On Thursday May 31st I had the honor of participating in a fundraiser to help provide humanitarian relief to those suffering through the ongoing revolution in Syria. It was good to see that the event was well attended and that people were generous with their donations. All the artists involved (Dylan Connor, Omnia Hegazy, Ghuydar Beshmaf, The Zikrayat Ensemble, Christine Moore, and Omar Offendum) donated their time and talent to provide entertainment, create a rallying point, and lift the spirits at what is a dark and somber time for the Syrian people.
Christine Moore opens up the night of performances
For over a year now there has been a revolution in Syria claiming the lives of men, women, and children. The government has engaged in a brutal crackdown against demonstrators in the form of arbitrary detention, and civilian killings. It has escalated to the point of indiscriminate assaults on residential areas.
On Friday (May 25th) there was an attack on the town of Houla claiming the lives of about 100 lives many of them children. And before that an attack on Idlib. All this happening as the UN makes attempts to negotiate a peace plan.
The humanitarian situation is dire and this event will hopefully will raise funds and continued awareness about the situation that continues to unfold in that region.
So there are some events coming up that I want to mention, but before that I have to pay respect and give tribute to the work of a few artists that we’ve lost.
On May 16th, Chuck Brown the Godfather of Go-go, succumbed to pneumonia and complications from sepsis. For me and many of my friends Bustin’ Loose was the tune we knew him best. I would hear it along with other classic breaks as b-boys and b-girls were literally bustin’ loose on the dance floor.
May 17th marked the passing of another great contributor to the music world, Donna Summer. To me she was the queen of disco, and it was on the 17th she lost her battle against cancer.
My earliest memory of Donna Summer was when my sister was given the double vinyl album On The Radio as a gift from our Grandma Fay. I remember my sister’s excitement by this gift, and I remember the pretty lady on the album cover sitting literally on the radio. That album got a lot of plays by my sisters and I can clearly remember watching the Casablanca Records label spin on the turntable. The most vivid memory I have of listening to that album was when I heard “Love To Love You Baby” I had to be 4 or 5 years old when I heard it, and I remember being so drawn to it because of what was happening vocally on the track. I remember hearing the song and how it built up from seduction to full blown climax. Now being that age I had no concept of what was happening and what she was simulating.The ideas of sensuality, sex, and the orgasm were concepts far beyond me. All I remember was the moaning and groaning to this funky music. As it built up, I couldn’t help wonder to myself, “What is happening to this lady?” As the song progressed she got more intense and I thought, “What’s wrong with her? I think she’s sick.” And then it was on and she was caught in full ecstasy, of course I still didn’t know what was happening, and I remember actually saying out loud, “She’s going crazy!”
This is the original uncut version from the album of the same name. (The version on On The Radio was edited down to a little over 4 minutes)
On Friday May 4th, Hip-hop suffered a a great loss with the passing ofAdam Yauch better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys. My first exposure to the Beastie Boys came at a basement party my cousins were throwing in Piscataway, New Jersey. They were DJ’s and their parties, were a great influence on my musical palette. They were crash courses in dance music, everything from New Wave and Freestyle, to Hip-hop and Electro. I remember the party had already been in progress and they decided to slow things down with some R&B jam. I don’t recall the name of the song, but I do remember it was a opportunity for the older of the 2 cousins to mack it to some girl. The younger one was manning the turntables and I remember him just itching to play something else to get the energy back up. As the couples danced through the 2nd verse and into the chorus he succumbed to the pressure and threw this on:
Although “Girls” off of Licensed To Ill, didn’t contain any vocals from MCA, it did give me an idea of what these guys were going to be about musically, fun. The first actual song that I can remember hearing that distinctive grit is on “The New Style” which was also off of Licensed To Ill.
Although they were the first, The Beastie Boys were beyond the gimmick of being an all white Hip-hop group in a genre dominated by African Americans.
it was because they stay true to who they are and what they do and are respectful to the artform that they’ve gained respect of the Hip-hop community and beyond.
One thing that must be noted is that outside of all the fun musical stuff, MCA used his celebrity as a means as a tool of activism and helped start The Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization whose goal is to bring awareness and activism toward the injustices against native Tibetans by occupying Chinese government and military forces.
Just one more:
Because they have moved us in one way or another with their work it’s so easy to forget that artists are still made of flesh and blood and are mortal and susceptible to age and in these cases, disease. They will forever live on through their timeless work, in our memories, and the continued support of fans all over the world.
Thank you for the great gift you have given all of us.
Originally I intended to make Mush as the second installment to a Valentine’s mix I did last year, but because of other projects I was unable to get to it to finish in time. So after working out the playlist and getting the music ready, the mix laid dormant. It was after some coaxing (pestering) from of a friend that I actually decided to make it an actuality.
Barry White “Playing Your Game, Baby”
Big Daddy Kane “Very Special” featuring Spinderella
Usher “Throwback”
Adele “I’ll Be Waiting”
Robin Thicke “Jus Right”
Lauryn Hill “Ex-Factor”
D’Angelo “Lady”
John Legend “No Other Love” featuring Estelle
Minnie Ripperton “Baby, The Love I Have”
Barry White “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up”
Michael Jackson “Never Can Say Goodbye”
DeBarge “Stay With Me”
Mtume “Juicy”
Maxwell “Ascension”
Janet Jackson “That’s The Way Love Goes”
Sade “Kiss of Life”
Marvin Gaye “Sexual Healing”
Michael Jackson “I’ll Be There”
Bill Whithers “Just The Two of Us”
Stevie Wonder “I was Made To Love Her”
King Floyd “Groove Me”
Bee Gees “Love You Inside Out”
The Jackson 5 “I Want You Back”
Doris Troy “Just One Look”
“You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. It is not for unsteady souls.” —Merce Cunningham (1919—2009)
A friend of mine posted that quote a little while back. And conceptually I got it, but it wasn’t until I started working with dancers that I really understood. Conveying ideas and telling stories without words. Using their bodies as the brush to paint the stage with their movements. But unlike music or paintings where notes can be written and read off of staff paper, or repeatedly seen in a museum, dancers create their art live on stage each night leaving their impression of once on an audience member and exposing them to a moment of fleeting beauty.
Throughout the month of April Decadancetheatre (aka DECA Crew) performed a series of shows at NYC’s Joyce SoHo and I had the honor of joining them on stage as their DJ. Decadancetheatre is a Brooklyn based Hip-hop dance crew and under the direction of Jennifer Weber, DECA has been able to fuse Hip-hop movements with contemporary dance. One piece that they became known for is their interpretation of Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird.
Fast forward past a couple local shows and gigs in Tennessee and Miami and we arrive at Joyce SoHo. It is here that Jennifer Weber and company performed a series of shows that consists of 3 pieces one of them being a brand new piece inspired by Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
I wish I could say that we hit the ground running but we did encounter some technical snags in the form of, not one, but two faulty VGA cables for the projector, a problem we were trying to remedy all the way up to the opening of the doors. And although we were able to have the video element of When The Sky Breaks, there was no time to fine tune it’s presentation. Stumbling out of the gate with our shoelaces bound together wasn’t exactly the start we were going for, and it set the mood for the night. But that’s what happens when you borrow a pair sneakers with knotted laces instead of running in your own. What’s more it was the night New York Times came to review our performance. Luckily the author was sympathetic to our technological plight and reflected it in their review of the performance.
After getting through that rough part we started the next shows anew with a brand new VGA cable and a much more powerful projector. And every show after that first one progressively got better by leaps and bounds. Our mood and energy were focused and there was fine tuning by Jen every night during the few hours before the doors opened each night.
Being that I am new to the dance environment, this time before the shows allowed me to see a little bit of what goes on to make a show like this work. And by doing that I saw that the process is like the process of any form of art. Whether it be music or painting, a single note may be too much, or a particular shade may not compliment the bigger picture. Watching them dance I see that each movement has its place and meaning in the entirety of the piece.
This time before each night’s opening also allowed me to appreciate more the role of lighting and how it helps complete the dance pieces. As Jen tightened the movments of the dancers, lighting designer, Erik C. Bruce, fine tuned the lights. During these pre-show moments I saw that the type of light, its color, how it fades in and out, its brightness, its placement, and of course, whether it’s on or off are all carefully choreographed to create mood and context to the dancer’s movements.
The preparation and the continued hard work led us to better performances, and although we felt good after every show and proud after our performances we were happy to see that our pride was solidified by a review of the show in The New Yorker’s Culture Desk. I personally have never read a review that was so thorough and detailed that the author picked up on smiles and facial expression from the dancers.
Music, movement,and lighting are the elements of the show and with the guidance of Jen, the eye of Erik and the talents of Taeko Koji, Adaku Utah, Megan “Megz” Alfonso, Sylvia Clark, Casandra “Defy” Rivera the pieces are given life and soul.
Founded in the spring of 2006, the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival was created to combat the disunity, segregation, and violence of Hartford, CT and Trinity College. Using the historically education-oriented and politically revolutionary medium — Hip Hop – and focusing on its global potency and proliferation, the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival works to unify Trinity College, the city of Hartford, and the Globe.
The primary goal of the Festival’s diverse events is education.
Attendees will be able to learn how to freestylle with Hired Gun, or learn some new moves for the dance floor with DECA, listen to Byron Hurt’s lecture “Beyond Beats & Rhymes”, or check out a poetry slam with Suheir Hammad. There will also be a b-boy exhibition and DJ battle and of course the live performances.
Conceived by Dumi RIGHT of pH MUSIC and Magee McIlvaine of Nomadic Wax and Magee Films, Internationally Known gathers material from some of the best Hip-Hop artists across the globe, in order to showcase the underground talent that has formed the foundation for global Hip-Hop. The 2nd volume of this mixtape mixed by me , DJ Boo (Juggaknots, Eternia Eternia, Nomadic Wax, Decadance Theatre) and features music from artists from France, Italy, Jerusalem, Cape Verde and more.
Listen/Download it for free!!!
Also feel free to check out other digital releases from Nomadic Wax
On Saturday November 19 I will be down in Washington DC to perform at the Artisphere as Sulu DC turns 2. Sulu DC is an off-shoot of The Sulu Series, an event I was involved with from 2005-2010. Named after the Star Trek character played by George Takei and a remote island in the Philippines, The Sulu Series, was a monthly showcase in New York City that featured Asian American performers in music, spoken word, video and multidisciplinary performances from the local and national scenes. It was hosted by Regie Cabico, curated by Artistic Director Taiyo Na, and I was the house DJ.
Although much has changed the one thing that remains true is that this event, this movement, helps provide a platform for artists of Asian descent. Saturday’s line-up consists of:
Irving Plaza NYC, I’ve been there a handful of times as a spectator and as an all-access guest courtesy of some musician friends. I’ve walked the stage and seen it, before, during, and after the aftermath of some great shows, but Friday night was my first time there as a performer, backing up Eternia as she opened up for Sage Francis.
Door’s opened at 7PM and Eternia hit at 8PM but before that, being that it was a new crowd and venue for the both of us, I decided to warm up the room and set the vibe off with a bit of spinning. After a little Gang Starr, a bit of Brother Ali, some Tribe Called Quest, and Public Enemy, I cued up Etta James’ “At Last” and Eternia took the stage. If you haven’t experienced Eternia live, know this, she is one of the most energetic Hip-hop performers I know. The music on her album “At Last” is engaging, at times heartfelt, but that isn’t enough, when she hits the stage its as if its for the first time and she has everything to prove, rhyming with every bit of her being even going into the audience to be amongst the people.
Also on the line-up that night was The Metermaids who gave a solid performance. They were backed by DJ Rob Swift of The X-Ecutioners, who showed the audience, through his beat juggling , scratching, and all around sonic manipulation, why he is a turntable pioneer.
The end of Rob Swift’s performance marked the end of the opening acts and meant it was Sage Francis’ time. With the banner for his record label, Strange Famous Records, draped around him, Sage took the stage. Throughout his entire performance its evident that Sage doesn’t shy from emotion. During his performance, Eternia mentioned via Twitter, “Enjoying Sage Francis bare his soul.” With songs like The Best of Times its clear that Sage Francis’ music is merely not just an exercise in good writing but a means of catharsis that he is willing to share with all those willing to listen. In these highly politicized time its also not surprising that Sage is ready to express his opinions of what is going on with the Occupy Movement and big corporations when he states, “I’d rather see you occupy Wall Street than occupy Wal-Mart.” (You can read more of his views of the Occupy Movement on his website) The one thing that I found, not so much surprising, but refreshing was his humanitarian work. One of his closing pieces included an a cappella verse that was inspired by his travels earlier this year to Durban, South Africa where he participated in outreach work for HIV infected orphans.
A little while back I had a discussion with a musician friend of mine about art and activism. They told me that they would like to be more involved but didn’t know how to be an activist. After telling me that they had received a message from a fan who expressed that they went through a similar experience my friend wrote about in one of their songs, I told my friend that their art, their music can be their form of activism. I then told them that as artists the moment we do something, say something, or share an experience that resonates with someone and affects them in a positive way we’ve become, in some way, an activist. Whether its inspire or inform or merely allows someone to know that they aren’t alone, artists can rise above frivolity and be activist through their art.
Thank you Sage for having all of us there and allowing us to be part of the experience.
I’m going to end it here but before I close out this entry I want to congratulate and give well wishes to my friends in DECA who have been invited to participate at the San Francisco Hip-hop Dance Festival.
My game of “catch-up” continues with some words about this year’s CMJ experience. This would be my 5th time I’ve been at CMJ. The first time was in 2002 with The Juggaknots. I clearly remember that event because in the midst of our performance Sugarcuts came on stage and whispered something into Breeze Brewin’s ear. Next thing I knew Breeze looked down took a deep breath, shut the crowd up, and then announced “Jam Master Jay was shot and killed.”
In 2006 I was at CMJ one more time with The Juggaknots. The next three times I hit the stage would be as the house DJ for the international Hip-hop showcase which was produced and organized by Nomadic Wax.
In 2009 I did a online promo mix for the event which featured a few tracks from all the performing artists.
On Saturday October 22nd I partook in Planet Hip-hop, CMJ’s international Hip-hop showcase at 92Y Tribeca. Although the name of the event has changed, this would be the third time I have been involved with this showcase, which was produced by Nomadic Wax in conjunction with World Hip-hop Market and The Bloom Effect.
Like the 2009 event I put together a promo mix for the event which gave a taste of things to come on the stage.
Each year the stage is blessed with great, but not often heard artists. Past showcases featured the international collective from Canada, Nomadic Massive, Ghana’s Blitz The Ambassador, At Versaris from Spain, Chachi of Cape Verde, and more. This year was no exception with the likes of RahZemos (Lebanon/Canada), JMNI (Ghana/Canada), Krussia (Russia), Masia 1 (Singapore/Canada/Jamaica), The Reminders (Congo/Belgian/US), and Omar Offendum (Syria/US).
It was a night packed with great energy and maintained by host, Kokayi, who not only presided over the event but also blessed the audience with a couple songs of his own. All the acts brought their “A” game, reminding the audience that there is a rich world of hip-hop talent beyond the music force fed to them by commercial radio and MTV.
At the risk of sounding biased, highlights, for me, were Omar Offendum who moved the crowd with a combination of his music and spoken word and The Reminders who took the stage like the pros that they are and rocked the crowd. I’ve shared the stage with them before on separate occasions and they just get better each time I see them.
Top notch performances were also given by Masia One with her combination of Hip-hop and Dancehall and Krussia with his band who performed in Russian and then was convinced by the crowd and Kokayi to do an encore, impressing the audience with his skills as (what I first knew him for) a beatboxer.
In my opinion, this year’s international Hip-hop stage was not only the best attended but the audience had the best energy. Its great evidence that people are still seeking out good music not only in their backyards but in their attics basements and also over the big ponds.
Left Handed Saint 