I want to say that gangster rap is out of fashion, but there's still
the troubling hip hop songs that addresses women as ho's and bragging
rights of doing criminal things. That's why the following artists is
spreading their message of love, peace, and understanding.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
billcosby.com
Most people will know Bill Cosby from
The Cosby Show or
Fat Albert, but did you know that early in his entertainment career, that he released a music album called
Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings? He also plays drums and bass... so it shouldn't surprise anyone to know that he's the person behind
State of Emergency.
Before we continue, let me be clear in one thing: Bill Cosby
does not sing on this album. Most of the singing is done by Jace the
Great, with some help from Cedric Miller and Brother Haz. It's not
clear on the music writing credits, most of the songs are credited to
W.H. Cosby Jr (Bill Cosby), William Patterson, Cedric Miller, Jamal
Gary (Jace?) and Hassan McMillan (Brother Haz?).
My favorite song off the album is "Dads Behind the Glass", with its refrain "
I wish my daddy was home/tired of sitting here all alone/Mommy's not here she's working two jobs". The song also features samples from Bill Cosby and Friends' performing "
Ursalina".
Some of the song's message, I can see Cosby writing. Like the constant
"Why?" question, or "In a Perfect World", or "Runnin'". But songs like
"Where Did I Go Wrong?", about being a Blood gangster, with being the
son of a Muslim, I can't see Cosby writing this... but I
can feel it's Brother Haz's contribution to this song.
Even if Cosby have little to do with this album, he's involving and
lending his name to the project - and for most people, that's good
enough. He believes in the project enough to do talk about it and
promote it, and I think that's awesome. Though, I would've pegged him
as a Jazz guy, considering his love for jazz music, but it's refreshing
to see him working in the hip-hop music industry.
State of Emergency is available now at
BillCosby.com. There's a variety of packages, but I recommend getting the CD and book (New York times bestseller
Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors by Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint) combo.
THE GOSPEL OF HIP HOP
powerhousebooks.com
Having spent all of my holiday reading on and off KRS-One's
The Gospel of Hip Hop,
I came to the conclusion that, like the Holy Bible, understanding of
its message does not come overnight... but through years of practice
and study.
If you love hip hop and embrace all of its kulture and
lifestyle, then I say this is a wonderful book for your library shelf.
This 800+ page hardcover, gold embossed cover, words of wisdom, is well
worth its price of $24.95. I have bought more expensive books for less
content and value, so take it from me, this is a good deal. Plus, I
noticed that your order of
The Gospel of Hip Hop via
Powerhouse Books will come autographed by KRS-One.
So, this book does not necessary require you to read front-to-back, but
you can't just skip around either - considering that it makes sense to
read "The First Understanding" vs "The Eighteenth Understanding". What
KRS One, who, in the book, refers to himself as
the teacha,
tries and break down some of the components that makes hip hop - in
particular: graffiti art, DJ, emcees, b-boy, and free styles.
The book isn't necessary all about the hip hop culture, but
also faith, religion, and, most of all, love. Love to stop the
violence, and love to help others in need. I'll give you evidence, this
past Thanksgiving, KRS-One practiced his teaching by serving meals to
thousands of New York's homeless at the Bowery Mission:
I am participating in The Bowery Mission's Thanksgiving food drive and
event because I myself was once homeless, walking these very streets,
and spending time with these wonderful people at The Bowery Mission. I
depended on them to survive. I am showing up for Thanksgiving this year
to not only lend a hand, but hope that I am may inspire others in the
Hip Hop community to consider their role towards helping the homeless,
and join me by helping those in your community that need help during
this holiday season.
I chose the Bowery Mission because it epitomizes the spirit of
true human resources, love, care and compassion. I have stayed at many
shelters were you are called "the client" and the administration made
you feel like a prisoner in a system. At the Bowery Mission you feel at
home. Homelessness is a pandemic, and most people do not realize the
severity of the situation. You may be homeless one day yourself. I urge
the Hip Hop nation to live up to the true nature of our culture and
give.
- KRS-One
My favorite chapter from
The Gospel of Hip Hop is
the Fourth Understanding: The H-LAW. What the H-LAW is an acronym for
Health, Love, Awareness and Wealth. For anyone, a healthy body &
mind also translate to peace and positive attitude. There's an
interesting bit in the section that describes that not all food is
life-giving, that everything edible is not food. What follows Health,
Love and Wealth, seems pretty obvious. Love is not lust, while Wealth
doesn't always mean riches in the monetary sense. The Awareness part,
that seems more like Knowledge. KRS-One gives you an example of a
normal person and an electrician, who looks at a room with very
different perspective. For instance, the electrician, with his
knowledge of wiring knows a little more than the average person.
Again, let me be clear: the understanding of all of
The Gospel of Hip Hop's
teaching and written words does not come overnight. In some ways, this
book will require multiple reading. Below, I leave you with a small
teaching from the book, which you can apply in any situation:
Disobedience, stubbornness, suspicion, criticism, fear,
doubt and/or arrogance toward your teacher only hinder YOUR learning.
We must not unnecessarily criticize each other; we must question and
always acknowledge our collective development as a young nation.
THE PEACE
hipfolkinc.com ♥ myspace.com
The impossible to search for The Peace, a band out of Vermont,
plays what they bill themselves as "hip hop folk" - a combination of
their inspiration of music from Dave Matthews and KRS One. At least
that's what they describe themselves, personally, in my opinion, I
don't believe The Peace to be hip hop (or even folk). They seem like a
jam band, their influence is closer to funk and improvisation
progressive rock.
The most hip-hop/rappish song on the album is "Heaven", but
based on Bobby Kendes' singing style (which actually
sounds so much like Dave
Matthews), it's not really a hardcore rap song. I did enjoy hearing
Kurt Cobain's name drop in that song. And speaking of name-dropping,
there's a ton of that on "Rookie And The Vets".
As their name suggest, this album is about zen, harmony, and
peace. Songs like "This Is Life" and "Goin To Yoga" are great theme for
the album - but some song like, "Racing The Devil", seems conflicting.
The thing I remember about the Devil song is that the f-word is
censored.
My favorite song on the album is "Seven", I think mostly
because I enjoyed the Spanish and can pick out "siete", "por favor" and
"callate". Not sure about the last word, I could've sworn he said 'shut
up' in the song.
If you live in New York, The Peace is spending some time there. I know
they played a few dates prior to this writing. Their next show is at
Arlene's Grocery (which is famously not a grocery store) on December 13
th. The Peace's self-titled debut can be bought via
hipfolkinc.com. If you don't mind a milder Spin Doctors, you'll enjoy this. If you were looking to Notorious BIG-type, I would avoid.
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Email post by H. Hamilton – The report from a concerned CA citizen attending the Board of Inquiry for LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.
WE HAVE NOT LOST. The bill pushed by Obama, passed by leftist Democrats in the House -- and rejected unanimously by all Senate Republicans -- must now be debated in the U.S. Senate... 
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