The Audacity of Dope

Perhaps the blog is getting a little serious lately, but it’s important.  As I’ve watched the Olympics every night this past week, it’s been great to see athletes from all over the world come together and put our petty differences aside.  Unfortunately, these moments are really just brief respites from the daily onslaught of ignorance and animosity that normally pervades societies all over the globe.  Inspired by the controversy over the Spanish basketball teams, Complex Magazine (the fine folks who brought you the fine Cassie photoshoot) ranked a few other recent anti-asian examples.  Check ’em out right here.

In a related topic, I recently read a great piece by Matt Bai in the New York Times, where he asked if Obama represented “the end of Black Politics.”  Peep it here.

The uneducated will see Obama’s ascension to the highest rank in the United States as a sign that racism has disappeared in our country, but that’s obviously not the case.  Intelligent people will surely agree that it’s a step in the right direction, but I worry that our society, and especially our media, will focus solely on white/black interaction.  If we do that, we’ll continue to overlook the shockingly prevalent racism towards Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc.-Americans that exists all around us.  If it’s not ok to use racist images and terminology attacking black people in our media, why do we let it pass when it’s aimed at other groups?  It’s unacceptable, and we all need to start calling attention to it when we see it.  If someone says something ignorant, call them on it.  If you see an offensive commercial, complain and spread the word.  We have the power and obligation to demand better from ourselves.

Shout to Yang Wei for killing it in the all around gymnastics competition last night, and shout to Info for the Complex post.

(if you prefer YouTube, go here)

The same day that Kardinal Offishall came through the Sound Session studios, Wyclef Jean stopped by for his second appearance on the show.  If you missed the first interview, you can find it on our podcast page right here.  Since we discussed his recent album, Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, last time, we got to have a much more in depth convo with Clef during this interview.

Some people have criticized his recent hip-hop work and his forays into pop, but Clef will always be one of my favorite artists.  Without exaggeration, I’d rank both the original Carnival and the Fugees’ The Score in my top 5 albums of all time, and maybe even higher.  Perhaps I’m in the minority there, but any way you slice it, they’re classics.  Plus, he was my very first interview back in 2000 when he headlined the MTV Campus Invasion tour during my college radio days (KSPC what up!).  Dude was cool as hell then, and it’s the same today.

In this interview, Clef told us some stories behind his favorite songs from the past, why the Fugees reunion failed, what it’ll take to make it happen, how he’s seen the industry change over the years, how his music reaches around the world, his charity work, politics, and much more.  Plus, just like last time, he wouldn’t leave without dropping a little freestyle for us.  Though I must say, he was the one who wanted to use “A Milli.”  Lord knows it’s been rapped over enough, especially since it’s not even a great beat…at all…but I digress.

You can either watch the interview above (not recommended, since the audio is sketchy), or listen to the broadcast feed below (mixed in with beats & songs).  I’d check the mp3 if I were you:

Wyclef Jean on Sound Session #02 – http://www.mediafire.com/?akv85dmyfbp
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/16860037c2b69ad0/ )

I also tossed in some footage of Clef recording the freestyle at the end of the interview video.  If you just want to watch that part or download the song, here you go:

Wyclef Jean – “A Milli Freestyle (Sound Session Exclusive)”

Caribbean swagger…big up to Clef.

“It’s unfortunate that I have to cut a record telling the truth, at least in my opinion, about my own country and the corrupt ways it is being ran. However, on that note I want to let all the soldiers representing our country know, thank you for protecting us and may God bless you all.” – Pitbull

Pitbull hops on Estelle’s “American Boy” and drops some poignant, real life ish about war. I’ve always thought Pitbull could rhyme, and I’d love to see him start doing more stuff like this. Not even necessarily political tracks, but just something with a little more substance than the typical Miami club music he pumps out.

Swiped from SDSU.

You’re riding in a car and your friend drives it off the road into a tree. When everything’s settled and you get back in the car, he doesn’t get to drive anymore, regardless of whose fault the accident was. Right?

The republicans drove us off the road and crashed horribly (…again). Now that we’re getting back in the car, whether or not we can actually fix the problems, a democrat will drive.

Jay Smooth drops another one of his excellent vlogs, this time commenting on the faux news story regarding Luda’s Obama freestyle a few weeks back.  As always, he’s on point.  It’s annoying to see people with no understanding of our hip-hop culture talking about it on the news, but Jay makes a great point that Luda really should know better.  There have been a bunch of less tactful Obama songs/references too, but none with as high a profile as this one.  I knew it was going to be trouble when the story broke and some agencies were calling him an actor instead of rapper.  That’s when you know you’ve made it to the next tier and your words are going to be given a lot more legitimacy, right or wrong.

As further proof that Obama is the perfect presidential candidate for the hip-hop generation, here’s a clip from earlier this year:

I agree completely, and it’s shocking to see that kind of intelligence and understanding from a politician.  If you’re involved with hip-hop culture and NOT planning on voting for Obama, I’d love to know why.  Not to say it’s not possible, but you better have some substantive policy disagreements…

(I feel your pain man.  The $100 Bentley fill ups are killing me too.)

CNN featured a fluff nice piece on Antwan recently, highlighting his politically charged video for “Sumthin’ Gotta Give.”  I’m pleasantly surprised to see a network actually run a positive story about his beliefs, especially after Fixed News did their best xenophobic reporting on Luda last week.  Sidenote: the massive Obama attack and smear campaign that we all expected is just kicking off.  We have a long way to go, and the attacks will only get uglier and more illogical.  This is when we have to work extra hard to dispell rumors and innuendo, so let’s all stay focused.  gObama.

Swiped from Nah Right.

The governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, recently appeared on CNN to support John McCain. Unfortunately for McCain, his own surrogate can’t even explain how his economic policies differ from those of Bush. He tries to avoid the question but still falls flat on his face. Awwwkwaaaaard.

Still not as painful as McCain’s viagra-gate though.

I’ve been meaning to post this up for a week now, but better late than never.  In a speech on July 15th, Barack laid out his policy on the war in Iraq and national security in general, in part to quell these nonsensical accusations that he’s flip-flopped on the issue.  From day one, he’s maintained the same ideas and principles, and stated them numerous times.  I’m tired of people complaining that Barack is just spouting empty rhetoric without any substance, only because they’re too lazy to do any research and dig past the soundbites they hear on TV.  It’s imperative that you take the time to seek out more than the 30 second clips on the news, or the intentionally simplified stump speeches.  I highly encourage everyone to read his last book, The Audacity of Hope (which you should be up on if you made your way to this URL), and the policies laid out on his website here.  It’s all there if you’re willing to educate yourself.

In short, the 5 goals Obama outlined for his national security strategy in this speech are:

1. Ending the war in Iraq responsibly
2. Finishing the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban
3. Securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states
4. Achieving true energy security
5. Rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century

He explains the importance and strategy for each goal in the speech, and in even more detail on his site.  Take the time to educate yourself, especially if you think he’s peddling empty hopes and dreams.  There is real substance here.  It’s correct, and drastically different from what McCain is proposing.

My dad sent this over after seeing it on the Huffington Post and it’s definitely blog-worthy. Written by Seth Grahame-Smith.

John McCain is having such a bad July that writing about his collective woes would require the patience and talent of David McCullough. Since I have neither, I turned (as I often do) to the wisdom of Jay-Z, and listed the first 99 that came to mind:

99. Bush’s willingness to talk directly with Iran.
98. Bush’s new time “horizon” for troop withdrawals.
97. al-Maliki’s endorsement of Obama’s Iraq strategy.
96. Obama’s headline-dominating foreign tour.
95. His disagreement with the majority of Americans on Iraq.
94. His lack of economic expertise and policy.
93. Obama’s $52M June.
92. His $21M June.
91. 29% of the Latino vote.
90. 2% of the black vote.
89. Charles Keating (he’ll be back).
88. Vicki Iseman (she’ll be back).
87. Randy Scheunemann (he’ll be leaving).
86. His band-aid approach to energy (more drilling, more nuclear, a $300M “prize”).
85. His band-aid approach to healthcare (tax credits, more competition).
84. His band-aid.
83. Saying things like “I know how to win wars,” despite his never having won a war.
82. His wife.
81. His ex-wife.
80. The Hagee/Parsley un-endorsement debacle.
79. An uninspired base.
78. Ape rape.
77. His bff, Joe Lieberman.
76. His claim that Czechoslovakia still exists (it doesn’t).
75. His claim that Iran is training Al-Qaeda (they aren’t).
74. His claim that Iraq and Pakistan share a border (they don’t).
73. His claim that Somalia is the same place as Sudan (it isn’t).
72. His claim that Vladimir Putin is the president of Germany (he isn’t).
71. 71.
70. The images of 70,000+ screaming Democrats at Invesco Field.
69. Phil Gramm’s “nation of whiners” implosion.
68. His unwillingness to call the situation in Afghanistan “urgent.”
67. Steve Schmidt’s failure to right the ship.
66. A new generation of Evangelicals who don’t care what James Dobson thinks.
65. “C-nt.”
64. “I hate the gooks.”
63. His plan to resurrect Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security.
62. The writer’s rooms of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
61. His tarmac birthday party with Bush — as Katrina made landfall.
60. “General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee.”
59. His belief that Americans are better off than they were eight years ago.
58. His “Frankenstein on barbiturates” oratory skill.
57. His beyond-pathetic “Pump” ad, which blames Obama for $4.50 gas.
56. His “Obama Love” ad, which blames the MSM for his terribly-run campaign.
55. His computer illiteracy (c’mon…this is 2008).
54. A tax plan that doesn’t even TRY to hide the fact that it’s geared toward the wealthy.
53. Bob Barr.
52. Ron Paul.
51. Rupert Murdoch.
50. His gay adoption/marriage high wire acts.
49. His immigration high wire act.
48. His torture high wire act.
47. His drilling high wire act.
46. His tax cuts high wire act.
45. Not churchgoing enough for some evangelicals.
44. Too evangelical for some independents.
43. His temper.
42. “I know what [Iraqis] want.”
41. The starlet gap: McCain = Heidi Montag; Obama = Scarlett Johansson.
40. The Facebook gap: McCain = 173K supporters; Obama = 1.17M supporters.
39. His 1983-94 opposition to the Rev. Martin Luther King holiday.
38. His 2008 opposition to the Ledbetter Fair Pay [for women] Act.
37. His 2008 opposition to the G.I. Bill.
36. “100 years.”
35. Viagra-gate.
34. His 0% rating from Planned Parenthood.
33. His 0% attendance record for the last six Senate Afghanistan hearings.
32. “Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”
31. David Plouffe.
30. David Axelrod.
29. Republicans losing elections in traditional GOP strongholds.
28. His October 2002 insistence that victory in Iraq would be “easy.”
27. His January 2007 insistence that he never said it would be “easy.”
26. A resurgent Taliban.
25. Europe’s Obamamania.
24. Kneeling at the feet of Jerry Falwell.
23. His penchant for gaffes.
22. 80% of Americans convinced we’re on the wrong track.
21. The National Review calling his campaign strategy “likely to fail.”
20. Another terrorist attack on U.S. soil “would be a big advantage to him.”
19. Record turnout in the Democratic primaries.
18. A free Osama bin Laden.
17. “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.”
16. A campaign hierarchy dominated by lobbyists.
15. Suggesting Obama is a “Socialist.”
14. The Dow Jones down 2,000 points for the year.
13. Foreclosures soaring, banks failing, and inflation at a 17-year high.
12. Still pushing his ridiculous, Big Oil-friendly gas tax holiday.
11. Being out-raised by Obama 2:1…in West Virginia.
10. His “no” vote on SCHIP (healthcare for poor children) reauthorization.
9. His support for overturning Roe v. Wade.
8. His consistent opposition to minimum wage increases.
7. Obama’s 50-state strategy.
6. Al.
5. Bill.
4. Hillary.
3. Mitt.
2. John McCain.
1. George W. Bush.

This doesn’t even include today’s horrible gaffe concerning the timeline and history of “the surge.” This man simply is not fit to be our President, regardless of his positions on certain topics. Of course, for the most part, those are horribly askew as well.

I can’t wait for November 5th.

Oh hell yes.  You may remember that we played this song from Cocoa Tea a few months ago on Sound Session a few times, right in the heart of the primary race, and now there’s a video for it.  How can you not love this song, especially in the summer time?  It’s perfect.  I know I’m going to have this on loop on November 5th in celebration…

Cocoa Tea – “Barack Obama”

“The movement is moving!”  Swiped from IllRoots.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to see this:

Oh hell yes x2.