You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2008.
While I still need to watch Slumdog Millionaire, this weekend I saw two films that have already gone down in my mind as the best films of 2008 (and the year is about to be over!).
MILK TRAILER
[Sean Penn showing Amerika how to be a man.]
“MILK” is the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay City Supervisor in America and is a testament to the bravery and courage of all those who fight oppression because they have no other choice. I am truly greatful to be living in a time when a movie like this can be made on such a grand scale, and while this movie will probably not do well in states that begin with a vowel, =P Gus Van Sant, Emille Hirsch, James Franco, Josh Brolin and Sean (muthaf*ckin) Penn have all combined to create a cinematic masterpiece.
While I don’t believe for a second that heterosexual actors who play a LGBTQ person in a movie are nearly as brave as someone who actually identifies as queer in the real world, I do believe wholeheartedly that people like Sean Penn are allies who refuse to sit by passively and benefit from the oppresion of LGBTQ folks. What struck me in this film (besides Penn’s incredible transformtaion into Harvey Milk) was Dan White’s (played by Josh Brolin from “W” and “No Country for Old Men”) downward spiral into destruction. It was like seeing a sea-side house perched atop a cliff as the rain slowly degraded the foundation beneath it. Beautifully terrifying.
I recommend that everyone watch this film, especially if you are like myself, a hetero male who claims to be anti-oppression. Watch this movie, take note of when and how you feel your internalized homphobia and heterosexism recordings going off in your head. Ask why they are there and where their roots lie. Be brave.
[No homo...phobia.]
____________________________________
SEVEN POUNDS TRAILER
[Will Smith teaching rappers (and actors!) how to act.]
As a lifelong lover, supporter, student/teacher of Hip-Hop, its culture, expression and lifestyle (and especially as a mixed race Asian Amerikan one), I realize fully the ways in which many who embrace the culture and live their lives as Hip-Hoppers can have their authenticity questioned when they attempt to do something “outside the box.”
As an individual who has championed Hip-Hop his entire life, Will Smith is taking his artistic endeavors to new heights with each new movie he puts work into. Smith seems to have figured out a way to bypass the pressures of molding himself to fit into rigid definitions of “common sense” understandings of “Black masculinity” and “Hip-Hop” identity. Smith is a muhf*ckin straight up thespian-artiste.
It is immensely refreshing to see Mr. Smith brush aside fears that weigh us down as human beings from internalized racism, gender role performance, classism, etc. and unapologetically throw himself into his new identity as an actor. We have all collectively wittnessed his growth from Fresh Prince to Fresh King. From playing “himself” in Independence Day and Bad Boys, to literally becoming Muhammad Ali and vampire killier, Robert Nevile (I Am Legend).
“Seven Pounds” is simultaneouly heartbreaking and uplifting, and while the majority of the movie’s plot lies in ambiguity, the end might just pluck at your heart strings and set that sh*t on fire like Jimi Hendrix. Particularly heartbreaking to me was the role played by the unspeakably, disgustingly beautiful Rosario Dawson. I will not give away any of the movie’s plot, as it is not based on a true story like “Milk,” but I will tell you that if you are a hetero man or a LGBTQ womyn, Dawson will break your eff-ing heart yo. Real talk:
[Not to worry, eM knows about my feelings for Rosario already and says as long as she can have Will, I am allowed a pass. =P]
_____________________________
Though most of you are well aware, being brave and courageous does not imply in any way that one is not scared. The virtues of courage and bravery are actually quite the contrary. I find that the true difference between scared people who choose to be brave and who are kept from being courageous by fear, is that while we are ALL scared at times, not all of us are AFRAID. It is within human nature to be scared, especially if you are someone who belongs to a group whose people have not been cared for/thought well about (an understatement in many cases). To me, what becomes instrumental to overcoming being afraid and finding courage when you are scared to death is a sense of (for lack of a better word) HOPE. I have been reading Cornell West’s new book “Hope On A Tightrope,” and he speaks to his experience as a Black man in Amerika when he states: “People of color would be foolish to be optimisitic in America. But we can still hope. Because without hope, what’s left?”
NOT A WHOLE F*CKING LOT…
trying with all my seven pound heart to be hopeful, brave and courageous even when i’m scurred,
Senbei
The homie C.W. of Berkeley Dynamic Rap Duo, OPTIC sent this 2008 Rap survey out and it was a welcome distraction from the craziness of my final paper (which was 30 muf*ckin pages!). Here’s what I got. Feel free to debate me!
Artist of the Year
1. Weezy
2. Gnarls Barkley
3. Nas
Producers of the Year
1. Kanye
2. Jus Blaze
3. DangerMouse
Albums of the Year
1. Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
2. Weezy – TC3
3. Nas – Untitled / T.I. – Paper Trail / Ludacris – Theater of the Mind
Best Single
1. Weezy – A Milli
2. M.I.A. – Paper Planes
3. Snoop Dogg – Sensual Seduction
Best Verses
1. Nas – Queens Get the Money / Andre3000 – Royal Flush
2. Juelz Santana – You Got Nuthin’ (w/Weezy) “octopus…oysters…chump.”
3. Jay-Z – Mr. Carter (w/Weezy) “the biggie’s and the pac’s and marley’s and the marcus’es…”
Best Hooks
1. M.I.A. – Paper Planes
2. T.I. ft Rhianna – Live Your Life
3. Young Jeezy – My President is Black
Best Beats
1. Weezy – A Milli (Bangladesh)
2. M.I.A. – Paper Planes (Diplo)
3. T.I. – No Matter What (DJ Toomp)
Best Callabo
ANY & ALL T-WAYNE
Rookie/s Of the Year
Asher Roth (JK)
Senbei & Dynamic Souls (yah i sed it blud…and if you made your first solo rap LP this year i’d expect you to do the same!)
Most Potential
Black Milk
Best Local Artist (and say where he/she from)
OPTIC – “Whats better than Berkeley!?!”
Richie Cunning – SuckaFreeCity
Worst Rapper
Tyga / Yung Berg
Biggest Flop
Shawty Lo thinking it was a good idea to go at T.I. =(
“whats haaaaaaaaaaaappenin…”
Worst Line, If U can Remember
the entire song (except for the hook) of the “foolish” remix by shawty lo feat baby, rick ross and jim jones.
Most Slept On
the ENTIRE Roots – Rising Down album (simply amazing)
and Best Lines
1. “Barack Obama is the 44th President elect of the United States of America…”
2. “Take 27 emcee’s put them in a line and they’re out of alignment / my assignment since he said retirement / hiding behind 8 Mile and The Chronic / Gets rich but dies rhyming / This is high science / Now add 23 more / from Queens to B-more / I’ve over their heads / Like a bulimic on a seesaw / Now that’s 50 porch monkeys ate up at the same time…”
-Nas
And finally what stood out to u the most/ maybe the theme of 08′
“Yes We Can U muhfunkin Beezles.” Ciroc Nodrama…
SOOO MUCH GOOD MUSIC IN 2008! Check for a new Broken Halos LP as well as Slavename & Senbei Present…The Mitchell Report in ‘09!
Here’s a FREE sample…
[Slavename & Senbei - Freedumb]
And I’ll be gotdamned if my rims aint too…
Senbei
["Holy microscopic heartbreaking work of staggering genius, batman!"]
Willard Wigan is an artisan of Black/African heritage from the UK who is dyslexic and one of the most amazing human beings on earth for his incredible works. He recently sold his entire collection for a whopping 10,000,000 Brittish Euros (that’s like $22,000,000 crappy-ass American dollars, blud)!
look closer,
senbei
[Wait for it...]
The coldest part is that SHE uploaded the video herself (and that makes it DEFINITELY okay to laugh at)! =P
thanx for sharing this w/ me brotha ed!
yee,
senbei (is slightly retarded for loving sh*t like this)
p.s. YES blud, I DID put her in my “S/HEROES” category! That lil hip dip she did b4 it got troublesome was way too smoov! =)
[Sean Corey... You've come a long way.]
Jay-Z turns 39 today. Happy HOVday, Hovi.
["December 4th"]
["Say Hello"]
HOOK:
Say hello, to the bad guy (hello) they say I’m a bad guy
I come from the bottom, but now I’m mad fly (say hello)
They say I’m a menace (hello) that’s the picture they paint
They say a lot about me, let me tell you what I ain’t (say hello)
They say I’m a bad guy (hello) say hi to the bad guy
I come from the bottom, but now I’m mad fly (say hello)
They say I’m a menace (hello) that’s the picture they paint
They say a lot about me, let me tell you what I ain’t (say hello)
Ay (say hello), ay, ay, ay
They say a lot about me, let me tell you what I ain’tVerse 1:
I ain’t playin, life’s short so I aim
I ain’t waitin ’til lifers start betrayin ‘em
It’s twice as hard to get a job that’s payin him
So I ain’t payin attention to what you’re sayin
Raindrops keep fallin on my brain
Cousin in the drop all flames
I’m so hot even if the weather change
I don’t have no top, I’m insane
‘Member dark-skinned Jermaine
Who swayed in the rain, we sorta kinda the same
‘Cept, I’m no lame, and you gonna know my name
Before I go the world gon’ feel my pain
They sayin, I’m a bad guy, why’s that?
Cause when my back’s against the wall, n*gga I react
Secretly though, I know you admire that
You wish you had the balls to fire back, brrrap
Say hello, uhh uh, hello, uhh uh
You wish you had the balls to fire back, brrap!Chorus
Verse 2:
I ain’t no ordinary n*gga
Look around, this ain’t what ordinary gets ya (IT AIN’T!)
Extraordinary figures (damn)
I’m an extraordinary n*gga
Before my name became Jigga
Before I sang I had that thang on slippers
Can’t complain ’bout what they ain’t gon’ give ya
That ain’t gon’ get ya shit, might as well give up
Or get up, get out and get somethin n*gga
Get a job my n*gga, or get to dumpin
Only God can judge him, only he without sin
Tell me if my means, justified my ends
‘Til then, I’m just gon’ fly in the Benz
Wire my friends, through Western Union
Shhhhh, suprisin
My system knockin, here comes the bad guy again
Say hello, uhh uh, hello, uhh uh
Hello, uhh here comes the bad guy againChorus
Verse 3:
… let me tell you what I ain’t
We ain’t thugs for the sake of just bein thugs
Nobody do that where we grew at, n*gga duh…
The poverty line we not above
So I come to mask and gloves cause we ain’t feelin the love
We ain’t doin crime for the sake of doin crimes
We movin dimes cause we ain’t doin fine
One out of three of us is locked up doin time
You know what this type of sh*t can do to a n*gga mind
My mind on my money, money on my mind
If you owe me ten dollars you ain’t givin me nine
Y’all ain’t give me 40 acres and a mule
So I got my glock 40 now I’m cool
And if Al Sharpton is speakin for me
Somebody, give him the word and tell him I don’t approve
Tell him I remove the curses
If you tell me our schools gon’ be perfect
When Jena Six don’t exist
Tell him that’s when I’ll stop sayin b*tch, BEEEITCH!
[Yes, He Did]
["and all the wavy, light-skinned girls is lovin' me now..."]
American Dreamin’,
Senbei
p.s.
WAAAY better than my feeble version. Oh well… =) Great vid.
[Coldplay & Hovi: gettin' it in]
with that same sword they knight you, they gon’ goodnight you with,
senbei
p.s.
[CLICK PIC for FREE download of Mick Boogie & Terry Urban's Jay-Z/Coldplay mixtape, Viva La Hova!]
