A place for Huey

Happy Holidays all! I am applying for graduate programs this winter and one of the people I have fallen in love with in the process is Tricia Rose, a faculty member in Africana Studies at Brown University. In addition to her work on feminism, African-American history, and social justice, she is most known for her work on/in Hip Hop. I think it is pretty clear on this blog that I love rap and listen to it incessantly. Therefore, to find an individual doing honest critical work about hip hop among other things in a program I am interested in is really exciting. I have decided that hip hop/Afro/African contemporary music (specifically, rap - including Drakesque rap/rnb sub-genre, reggae, Ghanaian hip life, among others) is going to be, beyond a doubt, a chunk of my intellectual work in graduate school and beyond. In many ways, I believe I bring some different understandings to this rap/hip hop/Afro/African contemporary music discourse than those I have come across. I am in the middle ...

Palmwine music or highlife is one of my favorite genres of music. It is traditional folk music with intoxicating instrumentals. I am especially reminded of this genre of music because I am reviewing a paper I wrote on Palmwine music around this time last year for my Twi class. I want to add a little here about what this music is, especially its role in traditional storytelling and in capturing the Ghana's spirit during its independence. The paper I wrote with this information, however, was handwritten in Twi so I will need some time to translate and transcribe it but when I do, I will definitely post it. After all, it is my blog, I post 'em as they come :).

I'm the first to admit that I love conscious, deep music, especially rap. But sometimes J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Lupe, Jay Z, Biggie, Lil Brother, Drake, Nas, et cetera take me for a whirlwind and I often end up emotionally drained and in the pitfalls of unpleasant thoughts. So I go to my pick me ups. I am currently going through my playlists on Youtube and thought to share some of my favorites to counterbalance all of the depressing music I share on here. 1. The Roots. Especially my The Roots Pandora station. This song, Star, takes me so high. 2. J. Dilla, Common. * Words can't do justice to Dilla's work*       3. Camp Lo, Pharaclyde ,   Slum Village (Dilla), A Tribe Called Quest, Visioneers, 90s Rap I guess. The instrumentals, the beats, just the Vibe! 4. MMG.  Specially, Wale and Meek Millz's hood anthems. I have never sold drugs nor do I have aspirations for a career in rap but I can relate to being broke ...

I will probably write a post soon on the genesis of my love, admiration, and respect for hip hop so as to contextualize some of my music posts but until then, these are two tracks from outside the US hip hop scene which I am in love with right now. I am looking to delve into rap outside of the US and I look forward to posting what I come across. I hope you enjoy it! 1. M.anifest is so dope. His music resonates with me because he raps about the Immigrant Chronicles, ie. immigrant experience, especially that of Ghanaians living in America. In this video called Asa (twi for dance), he uses the Akan idiom, translated roughly as bad dancing doesn't kill the land, as a metaphor for the ability of music to transcend the diversity of the lives we all live <3.   2. Soosan Firooz. The back story:  Afghanistan's first feamle rapper tells stories that might otherwise be lost . It's a good listen. Autobiographical rap.

I just read this post on the Atlantic and it resonated so deeply with me that I am sharing the whole dag on article as a blog post. Source: http://m.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/10/how-rap-can-help-end-rape-culture/264258/ How Rap Can Help End Rape Culture Michael P. Jeffries | Oct 30, 2012 Angel Haze speaks up about being sexually abused on her powerful new track, and her testimony couldn't have come at a more urgent time. Angel Haze Recently on the Tonight Show, President Obama had to point out that "rape is rape" for the second time in three months . This time, Obama was stating the seemingly obvious in response to Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, who said he opposed abortions for rape victims because "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen." Last time, the impetus was Republican Senate hopeful Todd Akin's proclamation that, "if it'...

F*ck Your Ethnicity Fire burning inside my eyes This the music that saved my life Y’all be calling it hip-hop I be calling it hypnotize Yeah, hypnotize Trapped my body but freed my mind What the fuck is you fighting for? Ain’t nobody gonna win that war My details be retail Man, I got so much in store Racism is still alive Yellow tape and colored lines Fuck that, nigga look at that line It’s sold out first day Getting off work And they wanna see Kendrick Everybody can’t drive Benz’s, and I been there So it make it my business Stay giving my full attention, 10-hut! Man, I gotta get my wind up Man, gotta get down with God Cause I got my sins up Matter of fact, don’t mistake me For no fucking rapper They sit backstage and hide Behind the fucking cameras I mosh pit Had a microphone and I tossed it Had a brain, then I lost it I’m out of my mind, so don’t You mind how much the cost is Penny for my thoughts Everybody, please hold up your wallets Yeah ...

Thinking a lot about love, man.

"Lately I’ve been thinking about who I want to love, and how I want to love, and why I want to love the way I want to love, and what I need to learn to love that way, and who I need to become to become the kind of love I want to be…….and when I break it all down, when I whittle it into a single breath, it essentially comes out like this: Before I die, I want to be somebody’s favorite hiding place, the place they can put everything they know they need to survive, every secret, every solitude, every nervous prayer, and be absolutely certain I will keep it safe. I will keep it safe." - Andrea Gibson

From what you have shared with your fans and the world, it seems like you have a lot of your mind and that your heart is heavy so I will try to keep this concise and straight to the point. I am a big fan of your music, your politics, and what you represent as a person. I love hip hop and I am working hard on organizing my life, career, and politics around the basic principles of love, peace, and happiness for everyone. It is not easy and a lot of times I feel disillusioned, confused, angry, sad, and inconsequential, primarily because of the world we have inherited and then because of our agency in perpetuating the ills of this world. From reading your tweets after the Chief Keef twitter feud, it sounds like you have felt or feel some inkling of those feelings that I listed. I am writing to tell you first, that a lot of people identify with your heartache and second, thank you for your music, essence, and for all that you have shared with the world. The heartache: When I saw the vi...

I am not well versed in gender politics but in my limited understanding of the matter, I would define it as the social relations and discourse on how people of the same and/or opposite gender/genders [gender being the social construct of one's sex] interact with each other and how policy governs these relations. Gender politics is easily the most interesting topic I have dealt with this summer. Away from the sheltered environment of my campus community of hipsters, progressives, and activists, I am finally living the reality of the discourse which took place in my college courses, friends' dorms, cafeteria, womyn's collective, and on my Newsfeed - respectability politics, feminism, patriarchy, and misogyny. So far, so good. It has not been (that) bad. It is just that for the most part, gender politics does not matter in much the same way to the people I know/have met away from college as it did to those I met in college. To make a gross generalization, there are people w...

It seems like the stars have aligned for me to finally write this post on evolution. Well sort of. I have had this post in my drafts for more than a week now because I could not find the impetus or a motivating story to help springboard some of the ideas I have in this post. Today, however, I feel overwhelmingly loved and appreciated, beyond measure, by the people in my life, and even to an extent, the cosmos. And thus, this post on love makes perfect sense. Today, July 13th, falls on the day of my birth, Friday. Friday the 13th on the 7th month of the year! If you believe in astrology, superstition and/or Judaism/Christianity - my birth day is perfect yet unlucky. And I can deal with that. Today is the first time in a long while I have stayed at home for the entirety of my birthday - sans celebration - and it is possibly the last time in a long while this may happen. With all of the time that I have had to reflect at home, I have been asking myself whether my love is bi...

Listen to Frank Ocean's We all Try while you read this. At least that is what I have on repeat while I write this. It helps with getting the right sentimentality for his recent post on tumblr regarding rumors about his bisexuality. It puts me in an amazing place of freedom and love (when I am not naturally in this disposition). Anyways, here is the link to the post on his tumblr page: http://frankocean.tumblr.com/ This was what he shared prior to the post: "BasedGod was right we’re all a bunch of golden million dollar babies. my hope is that the babies born these days will inherit less of the bullshit than we did. anyhow, what i’m about to post is for anyone who cares to read. it was intended to fill the thank you’s section in my album credits, but with all the rumors going round.. i figured it’d be good to clarify.." And because the font is incredibly small on his open letter, I have copied and pasted what he shared on his tumblr in a bigger font (cre...

Below is my recap of the BET Awards. I wanted to try live blogging where I write down my thoughts/reaction of the show as it is being shown on TV. Overall, I think that this year's show was good - a diverse range of artists and commentary - laughter and seriousness. I was fairly entertained watching it. So here is it: ----------------------------------------------------------- Kanye's free style in the opening = <3...He looks emotional and his words, as always, vulnerable (His vulnerability is why I fell in love with his music and him being a musical genius is what has kept me a fan). Kanye - his acceptance speech: honest. Admits that he doesn't get it right whether he wins or looses. #Real I also love the friendship he shares with Jay Z. Seeming opposites counteract each others weaknesses. (As much as I love Jay, he often appears cold and distant; Kanye softens him and allows him to be honest). Chris Brown should not have won best male R&B. period. When did C...

Last week Friday, while I was walking around my neighborhood, taking care of errands, and as always, listening to my ipod, I decided to listen to a rap song called Mrs. Officer by Lil Wayne. I had not listened to the song in a long while and given that it was one of my favorite songs my sophomore year in college, I knew the song would, and I wanted the song to, revive some fond memories of being at the school cafeteria and at parties with my friends. So I am jamming and singing along and I hear myself say, "Rodney King baby, said beat it like a cop". I literally stop in my tracks and decide to listen to the song again to make sure that I am not saying the wrong words as I am notorious for butchering lyrics. On second and third listens of the song, it is clear that Lil Wayne does says, "Rodney King, yeah, I beat it like a cop. Beat it like a cop. Rodney King baby, said beat it like a cop". My immediate feeling is one of disorientation in light of the news that Rodn...

One of my hobbies which I developed fairly recently is researching/learning of the origin of the music that I like, specifically, its production - what the producer sampled and what went into the making of the sound. Yesterday, I came across Rita Ora's song, RIP, which has reached mass appeal with almost 13 million views. It immediately rang reminiscent of Nneka's Heartbeat which I had spent a few days listening on repeat not too long ago. It also drew me back to Drake's unofficially released song Ready for You on his mixtape, So Far Gone. The story appears to be that Drake sampled Chase and Status's dubstep remix of Nneka's Heartbeat. Drake says that Ready for You was written for Rihanna to use on her album Loud but Rihanna did not want it and Rita Ora asked/bought the song ( Drake talks to Kiss FM ), thus RIP by Ora. Check out the original, remix and samples below. I think they are all fascinating and I will explain why I like each.   1. Nneka's original is ...

Today's post is on my lover, music. I think, breathe, and literally speak music (ie. I quote lyrics randomly in conversation :)). I always tell myself that in another life, I was either a rapper, singer, or dancer or all three. This blog is indeed going to be very much that - very much music. In addition to my musings on life, work, and play, I will write and share a lot of music by the artists I love! For me, music is a story of and about people's lives and as the rapper, J. Cole, poignantly writes on his twitter headline, "my story ain't the only one I'm trying to tell". My first post on music comes by way of Ms. Hill. I came across a status on facebook raving about Lauryn Hill's performance (and comments about Nikki, etc) at Hot 97's Summer Jam and finally came across the video on clutchmagonline.com. I am writing a post on this because I have replayed the video (below) several times tonight. Lauryn is an amazing singer and rapper and while I onl...