Version 2.0

Culture, healing, politics and bullshit - Not necessarily in that order

The general, socio-political and very personal rantings and ravings of a hip hop head from the hood hustling for change... Of himself.

You all know me and are aware that I am unable to remain silent. At times to be silent is to lie. For silence can be interpreted as acquiescence.
—Miguel de Unamuno



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Thursday, July 13, 2006

My Screwface List... And my dream

Damn, moving around makes the brother busy.

I need to make the ultimate playlist to get my mind right. I got the mind to hook up what I like to call my 'screwface list', that usually being a bunch of cuts on the iPod that make a brother scrunch up the face while at the gym messing with that heavy stuff. As I'm on the road, I see that need some screwface music to get that face going. I'll save the Conya Doss, Incognito and EWF for when I get to the restspot.

I'm digging thru the hard drive right now, blowing dust off of the M.O.P., OGC, Redman and some Three 6 Mafia cuts that give me the hardest of screwfaces. Yeah, that'll do it. That, the pro-black powerfist T-shirts and just the aura of the dread should keep em' away. I don't know what it is, maybe the Gnarles Barkley vibe I'm currently in is making folks wanna walk up to me and ask the strangest shit.

"Is that all of your real hair?"

"Oh my, are you from here?"

"What made you want to travel to this part of the US"

How long have you had your hair?"

"Does it hurt to have it looking like that?"

"I hear that you have to have your hair at its dirtiest to make it look that way. How can you go that long without washing your hair?"

(what?)

"Your English is full of clarity, like you were born here. Impressive."

"Oh, you're from here? Wow, I wouldn't have guessed by looking at you."

"Wow, is that an iPod? Where'd you get yours?"

"You sound so educated..."

(whatever. I must remember that we only make up 11% of the populous and most of em don't see much of us outside of TV. Gotta remember that. Please, can't forget that)

Don't know about you, but I like to left alone as I go to and fro. I speak, make eye contact and give the head nod in succession to the next cat, kitten or elder like I'm from Savannah, GA but when I got bags and am at the monitors trying to find out what terminal I'm supposed to be in I got 2 words for ya':

Stay the hell back

So I need to make my list and check it twice before I jap the hell out and you be reading about my ass in your local paper under 'National Headlines'.

Lord help me...

Here goes my list, watchu think:

Real N**** Roll Call - Lil John f/Ice Cube
Cell Therapy - GooDieMoB
Da Rockwilder - Meth and Red
Knock The Black off Yo Ass - Three 6 Mafia
Who Got Gunz - Gangstarr f/Fat Joe & M.O.P.
How About Some Hardcore - M.O.P.
Time For Some Akshun - Redman
Wild For The Night - Rampage f/Busta Rhymes
F*ck The Police - NWA
Got You All In Check (Whoo Ha) - Busta Rhymes
Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos - Public Enemy
GunClapp - Smif N Wessun
Reign Of The Tech - Beatnuts
Strictly For My N****s - 2Pac
Amerikkka's Most Wanted - Ice Cube
Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down - Brand Nubian
Throw Your Gunz - Onyx
Kick In The Door - Notorious B.I.G.
Read These Nikes - Geto Boys
B.D.S. (Bust Dat Sh*t) - De La Soul
Danger - Blazay Blah
Let's Get Dirty - Redman f/Fat Man Scoop
Come Clean - Jeru The Damaga
6 In Tha Mornin - Ice T
Fight The Power - Public Enemy
Never Seen A Man Cry - Scarface
Natural Born Killaz - Dr Dre and Ice Cube
Bring The Pain - Method Man
I Don't Give A F*ck - Lil John & The Eastside Boys
CANNON - Busta Rhymes f/Papoose
High Powered - RBX
No Escaping This - Beatnuts f/Greg Nice

Just a small sample of what I'm syncing to get the scowl back. In my traveling and maneuvering I've lost my frown and am smiling more and that's attracting people in my direction. If this keeps up, I'll start hugging folks and striking up convo with perfect strangers. I might even start playing with children in terminals, shaking hands and kissing babies like I'm on some ballot in 2008.

Wait...

That's a damn good idea.

Me, the Hip Hop demographic, a platform based on returning to values based on grass root support to build inward, thus creating a new cornerstone that infastructure can be built from within the hood, job growth and stabilization based on software and hardware certification to high school graduates and manufacturing and repair of related networking devices thus bringing our community closer to the digital divide. Building service related factories in the hood, keeping these jobs in the US and giving tax breaks to the companies that build em' and enticing them to stay with long-term bonds used to finance the facilities, creating more opportunities for entry level and non-degreed individuals giving them a shot at management positions based right in their own neighborhood. Partnering with labor unions to address the shortage of truck drivers and rail workers by mobilizing hiring drives in low-income areas. Proposing a payroll deduction bond program for working parents to contribute to a 529 education plan for their children. Yes, pre-tax dollars put in an interest bearing bond account that matures when your child is ready for college, sweet. Approaching corporations like Microsoft and Cisco to offer certification academies at the high school level, thrusting teenagers into networking by offering pre-college credit, scholarships based on certification and the opportunity at the many $30k plus networking jobs right out of high school. Hell, I might even suggest an internship program from the 10th grade until graduation, and a partnership with accredited institutions to offer an accelerated degree program along with those certifications. That'll put em at $40k before they turn 25. Oh, and open enrollment and better explanation of benefits for Medicare eligible retirees. Oh, and a father training academy for male parents under 21 years of age.

Maybe I'm dreaming and wishing too much for change... That music/screwface thing has my mind going.

17 comments:

West said...

re: "(whatever. I must remember that we only make up 11% of the populous and most of em don't see much of us outside of TV. Gotta remember that. Please, can't forget that)"

Sho' nuff.

*shakes head*

The Brown Blogger said...

West
It's soooo frustrating. I shake my head too.

chele said...

It is so hard to refrain from knocking someone out when those ridiculous questions come.

The Brown Blogger said...

Chele
It's not hard seeing as I'm the only one that fits the decsription in the terminal. I have another method:

Relax
Relate (or at least try to)
Release

It doesn't work but it keeps me out of correctional facilities.

aquababie said...

"Your English is full of clarity, like you were born here. Impressive."

that's priceless! it still amazes me that folk can speak with such ignorance. i just keep it moving. i swear i'm gonna call one of these folk i work saltine one of these days.

NegroPino™ said...

Boy theres a lot of angry music on that list...make u wanna slap your unborn child baby mama type shit......WHEW breathe......I was like NO ONyx in there..then i seen it.......Dont hurt nobody

NegroPino™ said...

DOnt forget add some E-40 up in there........

The Brown Blogger said...

Aquaboogie
I straight wanted to yell "CRACKA" Like Bernie Mac did in Ocean's Eleven. I wouldn't have gotten lynched, but...

Pino
"Ahhh, I hate your fuckin guts, and I hope that you die
Sticky Fingaz, the name, and my life is a lie
Cause I'm havin a bad day, so stay out of my way
And what the pistol packin people say you better obey
Just in the nick of time, I commit the perfect crime
Rip my heart, from my chest, put it right into a rhyme
I don't feel pain cause it's all in the mind
And what's - mines is mines and, yours is mine
Don't fuckin blink or I'ma rob yo' ass blind
Onyx, is rippin shit, I got the tech nine
So what the plumber got boy buck buck buck buck
It's like a catastrophe, fuckin with me G
I'm a bald head with a kinfe
I want your money or your life
So, so, so, so?"

Stick Fingaz - 'Throw Your Gunz'

Sometimes I wake up and it just comes out of my mouth...

And THAT got him the job as TV's 'Blade'.

40 Water? That's My mickey fickey man right there! If I had to choose, maybe I'd go with that Hyphy joint 'Tell Me Where To Go'... Yeah. DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB!!!!

Numbingly refreshing.

And now... Back to our regularly scheduled comments.

VerseOne said...

Don't forget Ante Up--MOP... and the remix, the joint with RedMan and K-Solo, DownFall-Biggie. those are some of the joints on my "Get Crunk MixTape."


Peace

The Brown Blogger said...

Verse
Aaaahhhh!

Chubby Chocolate said...

Oh, Hassan I've been there!!!

Tip: I have a playlist on my ipod, entitled, Fuck off. This playlist consists of Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down....10 times. I keep it on blast and dare someone to come up to me and ask me stooopid aisssed questions!! Stay strong!

Anonymous said...

Ha! The list is on point...check ya e-mail for sum stuff I unearthed recently. They'll fit right in (Whatever happened to the Cutthroats anyway). Oh yea...can ya give a brotha a crash course on how to add an MP3 player to a MySpace page??

Knockout Zed said...

My first day at work here, one of my direct reports asked me about dirty fuckin' hair and locin'. I just looked at her.

Your list looks pretty thorough as far as the scowl thing goes. I've been in a Beatnuts and M.O.P. thing for a few days. People keep asking me "what's wrong?"

KZ

The Brown Blogger said...

Chubs
That playlist will keep me strong. Make me wanna bust somebodie's head open to the white meat.

Al
Thank you.

And put the money in a bag.

KZ
Ain't nuthin wrong... Just a few little adjustments to keep shit intact in the workplace.

Ms_SoCal said...

I am glad that you are having fun with this.
That play list is hot and it sounds like something I need to ride to when trying to manuevar traffic here in La La Land.

Keep your head up black man and know that it's the beginning of something new ... change is sometimes necessary!
But u know that -

Anonymous said...

Hello Hassan,

I like your blog and i find you to be quite interesting, You got load of info here i will always come and read, just cool down with the harsh vocabulary, too much aint good.

Tell me about love,
If you liked somebody and you are confused.

Hearts says go for it (don't give up), while brain says forget about it (move on).

Which one would you listen to?


Is love...

Is love an opportunity?
Does it happen often?
Do I have to be afraid to love?
Do I have to give up something in order to love?


Here's somethng i found interesting like to share it with you.

How to "lose" or "win" hearts...
What Women Do to “Lose” Guys

Invite yourself out with him and his friends.

Introduce him as your boyfriend when you only have been dating a week.

Call him too much to do things with him.

(S)Mother him.

Try to convert him to your religion/diet/lifestyle, etc.

Talk about your ex-boyfriends all the time: how romantic they were, etc.

Talk about yourself non-stop.

Try to get him to buy you expensive things.

Talk about marriage and having kids.

Try to introduce him to your parents too soon.

Leave stuff at his place without asking him first.

Ask for a key to his place.

Nag him.

What Women Do to “Win” Guys

Don't answer his calls right away.

Find out if he prefers skirts or pants.

Surprise him with pizza for dinner.

Cook or bake for him.

Thank him for the “little things,”

such as opening doors, etc.

Let him know his efforts are appreciated.

Make him feel good about himself by showering him with compliments. Or, alternatively, make him feel bad about himself so his self esteem is so damaged he thinks you are the best he can get.

Give him his space.

Act unavailable when he calls.

Don't ask too many prying questions in the beginning.

What Doesn’t Work:
Telling her you are going out with a bunch of girls just to make her jealous.

Telling her you are asexual and she has no chance of sleeping with you.


What Men Do to “Win” Women

Be interested rather than interesting.

Care about her interests, feelings, and needs.

Compliment her appearance and achievements.

Buy her flowers.

Call her everyday.

Open the door for her.

Dress well.

Cook for her.

Fix things around her house.

What Men Do to “Lose” Women

Skip the gentlemanly details.

Never compliment her.

Don't concern yourself with what's important to her.

Talk about other women a lot - especially ex's.

Don’t offer to fix things around her house.

Don’t call her enough.

Be too interested, too quickly. If a woman gets the idea that a guy's got nothing going on but her, he's in shallow water and running aground pretty quick.


Enjoy!
Sweetjoy

aquababie said...

when i get ready for my meetings with these saltines , i pump 'fight the power'. that shit hypes me up. i never wear my locs pulled back in meetings. i evoke the power of the mau mau warrior (at least in my mind), so i'm ready for battle with these folk.

this one heifer can't stand me :)