PlayStation just recently dropped the Traxxpad, a game that turns the PSP into a portable drum machine. They got at Zion I, FAB, and Lyrics Born for a short commercial:

In other Bay video news, Trunk Boiz finished up what I guess is the “final version” of the “Scraper Bike” video. Shit still looks pretty much the same as the old video, but with a few additions here and there. Still low budget, but it still go:

-Ninoy Brown

Pooh and ‘Tay channel the spirit of Hip-Hop duos past: Eric and Parrish

Little Broham - Good Clothes

2 years ago, much hype (whether it was deserved can be debated) surrounded the release of the release of The Minstrel Show. After Black Entertainment Television came out telling everybody that the group was “too intelligent for their audience”, Phonte saying their brand of Hip-Hop was too smart for some Black people, the Hip-Hop bloggery responding to ‘Tay, philosophical differences leading to a split with Atlantic, and 9th Wonder throwing up the deuces, a betting person would have taken the signs and would have folded on Little Brother months ago.

Yet the one of the most overhyped, though underrated (conundrum, no?), Hip-Hop groups has demonstrated that they can still make that golden sound that appealed to many longing for the days before Puff. But without the magic of 9th, what does a group do? Do as Lupe and enlist a Filipino-American cat. But instead of Soundtrakk, call up a cat named Illmind. Hailing from the Garden State, the Illmind has made his way onto the G-G-G-G-Unot label (won’t be held against him) after shining with his participation in Beat Society. Look out for this guy and what may be a promising new Little Brother album.

-Ninoy Brown

Danah Boyd on the socio-economic split between Myspace and Facebook:

The goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, or other “good” kids are now going to Facebook. These kids tend to come from families who emphasize education and going to college. They are part of what we’d call hegemonic society. They are primarily white, but not exclusively. They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities.

MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, “burnouts,” “alternative kids,” “art fags,” punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn’t play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm. These are kids whose parents didn’t go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school. These are the teens who plan to go into the military immediately after schools. Teens who are really into music or in a band are also on MySpace. MySpace has most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers.

Read her entire piece: “Viewing American Class Divisions Through Facebook and Myspace”

Clearly coming from a white-liberal lens, but interesting nonetheless.

-Ninoy Brown

Lately, Hip-Hop has been receiving quite a bit of coverage from the mainstream media. For the most part it’s been hyper negative, with vast generalizations made about the culture and it’s artists [1]. Case in point: Sean Hannity doing the usual and calling out politicians who get financial support from the “We-Tang Clan” (via Krish).

Though, amidst all these bullshit stories, at times we do get stories that are actually worthwhile reading and tuning into such as when Eric K. Arnold points out that Hyphy ain’t dead [2].

But even with the Bay gettin’ proper coverage, we nevertheless keep seeing fools that deserve to get mollywhopped: 101 uses for Mac Dre’s Head Stone. Cold blooded.

I mentioned my new found appreciation for the fresh dance moves coming out of Harlem, but as SFJ shows us, within what seemed like a pot of fun and celebration was some beef stew.

Since I’m on the topic of talking about previous posts, I might as well point out that Mark’s sappy post about the demise of hiphopmusic.com just ended up being a case of Just Blaaaaze and Jay Smooth co-conspiring. But make sure to add Illdoctrine.com to your blogroll to keep up on Jay’s flavor filled video blogs.

And, If you haven’t been tuning into NPR this month, you’ve been missing some thought provoking coverage on Hip-Hop. News & Notes correspondent Farai Chideya has been killing it with her month long look at Hip-Hop in the World. Luckily for you and me, there are archived podcasts of the shows. And even more props on Farai for stylin on Russel.

[1] You know, like how it’s been represented since it’s inception.

[2] We already knew that though, we just stay critical with our optimism.

-Ninoy Brown

Folks who know me, know that I like to stay up on the latest regional Hip-Hop dance trends poppin’ off. I may or may not have been the first to walk it out or chicken noodle soup it in Sandy Eggo, but I did do my part to help introduce it into this Wednesday dollar you-call-it bar in Mission Gorge that was one of the few spots that consistently played hyphy in SD.

Just recently, I was introduced to the latest dance by way of Harlem called the “Aunt Jackie”. It’s somewhat of an off-shoot of the chicken noodle soup, with more of a Fresh Prince/Kid n’ Play twist.

The song which serves to be the main medium to express the dance is entitled, what else, but “Aunt Jackie”, brought to us in part by Jason Fox and the Hood Presidents. Jason Fox has recently been signed by Jermaine Dupri, but I won’t hold it against him. The influence of the late eighties/early nineties revivalism is felt strongly with the dance and the song, as it incorporates the fun and leaves out the unneeded studio gangster aesthetic, elements I miss nowadays.

For some wack reason, the flash plugin that we installed in our WordPress application won’t let us embed DailyMotion video clips, but once someone uploads it onto YouTube, I’ll post it. Until then, click here to watch the complete video.

And if you’re like me and want to perfect your “Aunt Jackie”, YouTube has hella clips of cats from Harlem showing us the dance that they’ve already been doing for a couple months now.

-Ninoy Brown

Don Herbert dies of cancer at age 89

I know I’m not the only 80’s baby that learned more from one episode of Mr. Wizard’s World than from any public school science class.

-Ninoy Brown

The cus cus, DJ Predakon shot me his little remix of one of the bright spots from PSD, Keak, and Messy Marvin’s collaborative album, Da Bidness. “Cus Cus” (not couscous) was a bangin’ slumper from 2006 brought to us in part by three kings of the Bay, PSD, Keak, and Messy Marvin. Predakon replaced Droop-E’s trunk rattling backdrop for a beat with a hipster club vibe. Enjoy:

PSD, Keak da Sneak, & Messy Marv - Cus Cus (Predakon remix)

Unrelated [1]:

Happy Philippine Independence Day! Let’s remember the day that never really was.

[1]Though some do mistake Predakon for being “Illipino” ©Nump Trump

-Ninoy Brown

I haven’t been keeping track of my own stats, but if I were to estimate I’d say that 7 times out of 10, whenever politics enters a Catholic priests homily during a mass I’m attending, my blood begins to boil more than a little bit. For the most part, homilies tend to be highly sexist, homophobic, and jingoistic. Verses in the Bible are used to reflect a need for the support of conservative legislation, decrying liberal ideals.

Of course every now and then, the priest might delve into the Sermon on the Mount or other Bible reading and discuss its connection with the need for peace and justice. These homilies often reflect a more liberation theology ideal of how to interpret the Bible, and when I am given the opportunity to hear it in a mass I’m attending, I often get overcome with the desire to clench my fist and raise it up in church. Today’s homily was one of those homilies.

The mass today marked the celebration of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. For those that aren’t Catholic or those that are Catholic but don’t pay attention to what goes on in church, this is the day when we, Catholics, celebrate our cannibal and vampirical nature during the weekly ritual of eating Jesus and drinking his blood. Protestants got nathan’ on us, we’re savage when it comes to our devotion and faith.

But what made today’s mass at Sacred Heart Church eventful was when Stockton Diocese Bishop, Stephen E. Blair took the mic and straight ripped it. When the bishop said his piece about the need for the reformation of immigration legislation, in Republicanville aka Turlock, Califas, it brought a smile to my social justice seeking ass. The Bishop, not to be confused with Tupac’s character from Juice, slammed the failed attempts of Congress to begin legislative immigration reform, slammed the building of a wall to keep immigrants out of America’s borders, and slammed the unrecognized work of immigrants by a majority of America’s citizenry. These are the passionate words of equality and justice that are so often missing from most Catholic masses that I attend. It almost made me want to run up to the Pope and give him daps.

What made this homily even that much more poignant was the fact that it was said in a region known for its extensive Conservative politics. Turlock is nestled in California’s Central Valley (known to be the state’s own Bible belt) and it’s voting block tends to lean on the reactionary side. Ironically, the region also contains more than its fair share of undocumented immigrants working the farms that feed the rest of America. I could sense many around me shifting uncomfortably as their conservative and xenophobic political views were being described as contradictory to the social justice ideals of the Catholic Church. It felt good to get the sense that the Church is on my side for once.

From what was said by the bishop, immigration was the designated topic and theme for all masses in California during the Celebration of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. So I’m sure (or I hope) Catholics in other churches will receive the same type of pro-immigration homily that I heard. I know other dioceses have received flack for their aid to undocumented immigrants, such as in Los Angeles. Let us hope that a more proactive Catholic role will begin to take place in regards to supporting progressive immigration reform.

***Update: Catholic Charities USA calling for just immigration reform

-Ninoy Brown

80 Blocks from Tiffany’s is a documentary by Gary Weis about New York City street gangs, the Savage Skulls and the Savage Nomads from the 1970’s. Gangs drenched in fits that are reminiscent of the gear rocked by some of the crews from The Warriors and holding onto the mission of protecting the community. This documentary is a social history on Hip-Hop’s roots, showing a side of New York that was hardly reflected in the mainstream at the time.

Make sure to watch it before it gets pulled:

Check out the other parts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Good lookin’ on the homie Mad the Villain [1] letting me know that YouTube had this up.

Percee P used clips from the documentary to create a dope collage of a video for his track “Put it On the Line”: Watch the video.

And if you haven’t already done so, make sure to read Jeff Chang’s interviews with the Ghetto Brothers, Benjamin Melendez and Carlo Suarez.

[1]A cat you might be seeing more of in the near future, along with another addition to the Feared Brown Bloggin’ crew.

-Ninoy Brown