Movado took a loss, evidently, and looked quite “wounded” in the post-clash interviews but that’s not going to slow him down.  Arguably, the biggest dancehall star in the world at the moment, thanks to Hot 97 and his mega-popular hit song “So Special” – video below.  He lives in a futuristic city, drives a lamborghini, sleeps and wakes up with beautiful women, not to forget the alcohol and good smoke– you know, all of the things suitable for a dancehall reggae superstar’s life.

On another note – I was talking to a vendor who has been sold out of the Sting 2008 DVDs for weeks. She’s at the intersection of Fulton and Nostrand in Bed-Stuy, so one can only imagine how fast those DVDs move.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cq2N9rllpo[/youtube]

is what I typed into YouTube and found these. Spoek Mathambo’s mix a while ago inspired me to go and look for some of this weird slow house that they make in South Africa. Some of it is really cool, and the videos are great. Like this one:

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

And you can’t go wrong sampling Yo Yo Ma:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPVuSpjB8YI[/youtube]

In my mind I think of this as snaredrum house, because of the snare patterns, which people often say ‘soca’ to talk about it. This really doesn’t sound like soca at all but it DOES sound a lot like what they’re calling Funky in London, especially the beats. Anyway I like it. I feel like the recent changes in house have made it a lot more interesting and fun and I might now go and try to make some, we’ll see. I almost never work at 120bpm which is kinda what makes it appealing to me.

And WTF is this?:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duf2WKr23ug[/youtube]

Ricky Blaze, BK Autotune dancehall techno pop don goes in with the help of Harlem’s current pitch-corrected ambassador Ron Browz and Nicky Minaj who you might remember from a while back in these pages.

Ricky Blaze – Feel Free ft. Ron Browz, Red Cafe, Nicky Minaj

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nJeb-mglBY[/youtube]

And apparently he’s been listening to bmore, or something. Chelley is on Blaze’s label Fire Unit Music Group and I’m assuming he produced this.

Chelley – Took The Night

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWdqN8luXpw[/youtube]

Former backup dancer for Brenda Fassie and Kwaito pioneer Arthur Mafokate asked in a two page document “am I the king of Kwaito?” He allegedly proceeded to answer the question and justify his position as king of the South African dance music. That document is nowhere to be found.  Check this interview from ’03. “Oyi Oyi” is one of his big hits from the late 90s.  I found it on South African Rhythm Riot: The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume 6, which also contains some classic Brenda Fassie tracks.

Arthur – Oyi Oyi
[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/Arthur-OyiOyi.mp3]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PwH1U5s6bU[/youtube]

The days between Xmas and New Year’s are good days, always.  Here in Alexandria, VA, I went to a naming ceremony (Sierra Leonean/Islamic style, culture and religion) for one of my uncle’s children, a beautiful baby girl named Fatima, which is the name of her great grandmother.

Sierra Leoneans are party people (okay, maybe not as much as Jamaicans, but nevertheless Salone people party hard too) so after all the formalities with the imam, the old men and women, the soundsystem was turned on, & the disc in the system Best Of Africa, Vol. 1 – a fantastic party compilation, containing a series of mini-mixes plus a few original songs by one Sierra Leonean artist, whose name is shouted, reverberated, and unclear.  The CD booklet and case are nowhere to be found, but from what I can make out (and I might be completely wrong here), the DJ is Ousmane Sayyid and the singer is Succulent The Bug.  Here’s the opening mix, with the first/title track performed by Succulent.

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/TumbaMix.mp3]
Tumba Mix

And in fact, my love for you is like a water with many fishes…

The comp is buyable here.

Look below for  Sierra Leone autotune tumba worship music (via youtube)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3K8BM8BkXE[/youtube]

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

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwu49rAVsE&e[/youtube]

Rupture will be back in NY soon but for those who miss him, check out this ‘mini-documentary’ from the industrious and praiseworthy Maga Bo. Jace talking about life in NYC, Sunset Park, Brooklyn where much of the DA crew lives, how NY has “no quality of life” (true), music, cultural density and about always being late. Short and sweet Bo has done a bunch of these, on his YouTube page. Worth checking out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yazG1hKuCww[/youtube]If you live in a major metropolitan area, you’ve probably seen these shirts, with the big STOP SNITCHING graphic on them. In the video above, taken from the Criminals Gone Wild DVD series, we hear a masked self-professed criminal commenting on Dipset rapper Cam’ron’s interview with Anderson Cooper where they discuss the subject of police cooperation and whether Cam would snitch on a serial killer next door. Saying he would move and not tell anyone Cam seems to be taking the whole stop snitching ethos to a ridiculous extreme.

The moral code of not snitching arose as a response to the divide and conquer techniques of white slave holders. By rewarding slaves for snitching on one another the masters were able to ensure that slaves remained divided from one another and would never be able to trust one another enough to organize and revolt. If you can’t tell your fellow oppressed people about your plan to overthrow the bosses for fear that they’ll tell on you then you will never be able to build a group insurrection to overthrow them or take revenge.

Katt William’s in a fairly recent comedy routine decried Lil’ Kim’s going to prison for as he says “NOT snitching, something your MAMA ALWAYS TOLD YOU TO DO!” The fact that a culture of not-informing arose in response to a coordinated program of divide and conquer, setting the oppressed against one another is completely un-surprising and makes perfect sense.

That that would be incorporated into a criminal code also makes very obvious sense. Criminals do not have recourse to the law to settle their disputes and therefore often need to police themselves and those around them, often through violence. Indeed, as the masked man in the video points out, if you are not going to snitch on the serial killer then you have a moral responsibility to as he says “get your boys and go deal with him”. But as he also points out, if you are not a criminal, this shit does not apply to you.

Taken to the furthest extremes, basically, of never cooperating with the police for any reason, as Cam’ron seems to propose with his serial killer comments, reflects a completely amoral view, basically that none of us have any responsibility to anyone but ourselves. In truth, this is not at all surprising considering Cam’ron is one of the major proponents of crack rap, a genre that unrepentantly glamorizes selling drugs in your community and basically reflects a sociopathic and completely self-involved ‘everyone for himself’ attitude. The fact that Cam’ron is being given a lesson on ethics by a masked, self-professed violent criminal on a DVD that advertises among it’s features “assaults, shootings, drivebys, rape, getaways, carjackings, setups, drug spot robberies, home invasions, deadly retaliations, interviews, and more!!!” (from their youtube description) should give all his fans and knee-jerk “stop snitching” advocates something to think about.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUT1WgHat6I[/youtube]

Yes we did. Oh yes we did America.

I was riding over the bridge this morning on the subway and saw the American flag on top of the Brooklyn Bridge and felt different.

My sister quoted to me a great statement from President Elect Barack Hussein Obama, during the campaign. To paraphrase, she said that someone had asked him who Dr. King would have endorsed in this election. And he said that Dr. King wouldn’t have endorsed anyone, he would have put together a movement to pressure whoever took power. I agree. As Barack said, this is not the change that we have been waiting for, but an opportunity for it.

And yes I’m sure all my radical friends will have many things to say to deflate some of our euphoria at this. But to see Obama carry Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico… The southern states alone, for a black candidate for the most powerful office in the land to win in the former confederacy, with many individuals who sat in at lunch counters, rode buses and faced death against segregation and jim crow looking on, in their lifetimes, the mind just boggles. John Lewis was on MSNBC talking right after the win and he just looked, for lack of a better word, thunder-struck. Having not lived through those times I can only imagine what it must mean to have experienced the segregated south first hand, and then watch pieces of it vote for a black president.

“I just don’t know how to express myself.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo-ijYnzn1w[/youtube]

And make no mistake about it, it was NOT the black vote which elected President Elect Obama (I just love writing that). There are not enough black people in this country to do it. Millions of white voters looked at him and saw, if not themselves, someone they could trust with their security, prosperity and future. Even if we call it purely symbolic, it is a massive, awesome event.

And I’ll put on my critical hat, and watch every move he makes to see if he fulfills his tremendous promise, tomorrow. But today…. Man. I’m so happy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QIGJTHdH50[/youtube]

Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO talking about racism in the context of this election. Just watch it.

This goes to a point that I don’t have time to talk about enough which I feel that a lot of people miss: a huge amount of the evil that is done and called racism is actually about class, rich people oppressing poor people and using any issue they can to keep people from recognizing that.

I feel like Race In America, as much as it shouldn’t be marginalized or ignored, is really a smoke screen for class warfare advocated for and perpetrated by people like the Republican party. I feel that the biggest differences are not between me and a black friend who grew up comfortable (aka rich in the eyes of 97% of the world), with two parents and access to education and resources, like me. I feel the gap is much greater between myself and someone who grew up in a much rougher situation, without all of those things and the outlook that arises out of that, whatever race they are.

Those gaps, the differences, are the cracks that racism grows in, along with the fear and resentment that arises when people fail to understand one another. When these differences are watered and fertilized and nursed and encouraged by people like Sarah Palin, trying to turn Barack into the ‘frightening other’ the ‘socialist’ the ‘muslim’ who ‘isn’t a real American’ all that she is trying to do is continue the familiar tactics of divide and conquer, to keep the have-nots at one another’s throats while the haves consolidate their wealth and power. The Republican’s are very, very explicit about this, with their policies of trickle down economics (table scraps anyone?) and belief that the free market will take care of everyone (everyone who matters anyway) and it is only through the use of things like racism that they are able to keep poor people divided enough to believe that someone like John McCain or Sarah Palin is on their side, one of them, with their best interests in mind.

We’re 32 hours out from the first polls closing. I’m confident but also deeply impatient. I was talking about some music business with someone on the phone last night and he said “We could meet Tuesday night?” I told him “I am not gonna be anywhere besides on the edge of my mom’s couch in front of the TV until Barack wins this fucking thing.”

It’s super-realness time America. God save us if he doesn’t win.

Did you notice how cool Barack was in the last debate? Have you notice how much gray hair has popped out of Barack’s head over the course of his campaign? Is Barack able to be himself? Can you really even get angry while in fear of being angry?

In that same/last debate, did you also notice how John McCain was blinking about a hundred thousand times a minute? Did you see the bulge in his neck? He was visibly upset, and you can tell by the way he was interrupting Barack and by his jagged responses.  Did you also notice in the second debate when McCain referred to Obama as “that one”? All Barack could do was just smile (and you know that somewhere in his bones, he would like to say that “this is some BS”.)

Anger is a natural emotion, but if you are black, Latino, a person of color, there’s no space in these United States for you to be angry.  It has taken me years to understand that as a black person, it is not acceptable to be angry in America.  People will be terrified of you, but this is not about me, (I am still angry and trying to realize the difference between proactive anger and reaction anger) this is about Brother Barack.

I pray that Our Beloved Brother Barack has some outlet.  I pray that he and Sister Michelle have some private conversations about black stress and internalized racism.  Black stress and internalized racism can lead to heart attacks and high blood pressure. I hear that he’s smoking again, that can only accelerate the process.

*
J. Edgar Hoover (FBI Director for a very long time) constantly referred to black people, specifically civil rights leaders (including MLK) as communists or socialists. In the last few days, McCain’s criticisms of Obama’s economic/tax policies of “spreading the wealth” as socialism echo those old attacks and accusations of black leaders.  That is racist and hypocritical, after McCain voted for the use of government funds to bail out Wall St.

*

Here’s what inspired this post… Brand new DB!

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/DavidBanner-WhenYouHearWhatIGotToSay.mp3]
David Banner – When You Hear What I Got To Say


David Banner talks Election ’08 with DJ Hyphen from DJ Hyphen on Vimeo.

*

Tim Wise should not be one of the few white people in America who talk consistently about white privilege, but he is.

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

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFSVG7jRp_g[/youtube]

Imagine this, in a few weeks we may have a president who can comment intelligently on Jay-Z’s ‘American Gangster’, materialism in hip-hop and use slang like “Be down” and “Keep it real” without sounding ridiculous. It is a strange and amazing moment in America. Hip-hop generation indeed.

In nine days I think we’ll start talking a little more about non-political matters and more about music, etc but for now pre-election mania continues.

Also, for those that aren’t following. As it stands now Obama is kicking McCain’s ass! The Republicans may lose control of all branches of government in a historic rout. They’ve already formed the circular firing squad and started blaming each other for a loss that hasn’t happened yet. And a pet-peeve: I’m sick of people saying “I hope it happens but I’m not gonna be over confident”. You know what? If you care at all you know you will be utterly devastated if Barack doesn’t win. Go all in, we’re past that point.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PI1CEniLIk[/youtube]

General Steele of the Cocoa Brovas (formerly Smif n Wessun, if you don’t know look ’em up) recorded this tune over a Kanye beat expressing his thoughts about Obama’s candidacy, with Dutty Artz crew member Jahdan singing the chorus. Jahdan and Steele are longtime collaborators going all the way back to the Smif n Wessun classic ‘Sound Bwoy Buriel’, viewable below. I’ve been meaning to write a longer post about some of the things that have been great and inspirational about Obama’s candidacy. The fact that he inspires both people like Steele, Colin Powell and David Brooks to speak highly of him is a pretty crazy starting point. This guy inspires people across party lines and levels of interest in politics. I’ve met tons of people who previously didn’t give a damn about politics who have become engaged, interested and motivated because of Obama’s run. The other details which help us understand this, in a quick list, are:

1) The incredible level of skill and competency he’s shown in running his campaign. His current 11 point lead in the polls (Gallup) and incredible fundraising advantage based on small, internet based donations from voters, not corporations or lobbyists are good examples here.

2) His application of an organizing type model to the structure of his campaign. Basically by trusting volunteers to run the campaign skillfully and focusing campaign money on training people rather than paying operatives he’s created an unprecedented, incredible grassroots ground team that I think will change the way electoral politics is played. To use a cliche he’s applied the ‘give a man a fish/teach a man to fish’ saying to politics and struck political gold.

3) He’s very, very smart and talented. He can speak, write, talk policy and do it in a way that people can relate to and understand. I read his book “Dreams from my Father” and it’s great. If you are on the fence about him, have some questions, etc, READ THIS. It was written before his career in politics and it shows. It’s a very honest, thoughtful, often painful account of his early years and is an absolutely unique American story.

Steele says:

One day I was inspired to do this song.I know alot of people have their opinion about the whole election especially Obama.No I do not look at him as the savior of the “black” race.I thinkhe does represent the potential of “black” people.So I say he is a positive role model win or lose.Say what you want to as you sit on the sideline of life…Get up and Live(qoute from Nesta).This is a Kanye track that he gave Weezy,and Cynical surfed for the images,and my boy Jahdan(Noble Society)is on the Hook,and Mantecha on background vox.It’s all expression.

Sound Bwoy Buriel video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSBxSPr0A_g[/youtube]