J Dilla

I didn’t know I knew J Dilla.

Sunday, February 10, 2013 marked the 7 year anniversary of the death of producer/rapper/artist extraordinaire J Dilla (Jay Dee). At that final stage of his time on Earth, I and many other people had no clue who he was. So what could I say about Dilla other than I was late?

… He created music that was with me during some of the most pivotal moments in my life. From falling in love for the first time to being dead broke and alone. For many of those moments I didn’t even know who he was. I didn’t know his name, but I felt his music and it was always present.

With Thursday (Feb. 7) having been his birthday as well, this last weekend fans around the world were posting on the Internet how J Dilla changed their lives.

I first learned of J Dilla’s production in 2007 when interviewing an Orlando producer who was heavily influenced by Dilla. From there, I discovered that Dilla produced music I had been listening to all my life… songs I had played over and over and couldn’t figure out why the sound made me feel so good.

Friends can misunderstand you, but music always understands. Friends come and go in my life, but music is consistently there. J Dilla has been gone seven years and when he was here I didn’t know it. Yet, his music is the most reoccurring music in my life. Music that held me down when nobody did. Music that gave me a feeling I still burn to feel that split second before listening to any song. I can’t explain to you what that is. Perhaps the feeling is a bit too personal. But something tells me Dilla knew that feeling too and that’s how he could keep producing it to be felt by people all over the world who didn’t even know his name. Funny how you don’t know you know someone. That’s art. So cheers to a friend I never knew I knew…

Here is a list of some Dilla produced songs friends in the order they were there for me:

• The Light. (Common)

I think at some point I threw my hands in the air and said, “What is this!?” This is when that feeling first kicked in.

• Didn’t Cha Know? (Badu)

I hated middle school. I was weird. I was a nerd. This song right here though? It was a safety blanket.

• Runnin. (Pharcyde)

I built a cocoon I knew I would eventually have to come out of. This song was on loop inside of it. Still is.

• Reminisce. (Bilal)

My first year out of my cocoon was blessed by divine love. My only true love story. Literally, I reminisce.

•  I Don’t Know. (Slum Village)

Self explanatory. This is that song you play right before you free yourself from drama.

•  Fall In Love. (Slum Village)

1, 2. Here I am now, learning things the hard way. Every time my phone rings, this song plays and I am reminded to never make the same mistakes twice.

And the friendship continues…

-SHELL

What were some J Dilla songs that got you through certain points in your life?

Willow Smith - Red Table Talks

How many of you remember being told, “You don’t know what you are talking about!” or “Stop being dramatic!” when you attempted to express yourself as a kid? Well, I do and certainly Will Smith understood when he penned the adolescent anthem “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” Now the multi-talented entertainer’s daughter, Willow Smith, is showing us just how her famous parents are breaking those parent-child communication barriers.  

In this intimate conversation between Willow, her mother Jada Pinkett-Smith and her grandmother (Jada’s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones), we get to see three generations of women openly discuss their relationship with one another.

I found it extremely important that I share this video because I was truly touched and appreciative of the type of dialogue that was shown between Willow and her mother and grandmother. In this talk they allow Willow to freely express her perspective, her feelings, and her hopes. You see Jada and Adrienne taking in what Willow has to say, inquiring further, and giving her time to work through her emotions. For me it is a brilliant moment of parenting and love. 

Conversations like this need to be happening in more homes between parents and children. I especially hope this video inspires African-American parents, who I personally find to get caught up in the habit of telling our children to “Shut-up!” Young African-American females are already often the last to be acknowledged and respected in American society overall, so beginning at home we should at least be shown that our feelings and perspectives matter. Teaching our children (all of them) that their thoughts are not silly, but instead come from their thinking, growing and observant individuality will impart on the world more confident, creative and free-thinking adults. 

Hey, still whoop your kids, but at least let them express what they learned afterwards. I am simply speaking from my childhood perspective. Watch it and think about it.

If this video is only one of a series, I am looking forward to hearing what else these ladies lay out on the table.  

-SHELL

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

LeBron Earns His Ring: End of Hater Fuel…For Now

So, the Miami Heat just won the NBA Championship and the love from the fans is pouring all over the web. Even the haters, whom I mentioned in the “The Most Epic Day Ever” post are showing love. Take a look at some of the admiration and praise below, followed by a link to hater fuel that brought the Heat to this point. I don’t suspect this is the end of the anti-LeBron talk, but it will certainly calm folks down a bit. #PEACE

 - SHELL

Peep the Hater Heat Fuel HERE

Food Network Shows (FNS): Sweet Genius

I recently got a T.V. Two words. Food. Network. I quickly flipped through the available channels and was beside myself to see that my favorite network was still right where I left it a year ago. 

I was surprised, however, by the show I found on it: Sweet Genius.

Four chefs in red jackets stood before a tall judge whose pleasant personality was as shiny as his bald head. Identified as master pastry chef Ron Ben-Israel, the glasses wearing host judged the four contestants’ desserts to determine one $10,000 winner.

Just like it’s sister show Chopped, Sweet Genius consists of three rounds in which the chef competitors must race the clock to complete dishes that meet special ingredient requirements. What makes this show different is that it strictly focuses on desserts and pastries. But, what adds a creative twist is the “inspiration.” Not only does each round have two special ingredients, but the chefs are also required to create their dishes based on a specified item of inspiration.

As I landed on the channel, I knew this show would bring the same ‘Oh no’ moments as Chopped when the first thing I heard a contestant explain was the fact that she had left the plastic on the chocolate in her dish. Upon her elimination, Ben-Israel notified her in his Israeli accent that she was “…no Sweet Genius.” That’s a messed up way to eliminate people, but it can’t all be great.

Given the odd ingredient combinations required and somewhat silly inspirations, I was surprised by the creative dishes the chef’s were coming up with. In round two of the “Plane Genius” episode, the contestants were expected to use a vegetable spread that I know as Vegemite, star fruit, and create a candy dish inspired by a spider web. One contestant, Chef Charles, unsuccessfully attempted to create star fruit hard candy and vegetable spread toffee with a kick. Another, Chef Philesea, failed attempting to create chocolate bowls for her dessert using balloons. I found the failures of execution didn’t take away from the inventive spirit of these competitors.

In the final round, Charles and Philesea went head-to-head to create dishes inspired by a knights armor, and containing violet mints and mashed potato mix.

Despite Charles’ Budino cake paired with a clever sweet pesto (mint, basil, honey, and hazelnuts), Philesea was named the Sweet Genius. She took home the cash prize after creating a Baked Alaska, including the mashed potatoes in the cake and the violet mints in the meringue. Though Ben-Israel found her violet mint meringue to taste too metalic, her overall performance in the competition out did Chef Charles. Ben-Israel said Charles’ dish was a bit confusing as if each element didn’t come together cohesively. Philesea hit the nail on the head and predetermined her victory when she started the last round saying, “[Charles] is a big thinker, but I’m also thinking with my heart.” Indeed, lil mama.

The quirkiness of this show paired with Ben-Israel’s bright personality brings a creative drive out of the contestants that’s worth watching. This is the only dessert show on Food Network that I have any interest in. 

I missed my food television time and appreciated the sweet welcome back. **Gives T.V. the gun and wink**   

- SHELL

June 9th, 2012 - The Most Epic Day Ever

I don’t know if the government injected crack into the water last night or if something was in the air, but last night (and early morning today) was pretty eventful. From angry boxing fans to the death of one of hip-hop’s greats, stuff was seriously going down. Let’s see:

1. Heat Win Eastern Conference Finals

With all the Heat haters popping up like zombies now days, kicking the Boston Celtics out of the Championship line-up by winning the Eastern Conference Finals is a big deal for the Miami team. I won’t pretend to know much about sports (I’m a Sixers fan anyway :(), but I did take note of all the social media craziness surrounding this game. Take a look at what some of the nutty sports fans had to say HERE.

The game also got record TV viewer ratings, according to the Associated Press. Read HERE.

2. D’ Angelo Surprised Bannaroo Attendees with His First U.S. Performance in Over a Decade

According to THIS MTV article, ?uestlove brought another epic performance to the states with a 90 minute set with D’ Angelo in Manchester, TN. As you can tell from my past post, I am excited that D’ Angelo will be blessing our ears once again with his amazing talents. Can’t deny that I am a little salty that he made his first U.S. performance in Tennessee instead of the Big Apple, where he is not only currently living, but working on his new music. I didn’t move to NYC for all the cool stuff to start happening in southern states! #haterfallsback . 

3. Manny Pacquiao Loses Fight to Timothy Bradley, Breaking His 7 Year Streak 

Seems like this morning folks were yelling “Boxing is Dead!” like they had Paul Revere syndrome or something. Based, on the commentating and articles, Pacquiao had made a clear, but no remarkable win. This allowed the judges to name Bradley the winner by a small margin. It seems even Bradley wasn’t positive he won the fight, suggesting he would review the tapes to see who won. Boxing fans are pretty angry and considering this a major strike against boxing. I call BS. The way I see it, the boxing business has always been as much of a game as the sport itself. I won’t speculate on who probably got paid off, but at the end of the day because of this fight people are talking about boxing more than the Heat game and D’Angelo. Now all of those who didn’t pay to see the “injustice,” will pay to go see the possible rematch. #C.R.E.A.M.

Also, calm down.

4. Canibus Loses a Pay-Per-View Rap Battle to Dizaster; Makes It Worse by Pulling Out Notepad

I am not quick to laugh at stuff like this because it is upsetting to see a legend dig his own grave. Canibus is a rapper that gained respect because of his battle rhymes and back-breaking lyrics. When he forfeited this battle and then pulled out a notepad, hearts were broken. My stomach literally churned as I watched the majority of the battle.  Then I almost chocked when Canibus said “Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah” for no apparent reason. Sad. What makes it worse it that Dizaster did a beyond outstanding job ripping Canibus to shreds. Dizaster was ready for war, but arrived at a public suicide. 

I’m sure most who have listened to any of Canibus’ most recent music weren’t too surprised by the loss. It was far worse than one could predict though. Watch the post-notebook part of the “battle” HERE.

- SHELL

Wondering who this Madd Ilz is that Canibus said 99% of the rappers resembled? He is an emcee out of the Ozone (Orlando) and CEO of the hip-hop battle league, Grind Time Now. 

A Long Day Under the Sun: The Roots Picnic 2012

Last weekend I got the opportunity to return to the city that conceived me, Philadelphia, PA. The perfect excuse to visit my Grandmom and cousins was The 5th Annual Roots Picnic. With Philly being an important city in my life, Black Thought being my favorite rapper, and The Roots being a daily inspiration, I had high expectations for this event. With a dent in my pocket from the $63 tickets, I needed this show to be like an outdoor couple’s massage on a Mexican resort at sunset. #satisfaction 

Turns out I got exactly what I wanted long after getting exactly the opposite that Saturday:

Me: “Excuse me, how much is a water?”

Chick at Beverage Stand: “$4.50”

Me: **restrains from violence**      

My cousin @thebulBEY and I arrived at The Roots Picnic mad early at noon. Neither of us had been to The Roots Picnic before and wanted to make sure nothing good got past us. Since, we arrived at the large Penn’s Landing Festival Pier before anyone had really arrived and before any performances started, we decided to focus on finding some food. Now forgive me for going to an event with “picnic” in the name expecting to have a variety of food readily available. Instead there were small selections of food, from the same vendor, and I recall each plate costing around $400… OK, obviously I am exaggerating but food wasn’t cheap. I was told by a clearly jaded ice cream vendor that the major live entertainment company Live Nation was to blame. I think that was just coming from his place of anger because of the 30% they take from the vendors’ profits. This was a just a learning experience because I found out soon after the show that there was more food backstage. A lesson for next year.    

After accepting that I was going to leave this event broke and hungry, we peeped the opening performers. For the most part they left much to be desired, both on the main outdoor stage and the second stage enclosed in a tent. That was until Kids These Days performed. This energetic and extraordinarily talented young band had me cheering as if they had been around for years. With a drummer, rapper, singer/keyboard player, guitarist/singer, trumpet player, and trombone player, you would think these barely-legals would be a mess all over the stage. However, they seemed to know exactly what they were doing and were able to carry the crowd with them from beginning to their En Vogue tribute ending. I really became a fan when their female singer took center stage for her solo. She sang with a penetrating pure blues voice that made me forget she was a little white girl in 2012. Kids These Days is why we go to these shows to discover new music.

Sadly, Kids These Days just built me up only for the rest of the collection of performers to let me down. Hanging around all day waiting for the main performers would have been a lot more torturous on that hot day had it not been for the exceptions of Danny Brown, OCD and DJ SYLO, and a surprise performance from Tonya Morgan during one of the dj sets. Despite those pretty decent acts, I was cursing The Roots by 8pm.

When the Philly crew finally hit the stage, I was up front and ready to scream. Black Thought got it rocking quickly, spitting over go-go sounding music surely composed by the internationally known ?uestlove doing work on the drums. Following the long-awaited intro, Wale came out to perform. I was beyond hype to see the DMV artist I had been following since he was just a local emcee. Though D.C. isn’t close enough to my home town of Bowie (PG Country) to feel connected with it, I still felt like family was in the building during Wale’s set. He attempted to make the crowd a part of his performance by running off stage to spit nearly half of a track among those sitting on the back bleachers. That justly annoyed the majority of the crowd in the front of the stage who couldn’t see where he had run off to. Bad call, Wale.

The show proceeded to get even better as the legendary De La Soul trio performed with The Roots Crew. I had no idea these old guys could put on such a hype and creative show. Most of those in the crowd were in pre-school when De La came out, but that didn’t stop us from knowing all the words to songs like “The Magic Number,” “Me, Myself, and I” and “Baby Phat.”

Just when I was praying that they would perform “Buddy” with guest performers, my thought was intercepted as Mos Def came from the backstage into audience view. The crowd went nuts with screams. At first it seemed clear that Mos wouldn’t really be performing, but just occasionally acting as hype man for De La Soul.

“I am just a fan right now. The only difference between you and me is that I have a microphone,” Mos Def said to the audience. I didn’t matter if he performed or not, because I already felt I had got my money’s worth with De La and The Roots’ spectacular sets.

However, I forgot the fact that Jesus loves me. J So, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Mos Def came out to perform MY FAVORITE hip-hop song “Double Trouble” with Black Thought. All the pain in my feet from standing for 12 hours and the hunger pains in my tummy, completely disappeared as I screamed every word to that song, jumping up and down over my poor cousin and a stranger. That was it. The show was officially greatness.

It had been a long and hot day with a major slow start, but somehow it ended on a cosmic note. By the time @thebulBEY and I were heading home to our worried grandmom I felt inspired out the ears. Every one of the performers that night did a great job, and it was clearly because they were having just as much fun, if not more, as the audience. They were old hip-hop heads kicking it on a stage and I felt blessed to watch it.

Thanks, The Roots. Thanks, Live Nation. Thanks, cuz. Thanks, hip-hop. Thanks, Grandmom. Thanks, God. And thanks Philly. Peace.

-SHELL

I didn’t attend day two of The Roots Picnic, but I followed the social media buzz surrounding it. Check out what people had to say about Sunday’s shows HERE. 

Peggy

:)

slaughterhouse90210:

“When she packed up to leave, she knew that she was saying goodbye to something important, which was not that bad, in a way, because it meant that at least you had said hello to it to begin with…”
— Lorrie Moore,  Birds of America

Behind the Scenes Video of D’Angelo Singing Funkadelic’s “Soul Mate”

Music has been under water for a long time and here is some proof that it just might have a chance to breath again. I feel energized by it, just like the night I got to slow dance to D’Angelo’s “Lady” with someone other than my reflection. Even if his come back ends poorly (which I doubt), any good that comes from it will be worth it. Don’t you forget that people fail, falter, and fade away from our expectations… but not the impression of their music. Am I silly for simply being thankful for the music D’Angelo has already done and grateful for the possibility that there could be more to come? Once you feel it, how can anything else become a factor? It perfectly lingers on. God is good…and music is a joy. #feelinggood #criticsneednotapply

- SHELL

Based on the Funkadelic throwback D’Angelo chose for this video, I imagine he feels the same way I do about the music he loves. Who knows. #DoesntMatter

(Source: GQ)

Daylight/Nightlight EPs from IMAKEMADBEATS ft. Butta Verses and MidaZ the BEAST

The best of both worlds is a phrase I have indulged in all my life and the music I listen to is no exception. IMAKEMADBEATS’ Daylight/Nightlight speaks to the soul searchers, the villains, the lost, the determined, the angry and the jaded. We are all one of those at least once daily, and Lord knows we need something to keep us from running up on people “with machetes, faster than Andretti or cheetahs upon the Serengeti.” Thankfully, we can leave such things to MidaZ’s mauling verses over IMMB’s hard hitting tracks on “Nightlight.”

While chanting in the mirror, ‘I am not crazy. I am not alone,’ may be your routine, it will certainly be more fun and do you more good to listen to Butta Verses light-hearted words touch on heavy-hearted subject matter on “Daylight.” We are all working on ourselves while dodging the insecure judgments of our peers, and Butta enjoys his time on the mic telling us just how much all that doesn’t really matter. “All you gotta do is acknowledge that greatness inside yourself, man.” Well said.

So don’t decide whether you are hopeful, healing or hype and violent. Just sit your behind down somewhere and LISTEN .

- SHELL

Daylight/Nightlight is now available unedited on iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp, and physical copies are sold at DoxsideShop.com. 

Slow Jam the News with the President

This is AWESOME. I know folks are enjoying this because it’s funny, makes Obama seem cool, or because you want attention brought to that particular education loan interest issue. BUT ME? I’m excited because The Roots Crew is on a top Late Night show performing with the host and the President of the United States. I feel proud of my Philly brothers for finding a way to bring a truly talented hip-hop band into the homes of mainstream America. This is probably how Louisiana, Brooklyn and jazz kats felt when Branford Marsalis joined The Tonight Show. Every time Black Thought opens his mouth on that show, it is like man taking steps on the moon for me. Granted, I still don’t think they are a household name yet like P. Diddy and Snoop and Thought doesn’t seem to rap that often on the show, but I’m looking at the silver lining, people. Maybe they need to take it back to underground promo and start wearing t-shirts on the show that say “The Roots” #justsayin

Well, what do you think? Are The Roots a household name yet, or does that even matter?

- SHELL

(Source: youtube.com)