Good Hip-Hop Lives on 99Problems.org — Goodie Mob

I may be dating myself, but Goodie Mob’s first album Soul Food had a tremendous impact on my world view. Not only did the first single “Cell Therapy” break down everything you needed to know about crooked cops and sheisty politicians, but the title track “Soul Food” made you want to pack your bags and move to Atlanta. (Ironically, lots of my high school friends did. I wonder if it was because of Goodie Mob?)

Recently, there’s been talk about Goodie Mob getting back together. I hope they do. Just check out this video of them performing on Jimmy Fallon. They still got it!!! Found via @n1Rm

Check the video after the jump.
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Posted by:

Biko Baker

10-Year-Old Won’t Say Pledge of Allegiance Until Gays Get Rights!

Check out this kid from Arkansas who stood up to his teacher.  He said he won’t say the pledge of allegiance until everyone gets equal rights.  You can tell his dad is really proud of him. Check the video after the jump.

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Posted by:

Biko Baker

Why is Everyone Hating on “Precious”?

Why are so many African Americans hating on the new film Precious? For the first time in a long time, a seriously moving story about “real life” has arrived on the big screen accompanied by great fan fair (thanks to Sundance) and some serious financial backers (thanks to Oprah & Tyler…two reforming, survivors)! So what’s the trouble?

From comparing it to Birth of A Nation (yup) to dissatisfaction over the portrayal of darker black folk (the antagonists) against the lighter black folk (protagonists), it seems like everyone is hating. But in the process people are missing the truest survivor in the film, Precious, who through her struggles displays what’s best about black America.

To be honest, it feels like 1985 all over again when The Color Purple premiered. Back then Alice Walker and Steven Speilberg caught heat and negativity from the black community for their gripping portrayal of Southern life. Since then, there hasn’t been a movie like it, until now! Sadly, the hate continues.

When I ask friends what the hostility is really about I receive the overused excuse that WE shouldn’t be airing our dirty drawers in public. But should we really be ignoring our problems? These things are happening in our community and households. If exposing the realities of brutality can draw awareness, halt abuse, cause us to pause and ponder our diets, relationships, sexual demons….isn’t that worth it? Who cares if white folks are watching?

Drama and dysfunction are within all aspects of society! But our shame to discuss our dysfunctions and pain on a real level and practically through our ART, only worsen the grief, deepen the wounds and makes us feel more pain. Once we understand that, then we can get to the business of healing our wounds.  Because after all isn’t that what is important….the healing!!!??! Secrets create more dysfunction and we have no time to pacify our collective ego!

See the original post by Ebony Joy at:
SHAME BEGETS MORE SHAME…A QUICK NOTE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF “PRECIOUS”

Posted by:

The Editor

Good Hip-Hop Lives on 99problems.org — Psalm One

The Rhymesayers’ Psalm One is one of hip-hop’s most talented MCs. Just ask Invincible!! Check out her page here for free downloads and tour schedule!

Posted by:

Biko Baker

Peak Oil…hey, got a light?

This is a few days old i.e. another epoch in internetz time but I bet when society crashes and we burn our laptops for plastic scented warmth, we’ll kill for the chance to one more snarky blog post, to tag one more pic of the person we were before Nature takes our headphones off and smacks us back to the Ice Age.

By which I mean, is anyone really surprised that not only do we have to confront the awesome, shame-on-us specter of global destruction as a simple truth – we are consuming the world, will we do anything about it? – but also as a classic opportunity for government conspiracy, what we don’t know will kill us, of course the Man is savvy to the fact that famine and hedonism are mutually exclusive and you’ll catch more of us flies if you act like the honey is gonna flowwwww forever.

Turns out “[t]he world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit,” with the United States quite specifically called out for encouraging a false representation of 1.) how much oil is undiscovered [how do they know?!] and 2.) how much we’ve got left in our fields.

Consensus is growing that this roller coaster we call Life™ is already over the hump, we’re hurtling down hill to a NEW epoch the people at the Center for Egregiously Named Memetics call Peak Oil. When you hit Peak Oil, your oil production enters a phase called “terminal decline….” yeah, it looks kinda like this:

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Posted by:

Sam Patton