream can take a minute. As a result, I should be back on my blog game a lot tighter than I have recently.

Do It

D

Another Installment of Somebody Scream! (The Radio Show)

Yesterday marked another successful run of Somebody Scream! (The Radio Show) as part of the WBAI's bi-annual Hip Hop Takeover marathon. Following a summer of preparation, I'm proud to say it was another great program. Guest included journalists Akiba Solomon and Ta-Nehisi Coates. The discussion centered on the political climate leading into the presidential election as well as the history being made during this election. In between the talk, DJ RPGEEZ provided the mix, doing turntable tributes to Public Enemy and the late Isaac Hayes. Thanks to the producer of the Hip Hop Takeover Ifé Dancey for, again, including Somebody Scream in the marathon's line-up. And this year, we added a give-a-way for listeners who received, what else, a copy of my book. Below are posted two MP3 files of the show because, as part of the marathon, the show preempted two regular WBAI shows in the middle. But check out the show and let me know what you think.

Part 1

Part 2

A Chuckle on Obama's Elitist Profile as a Step Forward for Black Folks

Instead of getting upset at criticism of Obama as the "elitist," why not see it as the progressive evolution in the public image of African-Americans. At least that's the way The Onion portrays it in this hilarious video. Man, how far we've come, indeed. Oh, and pass the Grey Poupon...

Portrayal Of Obama As Elitist Hailed As Step Forward For African Americans

Quiet Subversion: A Quick Look at a T. Monk Rebellion

It's been a minute since we last blogged. Been putting the final touches on another episode of my radio show "Somebody Scream" as part of WBAI's Hip Hop Takeover (Hint: it's coming Saturday, August 30). But for the resurface, I just wanted to post a video of REAL anarchist-graffiti, a historical and classic piece of smooth subversion by the legendary Thelonius Monk. I think this clip is from 1958 for the TV show Sounds of Jazz. Don't take my word for it: that's what the guy says. But I just love this clip because it's an example of how black folks can raise hell, turn the world upside down and pluck white supremacy in the nose—all without saying a word or breaking a sweat. Below, check out Monk doing his classic "Blue Monk" while the equally legendary Count Basie looks on, giving a smile/smurk at Monk's piano playing. Tension between old and new school? Who knows. Either way, watch how the bassist and drummer look on Monk admiringly as sound leader. And check out the baffled host (the white guy), looking confused, trying to wrap his brain around the sounds he was hearing. While, in the middle of it all, an emotionless Monk, in bamboo shades, snap cap and suede shoes, hunched over the piano, conducted melodic anarchy. Ebony magazine, not long ago, did a cool issue and didn't include this man (at least from what I saw). For shame...LOL. I know we're in an age where youth is king and the Now is what's hip. I say screw that concept and always dig in the crates of history, especially if it's the best....

Radio Discussion of the Politics which Gave Rise to Hip Hop

Still on the book promo grind. This time it's a radio interview on WICN's Inquiry with Mark Lynch. More than just the music, this discussion wholly involves the politics which gave rise to hip hop culture and hip hop music. Give a listen and join in on the discussion....

A Note on the "Swing Vote"

My point about the New Yorker not wanting to really parody the hick racists who think Obama a terrorist Muslim and Michelle an angry black radical because it's not profitable is proven this weekend. The biggest comedy this weekend—probably the biggest film this week— will be the film Swing Vote, about the fate of a presidential election hinging on a white southern, uninformed, male voter. Instead of parody or satire about this group, we get Jimmy Stewart-like feel-good cinema about the lovability of this segment of America. i.e. We don't want to upset the apple cart or the money train or the true symbols of America. That's it. I'm done on the cover issue.

Obama and the Jewish Vote...A Hilarious Look

Folks, I have yet to look at this year's presidential race from a humorous perspective. But what better way to do so than to post a clip from the The Daily Show. Here's a funny bit about Barack's trouble with the Jewish vote. While it plays up the differences between blacks and Jews, for some reason it also works at bringing the groups closer together...at least for a love of fried chicken....

An Interview with Your's Truly

More publicity for Somebody Scream! Being the purveyor of a dying medium—books, that is—the promotion never stops. Here's an interview I did with Amoeba Music (West Coast music store). It's for a blog written by DJ/writer Billy Jam. I especially like this discussion because it dealt with detailed ideas and theories but forth by the book...And, finally, somebody asked me about the history and politics—not just the music—explored by the book as well. It you get time, check it out.

Notes On the Election by Amiri Baraka

Obama & The Tragic Errors of The Weimar Republic
by Amiri Baraka, 7/15/08



The post Word War 1 journey of Germany from an Empire, which was overthrown and then a Democratic republic and finally the overthrow of that republic and the emergence and domination of Hitler’s Nazi Fascism, is important for us to understand. Because some of the facts of these years still apply to contemporary United States.

With the withering depression that had set in in the late 20’s in addition to German’s war loses, when the international stock market collapsed (US Wall St) in 1929, a worldwide depression of staggering proportions set in. And it is this depression and the rise and fall of governments in Germany that set the stage for the final takeover by Hitler and the fascists and finally the beginning of WW2.

Although McCain’s adviser Gramm says this is a “mental recession”, unless he’s referring to himself and McCain, today’s depression in the US is not just mental. We shd also factor in the outright theft of the last two elections, the general public bankruptcy of the Republican party, who have been playing and still are playing a “white card”. (The democrats have not won the majority of white male voters since John Kennedy!)

But the spreading foreclosure menace of the subprime (fraud ridden) mortgages, now at 6000 foreclosures a day, the closing of the huge banking mortgage regime, Bear-Sterns. Then the Bush cabal agrees to revalue Bear Stearns stocks so that the historically infamous speculator JPMorgan can get a better payday. No aid for the people losing their homes at terrifying rates. Today the government announced it had a new plan to save more banks. If there’s no recession why the plan to save “unthreatened” banks?

Suffice it to say there is a deepening depression in the US, the nation going from a surplus at the end of the Clinton regime till now deficit, much of it caused by the 10 billion dollar a month war in Iraq. Even many straight up backward Americans are convinced of the bold corruption that is the real cause of the war and the spiraling gas price since it is the oil swindlers who hold state power in the US. While they talk bad about the “Arabs” the Bush group is clearly in bed with the Saudi’s, Arab Emirates, Dubai now becoming a financial capital to compete with Wall St. and London.

There is no doubt that US forces are losing in the Middle East, just as they got wasted in Viet Nam. The whole ugly scam of removing oil billions from Iraq ( all those contracts for privatization of Iraqi oil went to the big US oilies) based on the 911 episode, the reality of which is still covered with crude lies, but now at scam’s end with a raging depression setting in and war incurred deficit climbing into the trillion, the stage is set for stunning rightward surge that will perhaps bring street fighting to the US and a final toppling that will make the current shrinking of the dollar, .60 per Euro, seem mild. China already holds US paper, the US is China’s top debtor. Indy Mac Bank has just failed in California.

So that this is a time much likes that in Germany, during the last phase of the Weimar Democratic Republic. Ostensibly a democratic republic, the depression caused widespread unemployment and great public unrest. And as the curtain began to raise for fascist takeover, (See Brecht’s Berlin) the country, especially the large cities like Berlin were inundated with pornography, sex crimes, business and political scandals and street fighting, usually between the rising fascists and the communists.

What brought the democratic era to an end was a split between the Communists and the Social Democrats, i.e., the Left and the Near Left and the Liberals, which permitted Hitler’s National Socialists in a coalition with the Conservatives and Nationalists to win the election, even though the Left Center coalition had more voters objectively. It was the split which allowed the right to consolidate power.

Recently in the US presidential campaign we have seen two tendencies, the one to vilify and distort Obama from the right e.g., the recent New Yorker cover described as “satirical” with Obama as a Muslim, his wife as a machine toting militant with an American flag in the fireplace and Osama bin laden in a portrait of honor on the wall. It is objectively a message from McCain, the US Right and the Israelis.

But as well there is the tendency on the presumed Left and the social democrats and people styling themselves “progressives” to attack Obama for moving to the right, thereby disappointing some very vocal would be Obama voters. One woman publicized prominently in the NY Times said now she “hated him”. But as I have said repeatedly this is an imperialist country, with two imperialist parties and a media controlled directly by the 6/10ths of 1 percent of the people that own the land wealth factories, the means of production.

There is no way Obama is even in the presidential race condemning Israel or embracing Cuba. Not to know this is not to know where you are or where you have been for the last forty years. But even with this clear motion to the center for the purposes of the general election, McCain is still a more backward and a more dangerous candidate and exactly the kind of right leaning militarist that would fit the paradigm for the weak chancellors during Weimar’s last throes that President Hindenburg removed and then appointed Hitler.

It is this split between the Left and Near Left, that is being exploited by the Right with War & Depression threatening to dump this whole nation on its head, so that Obama will be defeated, McCain elected and with the McCain opening plummet the country headlong into the far far right. Bush 2 has already obviously set the stage for this. Those elections were stolen out of desperation. The fact that Gore & Kerry were such weak liberals, tied clearly and obviously to the ruling class of this imperialist state allowed that theft to take place with minimum real struggle.

So that is the real struggle unfolding before us. First, to oppose the empty idealism which elitist base allows it to claim to represent the masses but actually have as little to do with them as possible. Allowing seemingly intelligent people to throw their votes away on McKinney or even the racial chauvinist, Nader, thus formalizing a hole in an actual progressive constituency which allowed Bush 2 to seize power in 2000.

We must also oppose the absolutising of Obama’s progressive stance and with that drawing away from him as he gets closer to the general election and tacks toward the middle. This would be the other aspect of the tragic Weimar breakup of the fragile democratic coalition that caused millions to die in fascist purges, concentration camps, or World War 2.

On the other hand it should be part of our campaign tasks to create a document of planks of progressive character to submit to Obama and publish and popularize this as well, to exert what pressure we can bring to bear on the campaign and publicly for a reversal of Bush’s neo-fascist creations, war, depression, unemployment, violation of democratic rights, diplomatic isolation from the rest of the world, a general weakening morally and politically and economically of the country.

(Sigh!) The New Yorker Cover

Damn, the news that moves the blogoshere is so fast a blogger can get whip-lash. Just when we were digging our teeth into Jesse's furious facination with Obama's nuts, the New Yorker magazine sucker-punches us with its quasi-satirical cover of Barck and wife Michelle dressed as terrorists (Barack, the turban-wearing, Middle Eastern kind, and Michelle, the fornlorn '60s black nationalist kind). But so much has been said and screamed about the wrong-headed move of the magazine that I don't have much to say. I saw what they were trying to do (being the latte-drinking, cultural elitist East Coaster that I am...LOL) and, for a brief moment, I chuckled. Sorry, I'm a fan of the publication. But, as many have pointed out, satire is about exaggerating the characteristics of the intended target, not playing up the stereotypes of the person or group you're trying to defend. If David Remnick was attemtping to satirize the racist fears of white people, primarily those in the south and mid-section of the country, he should have made this type of voter the focus of his cover. Say, a Nascar-loving, greasy baseball cap-wearing, gun-obsessed hick with buck-teeth, if we're sending up stereotypes here. But making fun of rednecks doesn't sell magazines, and to crack on ignorance, white supremacy, and fear in the face of a possible black president would be too much work for an illustrator with a weekly deadline. So, there you have it. Poor satire because of poor aim at the intended target. For a refresher course go to the latest by Jib Jab. And better luck next time.

If My President is Black, Does That Mean My Hip Hop Will Be, Too?

Much hoopla was made about Young Jeezy’s “I f---k with John McCain” comment in the August issue of Vibe. In an election year, where political allegiance in rap music is as tantamount to maintaining street cred as proving your tired loyalty to street corners and the drug game, Jeezy almost became hip-hop music’s first casualty of the hard lines drawn (and the high stakes sought) in this years’ political Main Event. (Though a gangsta emcee’s brief allegiance to the Republican Party is nothing new. Remember Eazy E’s attendance of a Republican fundraiser in ’93 and 50 Cent, in 2005, expressing an overwhelming desire to shake President Bush’s hand and “tell him how much of me I see in him?”) But it was interesting to see Jeezy’s diligent response to the perceived misstep, posting a video and issuing a press release stressing his support of Barack Obama. The ultimate peace offering was his false promise to post the song “My President is Black,” from his up-coming disc The Recession, on his Web site.

The fact that Jeezy put his political spin (even the issue of having to pay for his mom’s operation because she had no health insurance) on the Web was in lock-step with hardcore rap’s 21st Century means of immediately getting notes-from-underground out to its constituency (Thanks Chucky D for getting that ball rolling in 1999). Though, it was what Jeezy said in his video response that rang most ironic and revelatory about how rap artists see themselves, particularly Jeezy’s statement about what he’s learned from his ordeal:

For my words to get mixed up at a time like this …It just showed me the power of words…As a young black man…it just showed me that I have a voice…

Finally, a gangsta rap artists who sees the profundity—though under much duress—of what he/she says. Is this the sound of a gangsta rapper finally admitting that what they say does matter (as oppose to, “we just entertainers.”) And this at a time when Nas’s much-publicized message to Jesse Jackson, after his castrating comment about Barack, and the old guard of black leadership was: “All you old n---as, time is up. We heard your voice, we saw your marching, we heard your sermons. We don't wanna hear that sh-- no more. It's a new day. It's a new voice. I'm here now. We don't need Jesse; I'm here. I got this. We got Barack, we got David Banners and Young Jeezys. We're the voice now.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I laugh at such assertions as Najee Ali did when he wrote: “Who on earth would actually follow these malt liquor drinking, misogynistic, drug using, gang banging idiots?” But, in this historical election year, it’s refreshing to see hardcore rap artists at least talk of some responsibility as far as leadership (ha!).

Ironically, the only other mainstream rapper who seemed to take this idea seriously, especially during the last election cycle, was Eminem, who bypassed fearful record labels and music label channels by releasing the video for his anti-Bush song “Mosh” on the Internet. Didn’t get Kerry elected, but it showed that an election could make Eminem take his role, his influence, and his honesty seriously.

But given Jeezy’s revelation, his pro-black presidential stance, and an insistence that his up-coming album will deal with issues—in the face of this important presidential race—like poverty, the economy, high gas prices, etc. might we be looking at how a Barack win might impact hardcore rap. After all, this summer will be hit with two rap song’s—Nas’s “Black President” and Jeezy’s “My President is Black”—that celebrate the hope of a Barack win. Not that it would mean a total return to hip-hop’s black nationalist days of 20 years ago (though, you have to admit, it’s a coincidence that this promise comes on the 20th anniversary of hip-hop music’s golden era).

But, historically speaking, presidential politics do affect the tint of particular eras in rap music. Enough has been written about how the policies of Reagan and his Republican revolution helped usher in hip-hop’s black-is-back phase, and a Bush continuation accompanied rap’s gangsta explosion. Clinton and the record-breaking economy, which characterized his eight years, gave a boost to the ice age of commercial rap. Moreover, the tight-fisted rule of Bush No. 2 saw a smattering of consciousness come back to the music, but, still under the delusional affect of corporate love, control, and money, rap, like most of America, stuck to escapism. But now that the music industry’s in the toilet and folks, especially those of generation hip hop, are totally underwhelmed by commercial rap’s emptiness—those sagging record sales ain’t just because of downloading—maybe the music might find inspiration and fresh content with a black president in the white house.

Hell, if a misstep—or, in this case a perceived misquote—about allegiance to Barack could have a hardcore rap negro shakin’ in his Chuck’s and proving his loyalty to the streets by showing his love for a black candidate, then the possibility for a renaissance in rap might just be….

Getting Props and a Book Sale...LOL...From Chuck D

As an author you're always curious about who might possibly buy your book. Yesterday, I got word from a Canadian connection that CBC did an interview with Public Enemy's Chuck D and my book came up as a topic of discussion. And, I'm happy and proud as hell to say, dude gave ya boy some props. And he said he bought the book...LOL. Thanks, Chuck for the book sale and the 21 years of hip-hop innovation. Listen to the show below:

Will Obama’s Shifting Positions and Evolving Promises Kill His Race?

It’s funny, but now that Obama’s in the thick of campaigning as the presumptive Democratic nominee his theme of change has started to buckle, slightly, under the usual weight of political ambitions. His support of legislation to protect telecommunication companies involved in the Bush administration wiretapping program (after he vowed, during the primaries, to fight such initiatives). His slight but surprising reversal on a quick withdrawal from Iraq. His shafting of Wesley Clark for his comments on John McCain (said in the defense of Obama, no doubt). The New York Times piece reporting how Obama’s campaign snubs his Islamic supporters….All in the name of raising Obama’s patriotic quotient, but putting his supporters in the awkward position of questioning their own support

Granted, anyone paying attention to the race understands that Obama’s game has begun to morph because, well, he is in the game now, and is no longer battling for just Democrats. But his ever-expanding list of promises and off-putting reversals to win Republicans and undecided voters brings to mind (and some validity to) Adolph Reed’s anti-Obama essay in the May issue of The Progressive. Potentially, a prophetic stroke. Overall, he tags the presidential hopeful a “vacuous opportunist,” saying Obama, like any politician, will say anything to anybody to get elected and will strategically use his blackness to out-Clinton Bill Clinton’s run for the White House. (“He actually goes beyond Clinton,” Reed writes, “and rehearses the scurrilous and ridiculous sort of narrative Bill Cosby has made famous.”)

Only, unlike Bill, Reed doesn’t see a win for Obama against McCain. And, ultimately, it’s because Obama’s style of being “all things to all people” (a jab at his multi-racial background, Hmmm) threatens to expose his campaign’s theme of change as a sham. To illustrate his point, Reed uses this vivid metaphor:

It’s like what brings on the downfall of really successful con artists: They get themselves onto a stage that’s so big that they can’t hide from their contradictions anymore, and everyone finds out about the different stories they’ve told people.”

Mind you, to anyone desperate for change or hope in mainstream politics —like Edwidge Danticat in her opposing essay in support of Barack—Reed can be a buzzkill, a sobering contrarian ripping the façade off seemingly progressive moments. (Hell, at the height Clinton years—when we all loved the president—he called Bill out for his racist, unprogressive policies, and, after leaving office, Viola! Bill proved himself racist and unprogressive.) But in light of the deep center Obama’s seems to be headed in— changing positions here and ditching an outspoken supporter there—Reed’s metaphor on the cause of Barack’s downfall shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially by the Obama camp.

One thing the candidate has on his side, as we all know, is the country’s disapproval of where the country, its economy, and its military is headed. And not many people are pleased with the Bush administration or anyone who supports its policies. But, while Barack looks like the lesser of two evils (to beat a dead election phrase deeper into the ground), what happens when he starts looking not-too-different from his opponent? Mind you, a lot of shifting and backsliding and disavowing on Barack’s part can happen in four months. Then there won’t be much for voters from the other side to be swayed by. Then where will Barack and everyone’s hope for progress and change be? Barack’s strategy to play the flip-flop game with McCain could be costly, especially when Republicans don’t care about their guy changing positions when it suits them.

While, ultimately, I don’t think Barack’s repositioning will hurt him, entirely, he definitely stands to, like my man Jeff over at Zentronix implies, hurt—even kill—the theme of “change” and “progress” and “hope” so closely associated with his run.

New/Old Graffiti by the Wuer HSR Station

I saw a couple walls painted up right by the Taichung HSR station from the bus the other day and figured on getting back to see if there was anything else nearby. Just across the stream to the south beneath the overpass there is perhaps a .5km long wall that is 98% covered with great stuff from Four Crew and Virus No 6. Most of the stuff along the wall is dated 2007, but there's a ramp tagged 2008 on the south end. It's good to finally find where everyone has been active for the past year.

Reading For The Holidays

I totally forgot this a holiday week. So my postings will be slim because I know folks are out (or maybe not with these gas prices). But if you're in the NYC (Soho specifically) on Wednesday, July 2, I'll be reading and discussing Somebody Scream at McNally Robinson at 7pm. Also, reading will be Alec Foege, the author of Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial Radio. Should be another spirited discussion.

Bush's Hand Opening Iraq for Big Western Oil Companies

The clandestine love story between big Western oil companies and Iraq continues to unfold. This time the New York Times digs deeper and uncovers the Bush administration’s role as Cyreno de Bergerac to big oil’s Christian de Neuvillette:

A group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq, American officials say.

The disclosure, coming on the eve of the contracts’ announcement, is the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development and is likely to stoke criticism.

In their role as advisers to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, American government lawyers and private-sector consultants provided template contracts and detailed suggestions on drafting the contracts, advisers and a senior State Department official said.

It is unclear how much influence their work had on the ministry’s decisions.

The advisers — who, along with the diplomatic official, spoke on condition of anonymity — say that their involvement was only to help an understaffed Iraqi ministry with technical and legal details of the contracts and that they in no way helped choose which companies got the deals.

Repeated calls to the Oil Ministry’s press office for comment were not returned.

At a time of spiraling oil prices, the no-bid contracts, in a country with some of the world’s largest untapped fields and potential for vast profits, are a rare prize to the industry. The contracts are expected to be awarded Monday to Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Total and Chevron, as well as to several smaller oil companies.

The deals have been criticized by opponents of the Iraq war, who accuse the Bush administration of working behind the scenes to ensure Western access to Iraqi oil fields even as most other oil-exporting countries have been sharply limiting the roles of international oil companies in development.

For its part, the administration has repeatedly denied steering the Iraqis toward decisions. “Iraq is a sovereign country, and it can make decisions based on how it feels that it wants to move forward in its development of its oil resources,” said Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman.

Yet its difficult to believe in Iraq’s sovereignty when America’s had such a heavy hand in the rebuilding of the country, “advising” on everything from “electricity to education”, not to mention training Iraq militarily. Oh, and Halliburton being the primary company contracted to maintain and repair the country’s oil pipelines. This latest development in the role big oil will play in Iraq is no doubt going to hand opponents to the war proof that Bush’s five-year military blunder was, indeed, blood for oil. This will, no doubt, be a confirmation for those in the Middle East who believed all along that that was the case. But the Bush administration doesn’t want to listen to comments like this one from a CSIS adviser:

“We pretend it is not a centerpiece of our motivation, yet we keep confirming that it is,” Frederick D. Barton, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said in a telephone interview. “And we undermine our own veracity by citing issues like sovereignty, when we have our hands right in the middle of it.”

But the questions still remain: will big media delve even deeper in this latest move of big oil and the poetic hand of the Bush administration in aiding it. To read the rest of the Times report, click here.

Graffiti Animation from Buenos Aires

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Notes On A New Life For 'Soul Train'

It was disheartening to hear this past Wednesday that Don Cornilelius was selling Soul Train. But it was reassuring and a source of anticipation to hear what the show’s new owners are planning. MadVision, the media company which made the purchase, was looking to give Soul Train a new life on DVD. Finally, someone with the power and money and the bright idea (duh!) to do what people—ages 36 to 56— have been hoping and silently screaming for Don to do for years: package this historical dance show for everyone to own and share with new generations (instead of getting bootleg versions from Japan).

For nostalgic reasons, the idea is a no-brainer. Millions of black, brown, yellow, and even white folks have grown up with Saturday morning memories of watching the Hippest Trip in America. The Soul Train lines. The ever-evolving fashions. The dance moves. The music and the artists. Don Cornelius’s back-handed interviews with male musical guests and the occasional inappropriate comments, of the sexual nature, he’d make to the female ones. All were the ingredients that made watching Soul Train an experience, one definitely worth reliving. And many do, if you’re able to watch the repeats that come on.

But, more importantly, Soul Train should be preserved on DVD for historical reasons. With its start in 1970 (syndication would come in 1971), the show was the flashpoint between the demise of the civil rights/black power movements, the mainstreaming of black culture and the impending rise of hip-hop culture. (A point made in the first chapter of my book). Where American Bandstand became groundbreaking platform for rock n roll and white youth culture, Soul Train, especially in its early days, became a groundbreaking and history-making platform for black urban youth culture. Particularly, dancing. Aside from the music and fashion, the show single handedly gave rise to—by prominently displaying—the street dance revolution of the later half of the 20th Century. Popping. Locking. Roboting. And, from the floorwork of some dancers, pre-hip-hop b-boying. One of my fondest and earliest memories of Soul Train was watching folks lock as if their life depended on it or watching the pioneering dance group Electric Boogaloo in the late 70s perform as guests of Soul Train. That a number of these dancers would go on re-write the rules of American dance—the Lockers, Boogaloo, etc—puts Soul Train in a category of television history all its own. Oh, and also, it was tremendous source of pride for young black folks looking for images of themselves and their ideals.

Before the show went on to encapsulate the evolution of black culture in America—from ‘70s disco escapism to the 80’s racially-neutralized pop to the 90’s rise of a hip hop nation—Soul Train showed the power of black media ownership. Not only economically but culturally, as was also the point I made in my book. The example I gave was in the above Youtube clip. It’s Damita Jo Freeman, another Soul Train dancing star (who’d go on to star in the film Private Benjamin), dancing while James Brown performs “Super Bad.” After giving James a show, locking and roboting on stage with him, Freeman raises her fist in a black power salute to James and the Soul Train dancers, a move you would have never seen on American Bandstand.

Don, thanks for doing the right thing, and putting the show in a position to live on and bring joy in a new form.

Black Music Month: Where Does Hip Hop Fit? An Interview

Here's an interview I did with Felicia Pride's Blog "More Than Words" on AOL Black Voices. Funny, but of all the print interviews I've done for the book, I like this one the best. I tend to be a bit long- winded (as most writers are), and for this one I did my best to keep answers as concise and simple as possible. Oh, and I got to talk about why I think rap music is still one of the most important art forms leading into the twenty-first century.

The Real Fruit of the Iraq War: There's Oil in Them There Sand Dunes

Remember the rallying cry of "No Blood For Oil" among those opposed to the Iraq War. Well, while the notion that the biggest reason America went to war was to horde the country's black gold has died down—an idea never even raised by the media—new developements in Iraq may revive the slogan. The New York Times reports that four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiating no-bid contracts to get oil from Iraq's largest fields.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

Sensitive to the appearance that they were profiting from the war and already under pressure because of record high oil prices, senior officials of two of the companies, speaking only on the condition that they not be identified, said they were helping Iraq rebuild its decrepit oil industry.

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Ok, forget the "helping Iraq" spin of big oil, which goes in the trash bin with Bush's spin of liberating Iraq. Let's start connecting some dots. The Senate refuses to tax oil companies for their windfall profits. Bush is currently yammering about ending a ban on offshore drilling (even though its reported they have 68 million acres of offshore waters under lease). Oh, and these companies are a part of a possible NO-BID CONTRACT. Cheney and Halliburton. The Bush family and their connection to oil. The chief of staff for the White House council on environmental quality, Philip Cooney, who's a former lobbyist for the oil industry. All old news, yes. But, with this latest move to get at Iraq's oil fields, my stomach is turning at a possible confirmation that Iraq, ultimately, was about advancing big business.

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Rocking WBAI on Fatherhood

Soon I'll be back to bloggering about things I know best. But today, on WBAI 99.5 FM at 11am, I will be discussing fatherhood on the show Special Delivery with Host Ifé Dancey. Although I've only been in the game for 3 months, I'll do my best to share what I know. If you can't catch it live, then catch the archive at http://archive.wbai.org.

A Hip Hop Head (I think) Half-Blasts "Scream!"

With so many great reviews of Somebody Scream, for this go 'round I'd like to give shine to a not-so positive review from the online mag Cooleh (never heard of it). But anyway, seems writer C. Benz, while impressed with the history, was not impressed with the delivery. Hey, Benz, I'll try harder next time, juuuust for you...Jes kiddin'. Thanks for the honesty, though.

An Obama-nation on Black Fathers and Black Responsibility

Seems that if black folks can't take a little heart-felt and good-spirited criticism from legendary black comedians, then they should definitely look forward to it coming from the White House. That is if Barack gets in. For Father's Day, the presidential hopeful made a speech at Chicago's largest black church blasting black America on a number of its social ills. Among those: black fathers who won't except responsibility and raise their children.

"They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it."

And the pathology of underachievement and mediocrity:

“Don’t get carried away with that eighth-grade graduation... You’re supposed to graduate from eighth grade.”

In a New York Times, piece on the speech reporter Julie Bosman made an observant note that on the campaign trail last February Obama took a mostly-black audience to task on the issue of nutrition:

“I know how hard it is to get kids to eat properly,” Mr. Obama said. “But I also know that folks are letting our children drink eight sodas a day, which some parents do, or, you know, eat a bag of potato chips for lunch. Buy a little desk or put that child at the kitchen table. Watch them do their homework.”

Now, don't get me wrong. I, too, think the panacea for what ails black folks, in part, is a healthy dose of do-for-self and take-responsibility-for-self. But I find it very interesting that there is no—and will be no— uproar from black public intellectuals over Barack's very public chastisement of those in the black lower class. Especially from Michael Eric Dyson, who's based part of his hype around publicly browbeating Bill Cosby for the infamous pound cake speech. After all, there's no difference from what the Cos' said and what Barack is saying...Or is it? Is it that since he's running for president and Dyson is one of his celebrity supporters. (And, oh, there's no book money to be made or street cred in trashing a black man who might win the highest office in the country.)

Either way, it's been every interesting to see the growth of the get-off-your-asses-black-people-movement that seems to be catching on in the 21st Century (thanks, Million Man March). It's gonna be even more interesting to see the public reaction to a black man living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue saying, "Niggas, please get it together."

Hoping Obama Kills Hip-Hop

With all the pundits projecting what an Obama White House might mean,Slate blogger Mickey Klaus hopes it will mean the death of hip hop:

Will Obama Kill Bling? Mary Battiata thinks maybe. ... Now that she mentions it, I kind of hope Obama's election will kill off much of hip-hop, at least the gangsta-inspired parts. But just killing off bling and gangsta fashion would be a start. ...

The comment was Klaus's reaction to Mary Battiata's piece in the Huffington Post where she hopes Obama's conservative fashion sense will trickle down to young, Negroes on the corners with their baggy pants and their underwhelming sense of self to inspire them to step-up their wardrobe. Like popular black politicians or civil rights leaders have EVER changed black fashion with a wave of their hand? ( Martin Luther King's suits or hard denim outfits didn't set off any fashion trends). That's because the civil rights movement was a political movement. Now the black power movement...that set off trends. Huey and Bobby and the Panthers nationalized the "righteous nigga on the corner" look with black leather blazer, scruffy afro, and the no-joke facial expression. Ron Karenga and Us set off the African garb craze and Kawanzaa. The Black Arts Movement changed the direction of black poetry and play wrighting. That's because black power dealt with culture. And it was culture that would not only trickle down to the black masses, but would cross over to the white majority (one result would be Radical Chic—thanks Mr. Wolf— and the other would be white folks "giving five" and hip-bumps on the Flip Wilson Show). The cultural exchange, along with that good ole civil rights legislation would give rise to the promise of Jesse Jackson becoming the first serious candidate for pres.

Which brings me to my point. As much as folks want to continuously bash hip-hop and the colored generation(black and brown) that spread it, they need to also understand that the popularization of that movement is what helped make an Obama possible. What initially set Obama's primary run a blaze was a new generation of young white folks, weaned on NWA, Public Enemy, Tupac, Snoop, and the urban souls of black folks. For this new generation, the idea of an African-American running things wasn't foreign (hell, young blacks have been telling them how to dress and speak for over 15 years) and they could totally relate to the idea of a black politician saying, in a sense, "keep it real" (forgive me for using a deathly overused term). This discussion could be looked at from a multitude of angles, but I don't have the time right now (maybe another entry). But the influence of hip hop on the phenomenon of Obama has as many positive effects as the negatives folks want to heap on it.

Somebody Scream, The Radio show, Is Coming Back For the Takeover

Sorry, I haven't posted since Barack's "presumptive nomination. It wasn't that I was so overwhelmed with the victory, I just had my hands full with my newborn son (is 3 months still considered newborn...Hmmmm). But anyway...Just got word that WBAI will be doing another Hip Hop Takeover weekend on August 30. And, as a part of the the block of programming, I will, once again, be hosting my hour-long talk/music mix show, Somebody Scream (yes, I named the show after my book. Gots to cross promote.) Since this year's theme of the HH Takeover will be the election—politics basically—my show, in between the mix of classic hip hop musak, I will have a high-powered panel of guests to discuss much-anticipated presidential contest and OOOOOObama. Given that I've fashioned my show into a kind McLaughlin Group for Generation Hip Hop, guests will be writers and scribes of the generation. Currently, I'm firming out my list of in-studio guests, and when I get the details hammered out, they will definitely be posted (if you have questions you might want asked and answered please feel free send them to me).

As this is the second installment of Somebody Scream, I want to give a shout-out and another huge thanks to DJ Max Jerome for making my show possible. After twice having me as a guest on his Last Hip Hop Show (also a part of the HH Takeover), he suggested I have my own show. He got me to shake hands with the right person, and Viola! In a business where folks are always hoarding the blessings, it's great to meet folks who helping you make the connection....And lastly, I want to thank Mimi Valdés Ryan, Michael A. Gonzales, and Chloé Hilliard for adding their voices to the first installment of my show.

Stay tuned....