You know the saying about imitation and flattery? I’m sure this is what Nelly was reaching for, getting his Aries Spears on via Yay rappers. Even so, I know heads will find this track a bit disrespectful.

Me? I find it amusing. Ever since Nelly proved the highlight of his talent was impersonating LL Cool J and Whodini on VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, I really had to give it up to the guy for providing an entertaining stage show.

So the breakdown of the track: Nelly starts off first verse as Spiggity Spice 1, get’s his Todd Shaw on in the second verse, and does E-Fonzarelli on the the last verse.

What y’all think?

Nelly - Bay

*Forgot to add: track produced by Droop-E.

-Ninoy Brown

Mark will clown on the hipster-esque element of this post as it includes a group that receives an overabundant amount of attention for being Daft Punk imitators. But after watching this video (first spotted at Different Kitchen), I was so surprised by the subversive youth angst depicted, I had to mention it.

Justice hails from France, a country known predominantly for its high-brow culture and a phallic structure, but it’s also a country that has exhibited tremendous frustration from its marginalized immigrant community. The video for “Stress” recalls images from La Haine, a film I coincidentally discussed about a year ago. The banlieue is the center of much of the anger and agitation from a system that neglects, and while the angst from the youth in the video isn’t defined, the rebellious nature due to alienation can be concluded.

La Haine was compelling to me because of it’s unapologetic “fuck the police” themes, and it’s even more affecting at this moment in time because its been a week since the three cops were acquitted for their blatant disregard of Sean Bell’s life. So it’s eerily strange for me to watch a video, which I would not have expected the artist to release, a year after seeing Mathieu Kassovitz’s film.

On an unrelated note: vinyl sales on the rise??!! I guess Serato didn’t kill the purist’s preference.

-Ninoy Brown

[click flyer for larger image]

In 2 weeks:

def. Spring Fever (spring – fee-ver): n. A feeling of restlessness and/or excitement brought on by the coming of spring

We’ve got a temperature, and our Spring ’08 line-up is siiiick…Here’s a dose of what’s to come… [click here for the lineup]

Tickets are on sale now:  www.brownpapertickets.com/event/31810
*For the economic stimulus discount, enter  ”fobbdeep”  for additional price cuts! 

Make sure to roll out to each event and support the Touchblue folkers as well as the homie, Jay Perez, who is kind of a literary genius.

-Ninoy Brown

The Senate approved legislation Thursday that would increase veterans’ benefits and establish pensions for Filipinos who served alongside Americans in World War II.

The 96-1 vote sends the bill to the House, despite objections from some Republicans and President Bush. Bush has not said he would veto the bill, but the White House and some Republicans wanted to strip out the pension for Filipino veterans because they said the money was better spent on soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Supporters of the controversial provision said it would overturn a 60-year-old law to give 18,000 Filipino veterans of World War II who live abroad a roughly $300-a-month pension.

The provision is part of a broader bill that included broader benefits for other veterans as well.  While it was a pretty unanimous vote, the resistance to the provision is still there.  Now it’s on to the House of Representative and whether or not Bush will decide to veto it.  I’m hopeful.

Click here for the text of the bill.

And let’s not overlook the struggle to get the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act passed as well.

-Ninoy Brown

Caught the tour in San Jose last night. Like it shouldn’t be a surprise, but Kanye really is full of himself ain’t he?

Spoiler alert for those who plan to catch the show, don’t read on if you want to be kept surprised.

Read the rest of this entry »

Before J-Kwon, there was J-Kwan

Before you question why she looks familiar, it’s because you’re admitting to watching the cheeseball Saturday morning cartoon alternatives for adolescents during the ’90s on NBC aka TNBC. And yes, I too watched California Dreams, the show that came on after the Saved by the Bell and SBTB: The New Class, which was NBC’s futile attempt to continue to exploit a show that jumped the shark ever since they replaced Kelly and Jesse with Tori.

Kwan?  Isn’t that the girl who played Samantha ”Sam” Woo, the Hong Kong foreign exchange student, she ain’t Filipino, is she?  If she’s receiving a FOBB of the Week acknowledgement, you already know the answer to that.

As the story goes, Jennie was born Jennifer Trinidad Fernando.  Why she changed her name to Jennie Kwan, I can’t back up my claim, but I would like to ascribe such a decision to the lack of awareness in Hollywood to what Filipino was at the time.   I’m sure the unawareness still exists today.  But in the entertainment industry, if you don’t fall into a box, you’re only chance might be to play Buzz, Fez, or Balkie.  Jennie chose to fit in a box and assume a Chinese role.  Problematic?  Yes.  Jennie’s fault? I say no.

So Jennie joined a cast of lip synching surf dudes with attitude.  We were given the opportunity to see the writers pair Sam with Tony, the African-American drummer, and create a show filled a plethora of multi-cultural kumbaya premises.

Catch a notable clip from an episode called “Year of the Woo”, in which Sam “sings” a song called “Mama Said”:

I don’t remember this episode much, but from what I gather, I sense, “but ma”’s and Chinese generational issues in the mix.  Feel free to discuss the “oriental” theme in the backdrop of the performance.

Where is she now?  Ate [1] Jennie is still doing her thing, popping up as the voice of Suki on the cartoon Avatar and in Las Vegas rockin’ it on live stage for “Avenue Q”.

Much love, Jennie. We don’t hate you for your name change, but we do resent the system that placed you in that position.

[1] pronounced “ah-teh” for the non Filipino readers

***Missed this from last week, but honorable mention goes out to Jose Antonio Vargas for his Pulitzer Prize win in the breaking news category. Along with a team of reporters from the Washington Post, Jose wrote stories covering the Virginia Tech massacres. Did I mention he’s an SF State graduate? Gators stand up.

-Ninoy Brown

For me at least.

I won’t be able to catch the Heart of the City tour, but I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since I caught the Touch the Sky tour, so it’s all good.

More Glow in the Dark Tour teaser pics here. (by way of Eskay)

Apparently there’s holograms, crazy illuminating lights, flying Delorians, silver back gorillas fighting grizzly bears, teleportation devices, an on-stage re-creation of an atomic explosion, and a dude in a fuzzy animal costume… Probably not all those, but I can guarantee at least two of those items.

Btw, Hip-Hop/scratch junkies, what’s the sentiment on Kanye’s choice of DJ Craze replacing A-Trak?

-Ninoy Brown

You all know that website Stuff White People Like right? Well, apparently I must be mestizo or something because I get totally amped up about half of all those things on there. (Kinda confusing when high school sociology “scholars” were telling me that I was “trying to be Black.”) 

While I can’t argue against the notion that white people like hella shit, what’s great about that website is that it exposed the various ways in which likeness-by-whiteness is extremely differential. My profound shit will now be explained in the form of a list….

Stuff Filipino People Love but White People Don’t

1. Every food at Filipino restaurants that is not Pancit, Lumpia, or BBQ

Dear white people, I love that you’re taking a chance with our crazy food. But, I’m taking mental notes every time I see you order and I’m telepathically daring you to try some of the less photogenic dishes.

2. A nightclub with too many Asians

White people write memos. My guess is that these memos include a detailed map of ethnically heavy socializing zones. ‘Ever go to Dave and Buster’s on a non-Asian night? Straight up Twilight Zone.

3. Bay Area Cha-Cha

Its no secret that white people love dances that follow steps (hokey pokey = Soldier Boy). Bay Area Cha-Cha is what blasphemy is to ballroom dance. Don’t expect Romell to be teaching diamond techniques on the next season of So You Think You Can Dance.

4. Thugs

There’s definitely some kind of refined aesthetic to thug appeal that’s parallel to wine tasting. One qualifying characteristic is the quality of baldness at which accentuates defiance of the eurocentric hegemony of the Jesse Katsopolis or the AZN high-fade (exception to JC Chasez).

That’s all for now. Future Assimilation Persuasion posts will include the following… 

Annoyingly bad drama
Taking shoes off before entering a home
Baby cologne on grown-ass people
Saying goodbye to every person before leaving a room
Trans fat
Laughing loudly
Bootleg designer clothes and accessories
Returning items
Not using a dishwasher
Representing your area code (510!)
Solids in dessert drinks
Wearing sneakers at formal events

-Mark

Everyone in the city seems jovial. Shit… if this is what global warming feels like, I don’t know if I’m all that hyped on alternative energy. Or that is until we see the polar ice caps melt, massive hurricanes, typhoons, droughts, and the displacement of billions of people.

So as a treat on this lovely Saturday, the latest from SF underground legends, Bored Stiff, with a video for my favorite track off of From the Ground Up, “Livin’ Right”:

-Ninoy Brown

Our kababayans in the Philippines don’t.

The Philippines is one of the world’s largest rice importers and the government is striving to avoid shortages as worldwide concern grows about sharp increases in food prices.

Cleaver said that “in some 33 countries there is now civil disturbance, food riots caused by food shortages and higher prices. This is one of the subjects we discussed.”

Analysts have warned that higher prices could trigger unrest in the Philippines, following rioting in countries such as Haiti and Egypt.

Cleaver said people were suffering because the “price of rice and food has increased and we discussed a little bit what to do about that,” adding he and Arroyo had agreed the solution was to ramp up production.

As a Filipino living in America, and even as a broke grad student, I often take it for granted that I have the privilege of having rice readily available.  Rice is a huge staple to the Philippines, and for a great portion of the world, and with a shortage in existence it sparks distress for the people as not having a bowl can mean hunger or death.

I’m reading about this across the Pacific, so it’s harder to fathom the hardship and even the complexity of the matter in geo-political scheme.  But, I do wonder what effects monopolization of the land by a handful of few powerful families has had on this situation?  How can it be that a country known for it’s rice terraces can be the largest importer of rice?

While the government is placing the blame on hoarders for the rice crisis, deeper institutional problems must be looked at to fully grasp what is currently taking place.

From PinoyPress:  Breaking Monopolies, Reversing Liberalization Can End Rice Crisis in the Philippines

-Ninoy Brown