Barry Jenkins’ Tall Enough is a great short film, though it does advertise for Bloomingdales, who funded it as well as shorts films by four other independent directors. San Francisco Weekly hailed Jenkins’ film Medicine for Melancholy “some kind of wonderful.” In an interview, the director discussed how his love story was just as much about racial tension as it was about romance.

“In these hands:
The sound of a guitar, or the sound of a gun.
A story of desperation, or one of inspiration.
Blueprints to make a house, or plans to break into one.
Sign language, or gang signs.
A painter or a con artist.
All depending on who
gives them a hand.”

I saw this ad for Boys & Girls Clubs at a bus stop in Downtown Boston.
investinachild.org

In his documentary, Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, Filmmaker and self-described “Hip Hop Head,” Byron Hurt, takes an in-depth look at masculinity and manhood in the world of rap and hip-hop. I’m a bit late coming onto this, since it was released back in 06, but we just watched a clip from it last night in my Dialogues on Race group. In the film, Hurt explores the industry of hip hop, where creative genius collides with misogyny, violence and homophobia, exposing the complex intersections of culture and commerce. Are the media and music industries really to blame for this? Where do we place the responsibility… on the artists, the listeners, society as a whole? I think it’s a little bit of everyone really. I think, though I may be generalizing, that this is an issue many hip-hop fans struggle with. At least, I know I do.

Hurt says…

“The more I grew and the more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more those lyrics became unacceptable to me,” he says. “And I began to become more conflicted about the music that I loved.”

The film comes in 6 parts. I highly suggest you watch the whole thing…

Also, if you want a rough brush up on your hip-hop history, take a look at this Timeline of Hip-Hop.

An introduction to Nederhop:

Rotterdam, or Roffa in street slang, has always been the hip hop capital of the Netherlands.
When hip-hop culture first crossed the Atlantic from New York, it was in Rotterdam that it found fertile soil. Winne was 18-months-old when his parents moved from the Surinam capital of Paramaribo to the ‘Old West’ neighbourhood in Rotterdam. When he was in primary school, his dad gave him a cassette tape with music by Public Enemy and Ice-T.

To Winne it seemed natural for Rotterdam to embrace hip-hop. The city doesn’t just look like New York; it also resembles it in character, he says. “This is a fast city, where many nationalities live together.” (Link it)

Today’s Teacher: Winnie

Winston Bergwijn, better known as Winne, is a dutch rapper from Rotterdam. He is signed to the Dutch hip-hop label Top Notch. After his EP Onoverwinnelijk he dropped his debut album Winne Zonder Strijd recently (download the EP after the jump). In the summer of 2005, Winnie’s song “Top 3 MC” was released on the Internet by Kapitein Mo and Winne gained a much wider audience.

Link it.

Download Winnie’s EP – Onoverwinnelijk here.

Keep checking back for some more Nederhop talents to come.

I find this so interesting. I love my Disney movies (I mean really love them), but I must confess I never looked too deep into them when I was 5 years old. This just goes to show you how deep these things are ingrained into our society.

Now do I think Disney movies intentionally set out to promote racism? …..well, no, I don’t think Disney is entirely that corrupt. But I do think the influence of these movies on our development is immeasurable and often overlooked. Most of us probably saw our first Disney movie before we could talk. We learn through visual images before we can learn verbally. Even as we mature, we continue to learn the most through what we see.

Watching these videos reminded me of a lecture I went to see recently on Homophobia. The speaker’s main point was that we have to stop focusing on homosexuality and start addressing the problem of homophobia. During the Q&A period, a student asked, “At what stage do you think it’s appropriate to introduce homosexuality into children’s education?” …. As if to suggest that children should be eased into the knowledge that homosexuals exist. Afterall, isn’t that how prejudices begin… When one idea is introduced as the norm and another is later introduced as being different or the other? Homosexuals are deliberately excluded from mainstream representation, just as most minorities are.

Can’t we look at sexuality in a similar light as race? Since it is a known fact that different types of people exist in this world, it would only make sense to introduce all of these types of people at the earliest stage.

Nelson Mandela and The Game that Made A Nation

Clint Eastwood’s Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, focuses in on the Rugby World Cup of 1995. Shortly after Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison and became president of South Africa in 1994, he seized upon using a rugby World Cup the following year as an opportunity to rally the entire nation, blacks and whites, behind the far-fetched prospect of South Africa taking it home.

The film, which hit theaters early December, was originally titled “The Human Factor.” However, the later chosen title, “Invictus” refers to a poem that Mandela recited by William Ernest Henley. Freeman, now 72, was cast for the role of Mandela long before the script was written. During a press conference in the ’90s, the South African leader was asked who he’d like to play him in a movie version of his life. His answer: Morgan Freeman. And once you see the movie, you’ll agree, it’s as if Freeman had been born to play this role.

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Download.

Merry Christmas! I just got back from midnight Mass with my family. And that was only the end to a long night of Kibbe Nayye (which is raw kibbe), chicken and rice, and my Dad playing Lebanese drums. There was much more in between, but those were just my highlights.

During the service, the minister brought up how “It is better to give than it is to receive.” I have said before that much of my happiness is dependent on the happiness of the people I love. So I have always found the most pleasure in seeking out the right Christmas gifts. When it comes to presents (especially bad ones), people always say, “It’s the thought that counts.” Well, I say, think harder. I don’t mean think bigger, or more expensive, just harder. When you’re giving someone a present, think about that person. Unless you’re giving a Secret Santa gift, you have to know something about this person to be able to pick out a gift for them. People will always appreciate gifts that show you know something about them, something they are interested in, even if it’s something small. Otherwise, if it’s just the thought that counts, then just write them a card….. with your thought in it.

Anyways, my point is this: Christmas is not about getting the right presents, it’s about giving them! And not just the ones wrapped under the tree. It’s about being there with your family and the people you love, and showing them you care for them. I think this can go for the Holidays in general and is not just specific to Christmas. I can promise you that you will always feel more fulfilled if you give more than you receive.

I made my neice a tree ornament this year for her first Christmas. Even though it cost me next to nothing, I was more excited about making it for her than anything else. When things get tough, she reminds me how blessed we are and how important it is to be thankful for not only what we have but also who we have to share it with. So this year, I am thankful for the people (big and small) that I love and their presence in my life!

Milad Majid!!!

(which is Arabic for Merry Christmas)

(Original piece done by Banksy)

“You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”

- John Bunyan

I just have such a hard time believing this could be real, but I guess it is…