The Box Fridays: Self Destruction

I'm jumping back in with the Box Friday's with a video fitting given there was just recently a funeral for a boy in Chicago who was the victim of senseless violence. Rapper KRS-One started the Stop the Violence Movement in the late 80's in response to violence in hip hop and the black community. I think there is definitely still a need for this movement as our communities are still plagued by violence. KRS gathered some of the biggest names in hip hop at the time and was able to produce a song and a video with a strong message against violence. All the proceeds were donated to the National Urban League which is part of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. I think its time to bring this message back to the forefront. While KRS-One tried to in late 2008, it did not get the attention necessary to make an impact. Although KRS is still well respected in hip hop, he is not relevant to the audience who needs to hear this message. Unfortunately, I think we will be waiting forever for someone like Lil Wayne or Jay-z to step up and do something this meaningful. Anyway happy friday enjoy the video. Maxwell concert review next week.

The Box Friday's: Oran "Juice" Jones

So I know its been a while since I've posted. But I got a couple of posts in queue and will be breaking them out over the next couple weeks. Today of course is the Box Friday. Today's video I did not know existed until recently. Its one of the funniest songs I've ever heard based on the last minute of the song along and the video is equally hilarious. Its Oran "Juice" Jones song, "The Rain". He was the first R&B artist under Def Jam. This song dropped in 1986, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. No news on where he is today.

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The Box Friday's: Sir Mix A Lot

Today's video is a Happy Belated Birthday dedication to Sir Mix A Lot. He release six albums but most of his success came early. The first three albums went platinum, gold, & platinum. The third album was the one that produced "Baby Got Back" for which he also won a Grammy award. MTV only showed the video for "Baby Got Back" in the evening hours because of the "sexual content" but if you had The Box it was on all the time. The last album he release was in 2003 but it did not chart. But at least he had a brief come back with the Burger King commercials until people started complaining that sponge bob and Sir Mix A-Lot just don't mix.



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Sir Mix A Lot - My Hooptie

Remembering When

Holding hands
Fingers inner twined
I feel her eyes, speak
I feel her words, soft
I inhale her pheromones, sweet
I’m remembering when
We were just friends
Funny how love begins

While we lay between sheets
I wrap my arms around her
I feel her heart, speak
I feel her skin, soft
I inhale her scent, sweet
I’m remembering when
We were just friends
Funny how love begins

~aj .the.poet~

Summer Spirit Festival Review

So Erykah Badu was coming to town and you know I had to go see her. I may not be her biggest fan but I can almost guarantee I'm in the top twenty. It was pretty huge crowd for the Meriwether Post Pavilion. The show had a line up of Foreign Exchange, Chrisette Michelle, Chuck Brown, Raphael Saadiq, & of course Miss Badu. Mike Epps was supposed to be the host but dude only came out a few times, it seem more like Tigger was hosting the show if anything. It was a pretty good show, not the best show I've seen, but a pretty good one. I got a couple of short clips to give you a flavor of the show.

The show started out with Foreign Exchange who I thought was a hip hop group but I guess they made some tweaks. I got their album back in 2004, "Connected", and for the most part that album was all hip hop with a little singing. At the festival they were straight harmonizing. They came out at the festival and have added some new pieces to the puzzle. One of those new pieces was Yazarah, an awesome singer and also a DC product. I was glad to see she was getting an opportunity to show case her talent. They put on a decent show with a lot of jazzy songs. Apparently they have a video running on BET Jazz right now. It just threw me off a little bit to see Phonte singing.

Next up was Chrisette Michele. She comes to DC almost as much as Eric Roberson and he is Howard Alumni. I always miss out on the chance to catch her live. But after seeing her perform Saturday, I will definitely need to check her out the next time she comes to DC. Her voice is awesome but unfortunately her sound was a little messed up. It was hard to hear her at times. I think I will be better served checking her out in a smaller venue. But she did what she could under the circumstances.

The next performer and arguably the highlight of the night was Chuck Brown. Now keep in mind this concert was just outside of Washington, DC where Chuck Brown is Go-Go legend who reaches back three to four generations. I was actually away from my seat trying to get a drink when his set started. But by time I got back to my seat the whole crowd was standing and rocking, from front row to the top of the hill on the lawn seats. Chuck Brown was trying to steal the show and he even brought out an accomplice in Lil Benny, another DC Go-Go Legend. I pieced together some clips of their performance and command of the crowd. None of my clips were great quality but the sound is awesome. :)

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Now when Raphael Saadiq came out I felt kind of bad for the guy. Chuck had the crowd really pumped up. Some folks must have really thought Chuck was the headline because a few of the folks on the lawn left after he performed. Raphael came out and immediately performed a couple of tracks from his new album, "The Way I See It". If you have heard this album then you know the whole album has a 60's-70's soul sound. Personally, I think its one of the most underrated albums to come out this year. I'm not so sure the concert crowd shared my enthusiasm. But they did perk up when he went through some of the Tony Toni Tone & Lucy Pearl classics. Check the clip below. I think him and Chrisette Michelle in a smaller venue together would be awesome.

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Finally it came time for the headliner. Remember when I said Chuck & Benny TRIED to steal the show. They had a serious home court advantage but when Erykah was posed to hit the stage, the anticipation was electric. Her bands start playing "The Healer" as she slowly walks on stage. Once she appeared the crowd was ecstatic. She went from "The Healer" to "Me". She updated the lyric "Had two babies/Different dudes," to "Had three babies/Different dudes,” Then as she always does at her shows, she drops the remix. It’s rare that you will hear a song of hers performed exactly as it is on the album. She intoed "Next Lifetime" with "Who Can I Run Too", originally recorded by The Jones Girls and remade by Xscape. "Bag Lady" got a reggae mix. "On & On" got the "Planet Rock" mix. "Back in the Day" got intertwined with "Sugar Free". My only disappointment is that she didn't have longer to perform. I guess Chuck Brown did actually steal the show by that measurement. But Erykah definitely did her thing with the time she was allotted. I definitely recommend catching this tour if it comes to your town.


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The next concert I'm looking forward to is the Black Summer's Night Tour.

The Box Friday's: Another Bad Creation

Today's video comes from one of my favorite groups back in the day. Now I know you see the title and think "playground" or "iesha" but I'm going with the New Edition cover of "Jealous Girl". This video was on the box constantly. It was on the same album as their more well known hits and that album did reach platinum status. After their cameo in "The Meteor Man" we all know they fell off big time. In 2006, they started their own label, Another Bad Creation LLC, but it has yet to produce anything to hit the charts on Billboard's top 200. Happy Friday folks.


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First Black Super Model

Last Saturday the woman considered by many to be the first black super model, Naomi Sims, lost in her battle with breast cancer. This caught my eye because in all my time of either watching top model or thumbing through the pages of a Sports Illustrated swim suit edition, I never about the identity of the first black super model. I never heard her name before last Saturday. You would think she would have been a guest judge on America's Next Top Model or that one of these big time black models would have done something to pay tribute to someone who paved the way for them. Maybe they still will do something. But she was a living legend that I had no clue existed. While I appreciate the groundbreaking things that people like Harriet, Sojourner, Martin & Malcolm, I think its about time that we heard a few different stories. Stories of black first that have been untold for decades. I actually found a list of black first on wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_firsts. The list is LONG and there is no reason that we have to keep hearing about the same 5 people every February. If BET was a network of substance, it would feature black firsts instead of black gangsters. RIP Naomi Sims