Summer Summer Summer-time

Hip-Hop is one of my favourite things

Slakah The BeatChild... aka one half of Art of Fresh (a hiphop canadian duo). CRAZY producer. excited for his upcoming project called the slakadeliqs (google it, get familiar). Let's just say it's going to be a band that's going to bring back the classic-ness of motown classics back in full throttle mixed with a modern flair. Yes I know it sounds like a big bowl of awesomeness! :D



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on another note... Janelle Monae's album dropped today!!! :D



Got a review from one my trustiest music blog websites... and they've given it a 4.0/5.0 ... so it should be AWESOME... and as soon as I get paid, I will run to HMV and get myself my copy :)



and her single tightrope has an awesome video!! ... I love her hair, and I love her shoes and earings, and did I mention she's awesome!!



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OH on a Canadian HipHop tip... Shad's album TSOL is coming out soon. (*clap*) :D



And I guess as an anticipation to its release, his single: "Yaa I get it" is single of the week on itunes. So cheers to free tracks! and get on it, if you haven't already done so.

Brands

Interesting video.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Trouble Sleeping

As the title of this post suggests, I'm having trouble sleeping. I have alot of things on my brain, I'm actually pretty tired. mentally and physically... I have work early in the morning. (sigh) ...
I've been thinking... and I really want to travel and see places, not the cliché touristy places in countries that are foreign to me, but the people places.In other words the places like neighbourhouds, places that are intimately calm and paisible (not sure how to say that in english). Places where the people, the regular, just as broke as me hang out. Places that birth inspiration. I want to talk and have conversations with people from different countries about life, their lives, maybe their children's lives and what makes them happy and what makes them sad. I want to hear their accent, I want to have trouble understanding what they say because their accent is so strong lol. I want to be there and listen to them, and I want to learn from them.

Rallies

There was a rally today. A rally, a protest. Something that I am slowly getting used to seeing in Toronto, (coming from Calgary, protests are rare, call it socialization call it whatever you like but I think the ability to normalize not getting angry towards social authorities EXTREMELY PROBLEMATIC)... but I digress. This rally was about the death of an 18 year old black man who died close to my university from being beat up by the cops. Although the reason why he was pulled over in the first place are blurred, even if the boy was the one who did wrong in the first place, maybe he should've been arrested, NOT CHASED DOWN, then BEAT DOWN, then Killed. Events like these baffle me, makes me ANGRY, sad. I wanted to go to the rally really bad. I woke up late, I really had to do some grocery shopping though and since I always walk to the grocery store rain or shine, even if it's a good 20 blocks from my place lol.

As I was walking to go to the grocery store, I saw a group of people (mostly all black, but I really appreciated the non-black faces I saw marching down) with signs and flowers making noise, and marching. God had somehow timed my departure from my house to the intersection really well, because I literally had to go through the crowd to get to the grocery spot. My heart cringed. I was really moved, I was sooo close to tears. I was fighting my impulse to want to put up my fist. (now looking back, I wish I didn't fight it). It hurt.

I did not know this boy, but I think some of his immediate family went to my church. For readers who don't know me, I love all people, purple, yellow, and blue. I don't care if the boy was purple, and the cops orange, beating up a human being to death is unacceptable. I will always have a special extra soft spot for black people, and I will openly admit that.

I got MAD LOVE for my people. and that is the HONEST TRUTH.

On my way back from the groceries in taxi, I saw another huge group still walking down and marching, and protesting. The cab-driver saw them and mumbled something along the lines of they should not be protesting here, it's pointless, they should go to city hall or something. I paused. Then I said something along the lines of if they were to go to city hall, there would be HEAVIER policing. Is that what they need? Is that necessary to get the world to look at this issue and actually give a shit?

I don't know.
I give a shit. I don't know what to do, because I really question the validity of rallies. Either that or I'm not accustomed to seeing them work, outside of the political textbooked accounts of historical accounts such as in the civil rights movement. But even then, these events happened in the US. I don't have any historical accounts of rallies in the Canadian context, especially rallies revolving the politics of race in Canada. If we were to then Aboriginals would need to be HIGH up there first and foremost, then everyone else (blacks, Asians, migrant workers ect..) would follow.

But I really want to do SOMETHING.
AAAGGGHHHH maybe I should've just turned around and gone to the rally.
At least it would've been a start.

...
STRANGE FRUIT.

'Swagger'

...... soooo today was my 1st day at work, alot of things went wrong, and alot of things went right. So I can't complain. Apparently my supervisor said that I have a very impressive resume, and the workload I was trained to do, the last person before me took them 2 weeks to do, and I did it within a couple of hours.
...
yes I feel pretty bad-ass lol.
hence this pic.
it's 'swagger'. To be real, I'm not too sure what swagger is, but I can only understand it as shinning... in a Dillasiticly remixed terms lol... it's to be able to hold entire conversation with your presence and soul without ever opening your mouth. (RIP DILLA)

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on another note... I've recently found out about this duo called Chiddy Bang. I think they're LA based, I'm not sure. But I've been desperately looking for somewhere to download their EP - Opposite of Adults, and I can't find it anywhere :( ... but I found this one EP from them called Air Swell. And I'm soaking in EVERY single track.
Here's one video I found on youtube. It's on the Air Swell mixtape. I would post a link to where I got it, but I'm sure you can google it and find it yourselves. lol
like the title of the video suggests, I'm about to pass out... TIRED!
enjoy,

something

.... So today was weird. Long and tiring. I need a job so bad. I don't understand this social construct we call dating. I'm lost. I currently feel very naive and stupid and confused. ... in days like these I sincerely thank God for music.