MLK Jr. DAY: Raising Arizona

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Hope all is well with you and yours.

I know I posted it a while back in the Gunday Monday post…but this holiday, along with the absurdity that is still being perpetuated through the framework of this body called America, beckons a repeat showing.

On the quick, overtly political, not-so-positive vibe, I’d like to give a special FUCK YOU shout out to Senator John McCain and former Arizona Governors Evan Mecham and Fife Symington III for their long-time opposition to the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday.  It took Arizona (and New Hampshire) about 9 years to get it through their thick skulls.  No applause needed…

Now watch.


Public Enemy “By The Time I Get To Arizona”

Kids, I’m sad to say that most of your beloved gun-wielding Hip Hop DVD heroes wouldn’t dare make a video this tough and confrontational. For some, it would be for fear of industry/media backlash…for most, it would be more about a general lack of intelligence to conjure up anything that isn’t downright insulting to human senses.

Here’s to a better decade, 2010: Involuntary Stage Diving 101

Let’s hope for a bullet in the head to some of the bullshit we’ve had to endure (mentally, audibly, visually, socially, emotionally, etc.)…not just in ’09…but for the last handful of years, at least.

Generally speaking, I have nothing against a guy/gal making his/her money…but c’mon b…some of the shit I get passed over to me is just way too suspect (since when was it cool for a rapper of any sex to adopt and utilize the same Internet vernacular bi-product as a 13 year-old girl would in a “text” to her fellow mall venturing, equally xenophobic “BFF”…”OMG”…”LOL”…damn anyone who says that shit in a rhyme…I don’t care how elitist and embittered this sounds…DAMN all of that)!

Anyone remember PM Dawn? Remember what happened to them for being on some cornball shit and disrespecting some noteworthy Hip Hop cats (namely KRS-One, Public Enemy, and Ice Cube) in an interview that was then slathered across the pages of a larger scale publication? Dres of Black Sheep revisits and explains…

Let’s also hear what Public Enemy had to say in ’92…Milli Vanilli caught some verbal beats as well…but take note on how Chuck and the gang then flip it by shouting out the names of their fellow rap compatriots to elevate it to a stance of unity (a strong focus of theirs throughout the years…about the only group/band I could stomach and actually believe when on that topic)…

Trust me, listen to the whole thing…the speech is followed by an incredible medley of joints at the laser-guided hands of Terminator-X. Even for just audio, the energy is bonkers in this…I lost it when “She Watch Channel Zero” dropped. Please someone find me an original recording of the show so that I can throw it on a mix and front like I was there with a video camera in hand.

To finish…can someone tough or, better yet (maybe), someone in an undeniable position of power, get off of the couch/yacht and start PM Dawning some of these happy-go-lucky trash acts out there?!

To be continued…

The New Rock & Roll


Bill Adler and Chuck D droppin’ gems (from 1:30 and beyond).

“It seems to me that anyone with a sense of history would jump over 10 Bon Jovi’s to get next to LL Cool J…” – B.A.

Attitude?

Word to bird.

(Photo by Glen E. Friedman)

2010

Happy New Year.

Little to nothing out there will ever rival the bold, unadulterated intensity of the stalwart megaforce that was Public Enemy.

Amerikkka’s Most Wanted

Say what you will about the more modern day Cube who decided to subscribe to the whole Hollywood thing, post-Singleton, where he’s either doing a flick that reinforces the same (negative) African-American stereotypes or a “family-friendly”, cream puff outing (which probably supports some of the same shitty stereotypes). So yes, say what you will…I just did, in so many words.

That aside, YOU CANNOT TELL ME SHIT about the angry, politically charged West Coast lyricist (-slash-ghostwriter, ha!) of the late ’80′s to about ’93/’94.

On to the highlights in video form:

Pre-N.W.A. exit and Post-N.W.A. Interview


One of the hardest verses of the late 80′s.

Irony at it’s best…


gafflin’ goods before everyone else…even from his own peoples.

One last hit…unfortunately, no visual media for this one…

Ya Livin’ Foul…Pt. II