As I walked my favorite retail sneaker corridor – West 34th Street, I chopped it up with some of the sneaker fiends thatr had been camped out for several days in anticipation of the latest release of NIKE’s Air Yeezy sneakers.
To say the least the conversations and interactions were fun. These dudes and dudettes(who knew?) are the reason why I keep collecting my shoes. At the end of the day it is all for the love of rubber and leather. These folks got sole.
Editor’s note: This excellent counterpoint submitted from FRANK D. is in response to Friday’s drop titled ‘Jay-Z Won…’
Yo Dallas,
I have been reading your blog for a while now.
I like it a lot.
Sometimes when I am walking on the street, I see a big black dude, and I say “That’s Dallas!”
But it hasn’t been yet. Someday, I guess.
Anyway, I am finally writing because of this: I saw Nasir in concert for the first time last night.
At Hunter college. In what was basically a high school auditorium.
It was, quite simply, like church.
You see, I am a 31 year old dude. I grew up in Queens. In Douglaston. I have been listening to Illmatic for 15 years now… 15 years!?!
I never wanted to see the dude perform, because I thought he could never live up to what i had built up in my mind. That album is really one of the most important pieces of art that I have ever come across. So when I finally went to see him last night, I was almost nervous that my impression would be ruined. I have read tons of stuff saying that he was lazy in concert, et cetera.
Anyway.
It was amazing. Maybe 1500 or 2000 people rapping along, verbatim, to New York State of Mind. I just stood there and watched. There were some goosebump moments, but mostly I just thought about how important this album was. It is really on the level of some Picasso or Shakespeare stuff. I mean, if the true measure of ART is how it affects people, emotionally, then Illmatic is art of the highest caliber. The people in this crowd were moved. There were moments where he just stood there and listened to the crowd as they rapped to him.
I couldn’t help but to think about gospel music and preachers…
Then I started to think about the man himself. He has really aligned himself with the underdog, and this is important. Isn’t this what hip hop is about? Likkle ghetto youf? He went through the whole catalog, and it was hit after hit, and the hits were mostly 1) sort of smart and, 2) sort of important. I have seen what you wrote about ‘I Can‘ and I agree… This is what rap music was supposed to be.
I think it is important for us to remember that this is what the music is about; that someone like Nas is really what an MC is supposed to be.
And the other thing that really came home to me last night that is that comparing him to Shawn Carter isn’t really of any use. Nas is of the people for the people (as much as a “rapper” can be), and Shawn is a product, no?
I don’t know, I wanted to talk to you about this, because I thought you would get it.
Hope this message finds you well. Please write some more stories about you are your boys when you were young and stealing cars, those posts are really beautiful.
All the best.
Frank
I woke up today in an Ohio Players type mood.
Yeah I feel a little freaky [ll], but mostly I feel like getting after my dreams.
We’ve squeezed off one-third of 2009 already, so if I’m gonna take over this year I had better get my ass in gear.
Sweet Sticky Thing
Skin Tight
Heaven Must Be Like This
Ecstasy
Swine flu is what we should call the federal government’s bank bailout program.
There are trillions of dollars being allocated for the banking system and none of this money is intended to service the consumers of these institutions. Lending has all but dried up and interest rates on deposits have not moved an inch, but the interest rates on credit cards are steadily marching skywards.
Keep in mind that these so-called lenders are getting these Fed loans at zero percent. I am imploring you all to keep an eye on the fine print because that is how these banks will attempt their legal mugging of our wallets…
With all the pigs who administrate the banking system I would rather take my chances on avoiding Swine Flu from tainted dollar bills. Either way they have me coming and going.
Can you believe that your credit cards could be saving you from being part of the swine flu pandemic? As we tumble faster towards a cashless economy the biggest endorsement comes from the supremacist daily a/k/a the New York Times on why cash is huge transporter for flu germs and other microbiotic pathogens.
This is the Smart Money article that the NYTimes story uses as its lead in. In truth, its really only us poor people that handle cash. Middle class folks and the rich are already firmly embedded with the mark of the beast. My Washington Mutual debit card even has a 666 sequence in the 12 digit card number. I would embrace the mark of the beast my damn self if it could make my debts disappear.
The problem with cash is that it isn’t a totally efficient system for tracking the economy in real time. This is why we will have to move away from it. The masters of our fates will want to know shit like where we are and what we are spending our money on. GPS tracking devices in our cell phones and our debit cards will triangulate our movements the same way radio transmitters tell oceanographers where the dolphins are.
If you think you can get off the grid you are sorely mistaken. Embrace your fates party people and the good news is that you may very well hasten the Rapture.