Hip Hop Alfalfas - Chris "Preach" Smith

Let me be real clear about this.

I do realize and appreciate that there's a few versatile MC's that exist
in the hip hop world as it stands today. But I've just about reached my
limit with some MC's need to flex their singing chops on almost every
record they make. There's always been rap records with singing; hell,
hip hop itself in the musical evolutionary chain owes its birth to funk,
R&B and jazz with all of their respective vocal stylings. I grew up on
Uptown Records ('Uptown kickin' it!!!') and was used to songstresses
making their name on hooks. Many of us lived on blend mixtapes as
well back in the day, for the NYC area especially with Dirty Harry, Clue
and Ron G.

These days though, it's getting outright outlandish. There's a couple of
artists out there who seem hell-bent on getting their Al B.Sure work in.
They're beginning to remind me of Alfalfa from the Little Rascals; they're
straight up crooning and getting over on a public that has become accepting
of this music. For example, Drake's 'Take Care'...yes, it has gone platinum.
But the best way to describe it comes from the husband of a college friend
of mine; 'it's cool, but it's like audio lotion.' In other words, soft. And while
hip hop has a soft side, too much of this rap crooning makes the music and
whatever message you want to get across more of a soapstone than the
diamond of truth you would expect. Truthfully, you could see this coming
back in the days when 50 Cent would sing his own hooks. But 50 never, ever
portrayed himself as a full-blown singer. Fast forward from that point to the
rise of T-Pain, the 'rapper turnt singer' and the beginning of Autotune as a
must-have tool in the studio. It coincides with the rise of the newer wave of
Southern MC's and their own unique style and in turn, that becomes an
entrenched part of the music. Think about how many singles you've heard
this year alone with an artist you KNOW has no business trying to be Peabo
Bryson singing in the middle of their song or for most of it with Autotune layers.
And some cats and some women act like little Darlas and fall for it, proclaiming
it to be better than anything out there. Which allows for Justin Beiber to now
have aspirations of rhyming.

I'm writing this not solely to throw rocks but to illustrate exactly what it is
that crowds the airwaves these days. And there are male MC's who can ably
flip between singing and rapping without looking crazy. Just know that the
hip-hop Alfalfas shouldn't be the only ones carrying Hip-Hop's torch. Because
too much oversexed, sacchrinated crooning can lead to them being viewed
by another word that can be used if you remove the 'R' from crooning. And
that's something we surely don't need.

Rip City Regret - Chris "Preach" Smith

The Portland Trailblazers are cursed.

There's really no other way to explain it. And in all honesty, maybe that's
the best way to cope with everything that has happened since the NBA
lockout ended and even before. It's been almost 24 hours since Brandon
Roy, the Blazers' rising superstar and hero of the Pacific Northwest hit us
all with the sad news that he was retiring at the age of 27. B-Roy had to
retire; the cartilage in his knees had degenerated so much that he risked
never being able to walk again after six surgeries. When I heard the news,
I shook my head. It seems that there's a shadow over Rip City, one that
despite its successes, gets in the way of the Blazers.

Seriously, they might want to get Randy Newman to do a song just like the
one that opens up 'Major League' because it's almost incredible. In addition
to Roy retiring, Portland will have to start the season without their forward
powerhouse LaMarcus Aldridge who'll be out after heart surgery. And Greg
Oden, the man who they thought would be the latest in a line of great big
men like Bill Walton, Arvydas Sabonis and Kevin Duckworth, has suffered
yet ANOTHER setback with his knees after signing a one-year, $8 million
dollar deal with the team. The Blazers can't seem to catch a break. It's as
if someone made a side deal with some sinister force to win that title way
back in 1977 over Dr. J and The Philadelphia 76ers at the expense of any
future wins.


The Blazers thought the bad ol' days when everyone called them the
'Jailblazers' were behind them since they traded Zach Randolph to
the Knicks and got other troubled players off their roster. This was
supposed to be a clean break from hard times. This team had a shot
to bring back the glory days of the 70's, to have an era just like when
Clyde 'The Glide' Drexler first took the floor. To have your three main
stars go by the wayside like this is saddening. But there is hope. The
team snagged veteran Kurt Thomas, and Aldridge will be back to lead
a youthful team on the rise.

Let's hope they can lift Portland up just like B-Roy did.

30 Years on a Razor's Edge - Chris "Preach" Smith

I sit here at my desk, more than an hour removed from hearing the news that
the Philadelphia District Attorney's office had dropped the death sentence against
Mumia Abu-Jamal. I sit here, and listen to the rain lessen its pace outside my
window and let it sink in.

Thirty years is a long time to live on a razor's edge.

I think back to when I first became aware of Mumia. I was at Hofstra University, young
and Black and proud. I felt, and still do feel that his conviction for the murder of
Officer Daniel Faulkner was yet another gross injustice inflicted upon people of
color on American soil. I remember those talks with friends about his case. I can
remember all of the rallies I attended, my work with different activist groups. I
remember being deemed 'radical' outwardly and silently. I remember having to
swallow a pill of pain at hearing a relative smirk and deem Mumia 'nothing but a
guilty cop-killer.' And over the years, I admit, I got disillusioned. I saw some of
these same folks who chanted for his release in marches become opportunists.
One person who shall remain nameless here literally told me, 'Mumia is important,
but not THAT important. Think of the Iraqis!!' I've seen some of these 'professional
protesters' hop from one cause to another as if they're open bars. You and I may
see them in their next guest spot with the Occupy movement. But for the faithful,
the dedicated, the ones who fought tirelessly and defiant, for Pam Africa and MOVE
and Mumia's family...this day is yours and his to embrace the sunshine.

The fight doesn't end here. Let's not forget that this man was sentenced to death
for thirty years. Let's not forget that Mumia is still going to be behind those bars
for the rest of his life for a case that smacks of suspicion and racism. We can't just
be satisfied now. We have to press onward. Because there's many people who still
see him as a 'cop-killer'. Because there's others that see him as nothing more than
a n-----. There's others still that are using the legal system as another tool to lynch.
The real victory is when Mumia Abu-Jamal and others unjustly imprisoned due to
antiquated racist precepts can walk into the sunshine as free men.

Free the man, free the minds, free the land.

A Peaceful Journey Too Soon - Chris "Preach" Smith

It's taken me this long to write about the passing of Heavy D. Partly
due to shock, of course, But partly because it takes a while to fully
recognize a giant's gentle impact.

Let me first begin with a story.

It's 1988. I'm in the sixth grade. Somewhat shy, introverted and a
bit heavyset. At the time, I was attending Catholic school. And like
other young dudes my age, I was girl crazy. Probably more so. Which
isn't a winning formula no matter how you slice it. Things came to a
head during a Christmas party held by my class. I had been dreading
this for a while until a couple of weeks beforehand. I had just gotten
home after school. And one thing that was a must before I hit the books
was to watch Video Music Box with Ralph McDaniels. This day, I caught
one video that made me laugh, but also got me energized. It was "The
Overweight Lover's in The House' by Heavy D and The Boyz. Heavy D
was WAY different from The Fat Boys, the only other rappers of size I
knew. He could MOVE. Just seeing him dance like he did made me go,
'Yeah, I can do that too!' And style? Heavy was snazzy. Once I found
out he was Jamaican just like my family is, it was a wrap. I went to
school and danced a lot at that Christmas party. Granted, not too well..
but I wasn't a wallflower anymore. And that's just part of what Heavy
D did for me.


Without Heavy D, you realize that hip-hop as it is would be drastically
different. In some ways, he was our Jackie Gleason. Without him, we
would not have been blessed with all of the musical talent representing
Money Earnin' Mount Vernon and Yonkers. He gave Sean 'Puffy' Combs
a job as an intern with Uptown Records. Hev helped Mary J. Blige when
she first started out. And in the midst of tragedy when Trouble T-Roy died,
he not only released a platinum album in 'Peaceful Journey' but that wound
up being a focal point to catapult Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth into stardom
with their iconic classic, 'T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You)". I mean, he
was even responsible for one of The Notorious B.I.G's first appearances
on the 'A Buncha Ni***s' track. Heavy D even enjoyed a notable acting
career, from movies like 'Life' to guest spots on TV favorites. And who can
forget his duet with the late Michael Jackson on 'Jam'?


Looking back, one sees how Heavy D was an innovator. And how in some ways,
we took that for granted a little bit. Heavy D's life should be summed up in one
word: positive. Because no matter if it was rapping or acting, he did it with so much
positive energy. And he did it right up until the end. Look at his last message on Twitter
as proof.

I know this much...there will always, ALWAYS be nuttin' but love for you big man.
Thank you for inspiring all of us.

The Third World of Hip Hop - Chris "Preach" Smith

KRS-ONE

Remember when rappers could be seen as reporters?

It hit me while watching the Vh1 documentary "Planet Rock" the other day.
There's so many things occurring in the world at this moment from the
Occupy movement to the rough economy to the Arab Spring. In the film,
MC's and producers and other figures speak about how hip hop informed
them of what was really going on in the streets during the era of crack
cocaine's dominance in the United States. Hip hop has always been a craft
of storytelling and in a lot of ways, it was a newspaper detailing what really
went on. If you grew up like I did with a mother who worried every time you
left the house, then you viewed hip hop music as a way to understand some
of what went down on the blocks closest to you and those far away. I cut my
teeth on Public Enemy and KRS-ONE among others like everyone else. But I
find myself asking the above question more and more often these days.

Immortal Technique.

I understand that hip hop is as varied as its listeners and rightly so. But I'm not going
to sit there and just accept what others seem to. Which is, the messengers of hip hop,
the truth-tellers are few and far between. Remember 'Self-Destruction' and 'We're All
in The Same Gang?' You may never hear full-blown records like that again promoted
by a label like those were. Not only are the times different, but the circumstances are
also different. For one, the labels are in essence an arm of a huge corporate conglomerate
and profit is the aim when it comes to hip hop artists with a few exceptions. To them,
messages don't make money. At least in the hip hop of today they supposedly don't.
You turn on the radio and you get a lot of rap that is formulaic. I remember being in a
store in the Financial District one day and they had on Z100, a pop music station that I
always figured wasn't a realm hip hop would even crack. They played two songs by Drake
and Lil Wayne that sounded so similar that I didn't even notice until a Rihanna song played
afterwards. It wasn't like that five years ago. And even before that.

dead prez.

Look, I'm not here to throw stones at some of these contemporary rappers. Well, maybe a
couple but that's not what this is about. I know I'm not the only one who notices that there's
a distinct schism being placed in between certain MC's whose subject matter makes them akin
to the journalists of our corners. I know I'm not the only one who sees that certain labels that
are put on artists are more harmful than good. Like 'backpacker' or 'conscious'. And the problem
is, some of us are helping those labels stick in a way that makes others not want to pay them
any mind. In some cases, admitting you listen to certain hip hop artists whose music is laden
with messages these days gets a response laden with crickets and silence. It never used to be
that way. I remember when EVERYONE was bumping Dead Prez's 'Let's Get Free' when it dropped.
When I saw M-1 at a show with Ghostface and Slick Rick five years after that album, the crowd
barely gave him props. I still remember seething with irritation when Jeru The Damaja got BOOED
on his birthday as he performed at a Wu-Tang Clan show. My point here is, while hip hop is a viable
art which allows for many forms of expression, it is no longer art when it all becomes the same.
And we've got to appreciate that hip hop is one of the few sources of info out there we can rely on
and celebrate the artists who keep speaking the truth to things as much as we celebrate the ones
who pop bottles and toss dollars constantly. Artist like The Coup, Mystic, Immortal Technique,
Talib Kweli and many others need that from us now because they're the lyrical journalists in a war
being waged. What war? Pick one. They're the balancing piece the music's been missing for a minute.

Like the song says, 'It's bigger than hip hop.' We can't make hip hop - and our minds - smaller than the times.