[Music] Hip Hop & You - Exciting News

Ok, so we'll play a little game. I'm going to list off some names and I want you to just consciously think about your initial reaction.

Lordikim Allah, Almighty Thor, Mann Child, Big Daddy Kane, Hedonis Da Amazon, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes... Grandmaster Flash... that's right Grandmaster Flash.

So, most of you kids my age and younger will be all "Grandmasta WHO?" I just ask WHEN?



Ok, enough of the playfulness: Grandmaster Flash is going to release a new album for the first time in about two decades (a little more, actually). Now, it's not his only WORK for that time, but it's been a long time since he released his own album.

The names listed above are just some of the people that will be featured on his new album to be released next Spring titled The Bridge: A Concept of A Culture.

The track listing that seems to be floating around the net is pretty much spot on with eachother. I'd venture a guess that it's accurate, at least for now. :)

1. Welcome
2. Shine All Day (Feat. Q-Tip, Jumz, & Kel Spencer)
3. We Speak Hip Hop (Feat. KRS-One, Afasi, Kase-O, Maccho, Abass)
4. Here Comes My DJ (Feat. DJ Kool & DJ Demo)
5. Bounce Back (Feat. Busta Rhymes)
6. Swagger (Feat. Red Café, Snoop Dogg & Lynn Carter)
7. What If (Feat. KRS-One)
8. Unanswered (Interlude)”
9. Tribute To The Breakdancer (Feat. MC Supernatural)
10. Grown & Sexy (Feat. Mr. Cheeks)
11. When I Get There (feat. Big Daddy Kane & Hedonis Da Amazon)
12. Connection (Interlude)
13. I Got Sumthin’ To Say (Feat. Lordikim, J-Flo & Almighty Thor)
14. Can I Take You Higher (Feat. Mr. Cheeks, Granmaster Caz & Tito)
15. Unpredictable (Feat. Syndee & Big Daddy Kane)
16. Those Chix (Feat. Byata, Princess Superstar & Hedonis Da Amazon)
17. Bronx Bombers (Feat. Lordikim, Almighty Thor & Mann Child)
18. Zuka The Sound (Interlude)
19. Oh Man (Feat. Syndee & Natacha Atlas)

Now this could do one of two things: It could either a) turn out to be similar to the other Old School hip hop artists that basically released a new album with similar sounds to today's music and almost none of the life and vigor that made them popular back in the day or b) it could put the hip hop industry into the timewarp and we might get some really cool, Old School authentic music (which is what I hope)...

My hopes? Let's do the time warp...

It's just a jump to the left
And then a step to the right
Put your hands on your hips
You bring your knees in tight
But it's the pelvic thrust
That really drives you insane
Let's do the time warp again!
Let's do the time warp again!

Sorry. Had to do it. Love the movie and the theatre show. ;)

Anyways, spread the news and spread the love. Grandmaster Flash is a living legend. Those of you youngsters that still have no clue who the hell I'm talking about, you might recognize the song from the video below as a soundtrack to the video game Thrasher Presents : Skate and Destroy.

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five ft. Melle Mel : White Lines


If you want to hear an interesting cover of White Lines, Duran Duran did one that is actually pretty good. You just have to remember the time that it was made. :D

Enjoy. I always smile when I hear GMF's old music. Hopefully his new music will make me feel the same.

Take care.

[Society] Auto-Industry Bailout? No thank you.

Ok, so here's the next topic of discussion for me... The auto-industry bailout...

I'd find it very interesting to see the government tell the auto-industry to get bent. Really. We all saw how the "insurance bailout" went. The companies didn't even so much as thank the citizens who would be footing the bill and proceeded to spend grossly and without conscience. Do we really believe that hundred year old companies could have put themselves into these dire situations simply through the greed of a few men? Henry Ford would be rolling in his grave if he could.

The idea of capitalism is something that we all have been programmed to love. Open, free market where the best product wins. Unfortunately, the companies that provide the bulk of the products we were purchasing created sub-par devices in countries other than ours and then shipped the parts/completed items back to the US to sell. Don't believe that? Go do some research on where Ford's vehicles are put together. You'll see it all too clearly.

If we believe in capitalism so much, WHY are we bailing out companies that aren't surviving the Survival of the Fittest mentality that IS capitalism? WHY are we giving tens and hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars to the large corporations that have raped our people of their money for hundreds of combined years? I say let them fall. Let them fall and let us get new companies (remember when Saturn first started? No one would buy their cars and they had to give incentives to the first few generations of owners such as replacing the older car with a newer one for VERY cheap... now they sell as normal. The same idea with Kia, though they used different tactics.) that actually give a shit about what we think, what we want and what we need.

Don't believe in that? Then you don't believe in capitalism and free trade/market. The "Mom-n-Pop" stores have stayed open because they have a loyal following of regular customers as well as (mostly) honesty, friendliness and most importantly CUSTOMER APPRECIATION. They APPRECIATE their customers. They are not numbers. They are not "just another face." They are customers that the owners, and the employees as a whole, treat as though they were regulars in their store SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY APPRECIATE THEM. Why not go and ask around about how many people felt important the last time they were approached by a car salesman. Or the last time they went to a corporate office for their insurance company and didn't feel out of place. I don't mean that large corporations do not treat their customers well... They just do NOT appreciate that the 16,000 dollars the young couple spent on their new bottom of the line car was a HUGE investment to that person. That they took a risk on the company in trusting that their product would be GOOD for them and in THEIR best interest. Unfortunately that isn't the case.

I say let the Ford and Chrystler companies figure their financial problems out on their own. They have spent the last hundred years (slightly less, I know) gouging the rest of us for products that we HAVE to have in order to live (ever try walking 2-4 miles to work each day? or perhaps taking the bus in a large, crowded city? Very few public transit systems are as efficient as the NY subway system.). It used to be that you could get a decent car for 16k. Now you are looking at getting financed for 40k for the same damned car model with accessories. I know, I know, "inflation." Inflation doesn't triple the cost of a product within 10 years as a whole from what I can tell (of course, I'm not an economist... I'm just calling it like I see it.).

Anyways, just thought that I'd touch that topic as it is something that I'm sure many of us are thinking but don't want to say aloud. I say stop being afraid of talking. Talking is simply conveying opinion and belief... We shouldn't be afraid to talk. And we shouldn't be afraid of others talking... but that's a topic for another day.

Take Care.