I have been a Hip-Hop fan since the early 1990s. I remember being into MC Hammer and the Fresh Price in middle school which led to liking LL Cool J and Public Enemy in junior high. By high school, I was engulfed in Hip-Hop, collecting everything I could of Wu-Tang, Nas, 2Pac, Redman, and Ice Cube. I traded tapes, borrowed CD's, and recorded radio shows.
But as a white middle class kid in the Florida suburbs, I was detached from the core of hip-hop. Even though the content of hip-hop spoke to me - the idea of getting out of your current struggle and making life better - hip-hop was never really mine. I could enjoy it, I could talk about it, and I could be as big of a fan as possible, but I could never be truly of the culture.
As I grew as a Hip-Hop fan, I started participating in the culture. I wrote freelance articles on local artists, I posted youtube videos of local concerts, and I even got to interview legends. Meanwhile, I grew frustrated with those appropriating the culture. People who looked like me from my upbringing in White America claiming Hip-Hop for their own and never acknowledging the roots of the music or giving back in any way.
Hip-Hop, while being open to all cultures and people, is protective of its cultural roots, possibly because Black culture saw what happened to the Blues and Jazz. But Hip-Hop can't protect against all those who rock the music but miss the message.
White Hip-Hop fans need to call out people who look like them who are disrespecting Hip-Hop.
My least favorite offenders of Hip-Hop appropriation are white middle aged women, typical "yoga moms". Yoga moms are as far removed from the struggle of Hip-Hop culture as possible. Many have come from comfortable middle class upbringings, went to predominantly white colleges, and live in predominantly white suburbs. Yet they have claimed parts of Hip-Hop for their own without adding anything to the culture.
I though nothing could be worse. Then I saw a predominantly white yoga studio poll its instagram followers whether they should hang up a portrait of deceased Hip-Hop and R&B legends.
No. No. No. No. No.
That's not yours. You shouldn't have that and you shouldn't hang it up. And leave Hip-Hop culture alone.
The tradition of avoiding pitchers during their throwing of
a no-hitter started in the 1890s when a pitcher named Rube Bellweather of the
Atlanta Confederates refused to shower while he was doing well. During a
lengthy streak of success, Bellweather’s odor began to wear on his team. No one
said anything, however, as he continued to pitch well and the team continued to
win.
During one game, the odoriferous Bellweather was
particularly effective, holding the opposing team without a hit through seven
innings. As it was a typical Atlanta day, with the temperature well over 90
degrees and a stifling humidity caressing the air, Bellweather’s body odor was
too much to bear for his teammates. When in the dugout they purposefully
avoided him, staying to one side or even leaping the barriers and sitting with
the fans to watch their teammates at bat.
Unfortunately for Bellweather’s teammates, they had trouble
of their own at the plate as the opposing pitcher also held them hitless
through eight innings. After a scoreless and hitless ninth, tenth, and then
eleventh innings, and a growing gross aroma permeating from Bellweather, his
team decided to take matters into their own hands. In the bottom of the twelfth
inning, Bellweather’s teammates pulled a defensive mutiny on the pitcher,
dropping fly balls, kicking ground balls, and throwing the ball all over the
field until three runs scored.
But the bottom of the twelfth brought positive tidings for
the hometown nine. After quickly getting two outs, the opposing hurler hit the
next two Atlanta hitters and issued a walk to load the bases. Bellweather
himself strode to the plate with an odor so raunchy neither the umpire nor the opposing
catcher could look in the direction of either the pitcher on the mound or the
pitcher at the plate. Fortunately, they needn’t hold their breath nor watch the
action for long. Bellweather swung at the first offering and hit the ball far
beyond the outfield field fence for a game winning grand slam. In honor of
Bellweather’s heroics and his teammates’ poor actions, the tradition of
avoiding a pitcher while he is throwing a no-hitter continued.
I recently acquired Jedi robes. I bought them from an ancient dealer of fine attire in the cyberspace realm of the Amazon. They have served me well. Although not a Jedi, I do consider myself strong with the Force. Due to the cost of the Jedi Academy, I could never afford to be properly trained in the art of the Jedi. And now I am too old to begin my training. But wearing the robes of the Jedi is to me akin to wearing the sports jersey of my favorite team. I am showing my support to the cause.
So it was apropos that I wear my Jedi garb to Star Wars Night at the Clearwater Threshers baseball game. It was a fun night at the ballpark, good food, good people, and a great fireworks show.
Until I was detained. Apparently, Clearwater is under the rule of the Empire and had the 501st Legion patrolling the premises, looking for Jedi. Luckily, they let me go. I may or may not have used an amateur Jedi mind trick on them.
I'm glad I didn't bring the lightsaber I acquired on the moon of Ord Mantell.
I haven't written about music in a while, but a new Ice Cube album is great reason to get back to it.
I grew up on Ice Cube. Without knowing anything about Ice Cube, The Predator was the first CD I ever owned. I asked for it for Christmas 1992 on the strength of the Wicked video. I didn't know anything about Cube's history, NWA, or his political views. For a suburban white kid who owned MC Hammer, Kid'N'Play, and the Fresh Prince, Ice Cube was eye-opening. He was punk, metal, and everything my parents didn't want me to listen to.
(This was when rap surpassed heavy metal as White America's most objected music. Parents went from being scared of Satan and suicide to objecting to anti-police and pro-Black messaging. The early 90s were an interesting cultural zeitgeist.)
After Cube's Lethal Injection album, I tuned out. I migrated into a rock/post-grunge phase only picking up the occasional Wu-Tang, Def Squad, or Boot Camp Clik album. By the time I got back into hip-hop, Cube was making club songs with the Westside Connection and had gotten into acting. He wasn't the angry political commentator of years before.
With the election of Donald Trump, I predicted political hip-hop would make a resurgence. The anti-Trump movement was too powerful for hip-hop not to capitalize. Sure enough, artists who have rarely been political such as Snoop Dogg have released songs or images bashing President Trump. With that in mind, an Ice Cube comeback was not surprising. It was almost expected.
Ice Cube has an interesting background with Donald Trump, however. Besides citing Trump as a rich stereotype in a song (as most rappers in the '90s did) , Cube was also misquoted as supporting Donald Trump in a 2016 interview. In the interview (see below) Cube says "Trump is what every American aspires to be" but advises that Trump will have a problem relating to poor people.
Ice Cube wasn't angry at Donald Trump in 2016, although he did later tweet that he would never vote for that "m*therf*cker". So where does the anger at Trump come from? The song "Arrest the President", while good, lacks detail. None of the verses back up Cube's claim that Trump is Russian intelligence.
Where Ice Cube does have legitimacy is his anger towards white supremacists, who he talks about in "Arrest the President" and in "Chase Down the Bully". Cube discusses their hypocrisy and their bullying tactics and meets their aggression with his own.
Other positives on the album are the Parliament tribute "That New Funkadelic", "Everythangs Corrupt", and the final track "Good Cop, Bad Cop", which quotes Ice Cube's verse in NWA's "F*ck the Police".
After the aforementioned songs, the rest of the album misses the mark. After going for the jugular and attacking the President and the enforcers of systematic racism, Ice Cube then attacks drug dealers and users. That angle might have worked in NWA's "Dope Man", when Ice Cube's vision was limited to the streets of Compton, but with a huge platform and a vision from the boardroom, Ice Cube should be attacking the systems that keep people poor and on drugs. Instead of going after pill users, he should be going after doctors prescribing or corporations producing and marketing opiods and other drugs.
Another negative I have with the album is that Ice Cube doesn't dip into the well enough. Although he quotes his "F*ck the Police" verse in "Good Cop, Bad Cop", he would have been well-suited to drop other references to his classic works throughout the album. He would frequently reference his previous albums during his prime, I am not sure why he opted to do so now. This would have made his intro much stronger, where instead of saying he is the Super OG (his new gimmick name), he could have said the N*gga You Love to Hate (his old gimmick name).
Other problems I have with the album include Ice Cube's lack of song direction and lyrical missteps. For example, the song "Fire Water" is particularly a mess. It not about anything and during the journey to nowhere Ice Cube calls Princess Leia a "crazy bitch". Why did Ice Cube think calling a feminist hero a crazy bitch was a good idea? With so many other crazy women to choose from (any on reality TV, for example, or a Kardashian), that was one example of a really bad lyric.
"it's not even fair at the state fair" - "Arrest the President"
"Nobody serving Cube but maids and waiters" - "Streets Shed Tears"
"Yup, the guys call me Samson, I'm dangerous with a Samsung" - "Non Believers"
I hate to say this, but Ice Cube may have needed a co-writer.
Everythangs Corrupt is not Paris's Sonic Jihad, the Coup's Party Music, or anything from Public Enemy or Dead Prez. It also definitely isn't Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly. Socio-political rap has soared since the days of AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. Early in his career, Ice Cube kicked in doors and continued where he left off with NWA. These days, he seems to have lost his fastball. His best now would be an average track on his first four albums.
Perhaps on his next album, Ice Cube needs to dip further into his past. Releasing a track with Chuck D would be helpful. Having cameos from Paris and Kendrick Lamar would great as well. Not since Mack-10 has Ice Cube brought up new rappers, maybe the time is now.
But then again, when you have your own basketball league bankrolled by the Qataris and you have another Friday movie and another Ride Along movie coming out, maybe you only have energy for one good pitch per album. Maybe you want to save your fastball for other fields.
Of course, I can't hate on Ice Cube for putting his energy into his other passions. The Big 3 and his movies have done very well. He is a multi-media superstar who has transcended music and become an entertainment icon. But can hip-hop take an entertainment icon seriously? Should listeners believe Ice Cube is legitimately angry at the system that has paid him millions?
I do believe Ice Cube still has some anger left in him. He still looks at the world through his perspective. But I believe in his time away from music he has regressed as a socio-political voice in hip-hop. Whereas in years past he could make an album that had meaning from top to bottom, today he is good for a few good songs and a solid tribute to George Clinton.
I have been reading a lot about Artificial Intelligence recently. It's coming, there is no doubt about it. But I really enjoyed this interview with Futurist and NYU professor Amy Webb on the coming of AI. Webb has a new book out that I probably should pick up, but in this interview she discusses some very important points on American tech companies and their Chinese competitors.
For lack of a better term, the Chinese are kicking our butts. While US companies are reliant on shareholders and positive quarterly reports, Chinese companies have government funding and a 100 year strategy. That time perception makes a huge difference in how these companies develop and roll out their new technology. US companies force products to market, Chinese companies are part of a bigger plan.
Another great point Webb makes is the importance of diverse education, especially for those who major in technology. Throughout the interview, she weaves the importance of knowing technology, economics, and politics.
I thought this was a great paragraph, especially considering my emphasis on being a "hybrid analyst":
Universities must create space in their programs for hybrid degrees. They should incentivize CS students to study comparative literature, world religions, microeconomics, cultural anthropology and similar courses in other departments. They should champion dual degree programs in computer science and international relations, theology, political science, philosophy, public health, education and the like.
Years ago, I wrote for the FSView and Florida Flambeau, the unofficial newspaper of Florida State University. Writing for the FSView was an awesome experience as it got me really into writing for purpose and introduced me to great people, both in the community and in the FSView office.
One of the people I had the pleasure of working with was Khuong Phan. Khuong was one of my editors and was a great person to work for. While I explored the outsider communities, Khuong often wrote about his family or his fraternity - and not the stereotypical frat dude way. He wrote in a very humanistic style that made you relate and grow with him.
After graduating, Khuong went on to write for local newspapers and then moved to New York City and Los Angeles to do public relations for the food industry. He has made a great career of writing about food, chefs, and restaurants. Recently, he was interviewed for the website CulinaryAgents.com. It is a great interview that provides insight into Khuong's life and career lessons.
Of his many answers, this was my favorite:
Don’t simply chase money or title. I promise you that if you do something well enough for a long enough time, both of those things will come your way. Instead aim for the opportunities that will provide you the strongest connections, access to the people you admire and the experiences you find most fulfilling. These things really pay off in a major way down the line. Your career is a long arc, so play the long game.
I did stand-up comedy years ago. I wasn't very good. I wasn't very good because I didn't do it enough to be good. But like most comics, I got better as I went along. I was terrible in Tampa, ok in Ocala, and got a few laughs in Lakeland.
That was 2012. I have barely been on stage since. I like to say I left Afghanistan with PTSD - post-traumatic silence disorder. That's what happens when a comic gets so shook after a bad set they never get back on stage.
But a recent article in Vulture.com made me think that maybe in 2019 is the year I return to comedy.
Entitled "Why is PowerPoint Having a Comedy Moment?", the article discusses how several comics are blending PowerPoint presentations into their sets. I am great at PowerPoint. I can do that.
I know, I know. Comedy is about being funny first, props and gimmicks second. Comedy isn't a TED Talk, the audience should be focused on the performer, not words on a screen. But that's when I'll make a slide with a big arrow pointing back to me. The eyes of the audience will follow the arrow back to me. Easy as microwavable pie.
As a medium, PowerPoint is easy for comedy. Every slide can build suspense opening the door for a visual twist. Images also keep people interested if the comic is not. Slides give the audience something read.
And I've already made a presentation that is perfect for comedy: my Guide to Winning a Woman's Interest.
To date, this video has only has 177 views on YouTube. But what if I brought it to comedy shows? What if my entire YouTube channel was filled with funny presentations?
Comedy is calling me again and my perfect platform is PowerPoint.
The weapon is popular - both with collectors and those with bad intentions. According to experts cited by the New York Times (it would be nice if they put a name to at least one expert, by the way), "there are easily several million in the nation’s rifle racks and gun safes".
But is it really needed? Do we really need millions of rifles in the hands of private gun owners across America?
The rest of the top 10 were 8 pistols and a shotgun. While there is no arguing the presence of a firearm can help home defense if used by someone who knows what they are doing, and there is no arguing that the "intimidation factor of a pump action shotgun can’t be overstated" as the article says (shlack-lack), why is an AR-15 on this list?
According to the article, "If your home or your property is unfortunate enough to be targeted by multiple intruders" it is best to have an AR-15 handy. Does this happen often enough that the rifle has to be number 2 on the list? Are there groups of robbers and home invaders breaking into houses throughout America?
Also in the description, "In a multiple bad guy situation, an AR-15 will help even the odds by giving you the advantage of distance, velocity, and ammunition capacity". Are gun owners defending their homes or guarding the front lines at the Battle of the Bulge? If the average size of an American home is 2,600 square feet (792.5 meters) with walls, do gun owners really need a weapon with a maximum effective range of 400 meters to 1 mile (1,609 meters), depending on the configuration and ammunition?
In reality, AR-15's make excellent hunting rifles and are normally used for that purpose. They are configurable via a separate upper and lower part that make it possible for the user to configure the rifle for various types of bullet cartridges. Depending on what game is being hunted, and what bullet the rifle is configured to fire, virtually all AR-15 rifles are useful for hunting.
Can a weapon be good for home defense and hunting? Or is there another reason for the weapon's popularity? Could the answer be in the home defense ranking article?
Look again at the first picture. Notice the ads? Both ads are for accessories for an AR rifle. There are many parts gun owners can add to the AR-15 "platform" that increases distance or power. Smaller weapons such as pistols don't have as many parts to add on as larger rifle platforms. Selling these parts are big business. The companies that sell the parts rely on the sale of the platform and their ads to continue their revenue.
The parts companies want to sell more parts, so they buy more ad space for parts on gun websites. Those sites see where the ad revenue is coming from and promote the applicable weapon in an effort to increase the sale of weapon and then tell the advertiser that the ads on their sites are working. Then the website can increase the cost of advertising on their site.
All the website needs is text to pitch a need to gun owners that fits the narrative to support the website's ad selling business.
Like most internet business, selling AR-15s is a shell game based on ads and marketing. Seeing through propaganda is important if societies want to have rational debates about the safety and practicality of purchasable products.
Personally, I refuse to buy a home assistant. I don't want an Alexa, a Siri, or anything else that can record my voice and the voice of those around me. Having a smart TV is scary enough. My goal in the near future is to learn how to firewall my house so no signal can get out or in without me knowing about it. That would prevent my toaster, refrigerator, or toilet from telling a data server about my habits.
"Michael, your toilet says you have been using a lot of toilet paper recently. I've ordered some from Amazon, but should I also contact your doctor? And from the change in atmospheric pressure in the house, you have also been passing a lot of gas. Should we order Gas-X as well?"
I am far from a Ludite, but I draw the line with allowing AI into my house. L1ZY is why.
