Tuesday, September 26, 2006
"Bin Laden doesn’t fit with the administration’s strategy for combating terrorism....”
You should already know what it is.
The debate rages but here's a few links worth peeping in case you need help figuring out the real:
A 2001 memo to Rice contradicts her statements about Clinton & Pakistan.
Condi Rice and George Bush did NOTHING after the CIA warned them that Bin Laden was determined to strike in the US. (related: read more at ThinkProgress)
"George Bush knew Al Qaeda was a problem for just as long as Bill Clinton did. So why didn't Bush take Osama on or before September 11?"
Maybe because Bush's mindset was the same then as when he recently told Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes that capturing Bin Laden was ‘Not A Top Priority Use of American Resources.’
And possibly because the Bush administration’s pre-9/11 focus was Missile Defense, Not Terrorism.
So for whatever reason, Bush didn't try to stop Bin Laden in 2001 and now he's made terrorism worse.
Bonus reading:
"The Rise of Jihadistan"
Five years after the Afghan invasion, the Taliban are fighting back hard, carving out a sanctuary where they--and Al Qaeda's leaders--can operate freely. (click here to read more from Newsweek)
Also peeped right on the Newsweek site yesterday: the reason why here in the US we don't know what the f-ck is really going in the war or anything else in the world. I was shocked when I saw that but luckily I wasn't the only one who noticed it.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Show Me You Love It....
Pete Rock: the essence of pure hip hop....
Young Jeezy "I Love It" - this is actually not bad but how do these Discobelle dudes in Sweden get these joints before we do here in America?! (note: I know this track is on a bunch of sites now but I saw it on theirs first.)
Shout to the
Janet Jackson "Show Me" - I'm feeling this track too but I'm still not copping her new album. I have never enjoyed a Janet Jackson album all the way through and that includes Control!
And in case you missed it: Beyonce's "Creole" - the bonus track from the international version of her B-day album. My view? I like it OK but Amerie called and she still wants her style back.
Meanwhile, check out new Maxwell from his long-awaited album dropping next year on his MySpace page right now.
Yung Onyx - the return of the Mad Face invasion (!?). The world was waiting for this??
O-Dub's Soul Sights - his new video blog for all things visual and funky.
Speaking of which: win a limited edition Miles Davis iPod Shuffle by clicking here! (related: I'm loving the new itunes software upgrade, especially the gapless play function but while it works fine on my laptop, I'm still getting gaps when I play mixtapes on my ipod even after I re-synced up everything. Somebody help?)
Solepedia - wikipedia for sneakers?
Finally, for this Wednesday (9/27): info on a "Chicken Noodle Soup" (album release?) party with DJ Webstar, Young B and DJ SNS here. (related: 60 seconds with DJ Webstar & Young B)
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
"Got the heart of the street and the eyes of the ghetto with the brains of a nerd..."
Chicago: the heart of not only the midwest but of "true school" hip hop? Chi town's own Kidz in the Hall.
Janet Jackson feat. Khia "So Excited" - I can't front, I like this a lot. I mean it samples Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" - who doesn't f-ck with that?! And who thought they'd ever from Khia again after the one hit wonderfulness of her ribald club classic, "My Neck, My Back"? Welcome back the Thug Misses. (original | instrumental | video)
Jibbs feat. Yung Joc, Lil Wayne, Rich Boy & Young Mont "Chain Hang Low (remix)"
DJ Webstar, Young B & AG (the Voice of Harlem) feat. Trina "Chicken Noodle Soup (remix)" - not that crackin' but I had to share it.
Video of D'Angelo covering Bill Withers' "Use Me" with David Sanborne & Eric Clapton on Japanese TV. (spotted via Crooks & Liars of all places)
Kidz in the Hall - not the comedy troupe but the new saviors of the underground and the group that wil resurrect the once mighty Rawkus record label? (Related: bonus track not on their MySpace page - "Ritalin")
Someone agrees with me that there's more hip hop in R&B than on rap records nowadays.
"Every time you losers wear your all over print hoodies you basically saying " Im Identifying myself as a part of the subculture movemet [sic] that is led by the two corniest people ever to live pictured in the post below" (click here for more)
Bid on Eminem's Air Max sneakers for charity...
Or cop a pair of Makaveli's sneakers.
Snakeskin Wallabees - next level ish for the Wally champ?
Finally, drink Cocaine - the energy drink. WTF?
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Spreading Democracy Everywhere?
Image © 2004-06 courtesy Rand Careaga/salamander.eps
The Midterm elections are little more than a month and half away. The Dems are in a better position than they've ever been in the 6 years since Bush
Or are they?
Court told votes don't have to be counted, certified .
CNN's Lou Dobbs takes a look at Maryland’s E-Voting Problems. (related: more from Crooks & Liars on the Madness in Maryland.)
Diebold voting machines opened with hotel minibar key (spotted via Boing Boing)
Princeton prof hacks e-vote machine: students uploaded viruses able to spread to other machines. (related: more at the always on-point Brad Blog)
Links to Cheryl Aldave's interview with BET's "Cousin" Jeff Johnson (who's apparently cosigning the campaign of the current master of modern election theft, Kenneth Blackwell, for the Ohio governor's office) and articles about the Art of American Election Rigging.
The infamous quote most often attributed to Josef Stalin: "'It's Not the People Who Vote that Count; It's the People Who Count the Votes'" comes to mind. Ask the Mexicans, they know.
The Kitchen previously on the f-ckery of e-voting:
- More on GOP Election Grab 2004....
- "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president...."
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Having Hood Visions....
Nigo: with the same phantom before and after the camo treatment?
I generally think most street DVD's are trizash but I gotta shout out my man King Smijj's new DVD Hoodvision Vol. 3 from his Three Headed Monster production company. He mixes artists interviews, street & remix videos & short films in a way that's gangsta but not too self-serious at the same time. Vol. 3 features DMX, Juvie, Rick Ross, Yung Joc, Paul Wall, Remy Ma, producer Dre and a whole lot more that I'm probably forgetting. Go find that.
The scariest thing about the inevitable huge qty's that the Fergie Dutchess album is gonna sell off tracks like "London Bridge" and "Fergalicious" is that it might open doors to commerical success for suspect hipster "hip hop" like Spank Rock, Uffie and M.I.A.
The Pack "Vans" video screwed & chopped by DJ Kaleon
Prototypes images for The Pack's limited edition Vans sneaker coming soon (hopefully).
And a prototype for the MF Doom Nike Dunk.
The 20 Essential Southern Albums according to Ozone magazine. (click here and scroll across to find the jpeg links for the rest of the article)
Video of Nigo's ridiculous crib and collections of everything trivial & cult-ish. Dude really made that much paper selling candy colored fake uptown's, overpriced camo hoodies and t-shirts with monkeys on 'em??
Coming soon: my peoples Reggie Osse & Gabe Tolliver's Bling, the book.
Yeah, I know: new Jay-Z and Pac R.I.P. last week. Other blogs discussed it though and I'm busy. Go look for more somewhere else...
Friday, September 15, 2006
Cut and Running in Afghanistan....
UN chief Kofi Annan says most Mid-East leaders regard the US invasion of Iraq as a disaster for the region.
Iraqi police made grisly discoveries in and around Baghdad [Wednesday night], finding the bodies of 65 men who appeared to have been tortured before they were executed.
But we're not even getting an accurate body count in the news: The U.S. count of Baghdad deaths excludes car bombs, mortar attacks.
Here's a good-ass question: if the war on terror is really a "struggle for civilization" itself, as President Bush claimed [in his speech on the night of 9/11 anniversary], why do we have just 130,000 troops in Iraq?
And on a related note: the Anbar intelligence report reveals the continued failures in Iraq.
Essential viewing/reading for those who need "talking points" to rebut their idiot right-wing friends who still think the Iraq War was worth fighting: Ret. Army Gen. Wesley Clark blasts Bush's Iraq Policy.
So can we all agree that the white house is still delusional on Iraq?
Meanwhile in Afghanistan: the Opium Harvest is at Record Levels.
And "according to a New York Times report, a part of Afghanistan into which the United States poured so much building effort that it was called "Little America" has now become the center of a Taliban resurgence that is making Afghanistan almost as dangerous for American soldiers as Iraq." (via Raw Story)
All I can say is, "wow" (and you know what? There's so much flagrant, skanless ish I'm not even covering that my head spins just thinking about it.). Back to coverage on The Pack, Too $hort, Justin Timberlake, sneakers and all the other trivial diversions that keep this country stupid tomorrow....
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
“I think being honest is the most gangsta thing you could ever do....”
Trust me, I ain't done with this 9/11 ish yet but let's get off the news thing for a minute:
Lupe Fiasco feat. Jay-Z “Pressure” - I swear this dude is overrated. Why are people so into him?? Seriously, someone please explain it to me. (I'm talking about Lupe just in case people were wondering, LOL. | Update: I hope he don't come after me like he did Bol Guevera)
Radiodread: Radiohead's OK Computer album covered by reggae artists (and Citizen Cope!) - preview it courtesy Easy Star recordings.
NY Times on the return of Puffy.
Speaking of returns, The Wire is back and looks like it's gonna be killer this season yet again. One weakness IMHO has always been the music not been as on-point and authentic as everything else on the show but it looks like they're gonna make an effort to get that right now too.
Cult book and movie High Fidelity is now a Broadway musical?! Oh boy....
Pimp My Skates. And the Skub Bros. can turn any shoe you have into skates, Tims, Jordans, BAPES, literally anything - crazy! (spotted via BET)
The 10 greatest beat-making videos ever via an incredible new (to me) site for production/beat-making nerds Music Thing.
More shots of the Entourage-featured Nike Fukijama sneaker.
The Pack's official blog. (related: new leaked track "Pretty Girl" NOT MIXED and NOT supposed to be leaked, trust me)
Retro Atari 2600 Plug and Play Keychains - amazing! 20 years from now (if not sooner), that's gonna be available for X-box and PS3 too I bet. (spotted via Boing Boing)
More great photos from my mellow, my man D-Nice.
I didn't know I was the "King of Links" though - wow. That's kind of like being the coolest nerd, right? Yikes....
Saturday, September 09, 2006
9/11: Five Years On
The news is so crazy right now. With the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks right around the corner, now is as good a time as any to take stock of where we are five years later.
Do you feel safer? A scorecard for the War on Terror.
72,265.: the number of lives lost since 2001, in an “epidemic of global terrorism.”
Mother Jones has created a comprehensive timeline on the lies that ran us up to the war in Iraq (spotted via Crooks & Liars)
A US Senate panel finds no prewar Iraq-Qaeda link.
The Pentagon concedes the cold-blooded carnage is soaring in Iraq.
Baghdad Morgue Revises August Death Toll Upward 300 Percent.
Bush (finally) admits the existence of secret CIA prisons.
European investigator says Bush's CIA secret prisons admission 'just one piece of the truth.'
And the US has now been fighting the Iaq war for longer than they did World War II.
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann’s targets Bush with somehting everyone in the media should be saying: “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” (YouTube link)
November ain't that far away but we can only hope change is gonna come: Fox News' ratings have been taking a nosedive which is a good indicator that things are starting to look really promising.
Extra credit:
Iraq For Sale: new movie recommended by AmericaBLOG.
Your "liberal media" at work again: read all the f-ckery about the Disney/ABC "joke-umentary" Path to 9/11 at Think Progress here. (related: meanwhile, watch The Power of Nightmares, a BBC documentary you will probably NOT be seeing on TV in America.)
Saint of 9/11
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Bringing Sexy Back
The news is bonkers right now but I'm gonna have to save talking about that until the weekend so in the meantime:
The Pack x Jay-Z "Vancore" - an "Encore"-meets-"Vans" mash-up. Fun for a couple minutes I guess. (clean | dirty)
Natasha feat. Clipse "So Sick" - the title says it all. I told y'all.
More music? Check Rizoh, Eskay, XXL and 730 'n them for the latest mp3's and audio streams.
#14 on the Billboard 200, #6 on the Rap chart and #7 on the R&B chart. It's no Beyonce but I ain't mad at those 1st week stats for Too Short's Blow the Whistle. Go get it: it's IN STORES NOW.
Speaking of Beyonce, her B-day album is kind of a mess with some hot tracks ("Kitty Kat", "Sugar Mama") here & there and sounds like the rush job it's been reported as being. I'll say this though: the album has more of a hip hop feel than most rap albums coming out nowadays but Amerie should sue B for jackin' her style wholesale on a couple of tracks. One of them ("Green Light") sounds almost exactly like "1 Thing" melody-wise. (related: Beyonce = biter (scroll down)?)
On the other hand, I can't front: Justin Timberlake's album is incredible. He's really on some 2008 pop ish (via a healthy dose of 2004 Metro Area vibes). I hear it's leaked so I'm sure you can find a copy somewhere online being provided by someone way more unscrupulous than me but don't get it f-cked up: you need to buy a copy of this joint. Album of the year contender for real.
I'm watching Inside Man right now. Good film so far, great soundtrack.
Lil Scrappy "Money in the Bank" - the game (also my current ringtone for those who care).
Make your own virtual cassette with the Cassette Generator. (via Boing Boing)
Yet another ghetto wedding.
A while ago when I first purchased my ipod I bitched about how you couldn't transfer music from your ipod to additional comupters. Senuti (geddit?) fixes that. Check it out (note: for Macs only).
The filmminute finalists have been shortlisted. Go vote now. (And shout to my man, Sabaa)
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Stuntin' Around the World
The Pack: soon to be wearing Ed Hardy's?
In the rest of the world, hip hop still actually has some social and political relevance:
- Rap in Iran - the mullahs don't like it (via Agenda Inc.)
- Levantine Hip-Hop 101: who's who in the Middle East rap game.
- Taiwenese Rapper Refuses To Apologize For Lyrics, Faces 2 Years In Prison
- Rapper Monsieur R Avoids Prosecution By French Government
But back here at home it's just some sh-t to bang in your whip and shake your ass to in the club (C'est la vie):
New track from The Pack “Club Stuntin’” (Produced by Traxamillion) - from this Bay Area producer's forthcoming album The Slap Addict.
The Game “100 Bars (The Funeral)” - does G-Unit get ethered on this track? (mp3 links via Still Listen... & Nah Right)
Justin Timberlake feat T.I."My Love" (via Discobelle) (Related: dude's VMA performance of "Sexy Back" and "My Love")
UMC’s Kool Kim says, "KRS-One, Hip-Hop Sucks Because of You!" (spotted via the always excellent Oh Word)
Kevin Federline's "Lose Control" music video - wow.
Outkast-orientated:
- Fader defends Idlewild.
- Del's Outkast timline.
- Noz's comprehensive-like-a-muh overview of the Outkast family tree.
While finally, sneaker orientated (cos I was on Fulton Street looking for fresh kicks before hitting Eastern Parkway yesterday):
Ed Hardy Sneakers - I saw these in Dr. Jays yesterday but I can't tell if they are some fly Vans alternatives or the 2006 version of Von Dutch (?).
The Entourage Nike Fukijama sneaker. (also spotted via Discobelle)
Nike Air Predecessors - is this the Nike answer to the backpacker staple the New Balance 574?
Monday, September 04, 2006
Post-Katrina: a year of broken and unfulfilled promises
A couple days late but who's complaining?
"My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years. To get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." -- Grover Norquist, The 'Field Marshall' of Bush's plan.
Well that terrible quote would explain the real tragedy of Katrina which is not the initial devastation of the hurricane and the subsequent flooding but the completely inept and inadequate response by the federal government in the aftermath when help was needed the most. And a year later, it hasn't gotten any better despite all the spin, rhetoric & photo opps. Truly Katrina is this nation and president's greatest shame.
Bush’s Empty Promises: Katrina Victims Still Waiting For Homes To Be Rebuilt
The Gov't Fulfills Few Katrina Promises.
1115.org on Hurricane Katrina:
Bush takes A Victory Lap for Broken Promises.
Katrina: Still Our National Shame.
Beats and Rants 2.2 on Katrina here.
And from Crooks & Liars:
A snip from Paul Krugman's NYT op-ed on Bush's "Broken Promises" post-Katrina.
And in stark contrast to GOP
And on the art tip:
Wu Orleans: a mashup of Wu-Tang Clan and dixie jazz tunes. (spotted via Boing Boing)
While Master P creates a Hip-Hop gospel play about Hurricane Katrina.
And thanks to the CBC for the link love in their "Revenge of the Words" article on Hip hop and Hurricane Katrina.
The Kitchen previously on Hurricane Katrina:
A compendium of links to the major posts here.
Katrina: One Year Later...
"This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina"
Katrina: "So Far Off The Radar Screen, You Can’t Find It...."
"No one could have predicted the levees would break...."
"We are fully prepared to help...."
A First Hand Report from the Big Easy.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
A Soul Funk & Reggae Long Weekend Shakedown...
Just in time for Labor Day weekend on Eastern Parkway...
Know this: I was not kidding in a recent music post and comment when I said there wasn't really much new music getting me open. In fact, until I heard and starting playing the excellent Cali Iz Active album by Tha Dogg Pound last week, the only thing I was playing regularly at home and on recent road trips to the Hamptons and Vermont was a lot of old school reggae. Allow me to put you up on it (and a little bit of soul music too) 'cos can you really live on Port of Miami, Idlewild and those lackluster Roots and Method Man albums alone??
This Is Crucial Reggae: Soul Party - a very solid collection of 60's soul and R&B covered by mostly reggae unkowns (at least to me) except for the "Soul Shakedown Party" done by Bob Marley & the Wailers. Preview snippets of the album here.
DJ Spooky's In Fine Style: 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records - I told you about this excellent 2-disc compilation of dub, rockers and ska a while back on my other site. Let me recap: don't think, just go cop - this is ESSENTIAL. Preview it:
- An mp3 megamix by Spooky here.
- Disc 1: Lee Perry "Disco Devil" - best known as the track sampled to good effect by Kanye West for "Lucifer" from Jay-Z's The Black Album.
- Disc 2: Daddy Livingstone "Rudy a Message to You" - best known by 30-something plus Brit, anglophile, rudeboy and mod-orientated types as the track covered by The Specials under the title "Message to You Rudy" from their classic debut album Specials.
Jamaica to Toronto: Soul, Funk & Reggae 1967-1974 - I ain't check this out other than the mp3's on the page linked but it sounded pretty good and the concept is crazy. T.dot massive, stand up!
And here's some soul stuff to go with the yard sounds:
A while back I promised next day(-ish) coverage of some 30th Anniversary Reissue CD's from SOLAR records. Here it is now finally: best of collections by Shalamar, Midnight Star and Lakeside prove yet again that 80's soul and R&B music wasn't as dire as some people argue.
John Legend “Save Room” - the first single from the follow-up to his smash debut Get Lifted album? This is no "Ordinary People" but I'm not mad at the 60's-esque pop-soul sound on this track.
And not strictly soul music but very soulful (if somewhat generic) sounding: a look at the new Strange Fruit Project album, The Healing.
But to end: say it ain't so! Ron, why didn't you PAY YOUR TAXES! Now he's gonna be doing a 3 year bid and will become Mr. Biggs for real. Keep ya head up.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
"Uphold, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution..." (or not)
Don't think 'cos it happened a few weeks back I forgot about it:
A federal court confirms that the Bush administration broke the law with their NSA civillian wiretapping but the biggest media story that week was the JonBenet Ramsey case. That alone got a quadruple "WTF????" from me. Of course, the right immmediately tried to swiftboat the judge who ruled in the case while we all know how that JonBenet story turned out. Once again, nice job Fifth Estate.
But Bush a lawbreaker?! Who knew?? Well actually...
"President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution." (click here for more from the Boston Globe article "Bush challenges hundreds of laws")
"The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks [emphasis added], lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court." (click here to read more)
While Bush personally blocked a DOJ investigation of the NSA wiretapping program.
Plus:
"Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials... That access to large amounts of sensitive data was highly unusual, several officials said, and stirred concerns inside the administration about legal and privacy issues [emphasis added]." (click here to read more from the NYT article "Bank Data Secretly Reviewed by U.S. to Fight Terror")
"[I]ndicted phone jammer Shaun Hansen may offer an affirmative defense at his upcoming fall trial, arguing that the phone jamming scheme which his company carried out [to jam Democratic phone lines on Election Day in 2002] had the seal of approval of both the Republican National Committee and the White House." (click here to read more)
And finally: "In a sharply worded letter to President Bush in May, an important [Republican] Congressional ally charged that the administration might have violated the law by failing to inform Congress of some secret intelligence programs and risked losing Republican support on national security matters." (click here to read more | Spotted via AMERICAblog)
I could probably go on but I think you get the idea....
Friday, September 01, 2006
"If Jay coming back then the world need Puff..." (!)
Trust me, it was a lot easier to find cool images of Wayne than Joe for this post!
I know updates have been thin around these parts recently. That's life - I got hella work to do and personal issues I'm dealing with so new stuff will appear when I have time to get to it. That being said, I'm prolly gonna be around for most of the long weekend with no real plans so I'll try and knock out as much as I can before my girlfriend starts breakin' on me to pay attention to her instead.
Fat Joe feat. Lil Wayne "Make It Rain" - trust me, this Scott Storch banger is gonna be the next hot record in NYC once people get sick of the Jim Jones joint ("Ballin'!!!") running ish right now.
Crooked I "Say Dr. Dre" - when the good doctor spits this, it's gonna be a wrap! Dre, please please drop Detox already. (mp3 spotted via the mighty Nah Right)
In related news, the Dogg Pound's Cali Iz Active album is the best hip hop full length I've heard in a long while. Seriously. Check it: "Sittin' On 23z" (mp3 via the Dogg Pound website)
More related (maybe?): Game feat. Juice (who he?) "We Gorillaz" - the name dropper has his issues but who can front that he doesn't rip up this old Eric B & Rakim Juice soundtrack beat. The "1 Blood" video is kind of generic but I get the feeling his album might be a monster with or without Dre's help. (audio via HiphopGame)
NORE feat. Final Chapter "Go In" - this is giving me vague Just Blaze c. 2003-2004 vibes but, or because of that (?), I'm diggin' it nonetheless.
Diddy premieres the intro of his upcoming Press Play album on his MySpace page. Am I the only one who thinks it sounds like a pastiche of "Grammy Family" and "Hovi Baby" though? (spotted via Still Listen... | related: 50 cent disses Puff on "The Bomb" - if history serves us correctly, this must mean it's time for a new G-Unit album.)
2XL feat. E-40 "Kitty Kat" - the legendary Tommy Boy record label gets back into the hip hop game with this decent southern club banger.
And more Down South heat that'll prolly take over once cats get sick of Young Dro (not likely though since I hear his album is crazy?): Big Unk "Walk It Out"
Speaking of which, Discobelle has some Young Dro remixes here.
That's it for now, more coming time permitting....
