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Erykah Badu’s Window Seat Spawns Off a Slew of Parodies

April 5, 2010 By

There’s an old saying ‘Imitation is the greatest form of flattery’. I’m not quite sure how flattered Erykah Badu is feeling with all the slew of parody videos that are popping up around her song ‘Window Seat‘. She seemed to take it all in stride while visiting comedian Wanda Sykes who premiered her version of the song shown below..Not sure of the other videos (also included here) which in many ways take away from Badu’s original message to resist ‘group think’.

From a fan perspective I’m glad to see people playing around with the concept. It’s good to see and hear people talking and debating a work of art that has so many rich layers to it. A good song will always do that and in this case it appears that people are having fun and keeping things light hearted… God knows we need that during this recession. We should also keep in mind that in Badu’s video although not a parody was based upon an original from the singers Kim and Matt who undressed in Times Square.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdV80sOdZHg

Here’s one of the more popular video parodys from the group Spoken Reasons..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsReaX83LS8

This one is ok.. its somewhat raunchy in the sense that Mr Grind aka Rico sings his own version of the song and makes references to his love of fat asses…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjPP9yYklH4

Here’s another spoof.. Again song makes raunchy references to body parts.. In this case a woman’s breasts..then it has a ‘fake’ Erykah Badu explaining why she took off her clothes..Its pretty funny.. It’s complimented by a slide show..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbNQNDqD8Mw

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Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Promoting Proper Education in Our Communities

April 2, 2010 By

Trials of a Hip Hop Educator: Promoting Proper Education in Our Communities

By Bro. Tony Muhammad

Now let me tell you folks just exactly what I mean

The way they try to lower, the black man’s self esteem

Put us in their schools and I call em mental graves

When they teach us bout ourselves, all we learn that we were slaves 

It amazes me that it was almost 18 years ago that Grand Puba of the legendary Hip Hop group Brand Nubian uttered these lyrics in the song Proper Education.  Despite the growth in the development of Black, Latino, Native American, Asian and other cultural history curricula throughout the country, if we take a look at the current state of education and how it affects our youth, we can safely say that we are in the same state that we were back then, if not worse.  Yes, there are now classes in high schools all throughout the country that have been developed specifically for the instruction of African and African American History, Latin American History, etc.  Yet, we have truly not experienced significant advances in the overall consciousness of our communities.  The youth and hence grown adults continue to confuse or lack even the vague notions of critical recent events in our history (i.e. Confusing The Civil Rights Movement and The Civil War because they both contain the word “civil” and The March on Washington with The Million Man March because they both took place in the nation’s capital).  In truth, those of us that are most aware of this problem are no longer in a position where we can simply blame the system for not properly teaching our true history in a public school setting because we have even taken for granted the value of teaching our history itself.  The process very intricately involves the cultivation and nourishment of the self-esteem of our youth of color, but it is not merely limited to this.  KRS-One put it best 22 years ago in the song You Must Learn: 

I believe that if you’re teaching history

Filled with straight up facts no mystery

Teach the student what needs to be taught

‘Cause Black and White kids both take shorts

When one doesn’t know about the other ones’ culture

Ignorance swoops down like a vulture 

Emphatically, as a Social Studies educator who has made the decision to play a role in shaping young minds in an inner-city public high school for over 10 years, I will say that we can no longer expect the system to do for us what we can do for ourselves and our local communities.  Signs of this critical hour are found in the manner in which cultural curricula is treated in two principle states that play a strong role in the development of textbooks; Texas and Florida. 

Hiphopdx.com (and a host of other websites including Daveyd.com and TheSouthernShift.com) recently ran an article entitled “Texas Board Of Education Declare Hip Hop Is Not A Cultural Movement.”  In the article it states that Members of the Texas State Board of Education have given preliminary approval to eliminate significant areas of the curriculum pertaining to Civil Rights and global politics and replace them with “conservative historical figures and beliefs.”  These conservative forces also “approved to have a sociological focus on institutional racism and its presence in American society banned from the books,” in addition to removing references to important Latino contributions throughout history – this is in a state that contains over 8.9 million Latinos (roughly 37% of the population).  In addition, Hip Hop History which is filled with many stories of personalities playing integral roles in working to eliminate violence in communities by way of the arts will also be deleted from the curriculum.  A final vote on this measure will take place sometime in May after conscientious voices in the community have had the opportunity to voice their opinions.  What I will say in short about this is that what the Texas School Board is attempting to do is eliminate any ray of light from the past that may serve to inspire the hope for change in the lives of poor Black, Latino and even White youth.  By eliminating such critical elements of history from the curriculum is contributing to factors that will land more of our youth in Texas in prison. 

In Florida, African and African American History is a state mandate which requires school systems throughout the state to implement it throughout the curriculum. While it has been a state law since the early 1990s, the mandate and the seat that oversees its implementation has continued to be unfunded by the state and it has been proven time and time again that there is no true penalty for school systems that are not in accords with its guidelines.  In February I had the opportunity to be the only educator present at a meeting between curriculum specialists representing three of the largest school districts in Florida, which are regarded as “exemplary” in their implementation of African and African American History; Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade.  I was invited because of my work in reforming the African American Voices Curriculum for Miami-Dade County.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how the three school districts can work together so that we can more successfully educate students in the area of African and African American History. 

While engaged in this dialogue, there was an attempt on the part of two White curriculum specialists from Broward to derail the focus of the meeting and turn it into a plead for more funding from the state for the purpose of increasing professional development for teachers.  I commented in response that while more funding is definitely needed, ultimately “Enthusiasm is not determined by funding.”  I said in the presence of a state education official in that very room that if the state has not adequately funded the African and African American History mandate as of yet, it is not going to be doing it in these troubled economic times. 

The state of Florida has proven that it does not really consider the African and African American History mandate a priority, but rather keeps it as a law as an attempt to keep conscientious voices quiet.  I proposed as a strategy instead to scope out enthusiastic teachers in schools throughout the three counties to become advocates not just to teach classes in Black History, but to transform the whole school culture through programs oriented in Black History.  The two White curriculum specialists interrupted me and accused me of proposing a “pep rallying” agenda.  I closed the meeting by saying that the need for proper implementation of Black History goes far beyond teaching a class and goes far beyond mere pep rallying around its content, but in essence, it is about instilling a sense of responsibility in the hearts and minds of the youth that it is being taught to so that they can become effective community leaders when they grow up and are in a position to give back and serve the community.  In truth, it has been Black people in the history of this country (and I will also say this world) that have been the prime catalysts for change and inspiring change whenever it has been deemed necessary for a change to take place.  If Black History (and really any history) is not taken and put to heart in this manner, we end up ineffective in what we seek to accomplish educationally. 

As educators that hold certified degrees in the field as well as those among us that do not hold certified degrees in the field, the solution does not lie fully in state educational mandates, but in the level of responsibility that we are willing to fill our hearts with and the level of sacrifice we are willing to commit to in providing service to our communities, especially in respects to the next generations that are coming up under us.  The process must involve proper role modeling and a thorough teaching of our true history, for, as Marcus Garvey put it himself “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”  In truth, no school systems have any real power to determine what knowledge is best for our youth to learn for their growth and development.  As conscientious communities we hold that right! 

As a note, while the work that will be required to impact a significant change in consciousness a reality may entail much volunteerism, let us bear in mind that no good work is ever left unrewarded.  Our first reward comes in the form of us actually witnessing the transformative effect of our work.  If worked in a proper way through networking and the pooling of our resources, it will guarantee opportunities that will garner further success for many of us. 

More discussion on this very soon through the will of God! 

Tony Muhammad teaches Social Studies at an inner-city high school in Miami and is currently involved in The MIA (Music Is Alive) Campaign for the development of the National Hip Hop Day of Service on August 11th .  Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference.  He is also a member of Difference Makers, Inc. and FLASC (Florida Africana Studies Consortium). 

Hiphopeducator19@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/tony.muhammad

www.wordpress.com/tonymuhammad 

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BET to Launch Conscious Countdown Show…NY Oil Set to Host

April 1, 2010 By

It’s been a while since we heard from former UMC member Kim Sharpton who is best known to us as NY Oil. Many recall the UMC for such songs as ‘Blue Cheese’ and ‘One to Grow On’. After the group broke up in the late 90s Kim went underground for a while and then re-emerged in 2005 with a controversial song called ‘Y’all Need to Be Lynched’. In this song  Oil takes sharp jabs at a number of then current rap stars including Jim Jones for spewing misogynist and what he described as ‘coon-like’ messages. 

 The song firmly re-positioned NY Oil into the rap scene with his video being nominated for a Grammy. It also helped usher a new wave of underground conscious artists including acts like Jasiri X (Pittsburgh), Rebel Diaz (The Bronx)  Hakim Green formerly of Channel Live (New York) Uno the Prophet (Boston), Ise Lyfe (Oakland), T-Kash (Oakland)  Question (San Antonio) Public Offenders (Austin) Anita Tijoux (Chile) Invincible (Detroit) and numerous others. In fact the conscious movement in recent years has blossomed to include more than 200 artists who are now featured in a conscious artist data base compiled together by Uno the Prophet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diKUyMNgj_s

Last summer NY Oil took swipes at the conscious Hip Hop community accusing too many artists of being more interested in getting airplay then actually carrying a message. He said he was going to lay low for a while on the rap tip and work on some projects to push the envelop. He started an online radio show and began going in on people and highlighting issues.  He briefly popped up in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake and put together a well attended concert that included both mainstream and underground artists. It raised several thousand dollars for former presidential candidate Ron Daniel‘s foundation Haiti Support Project.

Today NY Oil is set to take things to another level. He recently inked a deal with BET to do a Thursday night show called the Conscious Countdown.  Its a weekly venture that will feature a roundtable discussion with activists and socially conscious rap artists from around the country and videos both old and new that put forth what NY Oil described as ‘compelling’ messages that challenge the masses.  

“I’m a man of action B”, NY Oil said in a recent interview. “I’m about making things happen”. He went on to explain that it took some doing, but he presented all the necessary facts and figures and had some hard negotiations with BET brass. In the end everything worked out. NY Oil will have complete creative control with plans to eventually launch a full 24 hour day channel on one of BET subchannels.

NY Oil also noted that there are so many people doing great stuff all over the country that need to have their activities highlighted.  “I’m glad BET finally came around to see that we are more than dumbed down gangstas and comedians”, he said. “Activist and anyone doing anything positive needs to get at me… The way it stands now I’m the muthfuckin’ gate-keeper. I’m the head Negro in charge. If I don’t bless it on the Conscious Countdown show then shit is good as dead-So fall back if you half stepping. If you on some real ‘uplift the community’ vibe-get at me”  NY Oil said.  

NY concluded by explaining that the Conscious Countdown will have some classic videos from groups like Public Enemy, X-Clan, dead prez, Common and many others. The newer videos will come from members who are part of the Conscious Hip Hop database.  NY explained that many of the artists like Rebel Diaz and Invincible have already put out well received videos. In fact some like Invincible’s ‘Lotus’ are mini-documentaries dealing with issues like gentrification.  NY has his own film company called PEMG with a lot of young film makers who can sit down with artists and craft nice video.

“Look B..I’m tired of cats coming to the party with sloppy ass shit. It’s more then obvious video making at their lane… Me and Debra (Lee) was talking and we both decided , it’ll be in rappers best interests to slide us a few bucks and lets us do what we do”….”Give us at least 3Gs and we’ll make you a video and give you an interview and make you known to muthafuckas around the country.. Word is Born”  NY Oil said.

The debut of Conscious Countdown will be next week Thursday April 8th.. The first round table will include Professor Cornel West, Congress woman Maxine Waters, Dr Marc Lamont Hill and Khloe Kadashian.

When pressed as to why he would include the reality show star on the Conscious Countdown, NY Oil replied ‘Its all about the ratings B.. lemme do what I do..I’m running shit and you’re not so ease up son-ease up”

If anyone is interested in getting on the Conscious Countdown Show hit up NY Oil via twitter at www.twitter.com/NYoil

To get a better understanding of  how the Conscious Countdown came about peep this.. Here NY Oil explains how BET lisenced the song and produced the Y’all should Get Lynched video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-bhXbguMjw

Below is a video That NY plans to play featuring Jay-Z and singer Chris Brown

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Should Dallas Official Charge Erykah Badu?: ‘Window Seat’ To A Black Woman’s Soul

March 31, 2010 By

By now everyone has seen or heard about Erykah Badu‘s provocative video for her song ‘Window Seat’. It’s the first single off her album ‘, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh,’ in which she visits Dealey Plaza where President John F Kennedy was assassinated back in November 1963. Here Badu walks around the plaza and in front of unsuspecting tourists she strips her clothes and while completely naked mimics getting shot by an unseen sniper.  The video was shot in one take back on St Patrick’s Day and caused quite a stir amongst her fans who thought Ms Badu had courageously pushed the artistic envelop and made us think about the concept of ‘group think’.

However, now she’s starting to get push back from everyone ranging from the Dallas Police department to city council members who want to know if she had a permit. They are also noting that she could be arrested for indecent exposure. Dallas Police Department Senior Corporal Janice Crowther in a recent interview noted “To shoot that video they would have had to get a special events permit from the events office and it would have had to specify what type of filming they were doing, what subjects they would use and any traffic control they would need.”

It was further intimated that a police officer would’ve been required to be on the scene and there’s no way in the world Badu would’ve been allowed to strip down in public. She could’ve been arrested for a class B misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure, which carries a fine of up to $2,000 and a jail term of up to 180 days. At the time of this writing Dallas police were looking for witnesses to step forward to register a complaint.

Dallas City Council member Dwaine Caraway is a big fan of Badu’s but cautiously noted to the Dallas Morning News;  “I want to be clear..We’re not going to tolerate these types of things. We’re not encouraging it….Her good work, however, doesn’t excuse her bad judgment…She’s a very talented artist and one of my favorites. I think that if she had it to do again, it would be – and should have been – in a more controlled environment where we would not at least have had the kids caught off-guard,” Caraway said.

Adding to this are bloggers and critics many who like the song and appreciate the video,but are publicly questioning whether or not Badu actually got nude. Some are suggesting that she used trick photography, wore flesh-colored clothing or did fancy green screen trickery. The reason being is that we had not heard much clamor about this video until it was released. We also have not seen film clips from passer-bys posted anywhere. In an age of flip cameras and Iphones, some are noting that it’s hard to believe that no one else got footage of this ‘strange’ occurrence.

The other point being made is did any of the people shown have to sign release forms. Will we hear from them down the road? Lastly some are cynically calling this a cheap publicity stunt. We don’t think it was. There’s no need for Erykah to go that route. We think she really wanted to make a statement..

We’ll keep you posted on how things unfold. Its hard to believe that Dallas DA Craig Watkins would get behind this and make an issue. At most Badu might pay a fine. There’s so many other things going on that are far worse. Most people enjoyed this video and give her props for being bold.

Below is a pretty cool essay that lays out a nice perspective for us to consider:

“WINDOW SEAT” TO A BLACK WOMAN’S SOUL

by Makeda Crane

I woke up two days ago and my partner said, “You won’t believe what’s #2 on yahoo search, Erykah Badu”! “Really, why?”, I said. He explained to me that it was related to the video for her new song, “Window Seat”, in which she sheds all of her clothes. I thought, ok, she must have done that for a reason. In fact, one of the reasons I have grown to love Erykah is that she makes no apologies for being herself and not fitting into a prescribed category – a statement within itself being a Black woman in America.

But, I wasn’t always a Badu fan, when she first came out, I thought, “she’s so cliché”. As a Brooklyn girl, I saw a million sisters everyday rocking “headwraps” and celebrating an afrocentric aesthetic in their dress, on the streets of New York, way before “Baduizm” was a fad. But, somewhere between “Worldwide Underground and Mama’s Gun, she became Erykah to me – a girlfriend I could turn on, “to get me through”. Mama’s Gun, converted me, as I instantly identified with Erykah’s quest to define her own path and reality as a Black woman in this universe. The ethereal melodies and frequent transitions characteristic of her songs, also was a form of communication that gave me the space and a platform to reflect on the varying dimensions of my experience. The last time I saw Erykah perform was last summer on my birthday and I was mesmerized as usual, as she has the gift of being able to transplant the audience  “in her spaceship” to her “solar system”, all the while enjoying the journey.

I finally pulled up Erykah’s, “Window Seat” video up on YouTube today, and instantly began nodding my head to Erykah’s raspy voice and the entrancing melody. As she took each step (in the video) on the Dallas streets, I felt like I was right beside her – a bit anxious , anticipating her next step but also concerned about the implications of her “full reveal”. Knowing that she would be naked by the end of the video, I began thinking about the historical exploitation of black women’s sexuality and how “accessible”, “marketable” and reliable the images of black women’s body parts were masqueraded in so many Hollywood movies, in hip-hop videos, on liquor store ads and pasted on subway walls. I thought about how growing up as a girl and teenager I was given the message that my body was “dirty” meant to be covered so “it” wouldn’t bring “danger” or “provoke” a man to act on his “natural” urges and that somehow I was responsible for making sure I wasn’t violated. I thought about how ashamed I’d feel walking down the street at 13 or 14 years old, while grown men hollered obscene comments about parts of my body. I thought about the hundreds of thousands of women who are being raped everyday in the Congo, as a tool of war and how the world’s silence and agreement had condoned this reality.

My hope is that in some small way Erykah’s bold move would be the beginning of a new moment in history where black women define black womanhood and sexuality for themselves, free from history’s grip on their backside.

Within the last minute of the “Window Seat” video my eyes met the words evolving tattooed on Erykah’s back and all I could think was, “thank you”. Thank you, Erykah for shedding: the pain felt by black women worldwide: the pain of the auction block, the raping of black women during slavery, the sexual and other types of abuse that too many black girls, endure as a “rite of passage”, the shame and anger of being sexualized earlier that you can understand by Hollywood, the media or even by your own family members, the fear felt by black women walking down the street late at night, the pain felt by the women of the Congo as the world profits from their suffering.

I say thanks Erykah, from all the little black girls and all the grown black women around the world. Thank you for your courage, thank you for shedding all that is a barrier to the expression of life – pain, shame and fear. Thank you for the celebration and honoring of black womanhood – the first mothers of this planet. In our natural state we are beautiful to be honored, respected and valued just because we are here! We are with you in your declaration honoring all womanhood, all humanity and all life, no exceptions! Thank you for your act of liberation! Thank you for giving me the question: What else do I need to shed?

Makeda Crane

Independent Journalist & Human Rights Activist

e-mail: makeda.crane@ yahoo.com

blog: www.makedacrane.com

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Beef Squashed Paul Wall & Chamillionaire Set to Touch Down In SF

March 29, 2010 By

The recently reunited rap duo of Paul Wall and Chamillionaire hits Club Envy in San Francisco this Wednesday, March 31st . The tour marks the first time the guys have performed together in almost 7 years.
 
http://www.chamillionaire.com/tour/chamillionaire-and-paul-wall.html 
 
 Below links to see the tour kick-off performance they did recently at SXSW in Austin:
 
Paul Wall & Chamillionaire (Part 1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E32jqaISgg8

Paul Wall & Chamillionaire (Part 2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ggSYetwf8U

Paul Wall & Chamillionaire (Part 3):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxlpDwgXIGE

  
They are incredibly dynamic together on stage.
 
Chamillionaire is dropping his 3rd major album, Venom, this June 22nd and Paul’s The Heart of a Champion, is also set for a summer release

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Russian Subways Suffer Horrific Bombings US Hip Hoppers Talib Kweli & Professor Jelani Cobb are Safe

March 29, 2010 By

By now most of us have heard about the horrific train bombing that took place last night (US time ) early morning (Russian time) that left up to 40 people dead. The reports are saying that two female suicide bombers commonly known as ‘Black widows’ of Chechnya. For those who don’t know Russia has been at war with Chechen separatists since the 1990s. They’ve been demanding their independence. This was not the first time the Metros were attacked. They happened back in 1996.

Aside from this being a horrific act that hits close to home and has had many of us here thinking about our own subway system and how secure they are, the Hip Hop community has two prominent figures over there when this happened. Spelman College Professor Jelani Cobb who wrote the book ‘To The Break of Dawn’ normally takes the subway at the station where the bombing took place. Fortunately he didn’t to work that morning. Also in Moscow is Talib Kweli who tweeted last night it was time to go home..As soon as word of the bombings took place, many of us immediately started reaching out to both parties who are in Russia for seperate reasons. Kweli to do a concert, Cobb is teaching there for the year. I finally spoke to Cobb last night who let us know the blast had certainly shaken him because it’s the line he takes.  He noted that one of his colleagues wanted him to come across town later that day to do some business, he respectfully passed and decided to stick closer to home.

We’re  be speaking with Cobb on our radio show later this afternoon. In the meantime here’s some of the tweets Jelani Cobb shared as news was unfolding

I am safe. I do use the train stations that were hit in the Moscow blast but thank god I wasn’t there this morning.

They are not saying much on Russian TV about the blasts, just that at least 40 were killed. These are major subway stations, transfer pnts.

For whatever reason even Moscow Times website has nothing about these blasts. Cellphone networks overloaded here, can’t get calls out.

Dude, there is still not freedom of the press here. they got a TIGHT lid on it. western media reporting on it.

just spoke to my Russian friends, apparently a third bomb just went off. People are suspecting suicide bombing.

Park Kultury is a major transfer point; in rush hour this station is about as crowded as one in downtown Manhattan would be at that time.

it’s horrible knowing that innocent people lost their lives today.


Here’s Talib‘s Tweets He left Moscow this morning

Thanks for everyones concern. I am at the airport on my way to NY. #welcometomoscow

Feeling blessed. Moscow bombing happened yards from the club I was at last night, very soon after we left. Counting blessings.

About to leave Moscow. Shout to everyone who came to Discoteque and everyone I met at Karma. Praying for those affected by the bombing.

 

Below is a video stream that is showing lots of up to date information of the Russian Metro Attacks http://rt.com/On_Air.html

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Mistah Fab Keeps it Real on 6th Street-Kicks Nice Freestyle

March 29, 2010 By

We caught up w/ Oakland’s Freestyle King Mistah FAB on 6th street during SXSW. We talked to him about his recent video in which he went in on fellow rappers, sports figures and entertainers who got locked up for doing ‘dumb’ stuff like Lil Wayne, Palixco Burris and others. He talked to us about the importance of setting good examples for those who look up to you..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkCMUJO9wZA

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Drama & Politrix-Funkmaster Flex Not Happy w/ Tunnel Documentary

March 29, 2010 By

Funkmaster Flex

Last week we ran an article detailing the excitement around a number of documentaries set to highlight and give and the back story to some of Hip Hop’s most significant night spots.  We noted films being done on The Fever, The Latin Quarter and The Tunnel… What inspired the article was getting note about the Tunnel documentary. Sadly and unfortunately what is far too often the case, drama and politrix is unfolding behind one of the docs.

Below is a video giving a run down of what is going on with the Tunnel documentary. According to the story put out by film producer Choke No Joke, the club’s premier DJ Funkmaster Flex is not happy with the documentary.  He wants 100% creative control and wants it to go to a larger platform. The original documantarians were set to go through BET. Flex wants Vh1.

Flex contends that he was the one who pauid for the artists to come to the club, the documentarians noted that they shot the footage on their own initiative and their own dime. They were never hired by Flex.. Here’s whats going on..

In this Part 1 interview, Choke No Joke explains how he came up with the idea to put out a “Tunnel Documentary”. The Tunnel was one of the hottest nightclubs in the NYC and unfortunately it was shut down. All of the hottest artists in the 90’s came to perform there and Funkmaster Flex was the premiere DJ. Apparently, Funk Flex is not cool with the idea of a Tunnel Documentary being put out unless he has 100% creative control over the project and that’s when the drama begins!! Check out my exclusive interview here or on HipHopGossipSite.com!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5msVRAQnWM

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Ludacris Says ‘Yes’, Ron Paul says ‘No’-Who Should We Listen to About the Census?

March 29, 2010 By

Congressman Ron Paul made headlines and ruffled some feathers the other week when he voted and then later penned an article encouraging Texans and people all over the country to not take the 2010 Census. He wrote; “I voted “No” on this resolution for the simple, obvious reason that the census like so many government programs has grown far beyond what the framers of our Constitution intended.’ We’ve known for a long time Paul has issues with privacy and government intrusion.

However in recent days popular rap star Ludacris has been on tour telling people they best fill out the census. Realizing that in past years African-Americans and other marginalized communities of color have not gotten their fair shake when it comes to Federal resources Luda noted; ““I look at our communities now and I see many empty lots, closed clinics, dilapidated schools and an overall breakdown of social services for the poor and elderly…Today is a day for change.”

Ludacris has promised that he will soon be visiting communities including Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, New York, Washington and his native Atlanta.

ludacris
Ludacris wants to make sure marginalized and poor communities get their just dues

“I plan to knock on doors in various neighborhoods around this country to try and dispel any myths about the Census,” Ludacris said. “It’s important that we all stand up and be counted so we can help create potential financial opportunities for our dying communities.”

With all that in mind, which way should we go? Personally, I understand the concerns people have about government and abuse of power. While Ron Paul has penned an eloquent essay speaking to those intrusions, many of us live in communities where our people have borne the brunt of such overstepping. However, we already know that in the age of GPS, internet, cellphones, ATM cards, credit checks, War on drugs and numerous laws on the books ranging from the Patriot Act on down, if the government really wants find us they can track us down. Trust me on that. We’re already on the grid. You don’t think if you live in the hood on the North side the local police departments haven’t already scoped out the neighborhood?

census 2010You don’t think they already know who’s there and who isn’t? I’m not saying its correct or desireable. I am simply saying in this case I gotta go along with Luda, in 2010 we need less vacant lots, more school supplies and extra money in our neighborhoods. Its our tax dollars providing them so might as well fill out the form and not trip. If I really wanna disappear off the grid, I can start by shutting down my Facebook page, Twitter account, toss my cell phone and somehow try to remove my all the photos people have posted of me on the internet and hope to God I can avoid high-tech recognition software. I can do all that and also hope that somehow in their zeal to collect fed monies for any number of law enforcement programs that I wasn’t somehow profiled and catalogued in some sort of traffic violation, gang, activist rabble-rouser police database

I can’t help but wonder while reading Paul’s essay why he wouldn’t want us to fill out these forms since one of his biggest complaints is that the government takes way too much money.  In a state like Texas which many have estimated will have a substantial increase in population, resulting in another 4-5 new congressional seats, shouldn’t we be filling out these forms and getting as much of our money back as possible?

If you take alook at the Census questions, there isn’t anything being asked that isn’t on some sort of government record anyway take a look for yourself if you don’t have a census form

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php

The one set of questions that may raise concerns are the ones asking about additional people and I can understand those who have undocumented people living in the house not wanting to fill that out..but thats a whole other conversation. Even with that in mind, with increase monies already given to ICE and 287G programs, you don’t think the fear of government track downs that Paul raises is not already realized. 

brown communitiesTo be completely honest when you look at Paul and others who take the position that the borders need to be closed and walls erected, I can easily see folks who support his position alerting law enforcement about those who are undocumented.  That has nothing to do with the census and has everything to do with increased xenophobic attitudes.

Before reading Paul’s essay I’ll leave you’ll with one last thought. With so many marginalized communities especially Brown ones in Texas having large increases in populations is it possible, that folks may be whispering for us not to fill out the census as a way to keep us underserved because we’re undercounted?  With states like Texas set to get no Congressional districts, shouldn’t those districts be in areas where we have large population increases and if they happen to be where folks of color are living, shouldn’t we be taking advantage?  Think about it.. We’ll let Ron paul have the last word on this..

-Davey D-

Ron Paul: Census: A Little Too Personal

http://www.house.gov/htbin/blog_inc?BLOG,tx14_paul,blog,999,All,Item not found,ID=100308_3661,TEMPLATE=postingdetail.shtml

Ron PaulLast week Congress voted to encourage participation in the 2010 census.  I voted “No” on this resolution for the simple, obvious reason that the census- like so many government programs- has grown far beyond what the framers of our Constitution intended.  The invasive nature of the current census raises serious questions about how and why government will use the collected information.  It also demonstrates how the federal bureaucracy consistently encourages citizens to think of themselves in terms of groups, rather than as individual Americans.  The not so subtle implication is that each group, whether ethnic, religious, social, or geographic, should speak up and demand its “fair share” of federal largesse. 

Article I, section 2 of the Constitution calls for an enumeration of citizens every ten years, for the purpose of apportioning congressional seats among the various states.  In other words, the census should be nothing more than a headcount.  It was never intended to serve as a vehicle for gathering personal information on citizens.

But our voracious federal government thrives on collecting information.  In fact, to prepare for the 2010 census state employees recorded GPS coordinates for every front door in the United States so they could locate individuals with greater accuracy!  Once duly located, individuals are asked detailed questions concerning their name, address, race, home ownership, and whether they periodically spend time in prison or a nursing home – just to name a few examples.

From a constitutional perspective, of course, the answer to each of these questions is: “None of your business.”  But why is the government so intent on compiling this information in the first place? 

The Census Bureau claims that collected information is not shared with any federal agency; but rather is kept under lock and key for 72 years.  It also claims that no information provided to census takers can be used against you by the government. 

However, these promises can and have been abused in the past.  Census data has been used to locate men who had not registered for the draft.  Census data also was used to find Japanese-Americans for internment camps during World War II.  Furthermore, the IRS has applied census information to detect alleged tax evaders.  Some local governments even have used census data to check for compliance with zoning regulations.

It is not hard to imagine that information compiled by the census could be used against people in the future, despite claims to the contrary and the best intentions of those currently in charge of the Census Bureau. The government can and does change its mind about these things, and people have a right to be skeptical about government promises. 

Yet there are consequences for not submitting to the census and its intrusive questions. If the form is not mailed back in time, households will experience the “pleasure” of a visit by a government worker asking the questions in person.  If the government still does not get the information it wants, it can issue a fine of up to $5000.

If the federal government really wants to increase compliance with the census, it should abide by the Constitution and limit its inquiry to one simple question: How many people live here?

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Why Hip Hop Won’t Tangle With the Tea Party

March 28, 2010 By

Why Hip Hop Won’t Tangle With the Tea Party: Call for a Militant Mind Militia

by TRUTH Minista Paul Scott

 Whatcha do get your head ready. Instead of gettin’ physically sweaty”

                         Welcome to the Terror-dome-Public Enemy

In breaking news, two of Hip Hop’s most popular artists died today. In what was the culmination of a year long beef, an altercation in the middle of 52nd street has left both men dead. No, they didn’t shoot each other. As they stood arguing in the middle of the street, they were run over by a Tea Party Express bus that was running late for a rally…

Beef. That is one word with which the Hip Hop community has become very familiar over the last decade and a half. The term has resulted in many tragedies in the black community ranging from neighborhood feuds to deaths on street corners. Black people taking it to other Black people is an everyday occurrence in ‘hoods across the country. This is what makes the Hip Hop community’s (and the black community, in general) lack of response to the current climate of hate fueled by the Tea Party, Birthers and other agents of White Supremacy especially disturbing.

For the last year, anti-Afrikan behavior has escalated from anti -Black propaganda being promoted on radio stations to black Congressmen being called racial slurs and spat upon. All over the country Right Wing racists are rallying thousands of people, while black folks are pretending not to notice.

Since Hip Hop has always prided itself as being the true voice of the black community, you would think that rap artists would be on the front line fighting against these disses to black folks.

Not so.

So far, there have been, relatively, few Hip Hoppers calling out the Right Wingers. This is not to say that “no” rap artists are speaking out on issues, as there are Hip Hop Freedom Fighters in communities across the country but most have heard about the attacks that came upon such political artists such as Professor Griff and Sister Souljah in the 80’s/90’s and don’t want the same thing to happen to them. Many of them feel that even if they did take a stand, an unorganized, apathetic black community would just leave them hanging.

I don’t know if you noticed it or not but radio stations have even stopped playing “violent” music over the last few months. Instead, radio has dumped violence for misogyny. While we must not condone black on black violence in any form, the rationale for the sudden change in radio rotation must be examined.

The industry knows that one of the by products of Hip Hop has been black male rebelliousness. This is why those in power were quick to blame incidents of racial unrest such as the Virginia Beach and  LA rebellions (riots) of the late 80’s/early 90’s on the music of groups like Public Enemy. Immediately, they went to work to replace revolutionary Hip Hop with gangsta tales of black on black homicide and chemical genocide (crack sales). During the following decade, since  “racism” became less overt, the black male displaced aggression generated by Hip Hop was used on other black males.

However, with racism/White Supremacy becoming more “in your face” over the last year, the “powers that be” don’t want to risk the fratricidal message of gangsta rap to be misinterpreted as a call to “fight the power.” They know that with a change of a couple of words a 50 Cent song becomes a Dead Prez-like call to “bang on the system.” So now, all you hear on the radio is “stripper music” dealing with girls instead of guns.

The agents of white supremacy have studied our history well. They know the success that Bunchy Carter, Fred Hampton and others had in transforming gang bangers into revolutionaries during the Black Power Era. They know that a Blood or Crip esposed to a  strong dose of political education has the potential to become Black Panther or Deacon for Defense.

They also know that even the most hardcore thug will become outraged if while flippin’ the channel between Hip Hop stations, he hears a Right Wing radio host call him a “no good bum who will never amount to anything” and his mother a “lazy welfare queen.”

And with the escalation of anti-black rhetoric from Right Wing radio hosts this scenario is possible if not probable.

In every city the Right Wingers are organizing their troops via Conservative radio stations, as media giants such as Clear Channel have begun converting their country music stations into virtual 100,000 watt Ku Klux Klan headquarters. In, North Carolina they recently turned 106.1 FM into “Rush Radio, named after their star player, the infamous Rush Limbaugh. Clear Channel realizes that all politics is local so ,although they broadcast the likes of Sean Hannity, Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh, throughout the day , during the morning drive time, their programming becomes early morning strategy sessions. So while the nationally syndicated bigots like Limbaugh lay out the national strategy, the local hosts and their listeners politic on  how to implement it locally. All the while black folks are busy lip syncing, “How Low Can You Go” on their way to work, totally oblivious to the plans being devised on the talk radio station at the end of the dial.

In NC, the WRDU “Morning Show” insults black folks every morning with the same Right Wing racist garbage without being challenged. They have even set up a chat room where their racist listeners hold strategy sessions every morning from 5:30AM to 9AM EST because they know that most black folks are too busy laughing at J. Anthony Brown jokes on the Tom Joyner Morning Show to pay them any attention.

Twenty years ago, we would have never stood still for this disrespect without challenging it. However, nowadays we are too busy getting into Internet “beefs” on YouTube with other Afrikans that we don’t seem to have time to challenge those who espouse the tenets of white global domination and the oppression of Afrikan people.

That is why it is important that we form “Militant Mind Militias” in  ‘hoods across the country to counter the lies and attacks on black culture from the Right wing. We have to start calling in to these Right Wing racist talk shows and challenging their racist rhetoric.

Don’t get it twisted, this has nothing to do with whether one agrees with the politics of Barack Obama. This is about the anti-Afrikan white supremacist ideology being spewed by the Tea Party and the rest of their crew.

It is time that we dust off our Neely Fuller and Amos Wilson books and put the principals into action.  Some of us have read hundreds of books on African History but only use the information to prove that we are intellectually superior to our black brothers and sisters; never once challenging the Ph.D carrying members of white supremacist think tanks.

It is time that we start using Youtube, Facebook and Twitter for something more than booty calls and coonery.

It is time that we start using our Afrikan minds to challenge white supremacy ideology.

Militant Mind Militias must be started immediately using our strong Afrikan intellect as weapons.

We have nothing to lose but our mental chains.

I know that some of you are going to cop out and give 100 reasons why we should  not get into ideological debates with white folks. You really only need one reason to do so; our people need to see black intelligence in action. Isn’t that what inspired us to follow the teachings of Malcolm X, Dr. Khallid Muhammad and Dr. John Henrik Clark, that they were not afraid to challenge the best white scholars in open debate?

The ancestors are crying out for us to engage the oppressor in a battle of the minds.

Unfortunately, so far, Hip Hop and most black folks have been missing in action.

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

For examples of the racism being spewed every morning by 106.1 FM in North Carolina visit
http://wrdu.com/pages/morningrush.html

No Warning Shots Fired.com
(Hardcore News and Views with a Gangsta Attitude)
http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
(919) 451-8283

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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