Adventures In Elysian Fields 10.03.07: More Guns Less Bullies
Posted by MSD on 10.03.2007
I got cable in ten rooms, goons holding my guns. Gettin riches offa pimpin, extortion and number runs.
Call me "white n****r", Call me "Christ killer" or "kike"
Call me n***a lover because I spit on the mic
think you got me figured out - you're not listening right
get ya fuckin head kicked in for thinkin you're hype…
* Ill Bill - "White N****r"
My mother was in therapy recently discussing her state of affairs. She was telling her head doctor about the recent shootings and car torching right across the street, and I guess she told it in such a secondary way that the doc told her she's become acclimated to the carnage. That it happens so much it's just become a side bar. The only reason my mother was telling me this story, was because of the Brockton Enterprises recent articles claiming the murder and mayhem in Brockton is really not that bad. It could be worse (look at those poor kids in Bahgdad!). The more entrenched you are the more menial and mundane the outrageous becomes.
The title "More Guns, Fewer Bullies" comes from a Sunday issue of the Brockton Enterprise and it symbolizes this trend further. Recently a 30-year old father responded antagonistically when his 13-year old son was jumped on the way to a football game. He confronted the 15-year old kid who helped beat him up, and the kid starts getting "mouthy". Ultimately, the 15-year old bully turns to a second teenager standing with him and order him to pop the old man – which he does. Kid pulls a gun and hits the protective father once in arm and grazes his side as he ducks behind a car for cover. Everybody else scatters, followed shortly by the two young hoods. The father had jumped up and he started to shout. So these punks bombed on pops and took his old ass out. Just like that every last illusion of civility disappears.
It's funny to think of; in the wake of Virginia Tech I heard conservative Christians talking about arming today's generation of students with handguns even while they're behind school walls. But you see what happens when kids start policing themselves – especially with guns. You remember the end to City of God, don't you? Nowadays we ain't bout that fist fight shit, we practice gun-fu. But Too $hort told you that in 1991. The over proliferation of guns on the streets and in the schools has seemingly swung the pendulum counter clockwise, to the tune of the weak, small and bullied uprising against their oppressors. It's like natural selection doing a 180 and now the sheep and rabbits are becoming predators.
It's also funny to think that this is all we know. Sure, my mother was shocked and outraged by the madness around her. 10 years ago. But now, even her therapist is realizing we have grown way too accustomed to this shit. I say this as I look at the bullet holes riddling the pad across the street. See, what I'm saying is the madness and insanity I occasionally touch on in my articles - that really doesn't seem to have anything to do with a Music Column – really has everything to do with the music we love. Cuz this is our culture. Despite all this, I really spit conscious rap. But when I say "Stop the Violence" how you think we stoppin that? With a flower, a protest, a rally or a band? Oh no - I got the baseball bat in my hand! So let the cycle continue – more guns, less bullies. It's the only rational solution.
MSD's ALL-TIME FAVORITE MC RETURNS!
Hieroglyphics crew co-founder Del The Funky Homosapien has hit the road in support of his first album in seven years The 11th Hour. The title of the Definitive Jux release according to Del, represented various trials and tribulations the rapper encountered during his career. "You can't fully control all the different variables that come into play in your life. Something is bound to be faulty and set you back," Del said. "I've spent the last couple of years dealing with drama in my life, touring the country several times over, and diving deep into studying music theory."
Best known for his critically-acclaimed album I Wish My Brother Georgia Was Here, Del invaded the rap scene in 1990 as writer for his cousin Ice Cube's crew da Lench Mob. He would later release a critically acclaimed follow up called No Need For Alarm in 1994 while joining with Souls of Mischief, Casual, Pep Love and Domino to officially create The Hieroglyphics. Fans can hear songs spanning Del's career on the "11th Hour" tour as well as selections from The 11th Hour album, including "Sit Down" and "Workin' It." Hieroglyphics co- founder A-Plus (who just released his first solo record this year) will also be featured on the nationwide trek, along with Devin the Dude and his Coughee Brothers, Bukue One and the Serendipity Projects. The 11th Hour is slated to hit stores in early 2008.
The following are the remaining dates for the 11th Hour tour:
Oct. 2 Houston, TX The Warehouse
Oct. 3 Austin, TX Emos
Oct. 4 New Orlean, LA Tipitinas
Oct. 5 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
Oct. 6 Tallahassee, FL Beta Bar
Oct. 7 Tampa, FL State Theater
Oct. 9 Orlando, FL The Social
Oct. 10 Charleston, SC Village Tavern
Oct. 11 Athens, GA Georgia Theater
Oct. 12 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
Oct. 13 Carrboro, NC Cats Cradle
Oct. 14 Charlottesville, NC Satelitte Ballroom
Oct. 15 Baltimore, MD Sonar
Oct. 17 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
Oct. 19 New York, NY BB Kings (late show)
Oct. 20 Boston, MA Middle East
Oct. 21 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Oct. 23 Ann Arbor, MI Blind Pig
Oct. 24 Columbus, OH Skullys
Oct. 25 Lexington, KY The Dame
Oct. 26 Bloomington, IN Bluebird Theatre
Oct. 27 Chicago, IL The Metro
Oct. 28 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
Oct. 29 Duluth, MN Pizza Luce
Oct. 30 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Oct. 31 Omaha, NE Slowdown
Nov. 1 Ft. Collins, CO Aggie Theater
Nov. 2 Denver, CO Cervantis
Nov. 3 Aspen, CO Belly Up Tavern
Nov. 4 Boulder, CO Fox Theater
Nov. 5 Park City, UT Suede
Nov. 8 Portland, OR Roseland
Nov. 9 Seattle, WA Showbox
Nov. 10 Eugene, OR Wow Hall
Nov. 11 Chico, CA Senator Theatre
Nov. 13 San Francisco, CA Slims
Nov.14 San Francisco, CA Slims
CELEBRITY RAP SUPERSTAR Volume IV
Shar Jackson & Sebastian Bach - "It's Tricky" by Run-D.M.C. Countess Vaughn & Jason Wahler - "Nuthin but a G Thang" by Dr. Dre & Snoop Kendra Wilkinson & Perez Hilton - "Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa
Last week the remaining contestants attempted to pen their own rhymes. Tonight, the six will perform in rap groups with the worst two being forced to compete for elimination. The show opens with some off-air drama, as Perez Hilton went straight to the internet after last weeks show to air his perceived grievances. Apparently, Shar Jackson stopped taping last week after flubbing a line and was granted a do-over. Hilton stormed the stage like a drama queen and caused a ruckus. This was after he did his show-stealing train wreck performance of "I'm The Queen", in which he licked a photo of Britney Spears before tearing it in half and demanding she retire. So THIS week – during the duets Episode – the producers will air the show LIVE! No do-overs!
Host Kevin Hart reveals the rankings of all six contestants, starting with tonight's first pairing, Shar Jackson (3rd overall) and Sebastian Bach (4th overall), followed by the team of Countess Vaughn (5th overall) and Jason Wahler (2nd overall!!! Booooo!!!). Finally, it's revealed that Kendra Wilkinson pulled in the most votes and drag queen Perez is on "the bottom" according to Kevin. All three teams will perform tonight, and the team that the judges think is the worse will go head-to-head on a song at the end of the show. The judges will then determine who gets eliminated. So maybe they DON'T want the show to turn into a total joke…
Shar Jackson and Sebastian Bach open up the show with Shar addressing last weeks outburst by Perez ("don't come up on stage, I ain't a punk!"). Bach also got in on the act with a hilarious stab at the seeming insane MTV voting preferences (I just said to myself, 'America, if you want Perez Hilton singing on the mic every Thursday night instead of me, that's what you deserve – and that's what you'll get"). It's even more funny when you consider Bach was in the bottom 2 last week. Tonight, the arguably two best performers on this show team up to perform such an all-time favorite Hip Hop song that even Kurupt bugged out when he first heard it – "It's Tricky" by Run-D.M.C! They rocked the set in one take, and perfectly captured everything I've been saying about this show since day one – it's tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time! It's tricky! The team earns a standing ovation from the judges, including D.M.C. ("the timing , the togetherness, you MURDERED IT!")
Next, the most underrated performer Countess Vaughn teams up with the WORST (but inexplicitly most popular) contestant Jason Wahler. He knows he sucks too. So bad you can see the pain in his face every time he tries to rap. He's so bad he didn't even dare show up to rehearsal this week for fear of being outshined by Countess Vaughn. So everybody bitches, Jason doesn't answer his cellphone and Countess winds up practicing "Nuthing but a G Thang" by herself. During the actual performance, Jason finally shows up. But it only makes Countess Vaughn look like Rakim in comparison. She steals the show, and even steals his lines when he starts botching him. She will not let this performance fall apart at the seams. By the end even Jason is giving her props for saving him. Thankfully the judges recognize this, and praise Countess while questioning Jason's heart to win (derrrrr….)
Next up is the oddest pairing of the night - #1 fan favorite Kendra Wilkinson teams with bottom dweller (pun intended) Perez Hilton. Together they perform "Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa. Once again, as the weeks progress, I'm finding Perez to be one of the most entertaining and well-prepared contestants on this show. He hooks up the choreography and adds a lot of color and flavor. Of course they both suck, but it's damn entertaining. Host Kevin Hart explains that the team the judges think was the worse will have to "battle" each other by performing together along with a special guest - Lil Mo! "I see a lot going on," she says, and they're sure to get in a plug for Mo's new album, the self-release Pain and Paper. "It's in stores now," she says. The judges decide Countess Vaughn and Jason Wahler will compete in the finals. I see two reasons for this. One – Wahler sucks and they need to get him the hell out of here. Two – Countess Vaugh is quietly one of the most underrated competitors. She might be the best of the entire crew but has flown under the radar so far. This is her opportunity to really earn more votes from the viewers, even if it's out of sympathy.
Kevin explains that all of the performers had the Lil' Mo song "Can't Let You Go" to practice during the week, in addition to their duet, in case they landed in the battle. Each contestant will perform a verse while Lil' Mo croons the hook. Backstage, Liz Hernandez finds there is consensus among the "safe" contestants, who are all positive, that Countess will kill it. They're all right. Countess is madd cool and kills her verse with accuracy. When it comes to Jason's turn he quickly throws in the towel, saying, "Countess, you own this one."
Determined to continue the song, Lil Mo tells him to "do the robot," and he obliges for a second or two, and Countess takes over the song. Jason barely pretends to be engaged as Lil Mo sings to each of them. While Countess keeps on rockin, Jason doesn't even bother - knowing he's on his way out the door. Sure enough, Jason gets voted off and Countess Vaughn earns more props for her thorough performance. Suddenly she's a dark horse favorite.
CELEBRITY RAP SUPERSTAR Volume V
Sebastian Bach w/ Kurupt - "Doggy Dogg World" Kendra Wilkinson w/ Too $hort - "Blow the Whistle" Shar Jackson w/ MC Lyte - "Ruff Neck" (BEST of the NIGHT) Perez Hilton w/ Tone Loc - "Funky Cold Medina"
Show opens with host Kevin Hart promising a big surprise. Tonight the contestants team up with their mentors to perform one of their own hit songs. The big surprise winds up being Countess Vaughn's elimination by absence! BOOOOO! After last week's stellar showing, she climbs all the way up to #2 in the fan voting – and then "gets sick". The doctor won't let her perform, allegedly and her mentor Warren G is rightfully pissed. He had planned to perform "Regulate" with her which might have sealed them victory. As it is, Perez Hilton staves off elimination ONCE AGAIN by sheer luck. He was last in voting and would have been gone tonight if not for Vaughns no-show. Damn lucky. But another great episode, especially for Kendra's wild, spastic "hyphy" dance during her set. Outrageous!
Salt-n-Pepa BRAND NEW
London Records
1997
LOST in the LAB This is the part of our show where I dig into my archives and unearth some of rap's hidden jewels. These album or song choices may be shrouded in obscurity, or on the top of everybody's "Heard Of" list. They could be a few months young, or 25 years old. But one thing is sure - it's all HIP HOP MUSIC, and it's comin live and direct from Elysian Fields!
"RU Ready" opens with a familiar "Watch Out" sample and a ruff rhyme flow that mimics Foxy Brown (and name checks the Lost Boyz). Rufus Brown stops by to add a little vocal flavor to Salt's sonic accompaniment (she co-produced the track) and it's pretty tight by '97 club banger status. "Good Life" returns to their smoothed-out New Jack swing sound with a R&B hook over another Salt pop beat. Not bad, and a positive message lifts it beyond mere banality. "Do Me Right" slows it all the way down again with a Spinderella and Pepa verse that sounds EXACTLY like Foxy Brown again! This song also mimics her sex appeal albeit in a less crass, PG-13 fashion. Another R&B track with slick, well produced production (props to Salt for the board work). Swinging the pendulum 180 degrees is the Mad Lion-assisted "Friends". The beat's harder, and Lion's reggae interludes bring it back to the streets (along with a Biggie Smalls reference by Pepa - "damn, why they wanna stick me for my paper?"). Queen Latifah also cameos.
After that brief bit of respite, we're whacked upside the head with "Say Ooh" which brings it right back to their '97 diamond rap (which in itself is just a mimicry of Fox and Kim). Another familiar sample by Larry Young ("Turn Off The Lights") adorns the beat. "Imagine" is their biggest stab at crossover appeal, featuring hook work by Sheryl Crow(?!?!). But this is far from a pop track, cuz Salt's beat is banging and Pepa's flow is hardcore. This "Imagine" is almost identical to the theme and concept of the Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's "Imagine" nearly 10 years later. They'd go good together back to back on a mixtape. "Knock Knock" wraps up Side A and is just another watered down version of the first three songs. Which is to say it's still polished to a gleam.
Side B opens with the up tempo "Gitty Up" featuring Rufus Moore on the hook. Another track for the clubs with a hard bump and glistening strings. Spinderella stops by to drop another verse using her Lil Kim impersonation. "Boy Toy" uses that old hook from "Knockin Boots" by Candyman ("ooh boy, I love you so – never ever gonna let you go…") and has the girls playing the role of the trick, promising to spend all their money on their man. At least they use their own flow. "Brand New" is the title track, and the closest to an actual "street" track. They use a familiar sample from "Love is Alive" that has been used many times before in Hip Hop. Day ta Day gives the track a mixtape feel by shouting out random DJ breaks ("c'mon c'mon bounce!" and "Atlanta in the house!" etc). "Silly of You" slows it down a bit with a sassy battle rap that lets the girls flex their spot in the game. "From the cradle to the grave I know the tricks of the trade". "The Clock Is Tickin" keeps it in a similar vein, as the girls bring it back to Latifah's era of U.N.I.T.Y. Interesting that they borrow Kim and Fox's flow for many of the tracks here, yet are completely opposite in their message and image. They somehow maintain their positive ‘80s influenced vibe of female upliftment without sounding preachy or condescending. The beat is pretty tight too, with a hard rock edge that is far from cheesy. "Hold On" wraps up the album with "the sound of blackness", as brought to you by Kirk Franklin and his choir. Truly spiritual and it ends the record on a high note. Borderline gospel rap by the converted Salt.
Overall, this is one of Salt-n-Pepas most underrated and slept on records. It's high quality music, with tight lyrics and hot flows. Plus they're actually trying to say something. And despite "borrowing" from other females who were hot in this era, they still maintained their own original style and delivery. "Trust God that's all you gotta do". It's almost safe to say this record was ahead of its time, with maturity in rap just starting to find an audience now. To sum it all up, re-read "Black is not a Color" by Bernadette Bonner-James, which is printed in the liner notes. "Black is an experience deep in your soul, that goes on until you are old". CHUUCH! 7 out of 10 puffs for the first ladies of Hip Hop.
THE OUTRO
I'm from the old school, the place where whiteboys get smacked in the face just for livin. So if THIS muthaphuckker can't get no acceptance, I'll be DAMNED if some punk ass from outta the COUNTRY jumps on the bandwagon. How's that for some diversity? Last time I checked, "real Hip Hop" was that shit you pour on your wounds to disinfect them. Hip Hop is the streets, and the streets is drug-related. That's how you get grimy-ass white trash muthaphuckkers livin the "street life". Remember what Immortal Technique taught you – it's not about racism, it's about classicism. And the MadStepDad is in a class of his own. Recognize.
