GREATEST VIDEO OF ALL TIME!! part ONE

As a film director, on of my most frequently asked question I get from folks is:

What's your most favorite music video of all time?? The answer is...ALL OF MINE!! LOL!! Just playin'...not really...

But nahhh...truthfully, there are several music videos that I would say are my FAVORITE. That's right...SEVERAL. I think music videos is such a fascinating form of visual arts because:

Number One: I LOVE MUSIC!!

Number Two: I LOVE FILM and PHOTOGRAPHY!!

Put 'em together and what do you have?? That's Right...Music Videos...
I also have a great love for Motion Pictures (that's the ultimate goal). but i KNOW that a movie is NOT a movie without its score and soundtrack. Try watching a horror flick with the sound on mute...it's not scarry at all.

Anyway...I don't mean to ramble so much, BUT I'll leave you with one of the Greatest Videos Of All Time.

The group is Public Enemy and the song is "Night Of The Living Baseheads". The year is '89 and the epidemic of crack cocaine was reaching its zenith. Of course this vid had a good message, but foremost, i applaud it for it's creativity and originality. THEY HAD A FUCKIN' COMMERCIAL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VIDEO for cryin' out loud!! Nobody dares to do such a thing nowadays...

Anyhow...without futher ado...here's P.E. "Night of the Living Baseheads"



Public Enemy - Night of the Living Baseheads

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BAMMM
And you say, Goddamn
This is the dope jam
But lets define the term called dope
And you think it mean funky now, no
Here is a true tale
Of the ones that deal
Are the ones that fail
Yeah
You can move if you wanna move
What it prove
It's here like the groove
The problem is this - we gotta' fix it
Check out the justice - and how they run it
Sellin', smellin'
Sniffin', riffin'
And brothers try to get swift an'
Sell to their own, rob a home
While some shrivel to bone
Like comatose walkin' around
Please don't confuse this with the sound
I'm talking about...BASS

I put this together to...
Rock the bells of those that
Boost the dose
Of lack a lack
And those that sell to Black
Shame on a brother when he dealin'
The same block where my 98 be wheelin'
And everybody know
Another kilo
From a corner from a brother to keep another -
Below
Stop illin' and killin'
Stop grillin'
Yo, black, yo (we are willin')
4, 5 o'clock in the mornin'
Wait a minute y'all
The fiends are fiendin'
Day to day they say no other way
This stuff...
Is really bad
I'm talkin' 'bout...BASS

Yo, listen
I see it on their faces
(First come first serve basis)
Standin' in line
Checkin' the time
Homeboys playin' the curb
The same ones that used to do herb
Now they're gone
Passin' it on
Poison attack - the Black word bond
Daddy-O
Once said to me
He knew a brother who stayed all day in his jeep
And at night he went to sleep
And in the mornin' all he had was
The sneakers on his feet
The culprit used to jam and rock the mike, yo
He stripped the jeep to fill his pipe
And wander around to find a place
Where they rocked to a different kind of...BASS


I just wanted to put the lyrics in there to let y'all see how drugs have REALLY ripped at the core of our community. The shyt that Chuck D spit back in '88-'89 STILL has a grasp on society.

I can go on and on about how the law is set up to crash down on the nigga in the hood hustling as oppose to the muafuckas who's getting the shyt in...but that's an other post.

Either They Don't Know...Don't Show...

"or don't care about what goes on in the hood" - Doughboy (1991).

On February 5th, 2008, I received a shocking reality check. We were on the tech scout for our music video, Shawty Lo's "Dunn Dunn", and one of the locations was off of Simpson Rd.. For those not familiar, Simpson Rd. and the rest of this west side Atlanta community is infamous for low poverty living, drug-infestation, and poor living conditions.



The location was AMAZING (Visually)...being that it matched the hardcore look we were going for. However, I had no idea that people actually LIVE there. It looks like condemned apartments that are just waiting for a bulldozer to come through and tear it down. So imagine my disbelief when I seen a little girl who was maybe 6 years old coming home from school dragging her backpack through the pissy terrain smitten with empty liquor bottles, trashed food, and used condom wrappers. The shyt is sick.

The imagery really left an impression on me so I went back yesterday just to chop it up with the people who were still living there. I talked to a young woman who is raising her 12 year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. She told me that basically, they've been left to rot there. Some of the units are still occupied because they have no place to go. Meanwhile, the furnaces and water heaters have been ripped out of other units causing flooding in some of the apartments. And I do mean FLOODING!! And the water is constantly running. It makes me think about all this talk that's been going on about this drought that we're having and they have water constantly flowing over here and no one from the City of Atlanta is doing shyt about it.



She also told me that the city's sanitary workers haven't picked up the trash in almost four months. FOUR. FREAKIN'. MONTHS. Wow!! I don't know about y'all, but I can easily fill up a few trash bags within a week's time before the garbage man comes to get it. Can you imagine living in an area where you have trash from an entire complex that hasn't been picked up in 16 weeks??

The woman did tell me that they will be tearing the place down in the months to come...thus leaving these people with no where to go. And just keep in mind, it's not just adults living here, but KIDS also. It seems like Katrina in Atlanta and the government isn't doing a damn thing about it because it's not affecting the more affluent Atlantans.

Anyway, I just felt the need to say something and share that...here are some more photos I took while I was there:



In the railing above, you can see that some of the wooden posts are missing, making it VERY easy for a small child to fall through...*smh*



No place for children to be playing at...



Flooded Apartments...



And please believe that places like this exist all over the country...
Are you willing to do anything about it??

Tricks Up, Pimps Down??

It seems like just yesterday.



I had just left school on a chilly November afternoon. It's 1993. I remember vividly the brisk Detroit wind shaking my hooptie as I drove down the freeway. I was a senior in high school so as usual, I couldn't wait to get as far as I could away from that eight-story prison called Cass Technical High School. On a typical day, I would head straight home so I can change clothes and go to work. But this was no typical day.

I was FEENIN''. I mean, like, Really Jonesin'. So I was on a mission to get to Damon's Record Center, who was my reliable supplier whenever I needed my frequent fix for dope lyrics and intoxicating beats. I just wanted to get hiiiigggghhhhh.... Keep in mind, this was 15 years ago when the shyt we used to intake into our ears was much more potent than the watered-down shyt they sell on the streets nowadays.

Long story short...

I got there...got my shyt...and raced to the car so I can take a hit. I ripped off the packaging and popped the tape into the deck. I just sat there in the parking lot soaking it in. It was DOPE!! It was Snoop Doggy Dogg's (before he dropped the 'Doggy') first tape - "DoggyStyle".



When I got home, I locked myself in my room and indulged.

Snoop's lazy yet acrobatic drawl was the perfect match to Dre's rhythmic symphonies. The lyrics were raw and crass, unapologetic to a degree where it was almost a fault. I really knew that when Snoop said, "I don't love dem hoes," he really meant it. I can't fault him for that. Even though the infamous way he exclaimed "Be-yotch!!" was derived from the great poet Too Short, it just seemed so much cooler when Snoop said it.

This was an era in rap music where it was cool to be a pimp. No Doubt. This post is not about the many morality issues surrounding pimps, hoes, squares, and tricks, but moreso a question to the young brothers who were supposedly influenced by these iconic hip hop tunes that some classify as "Gangster Rap". WHEN DID IT BECOME COOL TO BE A FUCKIN' TRICK????

I ask this question with a great deal of sincerity and seriousness because I really don't understand. I don't know, maybe I'm stuck in a different era, but I didn't think we were suppose to love these hoes. Remember Big Daddy Kane and Nice & Smooth's "Pimpin' Ain't Easy"? Ice-Cube's "I Ain't The 1"?? Geto Boys' "Gangster Of Love"??? Hello...Anyone???? Not once in any of these songs did niggas make it rain on dem hoes!! Why is it so "cool" nowadays to throw money in the air and watch it fall on broads' heads and then to the floor? No matter how you look at it, THAT'S TRICKIN'!!

You say, "It ain't trickin' if you got it." I say, BULLSHYT!! Regardless of how much you have, if you trick off your money, you's a fuckin' trick, TRICK!! Case close.

What's the deal with young folks these days? They're makin' songs about buying broads drinks, being in love with strippers, even lacing bitches up with jewlery, clothes, and all types of Burken bags and shyt. What The Fuck!?!? A Birkin bag is like 12K. If you spending that much, it's obvious you love the hoe. When does the simpin' cease? You're sending all types of mixed messages to the youth by saying that you're a pimp or mack or you're swagger is so undenible, the girls just flock to you. No Nigga...their flocking to you cause you're a trick ass nigga throwin' money in the air. It's not your swag, homie. Sorry.

The music I was raised on taught me that you suppose to spit game to a girl and get her with your mouthpiece. And in reality, any decent woman worth talking to should like you for YOU and not your net worth anyway.

Let's cut to the chase. C'mon dog, be real...you're spending money and making it rain cause you want to hit it OR you're an attention whore yourself. That's it. If that's what you're doing, hey, to each his own, but don't deny the fact that you're a trick. Bottom line is, you's a trick, she's a hoe (if she's fuckin' you for cash or "gifts"), and 9 times out of 10, she's probably paying another dude...we'll just call him "the pimp".

Now, don't get me wrong. I've been known to go to a strip club or two in my day and by no means am I saying that I am tricking-exempt. BUT, I've never claimed to be a pimp either and I damn sure don't make it rain.

I'm just sayin', let's call a spade a spade and stop the frontin', Trick.

This public service announcement has been brought to you by Concerned Citizens For The Betterment Of Dilusional Rappers and of course my2cents-sense.blogspot.com.

Being Saved DOESN'T Make You A GOOD Person!!

**WARNING: This Blog may contain extreme realistic depictions and scenarios that may offend sensitive, close-minded, simple muthafuckas who don't understand the concept of looking OUTSIDE the box. Proceed at your own risk.**

I think the title of this post speaks volumes by itself, but let me fill you in on some background behind it.

It's Sunday.

What some may consider the Sabbath or a holy day.

I'm with someone who I would call a friend of mine (read: ex-girlfriend) and we're having a discussion about her computer which isn't working right. I'm enjoying my breakfast which I refer to as a "Biggie Special" - you know, a "T-bone steak, cheese eggs, and Welch's grape" - except minus the Welch's grape juice. She skipped church this particular Sunday but is getting a good dosage of the Word by reading the bible and listening to gospel hymns via Direct TV's XM Gospel station.

Anyhow, she makes a comment about me taking her computer to BestBuy to get it looked at. I throw a look at her that screams, "Who? Me? It's Your Damn Computer...what the fuck are YOU doing that's prohibits you from taking your own shyt to get repaired?" Keep in mind, that's what my look said, I didn't verbalize it. Long story short - she went off!! Screaming! Cussing!! Hollering!!! Even getting physical to the point where my plate of breakfast was brashly knocked from my hands and splattered across the wall and the carpet!!!!

Brown A-1 sauce + Tan Carpet = Not. A. Good. Look.

I left the room to avoid further nonsense. Actually, that's a fib. I was thrown out of the room.

Now, (ReeeWiiiiind!!) the whole time she was fussing and cussing, I couldn't help but notice the Holy Bible laying right there in front of her. It was kinda funny because as she cussed like an angry, irate sailor, I blocked out her words and my mind automatically transformed her syllables into the "Whauungh...Whauungh...Whauungh" language that Charlie Brown's teacher speaks in. Everything moved in slow motion as my eyes went from her screaming, mad-woman face to the Holy good book spread open in front of her. The scene just screamed of irony.

Being that my brain is constantly at work, it threw a concept into my head that I thought was interesting:

Why are some of the holiest people the evilest?

I mean when you think about all of the wars that have plagued the world since the beginning of time, the vast majority of them were because of, or in some way, based on religion. Either people are killing people because they are of a different faith or people killing people with attempts of spreading their faith or people of the SAME faith "sect-tripping" amongst themselves. **MENTAL NOTE TO SELF: I must copyright the phrase "sect-tripping"** Yet, most religious faiths have a "Thou Shalt Not Kill." clause somewhere in their doctrine. Ain't that bout a bytch!?!?!?



Do you know how much bloodshed has been a result of making Christianity and Islam the most "popular" religions on the planet?? From the Crusades, The French Wars of Religion in the 16th century, the Jihad groups of today and throughout history, the Thirty Years War, the Saxon Wars, etc., these "holy" muthafuckas did EVIL shyt!! Period.

And that evil still persists in 2008 in the hearts of men and women who feel as if they're "Holier Than Thou". Look around...you see them Every. Damn. Day. They're in the news. The priests who play with little boys' dicks...the pastors who prey on impressionable females in their congregation...the screwed up politicians who use religion as a basis of their sick, inhumane policies all for the benefit of financial gains...they're ALL OVER THE PLACE!!

Here's a few attributes that these "holier than thou" folks seem to always possess. See if you know people like this...



1.) They always pass judgement on others.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't GOD the only one who should judge people. These folks swear that they are God.

2.) They throw their religion in your face as a badge of honor like they're better than you. I always hear of folks talking about how they go to church EVERY Sunday and whatnot. This does NOT, in no way, make up for being an outright sinner or someone with just a negative vibe throughout the remainder of the week. Apparently, you're not practicing what you're picking up in church so you might as well just skip it all together.

Oh.

Nevermind.

That's right...I forgot. You gotta still go to gossip and show off your latest church clothes...

Going to church "religiously" every week, doesn't make you look better in the eyes of the Lord if you're behaving devilish the remainder of the week.

3.) They're Close-Minded.

I can't stress this enough. There comes a time when the most devout of Christians should just accept the fact that there are other religions out there. None is better than the next. Nope, not even yours. It's a matter of preference and what's in your heart.

===================================

I interrupt this blog for a brief public service announcement.

===================================

***P.S.A.: I encourage all to not blindly accept what you are told or force fed and to actually do some research to find out why you believe what you believe.

This public service announcement has been brought to you by my2cents-sense.blogspot.com. Thank you.

Back to the matter at hand...

In no way, shape, or form am I advocating that all people who are heavily into their religion evil. Nor am I saying that anything is wrong with informing others of your faith and practices.

I guess the bottom line is simple.

Stop With The Damn Hypocracy!!

New World Order is in FULL E.F.F.E.C.T.!!

Damn!! Check This Out!!



I really don't know what to think of this. I've heard bits and pieces of the information brought forth before, but this is VERY interesting.

No wonder why T.I. had all those guns...maybe he knew something we didn't know...lol.

Ok, that was a sad attempt at humor but I think we all need to enlighten ourselves on what's going on in the world around us...For Real!!

Thanks to Illseed of AllHipHop.com for posting that.

Growing Old...

Aye y'all,

I'm thirty-one and it feels GOOD!!



I was taking a stroll down memory lane, looking at old photographs and video footage, and it occurred to me that there are some things that I just plain and simple can not do. Overall, I think it's a great thing when people can age, become wiser, and yet still keep a youthful, fresh demeanor and physical appearance about themselves. However, it's extraordinarily lame when old folks try too hard to ACT young.

For example, if you're a male above 23 years of age, you should NOT wear a do-rag on your head in public like it's part of your outfit. That's not the hotness and it's incredibly lame. Also, if you're a teenage male or older with braids or cornrows, there is NO logical reason, whatsoever, to wear beads, barretts, rubberbands, or anything else in your hair that little girls wear in theirs. Time to grow the fuck up.



Also, if you're a female that's in your thirties (or close to it), you're too damn old to leave your house in nothing but your pajamas and hair rollers. There's NO excuse for that. Throw on some sweats and a cap or somethin'.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming to be the most sophisticated and mature apple in the bunch, but I have realized that once you hit your 30's, you shouldn't carry yourself like you're in your teens. With that being said, I've concocted a small checklist for you guys to do a little self-evaluation as you come into age.

Oh yeah...feel free to add on to the list if you like...

***NUMERO UNO:

IF YOU'RE OVER 30 YR. OLD, YOU'RE TOO OLD TO SAG YOUR PANTS!!



Actually, I think sagging is pretty corny at any age, but if you're "grown", it's super ridiculous. Nothing's wrong with baggy pants that hang off your hips a little bit, but when muthafuckas can see your damn boxers, that's too fuckin' much!! The shyt's not cool.

***NUMBER TWO:

Piggy-backing off numero uno...guys, YOU'RE TOO OLD TO BE WEARING TALL TEES AND SHIRTS WITH GLITTER AND RHINESTONES ON IT!!

C'mon now, why is it so many "hardcore, street" niggas wearing fuckin' shiny shyt on their clothes. You shouldn't be rockin' the same type of gear that your kid sister and her crew is rockin'. It's impossible to keep up your fake gangsta persona when you have Tucan Sam and Fruit Loops on your damn jacket - trimmed with glitter and shyt homeboy.

Just cut that shyt out. Speaking of that...

***NUMBER THREE:

YOU'RE TOO OLD TO BE TRYIN' TO ACT OR LOOK HARD!!



"We don't believe you, you need more people..." - Jay-Z

***NUMBER FOUR:

YOU'RE TOO OLD TO DO CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE ROUTINES IN THE CLUB OR WHEREVER WITH YOUR HOMIES!!

As y'all know, Souljah Boy had a smash hit last year with his "Crank Dat" and the accompaning dance. It caught on like wild fire, became a youtube craze, celebrities started doing it on national television, and the rest is history. I can't knock the lil' dude's song cause hell, I grew up doing the "Pee-Wee Herman" and the "Humpty Dance" *smile* However, unless you get paid to dance, there's no reason for grown folks to be practicing in front of a mirror rehearsing and high-fiving each other when they've got their routine down. Imagine two old niggas talkin' bout, "Man, they gon' love us at the club when they see us doing this shyt!"...LOL!!

This goes for male and females.

Now, the ONLY exceptions to this rule is if you're at a wedding reception and they throw on some shyt like the "Electric Slide", "Cha Cha Slide", "The Hustle", or any of those other old, corny, community-based dance tunes. I'm not a fan of these dances and I sit back and laugh at the folks that do it most of the time, but society has embraced these jigs, so they are acceptable (I guess)...but only at wedding receptions, family reunions, and things of that nature.

***NUMERO CINCO:

YOU'RE TOO OLD TO NOT HAVE SAVINGS!!



People, once you hit a certain age, you need to definitely stop ALWAYS living in the day and look ahead to the future. Granted, many of us live check-to-check but I guarantee you, if you cut out some frivilous spending, you'll have SOMETHING to stash away for a rainy day. Whether it's in a bank or a brown paper bag, Stack Your Chips!!

***NUMBER SIX:

YOU'RE TOO OLD TO NOT OWN A SUIT OR A FORMAL DRESS!!



Even if your job doesn't consist of you getting dressed up, you never know when the circumstance may pop up for which you need to dress in something more formal than jeans and a t-shirt. And ladies, you definitely should not break out your hoochie clothes when going to that job interview, funeral, or church...for cryin' out loud!!

***NUMBER SEVEN:

YOU'RE TOO OLD TO BUMP YOUR MUSIC!!



Now before you get your panties in a bunch, let me explain. There is a CLEAR difference between BUMPING your music and just playing it loud. If you're in your ride and your jam comes on, by all means, Turn. That. Shyt. Up!! BUT, if your speakers reach a decimal in which legally you would need a festival or concert permit to play Pac's "Ambitions Of A Ridah", your old ass needs to turn that shyt down. If you're at a stop light and you're entrapping everybody's on the block eardrums to listen to what you're listening too, you're too old to be doing that ignorant shyt. I don't care if you're bumping Jill Scott or Funkadelic or Incognito, you shouldn't be in your thirties and BUMPING your music with no regard to others around you.


Now, that's just a few but they're plenty more out there.

What do you think????

Oh yeah...I'll leave you with a Classic Song and Video that's funny and cool...all at the same time...

Joeski Love "Pee Wee Dance"

B.E.T. On That!!

Black Entertainment Television.



To some, a place where people go for some of the hottest music videos Hip Hop and R&B has to offer. To others, an shytty network that promotes buffoonery, coonery, and 'nigga'isms (yes, I JUST made that one up). I, for one, am not going to pass judgement on the network based on the state of our music or their programming without looking at a much bigger picture.Over the past several years, I have encountered many people who have a very dismal outlook on B.E.T..

The absence of the news programming that once existed, the redundant imagery in music videos, ghetto-production quality, etc., etc., are all things that B.E.T. has been accredited of.I will say that personally, I feel the network has lost some of its luster it once possessed during its earlier years. I miss Donnie Simpson (What Up Detroit!!), Madelyn Woods, Sherri Carter, Lisa Johnson (Teen Summit was the BOMB!!), and even Chris Thomas (the Mayor of Rap City).

**SIDENOTE: Why in the hell was comedian Chris Thomas the "Mayor" of Rap City?? What were his qualifications?? He appeared in Public Enemy's "Night Of The Living Baseheads" video - which is the GREATEST video of ALL time - but other than that, what made him the mayor???? I. Not. Know. END SIDENOTE**

Anyway, yes, I think Tavis Smiley should've never got booted from the network, but for the most part Black Entertainment Television is NO different than any other television network. And it's foul, to me, how people consistently dog out B.E.T. when damn near every other network is guilty of doing the SAME OL' SHYT.

C'mon now, why all the hate on B.E.T.?? It's funny to me how people will say that they don't watch B.E.T., YET, they are extremely opinionated about the cable network.

For 1.) If you DON'T like it, DON'T watch it!! Period. Case Closed. 2.) If you don't watch it, how in the hell do you have an opinion on it?? It makes no sense for you to watch "Rap City", "106 & Park", "Hell Date", and whatever movie or special they air that night and then complain about it. Fuck Outta Here!! If it turns you off, then turn IT off. 3.) I hear a lot of folks also complain about their programming not being original. This is a lame ass excuse to solely diss B.E.T. because with the exception of FX, maybe the Spike network, and the premium channels, EVERYBODY else's programming is NOT original either.



So why single out B.E.T.?? Instead of pointing the finger at Debra Lee and 'em, you really should also question all the other networks out there as well. But noooooo...they rarely are held responsible for the bullshyt that they air. Man, people kill me...

For real y'all...this is like Black On Black crime. I'm not saying that you should support a network that you disdain, I'm just asking that you really look inside yourself and figure out exactly WHY you're hating on B.E.T. and letting the other networks out there slide.By the way, I'm typing this after just watching B.E.T.'s special on Barack Obama which was followed by their special on the genocide that's taking place in Darfur. I'm yet to see another network even acknowledge what's going on in Darfur (even some news outlets) and this is coming from a network who is really just about "entertainment".

Oh yeah, and the "American Gangster" series is the SHYT!!