mimblr.com

Jasiri X, who started rapping in 1990, says artistic culture “springs from our experiences and spiritual connection and is a tool for change.” He sees it as a “survival mechanism.”
Any student of the history of the Black musical tradition understands the value of song, stretching all the way back to the field hollers during the times of chattel slavery. While the rhythms and other aspects of the Black musical tradition do indeed come from Africa, the content itself is rooted in the desire of an oppressed people for freedom.
Jasiri uses his music to teach, but sees in it the possibility to make positive change. He works with youth in Pittsburgh and is one of the founders of 1HOOD, an organization “created to promote unity among young men, to strengthen and support each individual member’s programs and to promote peace in local Pittsburgh neighborhoods.”
Jasiri started listening to hip-hop music in the late 1980s—what’s known as the golden era, a time when many popular artists were conscious. Now, Jasiri says, “I listen to everything except country, from Rage to Phil Collins to Stevie Wonder.”
It was hip-hop music that drove him to be politically active. He wants to connect with other conscious rappers and to usher in a new golden era, where content means something and reflects the conditions people are faced with.
His newest protest song, “Enough is Enough,” was written after the three cops that killed Sean Bell were acquitted. The song begins with media coverage of the acquittal, as the music builds with protests in the background and Jasiri chanting, “Enough is Enough.” He yells, “We will not surrender!” followed by the lyrics:
In the war of cops and robbers, the cops are robbers
They on the block with product, filling slots for lock up
You’ll get strong armed by the long arm of the law

workers.org

May 23, 2008 - Atlanta, GA — Corey “C-Murder” Miller, most known for being a member of the trio TRU (which included his brothers Master P and Silkk The Shocker), as well as his familial and entrepreneurial ties to the No Limit Records empire, will be releasing his first studio album in five years on July 1st on TRU/Asylum Records. A product of the infamous Calliope Projects in New Orleans, C-Murder has dealt with a lot over the past few years however he has always managed to stay focused on his creative talents, a testament of his true strength. Even though his voice rarely goes above a casual speaking tone, when the southern-drawled MC talks, he speaks volumes. Born and raised in a city known for both its good times and crimes, C-Murder adopted his provocative moniker seeing murders, amongst other ruthless activities.
Before becoming one of the most popular solo artists on the label, TRU put themselves and their record company on the national map with their 1995 album True which spurned the worldwide anthem “I’m Bout It, Bout It.” Following TRU’s groundbreaking 1997 album Tru 2 Da Game, C-Murder embarked on what would become a successful solo career.
His first album, 1998’s multi-platinum Life Or Death proved to listeners that C-Murder was able to hold his own weight using a spectrum of influences ranging from Special Ed and Ice-T to 2Pac, showing that while he had a rough exterior to use in his favor, he also had immense artistic skills working for him too. His follow-ups, 1999’s platinum-selling Bossalinie, 2000’s platinum standout, Trapped In Crime and an appearance later that year on the 504 Boys’ smash “Wobble, Wobble” would only broaden his fanbase and cement his place in Southern Rap’s hierarchy. C-Murder would go on to follow his brother Master P’s mogul-making footsteps by founding TRU Records and releasing two more albums 2001’s C-P-3.com and 2002’s Tru Dawgs—with controversy following each one.

djbooth.net

Some legends die young. Others fizzle out into a mix of quiet obscurity and semi-retirement or, even worse, ironic self-parody. But then there are the few musical heroes whose souls fade naturally like a favorite pair of jeans. And if anybody lingering from the 1970s has still got soul, lord knows, his name is the Rev. Al Green.
The knees have worn a little thinner, and the seams will never return to the store-bought crispness they once held, but overall, Green is no worse for wear. Apparently, life at 62 is no less sexy than it was at 32.
Here it is, folks, the soundtrack to all your summer copulating: Lay It Down. Green’s latest album finds the elder-spokesman of getting down and funky in fighting, no, loving, form. Green sounds as if he has stepped straight out of a ’70s time capsule, plaid-patterned suit and all.
Everything clearly bears Green’s stamp of approval, but a lot of the execution comes courtesy of producer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, drummer of The Roots and Philadelphia’s current music genius in residence. With distinct admiration for the work of Willie Mitchell, Green’s longtime go-to guy behind the boards, Thompson and co-producer James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Common) keep the arrangements classically organic and appropriately soulful.
They push Green’s remarkably preserved voice front and center in the mix, delicately integrating strings, brass and guest singers without intruding on the intimacy. The title-track album opener (featuring Anthony Hamilton) sets the rapturous tone with the backing singers booming what could very well be Green’s entire musical mantra summarized: “Lay it down/ Let it go/ Fall in love.”
The sermon fits as well now as it did then. Whatever Green lacks in songwriting, he has always made up for with burning conviction. His lyrics become all the more believable in their passionate delivery.

diamondbackonline.com

Not an ‘Idol’ fan
I would like to go on record at this moment and say that I am not a fan of the show “American Idol.” I am aware that many people do enjoy this show, however, I am not amused or intrigued in the least little bit. I have never been able to get through an entire episode without turning the channel. Please realize that you do not have to agree with or accept my views on this subject. That is why they are my views.
Why do I have such distaste for the show? It is the biggest farce that I have seen in music since those two lip synchers Milli Vanilli were busted out on stage. You have three people commenting on vocal talent of which they have little of themselves. Heck, Paula Abdul is the only one of the three that had a singing career and she was only popular for one album. The rest of her career was spent choreographing other artists’ dance moves, as well as a stint as a Lakers cheerleader. Simon, to my knowledge, has never been a singer. He is a producer. That is a code word for “person who tells the talent what to do.” Last but not least we have Randy Jackson. Randy, the most talented of the three, played bass for the band Journey in the ’80s as well as a multitude of other well known recording artists. Note that he was NOT the singer. Now, Randy is a producer. See above sentence for definition of producer.
I would be willing to make a bet that if you placed some of the most famous singers of our time on that show, before they were famous, they wouldn’t have made the first cut. Let’s take a look at a few. Eddie Vedder is one of the most talented song writers and singers of my generation. He sang for Pearl Jam and now has begun a solo career. He has countless No. 1 songs and is well known with the rock scene. He would have been given the boot and instructions on not to mumble through lyrics. Hey Simon, it’s his trademark.

vintoncourier.1upmonitor.com

It could be that she does wish to fulfil her vast potential, but she has another wish that conflicts: the wish for oblivion. It’s hard to speak against that wish without sounding like an advertisement for a package holiday. As this world goes, there are ample reasons for wanting to be out of it even if your personal history is a comfort, and I imagine hers has been the opposite. But she knows all this. The proof is in some of her songs. The proof is in her voice. You don’t get to sing like that unless you can give a shape to grief.
Not long before he died last week, Humphrey Lyttelton said that he admired the way Amy Winehouse sang and would have liked to meet her. Some commentators have wondered what he would have said. There’s no telling. He was the prince of joy, and he might have told her that he was glad to have lived out a long life in music. The old Etonian would surely have admitted that he had begun his career in conditions of privilege, as she had not, and that he had always had the gift of happiness, which she plainly hasn’t, or anyway does not have yet.
But he could have added that he only had to listen to a few bars of her singing to realise that she had been given the greatest gift a musician of any kind can have, and that a gift on that scale is not possessed by its owner, but does all the possessing.
Maybe that’s what she’s afraid of. When people say that you have a duty to your talent, they all too often mean that you have a duty to them. But they’re misstating the case. The duty of the greatly talented is to life itself, because what they do is the consecration of life. I could end with something that Pavarotti once told me in his dressing room before I interviewed him. He wouldn’t say it on air, for fear of sounding immodest. He said he knew his gift was from God. But perhaps a better ending would be what Philip Larkin said to the ghost of Sidney Bechet. “On me your voice falls as they say love should, like an enormous yes”. Come on, kiddo. Give us a song.

news.bbc.co.uk

West 28th Street
Everything is coming up Brigid Kaelin: Fresh off her guest turn with hero Elvis Costello last week at the Palace, Kaelin’s excellent new album, West 28th Street, hit Louisville in limited release this week. Her fun, quirky personality shines throughout, starting off with the naughty-yet-vulnerable “I Did Something Bad,” in which she confesses that her good-girl image might not be 100-percent accurate.
The entire album is filled with such emotional honesty and glimpses into a left-of-center view of the world that is refreshing and endearing, all delivered in a stripped-down, Americana-meets-pop (with an occasional dash of jazz) style. There’s not a bad track in the bunch, but one highlight is “Sunday Afternoon,” a sparkling proclamation that life should be fun and should be lived for the day. It includes the hilarious and telling line, “I’ll be your June Carter, if you’ll be my one-night stand.”
Kaelin, perhaps best known for her guest spots playing accordion and musical saw with numerous other performers, proves in fine form on West 28th Street, sounding every bit a confident person and performer — good girl, bad girl or otherwise. Great things lie ahead for this one. —Kevin Gibson
Death Cab for Cutie
Did you hear about the girl who’d only date guys who’d been diagnosed as psychotic? She’d shrug and say, “At least you can be sure they’re into commitment.”
I’d like to hook her up with Death Cab bandleader Ben Gibbard — especially after this disc, it’d clearly be an interesting match. Narrow Stairs improves on Plans, the group’s successful indie-to-major transition. Now they’ve got increased confidence and take on a relationship song-cycle. The skewed sequence starts at “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” a segmented gem of rueful aftermath. Straight after is a magnetic extended take on obsessive desire, “I Will Possess Your Heart.” Then the songs shorten up — and you don’t need a libretto to read the subtext about pursuing (and reinterpreting) being more important than having.

leoweekly.com

No, it’s not a dance craze. Contago is a condition of supply and demand, essentially a fancy word to say that prices for items, typically commodities, are cheaper now than they would be at some point down the line.
Anything that¿s sold in the futures market can be in a case of contango. Futures are exactly that: a contract to buy an item or asset at a price in the future. This is the case with oil, with traders buying and selling contracts to acquire a barrel of oil in months down the line. When a market is in contango, spot prices, or the price of a commodity if you were to buy it right now, are lower than forward prices.
Why is that important? Well, it usually tells you the supply of a given commodity is plentiful (since, according to Economics 101, a large supply usually leads to cheap prices).
Incidentally, if you think contango is a mouthful, its opposite condition is known by the equally tongue-tying term backwardation.
Multi-Platinum Rapper and Actor T.I. Speaks to Toure about His Trouble With the Law in a BET News National Exclusive: ‘T.I. Speaks,’ Premiering Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30PM*
NEW YORK, May 6, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ —-In his first televised interview since a plea bargain on weapon charges, multi-platinum recording artist and actor T.I., a.k.a. Clifford Harris, Jr., speaks exclusively to BET News in the half-hour special T.I. SPEAKS, premiering Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 PM*. He directly answers the tough questions from host Toure and at-risk youth about his life and future after being sentenced to a year in prison. In a compelling moment, he explains why someone who seems to have everything — money, power and fame — would risk it all.
On October 13, 2007, T.I. was set to perform at BET’s second annual HIP HOP AWARDS in Atlanta, but he never made it to the stage. Just hours before the show, the Grammy Award winner and budding actor was taken into custody by federal authorities who alleged that he gave his bodyguard cash to buy firearms. Never bashful in his lyrics about his days of drug dealing and guns, this arrest was just another line in the 27-year old Atlanta native’s already long rap sheet.

foxbusiness.com

Unless you were born with one of those silver spoons, you likely work a day job, sneaking time for your own business when not taking care of someone else’s. You’re not alone. Brandon Stosuy finds out how our favorite indie artists make ends meet…
Port O’Brien started three years ago as the duo (and couple) of Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin. The Bay Area band’s currently a quintet, but the two remain at the group’s core. It’s a highly autobiographical project, connected to where they travel and how they opt to live while doing it. For instance, they have a song called “Fisherman’s Son” and it’s not just one of those indie-rock seafaring metaphors: Vocalist and guitarist Van Pierszalowski actually is the son of a commercial fisherman. He’s a fisherman himself, too. As any number of tracks like “Stuck On A Boat” suggest, when Port O’Brien sing about heading to sea, there’s lived experience affixed to the chorus.
Every summer Pierszalowski joins his father on Kodiak Island in Alaska to fish salmon. Goodwin, who sings and plays banjo, keyboard, and mandolin, goes north, too, as Head Baker at the Larsen Bay cannery. (This summer, bassist Caleb Nichols also worked at the cannery.) Like Bon Iver’s love of the Wisconsin landscape and respect for the hunting tradition, these are the sorts of “jobs” you don’t quit. After the discussions with Van (who details a few fishing accidents) and Cambria (who offers a recipe for cayenne cocoa cake), check out a couple Port O’Brien tracks. Listen closely for the echoes.
STEREOGUM: So, you return to Alaska each summer to help your father fish?
VAN PIERSZALOWSKI That’s right.
STEREOGUM: Fishing’s clearly an important aspect of your music as well — from the band name to lyrics, etc. How long has your father been involved in commercial fishing? Yourself? Is it something you may eventually have to give up?

stereogum.com

Next time you purchase an album, hard copy or digital, take a moment to glance over the production credits. Chances are you’ll notice a glaring difference between the artists of today and the artists of yesteryear - very few actually write or produce their own music. Big budget acts such as Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and even Justin Timberlake often fail to contribute more than their vocals to the mixed and mastered final product.
While he doesn’t share in the fame of the aforementioned A-list stars, writer/producer/singer/rapper Novel is looking to change how music is made. Scripting out his Rowdy/Capitol debut album, “The Audiobiography,” with creative concepts and thematic lyrical content, this Atlanta native isn’t just versatile; he defines the very word.
In an exclusive interview with DJBooth‘s DJ “Z,” Novel steps inside the booth to talk about following his family’s footsteps into the music industry, why it’s easy to pick up women in a recording studio, and what minimum-wage paying job he’d accept as long as he could continue to record music and support his children.
DJ Booth: What’s goin’ on everybody? It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is a multi-talented artist who is going to share with the world his Audiobiography later this year. Please welcome my man, Novel – how you doin’?
Novel: How’s it goin’, man?
DJ Booth: It’s goin’ well, thanks. You got a lot goin’ on right now!
Novel: I’m tryin’, just workin’ hard.
DJ Booth: The fact that your stage name is “Novel” means one thing to me: you got something to say. With so many artists singing and rapping about the same topics, what will your music offer, so that all of our listeners are going to want to turn your pages?

djbooth.net

Historically, many of us would associate religious art with the Middle Ages and the Age of Enlightenment. Recently, however, a new style of religious art is becoming more popular in our 21st century culture. In the Sixth Annual Vermont Conference on Christianity and the Arts on Saturday, April 26, five artists, one of them a vocalist who later performed at the College, came to speak at the United Methodist Church of Middlebury to share the major inspirations behind their work along with the impact that their art has had on the world.
The first speaker was Sandra Bowden, a painter who has had much of her artwork displayed in numerous museums such as the Vatican Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, the Museum of Biblical Art in New York City and the Haifa Museum. As a passionate collector, Bowden presented many famous innovative contemporary religious artworks at the conference that she has found inspiring when creating her work. Many of the paintings were subtle in conveying spiritual meaning, but after intensively studying these works, Bowden said she has been able to see the deeper meaning beneath the colorful oil paints.
“It is important for artists in the 21st century to communicate to the people in the post-literature era with visual art,” ” said Bowden.
The next speaker, Elizabeth Ehmann, was also a painter and grew up in Vermont, though she later moved to New York City to pursue her career. Upon returning to her hometown for this conference, Ehmann had been excited to show off the new paintings she created. Some were portraits with colorful backgrounds, while others were rich, detailed, spirited paintings of natural landscapes with high mountains, green trees and sparkling blue rivers.
“From choosing the subject to work with to what I see in the subject, my spirituality has impacted much of my art,” said Ehmann. “I am able to see the inner beauty in the people that I collaborate with and that is reflected in my portraitures and paintings.”

middleburycampus.com