a day with jahsun
the man really is close to the most high. this is an addendum because how could i really compress 5 hours of conversation into 500 words (coming in the April issue of Nightlife)-more like 9 hours if you count the words exchanged during the (way too long) wyclef show. here are some notable quotables:"we don't need individualism, we need self-love because it leads to the love of others."
"i don't really get mashups, or whatever they're called. they sound like you left your record playing and by mistake started another one, hit too many buttons on your i-tunes or something."
"my attitude towards major label artists with influence on the youth is that they have a responsibility to that. if they don't uphold it, there should be a council that takes their ass down."
"people want to know when we're gonna do something, i wonder when we're not? we've just been practising in front of our audience instead of in our basement."
"sports? how can i play sports? if i hurt any of my appendages, i'm screwed, there is no drumming for me, and then what?"
"it's not about the messenger, it's the message. sometimes the wicked are schooling the righteous."
"people think it's cool to open for big acts, but it's not. there's so much drama, they turn down your levels, stack the odds against you so that you don't outshine the 'star'."
"what is reverse racism? in order to reverse something, it had to be there in the first place. if you're calling it, you've finally encountered someone strong enough to reflect a reaction."
"once you innovate, it's not up to you to say it's good, it comes in other people saying it through immitation. but you can't be innovative just in your own right, if people can't recognize what you make as music, how can they connect to it?"
"everybody knows Bob Marley, but if they really loved him, why wasn't he being pushed while he was still alive? who's making the money off his music, man?"
"when you ask people why they go to school, nobody answers that they wanna learn, no they do it because they think it's going to get them money. but money's on its way out, it has no value anymore. we're going to have to go back/forward to people power."
"there's two ways to revolution. one-you burn everything down. two-you divert your energy into building your own movement because then you don't have time to work for anyone else's efforts but your community's, and you don't have time to beg those who have already made it clear that they don't want you to survive."
"if you want to build a black school, build it. why you on the news asking for funding? then, you expect the young black youth to go to a school paid for by people who don't want them to learn? build your own, man. we can find the resources amongst ourselves, money that we spend otherwise on smoking or drinking."
"james challenger is a master because he never stops learning."
"entertainment is a byproduct of what we do and i'm glad it happens, but we are there to communicate, not entertain."
"if you can't play with others, you're not a real musician. just because you can handle your instrument, if you can't handle your personality and allow for others, it's the difference between being a male and a man."
go all out.
this is a celebration. happy belated valentine's day to the women in the music industry, just grindin', because Lorde knows it's not an easy place to be. many a good woman has been broken (miz hill, we're here for you) or we have been brainwashed to believe so. echoing a recent sentiment from a fresh prince episode (ok, so i've been watching a LOT of tv on dvd lately, ok?!) "when are we going to stop doing this to eachother?", all too often, we as women buy into the hype, we judge, we chastise, we participate in the divide and conquer that is the "industry". i mean, who hasn't shaken her head at a fellow sister (oh, the irony...) because let's face it, we are triflin' sometimes, everyone is, but how often do we acknowledge that the place for "us" (because we really need to complexify that in/ex/clusion) is tinier than a matchbox for a mouse to sleep in and a thousand times more hostile? i was listening to the fergie album (i know, i know) and though most of it went as i thought it would, there was a moment when she was right, when she was talking about the pedestals and self-image and ranks that we have amongst us, and it made me question how much we mimic men in the ways of competition and self-definition? life isn't hip hop, and even hip hop isn't that simple, so life isn't that simple, but it really don't have to be that complex. the truth is, fergie has talent, christina can sing, lil' kim did have a moment as a rapper, mariah has pipes like you wouldn't believe, but lupe ain't the only one that's aksed to "dumb it down". so, why are we so quick to rake eachother over the coals? the industry is about money, and if a woman can break it, why do we hate? queen la is just doing what ice cube or xhibit is doing, but bigger because her obstacles are way bigger and her support system? what is selling out and what is our part? because selling out is a community practice...and so is evolution. where do you want to put your energy? 
so you really CAN get too much of a good thing, after all. i've finally surfaced from watching too much tv, not that actual kind, but that crackangel/devil sort that comes from putting entire seasons of tv on dvd-YEAH NO COMMERCIALS (since now i have to suffer through them at the movies). in the last two weeks, i've been through season one of The L Word, season four of Queer as Folk, season one of The Wire, and seasons one and two of The Facts of Life. i'm officially ready to be back in the world again, and read more books, fuck (that's some Quebec grammar for all of you who don't know). what do all of these series have in common? homos and junkies. seriously, everyone's in rehab of some sort (and we wonder why britney and w(h)inehouse are making such big news?) and it's suddenly ok to be gay on tv, what a shift from the days of the "revolutionary" man kiss on melrose place (bigup doug savant) though they didn't actually show it. but it's a more nuanced and complex showing of all of these things, so i'm happy for television, my heart's with the writers, and i hope people are actually discussing what they are seeing, though it's hard to stay up. although seriously, can we get some NY Undercover on dvd already?! That would be enough to send me into early retirement. Funkaholic tonite, New Amerykah on tuesday, and 1LUV at Century House April 8th (Vancity) see you everywhere!
the national parcs can do this: http://www.myspace.com/thenationalparcs 
guess who joined her fancorps? http://erykahbadu.fancorps.com/mizfloss
they're trying, y'all. don't dismiss them as completely wack. at least the commitee had the good sense to nominate these two cool cats (who may do musics together, because of their mutual collaborator..whom i have yet to meet, but believe me, i will, anyone that talented and dedicated to work on these two brilliant projects is someone i must know)
the old prince and goldrush, two of my favoritest joints of recent history. two stand-up guys too. for real.
