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[Click Pic for FREE download!!!]
[iLL-Literacy feat. Passion - The HereNow]
According to the relativity of simultaneity, it is impossible to say in an absolute sense whether two things can happen at the same time if they are separated by space. However, the band of funky fermions known as iLL-Literacy insists that everything and everyone share a single moment – that we are all logged into a grand social network known as the HereNow. It is the central hub where our avatar souls bend time in hopes to save the day, and where our common date with Destiny is to avoid becoming dated. As coy fishes in the flow of time are poisoned with mercury, and Pluto is denied planetarianship, it seems that our moments (like all other natural resources) are plundered not with consideration for the Now, but fear of the Future. By way of syllogism, the question then becomes: when frozen in time, can thou keepest it cool? Indeed, where the electron is negative, iLL-Literacy’s spin is positive. And positively charged thou shalt be with another single from their debut project iB4the1.1. Fusing their talents with the vocals of the photonic phenom known as Jeremy “Passion” Manongdo, the iLLs beckon thine to come hither and join “The HereNow”–a P/G-Funktified ode to being present. Lean in for the moment.
This is the second single from the iLL boyz of iLL-Literacy off their forthcoming authoring of authentic awe-inspiring audio artistic awesomeness. The first chapter to their album iB4the1.1 comes out Saturday, November 17 (tomorrow!) and promises to bang, slap, knock, and funk your earbongos the funk up to the fullest extreme.
Soulclap!
C
[DELOREAN - NO MORE HEROES EP]
I am more than a bit tardy with this post but as they say, “better late than super-hella f*cking late.” =P
[Delorean ft. C-Plus & Dahlak - Chillin']
Just when I am ready to leave Rap/Hip-Hop behind and begin a career in electronica/emo/phunk-rock, some sh*t comes along and hits my eardrum in the balls. Emcee, Sean La Marr & Producer, Jon Reyes of Delorean bring to us on this outstanding EP, a 30 minute tapestry of ‘heart on a sleeve’ emotion, real-life documentarianism, humor-ridden introspection, and wicked balls-out boom-bap (I swear that will be my final testes reference – no homophobez).
[Delorean - Chapter Seven]
Cali’s capitol should mos definitiely be proud of this project and I can state without a doubt that this is one of the most solid Hip-Hop records of two-thousand-nine, real talk: 2 G’z, 9 pennies.
[Sean + Jon]
Know about David Scott & 12 Foot Dwende.
Senbei
[akiyoshi & senbei (circa 1989)]
[Senbei - Masterpiece (prod. Akiyoshi of Dynamic Souls)]
So…I have been in hibernation regarding musica for a minute now: Going back to school and pushing through a slew of life changes including but not limited to, a continuing examination of my own unique positionality/privilege/struggles, reconnecting to spirituality and my heart (“you corny cuz!”), and working to express my identity fully, while not becoming trapped within it (if that makes any sense at all =P).
This song is the first I’ve written and/or recorded in about 5 months and is a tiny window into my current insanity, clarity, self-hate, self-love, intelligence, ignorance, confidence, insecurity, etc., and will (in some form) be on the next Broken Halos Project. This cut is rough and may or may not have different verses from myself and/or Jeimil when all is said and done. =P
Senbei – Masterpiece
Verse 1:
I yawn and wakeup turn off my clock alarm, god is the greatest: “allah hu akbar” / thankful for the morning and the history of my young life, anxious for the glory and the wisdom of my hindsight / was itching for the limelight, but now I play the background, fixing to design life to udder to the cash cow / “got milk?” I need some vitamin d. but me, my smiling has ceased, my stylin’ is bleak, my dream’s designed to free / but it’s not. im paying dearly for it, my masterpiece is blasphemy, I’m slaving yearly for it / but I spent my days with children I was thrilled to go build with, and celebrate my funding til it ran-off (randolph) like childress / damn god, I feel this aching sense of desperation making sense of hesitation’s insecurity / blast off and peel this lyrical cap, a spiritual rap, a miracle in fact, because…HOOK X2:
I love to live inside the rhapsody, searching for the person that I have to be / and I’ll talk to my creator til im fast asleep dreaming how I’ll be a brush stroke in a masterpiece…Verse 2:
I found peace inside a cloudy brain, this aint vision, my rhymes unique sublime I sound insane this aint wisdom / it’s a reflection of the story I was born to tell the planet, resurrection of the glory from my war in hell, god damn it / blissful are their sins if pistols kiss the children goodnight, but wishful is my thinking, simple is my living: just write / let your tale call your voice from silence to ignition. Rep your label, I’ll rejoice in wildin’ AND submission / heaven and hell exist upon the same plane, my lame brain maintained inhaling grams of jane mang / high enough to touch the bottom of the pearly gates, died enough to clutch the bottle from this earthly hate / great, im drinking from a hurting heart’s breaks…wait. I think I see her work of art make / sense of all the madness on this atlas where I’m drowning, meant for these theatrics that we practice in the sound when…HOOK X2
Verse 3:
Another world is on her way and when the days are quiet, I hear her breathing deep and free she sighs inside the silence / and I’ll supply the science, til the future speaks about me, and never be compliant to the foolishness around me / movement it astounds me, ‘cause truth it speaks the loudest, but coolness man its drowns me, during youth my freedom’s clouded / I grew up with children always calling women “b*tches”, and if that shocks u bro or sis: u prolly aint from Richmond / oppression has kinder face in middle-class America. Depression has a smiley face - a ridalin hysteria / to cripple and embarrass you in all the guilt you live in - a sickness that’ll carry you through all the pill prescriptions / and I know its true because I’ve seen it from both sides: I reside on borderlines and watch the scoreboard multiply / at the buzzer im shooting: an act of desperation. In utter confusion I’ll rap to empty space. Sen…bei.HOOK X2
It is what it is. I thank you sincerely for caring enough to listen.
Bless,
Senbei
p.s.
Aki: Your soul is more dynamic than you will ever know. I love you, baby bro.
[I wrote this article for last week's Multiracial/ethnic Edition of the Nichibei Times]
5 Mixed Heritage Asian American Hip-Hoppers to Watch For in 2010
By Colin Masashi Ehara
As a mixed heritage Asian/Nikkei American, I have found on many an occasion, that my ethnicity, race, physical characteristics, and identity are not always in alignment. As a “Hip-Hopper” (one who is not only a fan of the music/expression/culture, but also a practitioner of and participant in it), I find that ethnic/racial ambiguity can be gift and a curse. The “gift” comes in not being asked to immediately prove your authenticity when some of your ancestors wouldn’t have fit into what are often rigid definitions of Hip-Hop. The “curse” lies in not knowing for sure at times, if any acceptance is authentic itself (i.e. “Are folks only giving me applause right now because they think I’m Filipino or Latino?” & “Would they feel me if they knew I was a Japanese whiteboy?” &“If I were ‘full’ Japanese or Anglo, would they even give me the time of day?”). Although I am unsure whether all the artists I am about to mention feel me on this one, I thought it’d be nice to take the time to recognize my fellow multiracial Hip-Hoppers, from a perspective that centers our experiences as mixed heritage people in a society that sees (or doesn’t see) being monoracial as “normal.” Whether intentional of not, it is my belief that much of what we express as mixed heritage Asian American Hip-Hoppers, is a reflection of the observations from our blurring racial lines in our own personal borderlands. That’s my opinion – I could be wrong (but I highly doubt it).
_______LYRICS BORN
Tom “Lyrics Born” Shimura is a mixed heritage Japanese/Italian Emcee born in Tokyo, Japan and currently based in Berkeley, CA. He is one half of Hip-Hop group “Latryx” along with Lateef the Truthspeaker and as a graduate of Saint Mary’s High School in Berkeley, Shimura began his Hip-Hop career at UC Davis where he Deejayed for the University‘s radio station (KDVS). Over the span of his career, Shimura has collaborated with the likes of renowned Bay Area Hip-Hop artists such as Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel of Blackalicious, DJ Shadow, Del the Funkee Homosapien, Mistah F.A.B. and E-40. It is safe to say that Lyrics Born is a household name amongst Hip-Hop heads in the Bay Area, as well as on the other side of the globe in Japan. His latest work, As U Were, is set to be released in 2010 and promises to be funkier than James Brown’s baby diapers.
LYRICS BORN
_______APL.DE.AP (of The Black Eyed Peas)
Alan Pineda Lindo aka “APL.DE.AP” is a living, breathing example of the power and resilience existent within Hip-Hop. Born to a Filipino mother and an African American father in the Barrio of Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, in the Phillipines, APL is representative of those dehumanized by American occupation/militarization. After his father, a U.S. airman stationed at Clark Air Base, abandoned the family shortly after APL’s birth, his mother Cristina Pineda raised APL and his six younger siblings by herself. As a teenager, APL moved to the United States permanently after being adopted by an American involved with sponsoring “Amerasian” children in the Phillipines. APL attended John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, CA, where he met Will.I.Am. The two went on to become founding members of the world famous Hip-Pop group, The Black Eyed Peas, and have gone one to sell 18 million albums worldwide. APL explains his life story in a song called “The Apl Song” on the Peas’ 2003 album Elephunk, which includes a full chorus in Tagalog sampled from the Asin song “Balita.” If Hip-Hop is a voice for the voiceless, APL is the mic, the amplifier, and the speakerbox.
APL.DE.AP
_______- NICO “N.I.C.” CARY (of iLL-Literacy)
Nico Cary is an internationally touring performer, emcee, and educator as well as a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. Part of the HBO-featured group “iLL-Literacy,” Nico has performed at colleges in over 100 cities, at venues ranging from arena Hip-Hop concerts to educational conferences. He is a McNair’s Scholar and served as a featured editor for Dave Eggers’ Best American Non-Required Reading (Houghton Mifflin, 2002). I’ve had the honor of sharing the stage with Bay Area Spoken Word Collective, iLL-Literacy a few times and have never ceased to be amazed by Cary’s poise, superfluous charisma and ability to convey to an audience, exactly who he is (and who is at the top of his “eff-you” list). Nico Cary’s art (as well as iLL-Literacy’s) would be done a great injustice if simply confined to and defined as “spoken word,” and as an American poet/emcee/educator/musician/artist of Black and Chinese heritage, Cary embraces the soulfulfunkyelectrohiphopshockrock that is his eclectic, frenetic, electric prophetic.
iLL-Literacy
_______FATGUMS
Eric “Fatgums” Strand is an American DJ/Producer who identifies as “a Hapa-Japanese Gosei.” Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fatgums’ obsession with syncopated kick-snares began with his older brother’s turntable and the 12″ single of Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By”. At the tender age of 12, Fatgums manipulated the acapellas of this record with said turntable, synchronized them with instrumentals from his boom box, and recorded his own remixes onto his mom’s classroom tape recorder. Immersing himself in the world of turntablism as a teen, ‘Gums began producing beats after graduating from UCLA, and in 2008, was faced with a decision to either pursue a music career, or put beats on the back-burners until he graduated from medical school. While attempting to pursue school and music simultaneously, ‘Gums discovered each took away from the other. He recently took a leave of absence from medical school and produced a West Coast underground Hip-Hop classic entitled, …A Peaceful Riot… with LA Emcee, Bambu (formerly of Native Guns). To those who think this an unwise decision, let us not forget: Dr. Dre never went to medical school.
FATGUMS
_______-MIKE SHINODA (of Linkin Park & Ft. Minor)
Michael Kenji “Mike” Shinoda is an American producer, singer, emcee, and artist from Agoura Hills, California. He is best known as the rapper, songwriter, keyboardist, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Linkin Park, and as a emcee in his side (Hip-Hop) project, Fort Minor. He also provides artwork, production and audio mixing for both groups. His father, Leslie, is Japanese American while his mother, Kim, is of European and Native American heritage. While I personally have never been a huge fan of Hip-Hop/Rock “fusion” (excluding Rage Against the Machine), I have nothing but the utmost respect for the dedication and musical talent Shinoda possesses. His collaborations with the likes of world renowned emcees such as Lupe Fiasco, Blackthought, Common, and Jay-Z, speak volumes to his ability to craft soundscapes for the most talented Hip-Hoppers of this age. On his 2005 LP, The Rising Tied, Shinoda wrote and produced a melancholy melody that paid tribute to his grandfather, entitled “Kenji.” This song chronicles Internment and the events that transpired in the lives of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan during WWII. It appears that even when others may believe that mixed heritage people represent a dilution of culture, Shikata Ga Nai (“it cannot be helped”) and the art of Gaman (“enduring what seems unbearable with dignity and grace”) still seem to shine through.
MIKE SHINODA
_______Colin Masashi “Senbei” Ehara is a Yonsei Japanese/Scottish/Iroquois American raised in Richmond, CA and is one half of Hip-Hop group “Broken Halos” with emcee, Jeimil Belamide. He is currently at work on a Master’s Degree in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and resides today in El Cerrito, CA with his wife, Emalyn.
Gotta shout out my big bro, Mr. Alec Yoshio Macdonald for allowing me to write this piece. It’s super refreshing to write about something like this in the midst of my delving into academia/Asian American Studies. I get caught up in my head questioning everything around me so much, I sometimes don’t know which way is up. When given opportunities where I am able to send some shine to the people I look up to, it helps to keep me centered, grounded, and human.
Check out Alec’s fresh-to-def article Check the Label, regarding the different ways mixed heritage people have chosen (and not chosen) to identify. Self-Determination GOES.
I hate it when they say I shouldn’t spray the world with Paper Bullets…
Bless.
ColinResponse
p.s.
The Nichi Bei Times, the leading Japanese American newspaper in the country, has been keeping the community connected, informed and empowered since 1946. Community leaders founded the Nichi Bei Times to reconnect dispersed Japanese Americans after their forced incarceration in World War II concentration camps. As Northern California’s oldest and most respected Japanese American newspaper, we continue in this tradition, addressing the cultural, historical, political, economic and social concerns of a vibrant and evolving community.
[RHYTHM X of Vallejo, CA]
My big bro Bob of Berkeley/Oahu played a huge role in my love for Hip-Hop while I was growing up. A mixed heritage Asian American himself (Filipino/Japanese), Bob introduced to me to vinyl, cassettes, and Rap/Hip-Hop music in general. With this said, it comes as no surprise that when I visited him in Hawaii earlier this year, he not only told me about he and his homies being the only Asian kids at Sick-Wid-It shows in the Bay Area back in the day, but also put me on to a little-known Emcee/Producer by the name of Rhythm X.
Back in 1994, a young Japanese American kid from Vallejo, California apparently got signed to E-40’s Record Label, Sick-Wid-It Records and dropped the best Bay-Area-Rap-album-you-didn’t-know-about. Known as “The Mental Oriental,” Rhythm X put out a single solo LP entitled Long Overdue, before being dropped from the label after Record executives above E-40 told 40-Water that they “did not know how to market him.” *SIGH*
[Rhythm X (feat. E-40) - This Type A Sh*t]
[Rhythm X - I Got A Few Screws Loose]
[Rhythm X - Sherry (Original 90's version)]
If anyone knows of another Asian American rapper signed to a major lablel prior to 1994, please holler at me, because Rhythm X just might the Masanori Murakami of Rap.
BUY Long Overdue HERE.
Ill toast to that.
Kampai!
Senbei
[Jeimil: Archipalego/Vallejo-Bred.]
[Jeimil - Sideshow (right-click & "save-target-as" to DL)]
Although my partner in rhyme is one of the most difficult people to get in the booth, when he is actually able to make it happen, he makes it happen. We are (hella slowly) in the process of putting together a new Broken Halos project right now, and this DJ Dahi-produced joint is a sample of Jeimil’s uncanny ability to access the inner workings of his soul, and expressing it through rhyme. Me thinks its safe to say that (when he does it =P) Jei is my favorite emcee doing it today.
Stuck in a sideshow…tryna find hope…figure-8’s: infinite in high notes…tires screeching…tryna outrun the pain…full-throttle though the motherf*ckin’ rain.
masashi
[Masta Ace: True Skool]
[Masta Ace - Beautiful (right-click and "save-target-as" to DL)]
Masta Ace is definitely an originator/architect when it comes to the roots of Hip-Hop. This song is from his 2004 LP, A Long Hot Summer (which was really f*cking good). If you are a Hip-Hopper and for some reason haven’t heard of him, take a gander at this old classic.
[Juice Crew - The Symphony pt. 2]
Is Brooklyn in the house?
C
[Illogic of Columbus, Ohio]
[Illogic - First Trimester (right-click and "save-target-as" to DL)]
I hate to put myself on front street like this but this song truly hit me dead in the heart when I first heard it in on the 2004 LP Celestial Clockwork. Although not spot-on, this song was very close to the story of my turning 17 years old and is a reminder that a piece of my heart will forever be broken. Illogic has a brilliant knack for bridging the gap between Hip-Hop and Spoken Word and while I haven’t listened to him in quite some time, I always appreciate a little reflection on the past and how it’s shaped the person I am today.
Illogic – First Trimester
The love floods that drips from her eyes as they meet his
while inside she holds a gift, the virus of new life
their hearts overflow with oceans of emotions mixed
happiness, confusion, love, hate, all simultaneous
holding her close as she drenches his chest with rivers of fear
a single tear sprints down his cheek, his knees become weak
he thinks, “here I sit, a child embracing a child with child that’s probably
more scared of this than I am
it’s too late to question if I’m ready for the responsibility
’cause I knew the consequences of lust, but I took part willingly.”
just then, her left hand graces his face
the love in her touch encourages tears to race
she wipes the rain from his cloudy eyes
shaken and scared she takes his hand, smiles, and places it on her belly
his hand trembles, heart pounds, mouth returns to smile
as inside, she frowns, knowing she can’t handle this right now
“I’m stuck in this spot between love and my culture
my cousin had a baby out of wedlock and they disowned her
should I risk losing one family to start my own?
or if I don’t have it, will he hate me, and make me stand alone
leaving me to hold this bag of bricks and carry it for a lifetime
while he can relieve the pain by just going home and writing a rhyme?
at that point he pulls her close, whispers “I love you” to her lobes
unbeknownst to the dichotomy in the beauty that he beholdsI love her now, and even after death
she’s my breath
the only other close to my heart? my mother
I’m scared, but prepared to give my child what I was never given, a life
with its father and its mother, its wife
I know realize my eyes see the horizon
I’m no longer looking for a kaleidoscope to climb in
accepting my scenery, my fate parallel to grace
I know I’m in love every time my eyes touch her faceI love him, but I’m not ready to spring a life into this world
I’m only 17, myself still a little girl
I need my family too much to lose them for him
but I need him by my side also, I’ll have his baby someday
he’s the only one I see in my future, but now’s not the time
we still have things to experience and live out our lives
I can’t do it, I’ve decided. I’m only two months now
but how can I tell the love of my life that I’ve murdered his child?alone she sits, with oceans of regret soaking optics
heart ripped to shreds with visions of a dead sea
no words can emerge from voice box to explain
the understood hate that seemed to fuel his pain
his vital organ pounds till his chest starts to vibrate
emotions unusual trapped in delusional mind state
he knows not what to feel, or what to say
how to react to the fact of, should he leave or should he stay?
a cloud of sorrow hovers above the two broken spirits
without a clue
gloom so thick that love can’t shine through
he’s thinkin, “here I stand, face to face with my angel
as the blood of our child soaks her hands
the hate I hold is a product of the love she evokes
so in an obscure way, I understand”
with arms outstretched, she lies his head upon her chest
and she cries and continues to apologize
“you know that I love you (I love you)
and you won’t be to blame if after this action, you never utter my name
but I need time to mature before I give birth
we need time to explore and find what we’re worth
one day I’ll have your seed
even if the sun rays burn out and the starlight bleeds”
their eyes meet, and lips touch
I love yous are exchanged
and eyes lock till tear ducts flood with rivers of pain
love won’t let them leave, there was a hold on his heart
as much as my death hurt, it couldn’t tear them apart
so now I rest on clouds with other aborted missions
I forgive you and understand the purpose of your decision
I hope this story of my life hits the depth of many souls
and when you want to tell me you love me, you don’t have to
cause I know…
sending love to the heavens.
masashi
[UnderGroundKing]
[Bun B - Get Cha Issue (right-click and "save-target-as" to DL)]
This song is off of Bun B’s severly slept-on 2008 LP, II Trill. It addresses (in this order) dirty Preachers, Police, and Politicians and is equal parts Sociopolitical Science & American (Port Arthur, TX) gangster. Rap doesn’t get much realer than UGK. The truth hurts, but it will set you free.
R.I.P(imp C).
senbei
[Hope Shorter on 3rd St. Promenade in LA]
[Hope Shorter - The Rain Don't Last (right-click and "save-target-as" to DL)]
I must admit that I’ve been slippin’ pretty hard in terms of the fact that it took me this long to post a woman artist in my “Brilliant/Resilient Song of the Day” category (esp when women tend to be the most brilliant and resilient beings I come across in my life). My bad, sisters. I have no excuses except for my hetero-male myopia. I’m working hard on re-evaluating these glasses and all I view through them…
So a couple years ago my broshot Tunji (formerly of Inverse) met this young woman and later played this song for me when I visited him in LA. What then ensued was my playing the song for countless youth I worked with, as well as homies I battle for/alongside with, who are brilliant and resilient every single day in their artistry, education and teaching. Emo and sappy, yes, but I’ve never ONCE had a room full of dry eyes when I played this song in various classrooms around the Bay Area. The youth always seem to know wassup, right?
P lease
E ducate
A ll
C hildren
E qually
ColinResponse
