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I have a very dear friend by the name of Abena Koomson who has been a frequent collaborator at several of my events over the past three years. Last night, she invited me to watch the dress rehearsal of the new off-broadway musical based on the life of Fela Kuti that opens later this week. She’ll be playing Fela’s mum, Funmilayo Kuti. The show is being direct by the incomparable Bill T Jones (no relation but obviously the Joneses are waaaay cool.) and the score is set by New York’s reigning kings of Afrobeat ….Antibalas.

Holy shite is this a rockin show! I was a little worried about how they would execute the story line but hands down this was one of the best shows I’ve seen. It feels alot less like a theatrical interpretation and alot more like your actually watching Fela rock a live show with the Africa 70.

Antibalas is an amazing collective and Bill did a great job letting the songs tell the story. Getting to see and hear all these great jams performed live with dancers for some 2 1/2 hours was nothing short of amazing. The show stars Sahr Ngaujah as Fela. Though he’s easily got a good 40 pounds on the original artist he sounds uncannily like Ransome and his body movements are an eerie reminder of the man’s stage presence.

Growing up a junglist/dancehall geek I always had a love for rebel music but it wasn’t until a couple years ago when I moved to Brooklyn that I got hit in the head with Afrobeat music and the story of one of the greatest artists in recording history. The documentary on his life: Music is the Weapon is part of the “So You Wanna Move to Brooklyn” survival guide along with Shirley Chisholm 72′ Unbought and Unbossed.

ATTENDANCE IS A MUST!

I’ve asked special permission to post the following dutty discount so that pricing is not an obstacle barring you from attending. Regular tickets are like 75 ducati and you’re saving loads for having checked this blog. Don’t sleep.

Performance Schedule for FELA! A New Musical

August 5 – September 3
Tuesday 7pm | Wednesday-Friday 8pm | Saturday 2pm & 8pm | Sunday 2pm

September 5 – September 21
Tuesday 7pm | Wednesday-Friday 8pm | Saturday 2pm & 8pm | Sunday 2pm & 7pm

USE CODE SOCIAL1 for discount tix: $26.25

Three ways to buy:
online (http://felaoffbroadway.com/buy-tickets.html);
call (212-307-7171);
or visit the box office at 37 Arts (450 W. 37th Street).

visit www.FELAOffBroadway.com for more info.

In this new musical, directed and choreographed by Tony Award® winner Bill T. Jones with a book by Jim Lewis and arrangements by Aaron Johnson and Antibalas, audiences are welcomed into the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Using his pioneering music (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies), Fela! explores his controversial life as artist, political activist and revolutionary musician. Featuring many of Fela’s most captivating songs and Bill T. Jones’s imaginative staging, this new show is a provocative hybrid of concert, dance and musical theater.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjxMQqGlB94[/youtube]

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Available Now at Juno as both wav and 320 mp3. The first single from the forthcoming Noble Society album Take Charge. Jahdan and 77 Klash combination over some lovers rock 140 bizness. One of Matt’s favorites “She Told Me” is a heartfelt and emotional song about Jahdan’s divorce from his wife of seven years over Fuego Campo’s excellent not quite grime or dubstep riddim. Echoes of Gregory’s Night Nurse– u know u wanna cop that.

Also available at itunes

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*soundclash |’soun(d),clash| noun.- two or more DJ’s/Sound Systems in a head to head battle over who has the best/livest/ rarest and most party-rockin dubplates and exclusives in their record box

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1otp-x3IRu4[/youtube]

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March 27 2007 – That’s Dave Q (Dub War) on the left vs Geko Jones and 3rd Rayl (Funkworthy FM) on the right. Hosted by Deffrei – ‘The 456’ (Ahficionados/Soulvibes Digital).

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A couple of years ago, some friends and I decided it would be fun to put together a soundclash series that allowed for several genres of the reggae/ragga/dub persuasion including, but not limited to, dancehall, jungle, rocksteady, ska, dubstep , garage and the occasional broken to bits type tune that ya can’t really classify. We wanted all the vibes of a traditional Jamaican clash but alternative sound systems and rounds.

The following is a recording of the clash in the video. Dub War’s resident vibes man- Juakali – was out of town, so dubstep mafioso Dave Q of Dub War is here rollin longside the Hip-step/Junglist and Zulu King- TC Izlam vs my sound system, Funkworthy FM backed by the Lyrical Gungourgon – Jahdan Blakkamoore.

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Our host was well-wasted by this point in the evening and having trouble controlling the crowd. I’d had a rocky first round train-wrecking blends that I had rehearsed a hundred times and was consequentially playing catch up. I mostly blame myself and my love of Guinness for that first round- live and learn. Since then, I definitely try and keep myself moderately sober till after I’ve performed. I remember the frustration of not being able to correct the mixes and the distinct feeling something was off with my gear. Two weeks later, one of the turntables I was using rolled to a stop and died in the middle of another party we were doing! Dave Q too faced his own set technical difficulties. Some kind of blow out or disconnect on his set up forced us share the rig on my side of the stage, taking the clash went into extra innings.

I had managed to let my ego convince me that beating Dub War in the tune for tune round was gonna be easy. There was no way DQ was gonna pull out specials like mine. I knew a fair number of the titles he was playing and he didn’t have any real soundclash dubplates for me to worry about.

*dubplate|dub’plait| noun.- an exclusive limited-edition or one-off record used to kill soundboys. In Jamaican clash context, its a battle tune voiced by an original artist that bigs up ur sound system. In the UK, unreleased pressings in jungle, dubstep and grime are also considered dubs.

The third tune he played, the one from the video, was a 45 the Heatwave released called Mad LDN and I had it in my bag that night (shouts to Gabe and man like Rubidan). Its a fun tune, but a released tune nonetheless… nothing exclusive about that. I honestly thought we had already won on the strength of the first two dubs. I thought about playing the 45 back at him, which hindsight would have probably been a better selection. I thought about running The Police dub Jahdan voiced for me, which we’d won the last clash with. Or the Mr Easy dub. So many options…………..only 30 seconds to decide.

All I could hear in my head was the crowd’s reaction to the Sugar Minott dub I’d just played specially recorded for the event. I stuck decided to stick to my dub pistolas and played another exclusive. A gyal-choon called She Told Me by Noble Society feat 77 Klash. I’d just finished the 140 night nurse version for this tune with Fuego Campo and knocked out both a Gregory Issacs special and a new choon on the riddim that month and had them both cut to 12″- of course I was gonna play that shit! It was the right tune- the ladies loved it- at the wrong time- my dudes thought it too soft a response. I sunk the eightball and Dave Q got the forward… and the crown… a fair fight.

Wounded- but not buried. I vowed to regain my thrown.

Dub War came back with Juakali to defend their title a few months later vs Shadetek and Jahdan Blakkamoore. Dutty Artz sweep the leg for a 3-0 victory! Now, who waan tes’ the champion sound?

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The Code of the Samurai Soundboy

Both of the great works used in the post are used with the permission of illustrator/animator and good friend Chuck Collins. He created several works especially for the series which were used on the flyers for the events. If your looking for an ill-cartoonist for your album, music video or other professional project, he’s the mang.

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Since the last post was about a mambo tune that I won’t be playing out anytime soon I thought I’d start out with a fun spanglish mambo party jam that I DO like and got a big forward at the last New York Tropical Dance. Bachata meets Mambo meets ATCQ.

Sakawaka by the official Dominican Pimp Makaraka y la Grande Liga

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Tiroteo [tee-roh-te-o] or alternatively Tiradera [Tee-ra-deh-rah]

1) A shoot-out

2) gunman lyrics in latin music

3) Battle tunes dissin other MC’s in latin music

I could draw on a million gun choons you’ve heard so I’m rollin with definition 3 here and offering a nugget from an unknown young Dominican duo called The Mr. feat Yankee Next. A ting called Ratata

Another bachata meets mambo tune, this one takes aim at the big boys of Mambo: El Sujeto, Jucafri, Tulile and Omega. The Mister who refuse to be pigeon-holed as Mamberos or Reggaeton artists fuse all sorts of urban and caribbean music and are comprised of Wagner Jesus Ortiz aka Mr. WJ and Franklin Emilio Gomez aka Mr. Frank. In recent hip-hop history this underdog tactic was deployed to career-launching success by one Mr Curtis Jackson on the now legendary How to Rob.

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I went back and found the video of El Sujeto I mentioned in comments of the last post. Here he and up and coming latin hip-hop artist El Lapiz are in a parking lot cheezin for the camara, flashing loaded clips, matching hardware and rattling off lyrics…. they then take turns exchanging poetic two-line couplets of street verse (as u watch, think bomba improvisada)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvT85iBFDJo[/youtube]

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Now, I’ve got guys and girls in my family that freestyle and act just like this on and off camara so here’s some thoughts on the gangsta/bling ethos infiltrating the jibaro homelands.

At home in PR, after a blunt, my cousins are easy enough to get along with. We spend our time together laughing at some of their admittedly moronic antics; a 26-man brawl with a police squad, pranks played on crack-heads, stealing cars (na dawg- sorry to break it to ya…. playing Grand Theft Auto does not a gangsta make), motorcycle crashes, bar fights, turf wars etc. Every visit is replete with new stories and matching battle scars. They boast of a revolving door at the local precinct that was recently installed, just to keep up with our brood. As they’re telling me all this, I watch two of them bitch up to raised hand from Titi Lulu, standing a towering 5’4 en chancletas y rollos.

This in-and-out of jail pattern that has developed for my cousins on the island (and in the Bronx), it causes grief to both their families and the community. Some of crimes are necessitated by survival, but most of it is carried out just to get a rep. (There is also a percentage of our cumulative arrests that is attributed to cops being pigs, racial profiling and babylon system)

I ask myself where they get it from because we were raised together outside of the fact that I left the island our biggest differences aren’t a formal education. I stand with them as a student of life educated by my environment who chose to go my own road while good friends opted to finish school and then college to get their degree. True enough, the experience of coming to the states lends me some advantages like mastering English as a first language but that gets balanced-out by other factors. They own their houses, while I pay rent. One even has a garage below his house which has rented as a tire and mechanic shop his whole life, so he’s learned a trade by osmosis. Neighbors come to him for the odd jobs they cant afford to pay a trained mechanic for. Nobody offers me gigs for my superior tele-marketing skills and DJ’ing has yet to re-coup the amount of money I’ve spent on music, my drug of choice.

Then there are my cousins in the Bronx. Like me, they are transplants that have been here in the states for more than ten years. They speak English as a first language and spent most of their lives here but they share equally riotous stories. Difference between me and most of these kids? Surprisingly, neither camp watches much TV so the best I can pin down is that Hot 97, La Kalle and NYC’s mixtape circuit dominate the South Bronx, PR is bumpin reggaeton and I’m the odd man out that listens to as many genres as they do artists. Obviously, I’m tuned into the internet streams on BBC radio, Samurai.FM and the elsewhere in blog-landia. Therein lies the discrepancy. Puerto Rico’s internet is still largely dial-up last I checked and neither they nor the Bronx camp are web-crawlers so they are subject to whatever information is given to them.

I wanted to hold off on the following for a next conversation but I welcome your thoughts this: Gangsta rap’s ideology, the image of guns and bling being cool wasn’t made popular by the general American public or the hip hop community at large. Industry force-fed it to us with little alternative until we got used to it and its now grown past our borders and is affecting other communities. This isn’t my opinion as much as a springboard for dialog I’d like to engage in with you in the comments section. If you wanna go deep in the hood chronicles dig up Bushwick Bill’s album Lil Big Man and try that on for size before writing your response. What I’m getting at with this is until recently, when $mall Change invited me to play on WFMU, no one ever asked me what I wanted to hear on the radio, much like no one I know has ever participated in the political poles that CNN and other media outlets wave as hard statistical data.

Now, back to my hick relatives. Talking to most of my primos (i’m the fourth oldest of 32 blood-related cousins) I find they all share a highly-animated sense of reality, one in which being gangsta is how u gotta be ‘cuz that’s what its like in the streets yo! But when I look down the hill we all grew up on in Puerto Rico, there is still a huge field that horses graze. Behind that, the race track belonging to El Recinto de la ‘Yupee’ Bayamon (University of PR). Standing there, I often myself pondering if I had stayed would have stayed in Puerto Rico, living that close to a great university…

The oldest of the my cousins back on the island has enough crack-heads and ganja smokers in the area to pay the bills, but overall its really not that gully in Barrio Juan Sanchez where we’re from. The neighborhood remains mostly friendly jibaros, who now lock their doors because scattered corrillos of kids with shaved legs and plucked eye-brows are tryna act hard?!? These kids perceive their world through a lens calibrated by the gangsta-ideology that permeated reggaeton and now merengue and what we are seeing are consequences of allowing music and other forms of media to go off into the wilds uncontested.

One of our daily newspapers in Puerto Rico is named El Vocero. On more than one occasion and from both younger and older generation sources I heard it described like this…. when you pick up El Vocero, (holding it out pinched between thumb and index finger) ….it drips blood. During a two-week stay there, I read 3 separate articles about mercenary style killings; bag over head. hands tied to their feet behind their back- shot in the back of the head; all of them within a few miles of where I was staying and suspected to be carried out by guys my age and younger. These were separate articles over the span of a few days but there was no visible thread between them one was a car robbery, one over a girl, one over drugs. It seemed to me at the time, that several one-up ‘a ver quien es mas gangsta’ disputes had climaxed in tandem, resulting in copy-cat atrocities.

I’m not blaming artists or their music for the violent acts committed by individuals. But denying that the demeanor and attitudes which have become prevalent in the current generation is not in some way affected by the music these kids are digesting seems beyond naive. We can take a lot of what singers say with a grain of salt but the question I’m posing is why is the line so far off center? Does calling a spade a spade have to = censorship? I’m not saying these guys shouldn’t have the right to make their music or that it shouldn’t air. But is there a forced emphasis on new jingles or the dance of the week and an oppression of air-play for thought-provoking music, or is it me? What I see is a bunch of kids setting the coordinates to stat quo and forcing themselves into the cookie-cutter gangsta image in hopes of making it so they can get outta the hood.

I speaky di inglesh and my native tongue and I understand quite clearly the words that are coming out of their mouths.… so when do we get to the scene where bubble-gum gangstas get knocked the fuck out by artists with more talent and a different set of standards? At the very least lets call them out on their shit and ask them to elaborate. There are circumstances where letting art speak for itself is useful but when you have so many clones I think we would all be better off to challenge an artist on what they are trying to accomplish with this a piece of art beyond just making money. Those who put thought into their art will usually rise to the occasion. You can get into the ‘why does art have to mean something’ question if you wish, but I won’t be taking part in that with you. I’m busy looking for art with substance or both new and old genres to explore and learn from. Too busy working with MC’s that CAN break the mold. To watch artists hide behind the stage persona and do and say ridiculous things while in character seems a cop out even when factoring in that being an entertainer is, in rare cases, a well-paying job opportunity to someone who comes from bleak circumstances.

Here’s an all-star line up of MC’s with real street-cred that aren’t afraid to face the wind and are ready to blow the current whackness out like the flickering flame that it is. Jahdan Blakkamoore the man Guyanese from Crown Heights Brooklyn, Princesa hailing from Argentina, recent unsigned hype inductee Homeboy Sandman outta the Qboro serving nourishment to the masses, Durrty Goodz in the UK whose Axiom EP raised the bar for grime MC’s, and MV Bill who lives in the City of God, Brazil (his documentary Falcao is story more people should be aware of- large up to Maga Bo on this one). All of them have wicked flows and make it a point to challenge norms plus know how to rock a party. Show them some love ya’ll

Now, I’ll admit to getting older, ornery and detached, having not owned a TV in 8 years. I still manage to enjoy the art of story telling in rhyme, slang and street context. Can you admit a large percentage of new artists out there offer very little lyrical song-writing ability and rely on good publicists to determine for the audience what’s hot? I have to believe at some point society should hold people accountable for their words and actions and at the same time strive and get to the root of our problems. As a Latino, I take it upon myself not sit idle and watch apathetically as my family and culture are brainwashed. I’m happy that Immortal Technique is doing his thing but he’s got a way too much M.O.P. in ’em for the average listener, myself included. Nobody likes Debbie Downer so I search far and wide for party-rockin music I can stand up for because, often times, that can’t afford a publicist. Challenge yourselves to create play-lists that work well on the dance-floor and balance lyrical content. You’ll find its a lot harder than keeping your eye on what everyone else is playing but infinitely more rewarding. That’s how we go ’round payola. Thank you for pushing good music forward via your blogs and the encouragement to air these ideas. –

run go tell dem come…we ready fi dem- Gex

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cotorra

COTORRA

[ko-toh-rrah]

1) Castillian word for parrot.

2) A motor-mouthed chickenhead.

3) Dominican slang for game, rap, the things one says to seduce.

see also labia or en ingles runnin’ gums

 

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Sigue El Mambo

This posting is in large part a response to Wayne&Wax‘s post on smut/slackness in dancehall music. Beat-junkie that I am, I have a far better memory for artist, title, label, BPM than lyrics. Still, I make it a priority to assess my selections and make sure that the music I play reflects my ideology. If I am to have the luxury of playing for rooms full of people I choose to at least attempt to balance fun and reason. If I really don’t agree with the content of a tune, it’s not getting air on my shift. I make it a point not to dance when I hear ‘Boom Bye Bye’ out. My own silent protests. You might remember me as the kid in class that opted not to pledge the flag but this isn’t me on soapbox-pulpit. I’m sure some of things I play and approve aren’t in someone else’s bag for various reasons. There’s plenty of fun bad-man, gun, and audio-porn dance tunes that the powers-that-be will stamp an advisory warning on and DJs will bang out this year.

But if we are to have real discourse on raw international music that promotes sexuality or violence and whether or not cautions should be taken toward audience, I think the following is a great tune to dissect.

A while back DJ/Rupture threw up a tune from Omega on the Mudd Up and mentioned this Mambo Violento movement out of the Dominican Republic. Although Omega’s band goes by the same name, Mambo Violento as a genre, is street-merengue defined mostly by hyper-rhythms, braggadocio and sexual innuendo. My first exposure to the sound was sitting in the backseat of a Dominican gypsy cab speeding home from a gig. Beyond the 200+ gabber-like BPMs what caught my ear about the compilation the driver was playing was the flagrant raunchiness of the lyrics.

Perreo is one thing but this was a whole new level of slackness in latin music. Here’s a really minimal sounding tune called ‘La Menor’ (The Minor) by El Sujeto that reminds me more of Detroit Grand Pubahs than any merengue derivative. In the tune, you’ll hear El Sujeto hitting on an underage girl, whose refrain “Es que soy menor, Es que yo no doy” translates into I’m a minor, I don’t put out. He spends the rest of the tune dando le cotorra and letting her know that her age won’t be a problem. My inner-feminist and pedophile radar blipped. Its now flagged as a don’t-play tune worth keeping in the collection for the when they book me to play at Playboy Mansion someday-

[display_podcast]

At first listen, I really liked the minimal aspect of the tune as it was recorded. It sounds like it was made low-budget shitty and smells of dirty minimal electro ala Peaches, with a side of mangu. The strange keys at the intro and the guido-like hi-hat that comes in, all so left-field from their origin yet the roots still visible at surface level. Lyrically, my concern was that the chorus was talking about having sex with a minor which falls outside my personal comfort zone. Until you find yourself in a room sitting and conversing with a questionable couple and are forced to clarify where you draw that line for yourself, I think one could easily live without processing the gravity of this. The tune isn’t insanely offensive and talks mostly about the same old: Watch the bling, I’ve got an SUV, I’m not taking any back-chat so go tell your parents I’m gonna take you back to the cabin and beat the punnany.

Take a second and picture that in the context of an adult saying it to a fourteen or fifteen year old.

In a live performance of the same tune below El Sujeto and the band bring it back to the realm of merengue, but the first thing that I notice is the LACK of back-up dancers in micro-skirts that is common in a lot of videos for the genre. The girl’s chorus from the original is also being carried by a trio of three male back up singers. All male back up singers is normal but scantily-clad women are usually in the budget for these types of performances. I could be wrong here but my intuition tells me that though there’s a chance this was filmed on a morning show with some level of humility what’s likely is the artist knows this tune is on the wire and he balanced his stage act to compensate. If thats the case, respek mi doopz, balance is good.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK0ZFXQLcEI[/youtube]

 

Behind the stage persona, I bet this guy too loves and respects his momma.

The cultural age of sexual consent varies greatly from city to town to pueblo. Your position on this is as irrelevant as my position on this tune. Thats your opinion bruv, next caller….. It makes no difference if you think its right or not, we’re two thousand plus miles and several income brackets away from that truth.

Tell a single mother in the Dominican Republic that letting her 15 year old find a husband is a bad idea when she has 4 other kids to take care of and a 24oz can of powdered milk costs 240 pesos ($1 = 33 pesos). No mother wants their daughter to marry a skeevy guy but in villages where a college education and opportunity are hurdled by real-world hunger, the decisions people make are about essentially about survival. The main concern is that said daughter finds a provider, gets married and moves out, thus continuing the cycle. There is a great deal of room for improvement of worldwide cultural norms and we could do a whole separate post on that issue, but it’s a digression from the point I’m driving at. Don’t be that fool out there playing ignan’t shit and putting on dampers.

It seems that the IN thing right now is collecting and playing out international ghetto music, and little thought seems paid to the content and meaning of the songs. I’m all about getting peoples hands up, dancing and making out at a party but if you insist on co-opting cultures please do try and have some idea of what is being said in the tune. If you don’t know anyone who speaks Portuguese, try asking your friend that speaks Spanish to break down that kuduro song for you. There is a a great depth of cross-cultural significance to be found in Tego’s lyric “los negros se entienden.”

I grew up on the island and in later years, seeing first-hand the decisions friends and family made in terms of relationships I have been forced to internally process similar issues. For instance, the story of my cousin who at age 18 dated a younger girl, moved into her mom’s house, broke up with the girl and started dating her mom in the same house where they sold ganja to feed the family and a horse. Imagine my face as he’s explaining all this sitting next to both these women and factor in his older brother dating the teenage girl before he did. He had to explain it three times for my brain to process that in rural parts of the world and even rural America, stories like this pop up far more often than some would think.

Here’s a great rendition of that same tale as captured in a Perico Ripiao recorded by Luis Quintero y su conjunto Alma Cibaena so many years ago

Luis Quintero – La Mama y La Hija

If you’re searching for more current latinoid stuff check out recent gene-pool mutation Miti Miti based in Harlem for even weirder minimal merengue business.

 

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Summer in Nueva York is gettin all kindsa caliente. Dutty Artz next dance is at Glasslands in Billyburg….. JUNE 6. If you still cant get your head around what this New York Tropical thing sounds like here’s a link to my set on WFMU’s Nickel and Dime Radio show with Mr Poquito Cambio himself….$mall Change

Radio set tracklist below for the watchers. – gex

Geko Jones live on the air session WFMU 4/29/08

Brooklyn Cumbia – Uproot Andy (unreleased)(BK)
Mateina – Frikstailers vs Lean Like a Cholo – Kilo(gexondex)(Cordoba,Cali,Rajistan)
Brooklyn Anthem-Ghis Poirier rmx -Team Shadetek (BLN, BK, T.O.) (Unreleased)
So Pa dodo- Dj 2Pekes (Angola)
El Ejen- Maki Afri-k (FRANCE??)
Almighty Father- Warrior Queen (UK)
Party in the Park (Marcus Visionary, TORONTO) (unreleased)
Boi de Cara Breta – Stereotyp ft Fefe (VIENNA, BRAZIL)
GRRR-Homeboy Sandman (dubplate) (QBoro-BK)
Grizzly- Bass Nacho (dubplate) (JA,MIA,BK)
Stamp Ya feet – Filewile Baby Chann (SWZ/UK)
Up There- Al Haca Stereotyp Daddy Freddy (Vienna)
Me mobile- Sinden and Jesse (UK)
Kunuaka- Makossa & Megablast (Vienna)
Pon Time- Stereotyp & Jahdan Blakkamoore (Vienna/Brooklyn)
Warlord’s Daughter (Max Ulis)- Lexie Lee (Vancouver/JA)
How I Ride- Baby Cham (JA)
1er Gaou -Magic System (Ivory Coast)
Merengue Mix- DJ Prako (Suriname/Netherlands)
No te Me despues mas- Tatico (Domincan Republic)
Eres Para Mi (Sonido Nacional rmx)- Julieta Venegas (MX/COLOMBIA)
Cumbia de Obama – Fosforo (Cali)
El Trompo- Electro 7 (Cuba)
He got the sound (zuzuku rmx) – Candice Cannabis
Doctors Orders (Fuego Mix)- Gregory Issacs/Funkworthy FM (dublate)
She Told Me -Noble Society- (Brooklyn)
Antillas- El Guincho (Canary Islands)

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[we keep rollin! here’s the debut post by Geko Jones, Dutty Artz vibe springer & flyspace ambassador. We’re cooking up some of his refixes for public consumption this weekend , but until then, check the words of Papa Gex — Rupture]

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=gslu9WVQBCA[/youtube]

[Te Chingo King – Do The Wetback]

I don’t remember when exactly it stopped bothering me, but being Latino in the U.S. means that at some point, some moron is gonna look you up & down and say “You’re a Mexican, right?” I by no means fit the commonly-held profile of my Mexicano bredren but in the back of my mind I brush it off on the premise that we’re gonna be the voting majority in this country in like two weeks. What I do have a problem with, however, is the standpoint that our country, which was entirely built by immigrants, has taken on its borders.

Here in the states, where we strive so hard to keep public face and remain politically correct, our administration has an apathy, if not disdain toward economic conditions south of the border and are considering funding to build a wall from Texas to Cali. Did we learn nothing from Berlin? Or better still look toward Gaza.

The Egyptian foreign minister sent a blunt message to Palestinians during a television interview being picked up by media outlets stating that “anyone daring to cross the recently re-sealed border between Egypt and Gaza will have their legs broken.” [BBC article] Imagine yourself living in a place where basic human needs and supplies are cut off by embargo except for a small trickle of goods being smuggled in by a network of underground caves. This is a complete 180 from the announcement made on Jan 24th by Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak when he told Palestinians to “come in, eat, buy food then go back- so long as you do not carry weapons”.

Living in an increasingly globalized world it’s amazing to me that despite all the law regarding crimes against humanity that no international court can find grounds to hold someone accountable for keeping 1.4 million people penned in a roughly 25×7 mile cage and denying them food, medicine and goods.

Big up all my smugglers, hustlers and I.N.S. troublers.