Thanksgiving Day is always a day for reflection on the value of the family. Take a moment today to give thanks to the people that have given the supreme sacrifice for our country.
Freedom certainly isn’t free and the families of our soldiers have paid dearly.
Take some time today to tell someone that you love them.
Make love, not war.
Not that HO, but that OTHER ho…
Everyone of you readers MUST read the following Huffington Post blog entry by JERMAINE DUPRI. This is required reading for those of you who want a reason to justify why people should illegally download music. It is spoken in the earnest voice of someone who has no connection whatsoever to the consumer base that has supported the record industry all along.
To hear J.D. tell it, the consumer was better when they were more easily manipulated into purchasing whole albums simply because of their desire for one single track. JERMAINE claims that the current system which enables consumers to preview an entire album and purchase only the worthwhile singles from iTunes is ruining the industry. Seriously, read this idiot’s shit.
A Good Album is More than Just a Collection of Singles
Someone called this shit best over at XXLmag dot com by saying that JERMAINE is one of those slaves that thinks he is sick because his master has a cold. The record industry model needed to be scrapped ten years ago. What sickens me is that J.D. still uses his cache as a producer to speak as if he is more artist than entrepreneur. The reason why the public decided to support the iTunes model is because artists weren’t submitting complete albums. Or their labels weren’t publishing their music as such.
J.D. describes JAY-Z’s demand to not sell ‘American Gangster’ via iTunes as the shot in the industry’s arm to revitalize them and remind the people at Apple who is really the boss when selling music is concerned. Pahh! Just try to sell another JANET JACKSON album without iTunes, or a MICHAEL JACKSON album for that matter. No one will risk going in on purchasing an entire album from either of these icons without damn near every track first being leaked. The record industry killed their golden egg laying goose and now they want to blame everyone and everything else but themselves. How about releasing a complete fucking album from an artist?
When you listen to a record like ‘Graduation’ you recognize the care placed into the development of every song on the album. You may not like every track but it is obvious to me that KANYE WEST spent his time trying to make every song personal and separate as an individual statement. In the best reality a great album IS in fact a collection of singles that play independently and individually of the larger collection.
When artists return to examining and exploring their artform is when the public will return to consuming their journey in its entirety. Let’s see if JERMAINE can make a JANET JACKSON worth listening to instead of trying to give her the sound of an aging BRITNEY SPEARS(who mind you, was actually just a bootlegg JANET from the gate anyhoo). In the meantime J.D., sit the eff down.
If you haven’t seen the video below, you only need to watch the first 45 seconds or so to get the point of this drop
This will be the funniest drop of the week. I’m laughing already. It’s just that damn funny!!! Ha-ha, ha, ha ha ha-ha! What we have is the latest music video from Hip Hop’s very own Macduff, Curtis ‘50Cent’ Jackson, featuring the only illegal alien who doesn’t have to carry an ID, Akon.
The music video starts with Fifty and his weedcarriers in tow, chanting the mantra heard round the world, “I get money, I-I get, I-I [money] get, I [money] I-I get money”, or however the fuck it goes, before cutting to what appears to be a maximum security prison with big ass dog bowls of… cereal? Akon and Fifty are the prisoners!! I’ll break it down for you. They went from being celebrities to prisoners, because they’ll ‘still kill’. [Wipes eyes from tears of laughter]
It seems as though Fifty and Akeezy aren’t the only ones who will still kill. You see, the Pennsylvania Department of Correction commisioned this study of PV’s versus PS’s. That’s Parole Violators and Parole Successes for all of you who don’t speak Inmate-ese. Can you believe I read all sixty-seven motherfucking pages when all I needed to do was to throw on my copy of ‘Curtis’? [I’m cracking up over here!]
For a variety of reasons, 60 percent of all Black parolees are violated within less than a year of release. Holy shit! Over half of ex convicts ‘will still kill’? I didn’t know that. Thank goodness this video is Jam of the Week! [Oh come on, that was funny right?! You cats at DP dot com have no sense of humor].
“I got a arsenal, an infantry I’m built for this mentally”
Surprise, surprise, a combined percentage of crimes amongst PV’s involving weapons as the controlling offense is well over 35 percent. You don’t have to take my word for it, Curtis tells you! It’s right there in the lyrics! Hey you fucking consumers, it’s not just the T.I.’s making money off this rap catastrophe. Lawyers are caking like crazy too.
“Ain’t nuttin change still holla at my homies/Ohh and when I hit the block I still will kill”
PV’s are significantly more likely to maintain relationships with friends who had a criminal past. You don’t really believe that ‘birds of a feather’ bullshit do you? I mean, we don’t have any real evidence that Curtis, or Akon for that matter have ever killed anyone!!! [Ha-ha!] Get it? In order for them to ‘still kill’ they would first have to kill someone! That’s what weedcarriers are for, keep smilin’, keep shinin’.
“Niggaz know, if not they better check my background”
About 1.5 million convicted felons have completed their sentences and still do not have the right to vote! You didn’t expect Curtis to know that did you? How could he? He isn’t even from one of the 14 states that severely restrict or even prohibit onetime prisoners from casting ballots. Damn right they better check your background. It’s not like all ex-felons can’t vote. In states where they can vote, the process of restoring rights is seen by some as cumbersome and confusing. All this time, I thought rights were something you inherently have, not something you acquire! More excuses, poor technology? Bullshit, 1,086,910 people bought Fifty’s last album and we all know he’s tired of using technology-ology-gy [Ha ha ha, motherfucking ha! I’m DYING over here, can you hear me?!?!?]
It is not fucking fair to say that only unrealistic post-release expectations play a factor in success or failure of a parolee! Fif got shot nine times and lived! Talk about unrealistic expectations! You mean to tell me, after five or more years in prison, upon release, cats don’t feel prepared to face issues like money management, drug and alcohol problems, finding a job, and keeping a job? Getting shot 9 times and making millions or going back to the same environment that got you locked up in the first place, any takers? Fuck that, don’t talk to me about unrealistic expectations. LOSERS! [Whooooo!! Forbes 1.2.3 remember?]
“Put my back on the wall nigga watch me go for mine.”
Parole Violators reported illegal or criminal behavior as an acceptable solution to problems, well who fucking doesn’t? The NYPD is the most shining example of handling problems that need to get dealt with. If you’re going for a hairbrush, you’re fucked.[Oh DAMN! Maxine, you’re killing em out there! Ha ha haha haha]
Seriously, why aren’t you laughing? This is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while. Don’t take responsibility for what you do and say, it’s just entertainment right? [Ha-ha] It’s supposed to tell a story [*chuckle*]. This is not everyone’s reality right? [ha] Lighten up. Why.Aren’t.You.Laughing? I’m laughing so hard [hahahaha] I can’t [ah] feel my [aha] face.
If you are what you say you are then have no fear
My homey, The Big Homie, over at My Hangover went in with the latest published crime statistics for big cities. Detroit, Michigan is the best of the worst, back on top where they belong.
I have never been to another city quite like the ‘D’. The rate of homelessness for African American males is totally absurd. This hyper-realized poverty is what drives the crime rate up. Detroit is so poor that I witnessed a shuttered and derelict Foot Locker store. When Black folks are too broke to buy sneakers then you know that shit is fucked the fuck up over there. Shout to GIL SCOT-HERON on this track…
‘We Almost Lost Detroit’
Here’s the list of the top twenty five U.S. cities if your goal is to live on the bottom…
1. Detroit, Michigan
2. St. Louis, Missouri
3. Flint, Michigan
4. Oakland, California
5. Camden, New Jersey
6. Birmingham, Alabama
7. North Charleston, South Carolina
8. Memphis, Tennessee
9. Richmond, California
10. Cleveland, Ohio
11. Orlando, Florida
12. Baltimore, Maryland
13. Little Rock, Arkansas
14. Compton, California
15. Youngstown, Ohio
16. Cincinnati, Ohio
17. Gary, Indiana
18. Kansas City, Missouri
19. Dayton, Ohio
20. Newark, New Jersey
21. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
22. Atlanta, Georgia
23. Jackson, Mississippi
24. Buffalo, New York
25. Kansas City, Kansas
A few notes come to mind as I review the list…
Let’s begin this day with the acknowledgment that GOD is good. All the time. For the simple fact that you are reading this drop from a computer in your home is the proof positive. For the simple fact that I am writing this drop from a computer in my home is the affirmation.
Just a few days ago I was writing my drops from the public library. Why? Because I hadn’t paid my cable bill and I allowed the service to be disconnected. I become a bit contentious at the thought of spending $140 per month mostly for internets access. Yeah, I have the basic cable and telephone service as well as the DV-R setup, but I get mad at the cable company for charging me so damn much for that shit.
So with the cable disconnected and the internets shut off it was back to the good ‘ol public library to get off my world wide web jones. The Brooklyn Central Public Library on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway is still my spot. The public access terminals in the Career Opportunities section never have a line. They aren’t the best computers for pr0n access, but rarely if ever have I needed to pull that shit up from a public library. If I did it was for research purposes, of course.
The library just underwent a multi-million dollar facelift. There’s a retrofitted entrance plaza with Wi-Fi access and a brand new state-of-the-art auditorium in the basement. They are using the new space for hosting movie nights and book readings along with musical performances. Hotdamn if I hadn’t met my lady at the museum up the block I would have met her at the library. Picture the library as a cultural hotspot where young progressive people can get together to share ideas. What a novel idea (pun always intended).
Having my cable service deactivated ended up being a good thing because I got a chance to see why my community will flourish for the next generation. Libraries are as important as firehouses and police precincts in the poor and underserved neighborhooods. I’m glad that amidst all of the billion dollar residential development that a nigga who can’t pay his cable bills will never have access to, there is still some million dollar re-investment in the social infrastructure that only requires my free library card.
Brooklyn Public Library website
Did I say that GOD was good?