Straight from the heart of North Chicago, IL, comes the very literal and hard core Quarter Key. His video "Gangsta" has racked up over 47,775 views on YouTube alone. (Produced by Lou Perez Productions and directed by Fresh Air the People's Player)
Lyrically, there is nothing like this on mainstream radio. Quarter Key comes with real life experience spoken over gangsta beats. Right now, Quarter Key and Blocklife Music Group is getting it in big time.
Can Quarter Key make it to the mainstream and bring some reality back to rap music? I don't know, but something tells me the man is on his way. The online comments have been mostly positive and he is the first that I have seen garner this much response from an online music video.
Stay tuned. There maybe more in store from this artist.
This Tuesday, January 15, 2013 marked what would have been the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's 84th birthday. While he may be gone, Dr. King's legacy lives on in his words both written(Letters from Birmingham Jail) and spoken (the I Have a Dream Speech & the I've been to the Mountain Top speech). He lives on as an example today because of his courageous nonviolent actions and his faith in American Democracy for all of it's peoples.
The 3rd Monday of January ( 1/21/2013) is designated as a federal holiday to honor this man's life and legacy. It is this blogger's belief that without the sacrifice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. life as we know it in America would not exist. He legacy lives on in ever one who lives, breathes and recognizes freedom and equality for all men and women.
Indeed, America has come a long way. We still have a ways to go.
Right now, unemployment in the black community is the highest of any race in this country. Crime and poverty are at an all time high. Every time I turn on the news I hear of another murder. Black on black crime is still in some areas at an all time high and a young black male is still considered very blessed to reach the age of 25.
Yes we still have many mountains to climb, and I mean that literally. I won't speculate on how Martin Luther King would feel or what he would say if he were still alive. We lost a great leader and motivator in Dr. King, but he earned his rest.
It is time for us as a people to accept the responsibility for our lives ourselves. We not only can do better than this, we as African Americans are better than this. But, we have to believe that we are and want it for ourselves.
We have to become the leaders, the teachers, the motivators, the innovators, the Martin Luther King's that we are waiting for in our individual lives. We have to start looking at life differently.
African Americans make up less that 50% of this countries populace. How can we be responsible for most of the crime that happens on the nightly news?
During the Civil Rights Era, it was us against injustice, and now sometimes it is like it is just us against ourselves. Our thinking, and our living has got to change. IT doesn't matter worth a damn who is President of the United States, if we still have the same problems we had ten years ago. Having a black president was not the focus and point of the dream. If it was then, we need to go back to sleep.
MLK's dream was simple:
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Let us all honor him in memory as well as in action. Look first to God and then to ourselves for the solution. PEACE.
Bored. I was bored with the day to day of my humdrum life. That is the main reason why I went to see the film Django Unchained. However, that is not the only reason.
I will be honest. I watch a lot of movies, television, etc. And certain things catch my fancy like none other in those mediums. In the realm of the silver screen, nothing holds my fancy more than a Quentin Tarantino film. I like his movies, almost to the point of loving the shit out of them. Almost.
I mean, the guy has cinematic moxy, guts and huge brass monkey balls for writing, directing and producing some of the work he has given us over the years. Violent and profane as it all may be, Tarantino can tell a story. After seeing his films, many times, my mind is awash with blood, snappy dialogue, and unrealistically vulgar characters. Quentin Tarantino has got to be the Marque De Sade of modern cinema. He takes the ugly side of mankind, paints it up, makes it uglier and shoves it into our faces. And we, frankly, adore him for it.
Enough with the ass kissing. What is Django Unchained about and why are people so pissed off?
I am getting to that. Trust me. There is so much to say, and frankly I love it when a film challenges me emotionally, morally, and visually. Why? Well, if the silver screen is an accurate reflection of humanity, then a good film will make an audience think; mainly, about themselves. You want to be the hero or in Django's case (by the end of the film) the anti-hero. You want to laugh in the faces of your enemies while your gun hand sends them screaming to Perdition. Why? Because it is fiction. It is the slight of hand for the mind.
Now, Django Unchained is historically inaccurate on many levels. Hell, it starts off historically inaccurate. I blame the writer (my beloved Tarantino), but I digress.
Django Unchained opens in 1858 (with a subtitle that says two years before the Civil War). The Civil War began actually with the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Clearly Tarantino had not done his homework. I don't fault him for this. I suck at math too. But, when doing a period piece, accuracy is key.
Not being too worried about that, I continued to watch the film. The opening musical score, the lettering in the titles, even the landscape shouted, "spaghetti western". Most spaghetti westerns stories are told like years after the Civil War ends.
And as Jamie Foxx marched in that chain gang across that screen to the sounds of "Django" being sung poorly, with chains and shackles clinking to the beat, I had to wonder, what the hell is going on here, what hell did I just spend my money on and what the hell kind of story is Quintin Tarantino trying to tell?
My questions were answered beyond my wildest dreams.
Mahatma Ghandi said, "You can judge a society by how they treat their weakest members."
And, no, he did not make an appearance in this film. Slavery was a harsh reality for over 400 years in this country. It was not a spaghetti western, there was no happy endings for a lot of these men and women. And for what they really endured, frankly, I can't even speak on it and be truthful because my twentieth century mind can't fathom it. I have never been a slave. I have never been human cattle. And even if I was playing one on TV, I could just turn it off when the director yelled cut. That was not the case for millions of Africans and their descendants in this land. That is reality. Look it up.
In fiction, however, the storyteller is inclined to ask questions of each of his or her characters. The questions I asked myself while watching the beginning of this film were answered right in front me and that little inner voice inside of me mirrored that answer: "Why the hell not?"
Why can't this slave, this subhuman, this piece of meat, this cattle catch a break, get a hand up and regain his manhood and humanity? And what would be the consequences for his enemies if he did?
Well, for Django, the hand up came in the form of a German bounty hunter who had a distaste for slavery and the need to acquire his bounty. And the transformation from slave to freeman, for Django at least, was rendered with much blood and fury. I found it shocking, thoroughly engrossing and highly entertaining.
The main opposition for our anti hero Django is a plantation owner named Candie (played wickedly well by Leonardo Dicaprio) and his main house slave Stephen ( played by Samuel L Jackson), who have the main thing in their possession that will make Django whole. Django's saving grace is his love for his wife Brunhilde (played by Kerry Washington). She is part of him. She is his humanity and the reason he risks life and limb throughout the film.
Until the end.
Now, I don't give out spoilers like party favors here. That shit ain't my style. In a nutshell, the movie was everything I expected it to be. Profane, vulgar, and entertaining. But, it also made me think. There are many stories of slaves and slavery that will never be told. The harsh reality of the matter is just that. I haven't seen a film that tackled the subject of the American slave trade for the African perspective since Alex Haley's Queen and before that Roots. Those were true stories.
Django is not.
Django Unchained is a fable. One part Action film, Spaghetti Western, (historically inaccurate) period piece, and Lethal Weapon "bromance" with a strong pinch of love story in the mix. Much like the popular Marvel comics of the same name, "Django" takes the story of the American South and asks"What if"?
The word 'nigger' is used over a hundred times in this movie. Now, before this movie came out, I don't recall anyone wanting to go back in history and see how the word was made and used. Now, all I hear and read is that it is not what we were called back in 1858 or before the Civil War. Well, I wasn't there, and chances are, if you are reading this now, neither were you. It is offensive to say the word, use the word, spray paint it, etc. Somebody is going to fucking get upset when it is said.
But, no one usually gets there head blown off by a bullet a split second after saying it most of the time. Ahh, but what if?
Go see the movie or not on your own time. Make up your own damn mind. Quentin Tarantino is crazy, but he can tell a story. Good or bad, he knows how to violently weave a tale. That is all.
Right now, as 2012 is drawing to a slow and steady close, I am reflecting on the "art" I have created and the dreams I have to succeed. But, I know that I am not the only one.
Kayo of Swagg Kamp song "Real Rap" is a song about manning up and facing your adversities head on. One of the things the world is missing from rap and hip hop in general is honest story telling. Everybody has there own tale to tell.
In Real Rap, Kayo does not mince words. Eloquently enough, he tells it like it is. Probably another one of the best, I have heard coming out of Lake County, IL. This is a lyricist that should not be slept on.
If you disagree or you want to shout out the group, leave your comments below. Listen and decide for yourself. Is "real rap" making a comeback in 2013. I know for me it is.
My name is Jacqueline Nicole Harris. I am a blogger, a fiction writer and a performance poet who is looking to branch out and improve on her own. I am the creator of www.nogostreetbeat2.blogpot.com
and the author of Random Acts of Verse (www.createspace.com/3585140).
The purpose of this blog NOGO STREET BEAT 2# is to actually the same as the original blog. The idea is the same, the reason for the blog is the same. The purpose of this blog is to give back to my community by featuring the best inside and outside of North Chicago, IL. This blog will not only feature independent artists, but it will also feature interviews with local business owners, politicians and regular people who live and work in Lake County, IL.
There are a lot of naysayers talking where my community is concerned. With this tool for exposure, I want to highlight the positive, motivators and game changers that will rise up in 2013. Good things are happening and good things can happen in North Chicago, IL.
This blog will not be used to disparage or talk negatively about anything or anyone. In the end, I want this blog to be a focal point for positive energy. This is not a gossip column.
This is not a place where one man or woman can shine. This blog is for the city of North Chicago, IL and the surrounding communities. We cannot swim and hold each other down at the same time. We can only sink or swim together.
I have preached enough. There is so much going on right now that I don't think put it all in one blog entry. I just ask that the readers be patient and stay tuned. Don't sleep on me. I shall return.
VIDEO STREET BEAT PREMIERE
NEW ARTIST: NICKY MAY
SONG: HELLO WORLD
NICKY MAY's love for music has been a life long obsession. Hailing from Chicago, IL Nicky May feels he has a standard to live up to within his own music from the soulful, passionate, and poetic words of Common, to the creative and outspoken presence of Kanye West. " If you ask anyone thats experienced my music, who does Nicky May sound like? I guarantee they would have a hard time defining the ans...
It is a rare but welcome treat these days to hear a sound that is both classic and brand new.
I am an eighties and nineties baby. When I was coming up, hip hop was an intelligence contest. Verbal lyricists spit facts about history, life and community. They told stories that a person could relate too, about life in our communities. And for a while it felt good to hear it and be Black.
Continuing in that tradition is BlackBizzness. Yes, the duo of Black Sun and ShowBiz are at it again kicking serious cerbral sound to the real serious hip hop heads.
Debuting on December 4, 2012, their mixtape A Wonderful World is available for free download on Bandcamp.com and trust me, these brothers should be applauded and supported. Not just because they are local and independent, but because there is quality in the music they are presenting to the public. And that is a quality that is lacking in the mainstream music industry these days.
I'm not naming any names. They have enough exposure. But, hip hop artists like BlackBizzness should have more exposure and more fanfare over their hard work. With no big time label behind them, and without selling out and looking stupid, ShowBiz and BlackSun have made real hip hop music.
My favorite tracks are 16 No Go Love Story, 1 End of Story, 9 Taxi, 5 80s Dope, & 6 Living through me (Biggie Tribute). Go to: http://blackbizzness.bandcamp.com/album/a-wonderful-world
Decide for yourself, and download this music for FREE.
Support real talent. Support your local independent artists, Support BlackBizzness.
