Lightworks - Chris "Preach" Smith

Today is the fifth anniversary of James 'J-Dilla' Yancey's passing.
As I write this, at 3 in the morning, I've got a couple of tracks from
'Donuts', the album he worked on from his hospital bed towards the
end, playing in the background. The knee-jerk reaction to the
eventual outpouring of love for Dilla will more than likely be summed
up in a two word question: "What for?" To that my answer would be,
'listen for the lights within the music.' Because in the time span from
1992 with his first entry into hip hop with 1st Down until 2006, Dilla
created music that shone a light towards where hip-hop could and
would go with regards to its evolution. And when you look back on it
now, you have to sit back in amazement not only at the amount of
beats he created but how many popular tracks he was behind.

How do you write about someone who has put his finger on a
generation of listeners like Dilla has? What he's done in life and
death has been to illustrate an artist's dream; that their work
becomes an eternal eulogy that all can relate to and even add to
if they wish. As 'Waves' plays, my mind goes to those artists he
had worked with. Busta Rhymes' first solo album would not have
caught anyone's attention without the carnival-like joy of 'Woo-
Haa(Got You All in Check). Bilal wouldn't have become the
musical maestro he is today without Dilla. Slum Village, Guilty
Simpson and Black Milk are household names all because of
Dilla. Detroit is that much more relevant in hip hop due to his
work. Maybe that's what Dilla was here for, ultimately. Because
today, someone is going to listen to his music for the first time.
They'll hear the life that vibrates in every instrumental and it
will touch them deeply. And his tracks may become permanent
fixtures in the soundtrack of their lives. That is the best tribute
anyone can give Dilla today and here on out.

Rest In Power James Yancey.

The Passion of Michael Vick - Chris 'Preach' Smith

When has a person paid enough for their crimes?

I find myself asking this question a lot more now
with the recent resurgence of NFL quarterback Michael
Vick. His meteoric rise back to the top with the
Philadelphia Eagles after serving time in federal
prison for dogfighting is so amazing that you might
have called BS if you saw it on a movie screen. To
put it plainly, Vick is having a year that could
potentially see him going to the Super Bowl. And
I'm saying this as a New York Giants fan. All of this
comes after an onslaught of skeptics, a coach who
seemed to flip flop even after trading away the
starter who was the face of the franchise to give
him more playing time and extreme media scrutiny.
He's handled it in excellent fashion. And in the
process, taught us a few things.

First, Michael Vick has taught us once again that
unchecked pride kills. We all could sense something
was going to go down in a bad way once the 'Ron
Mexico' scandal broke out. His situation also illustrates
the fact that in some ways, there still is a divide in
the way Black athletes are perceived and portrayed
in the media spotlight as opposed to White ones.
Especially when they do wrong. Let's face it, once
PETA got a hold of Vick they wanted to utterly destroy
him. ESPN had a field day. (Be honest, had you even
seen the reporter Kelly Naqi on the network AT ALL
before the incident?) When HBO's 'Real Sports' did a
piece on dogfighting, it barely registered a blip on the
country's radar screen. There was someone I knew who
flat out felt that Vick should have gotten 15 years for
dogfighting. This same person also claimed that the
President was akin to Hitler because of healthcare.
To me that illustrates that some people didn't care
if he abused dogs, they just wanted to 'put him in
place.' Sound familiar? I'm not justifying his actions,
let me make that clear. But I'm not putting blinders
on as to where some of that outcry against him stems
from. And polls show that I'm not alone in seeing this.

Another lesson to take from Vick's story thus far is
that you should never solely rely on your talent to
get ahead. Because you get complacent, and never
do all that you could. With Atlanta, Michael Vick burst
onto the scene as a feared offensive weapon. But he
relied on his legs too much and that affected his play
to a degree. Despite all of that, he was a game away
from a Super Bowl. Now, a couple of years later he
has matured enough to develop his game further
than anyone thought. And he's done it in Philadelphia.
As rabid a fan base as any especially concerning the
Eagles. Vick has surpassed his old style of play and
redeemed himself to all of the NFL experts. Would he
have ever gotten to this level without all of the time
in prison? Who knows?

Above all, the lesson to be learned here is that Michael Vick,
through his journey is teaching us about the power of
redemption. He's not Jesus Christ in shoulderpads, despite
the thoughts of a few spectators. Nor is he an outright
monster, despite commentary to the contrary. Vick is a man
who has been fortunate enough to taste utter victory and
bitter defeat and now demonstrates that he has learned
from both extremes. We can only hope that he continues
on this path. And hope that others who want to forgive him
since he's paid his debt to society can do so with no
doubts left.

Shiny Suits and Metaphors - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Jay Electronica is now part of Roc Nation.

But if you ask others, especially on the blogs, it would seem
as if he's joined hands with Satan himself. It's even becoming
somewhat trendy to state that Jay Elec is now part of the
Illuminati. This isn't only a case of 'damned if you do, damned
if you don't' gone haywire...this is a direct look at how much
popularity can wane in an instant within today's hip-hop.

Personally, I'm not going to join the crowd who feel that Jay
Elec is now part of the New World Order because he joined
up with Jay-Z. Especially when some of the naysayers more
than likely have never read up on the subject or get their
facts from arguments in the comments section on Youtube.
Mispelled words and all. Because this is a move that had to
be made for one simple reason: he would've gone stagnant
under Sean Combs. Diddy has been dying to have an MC
just like The Notorious B.I.G. again. And Jay Elec must've
felt that with the release of 'The Ghost of Christopher
Wallace'. The song could've been so much better, should
have been so much better. But Diddy stole the stage, then
proceeded to urinate on it with almost 4 minutes of ad-libs
that ran from playful drunken bravado to gibberish. Most
notably 4 minutes and 4 seconds in. Then Jay-Z comes in
and makes the deal and Jay Elec does 'Shiny Suit Theory',
and you know the pairing of bars in that first verse was all
about depicting Diddy's guidance. And Combs did himself
no favors going off on Twitter like a jilted prom date.

I think it would be interesting to see the kind of album that
could come from Jay Electronica on Roc Nation. But this can
only happen with certain conditions. Jay-Z in his own way
can help or hinder careers. Electronica has got to put his
foot down about his vision. He needs to forge ahead with the
Dogon Society plans. He needs superb production. And he
needs to maintain that same fire he had getting here. Now is
the time where he needs it the most because a shiny suit can
blind you only for a moment...but metaphors with no weight
leaves the public with an empty feeling.

Pass The P - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Some of these male celebrities come straight outta a
Spike Lee joint.

I make this observation after hearing word that Amar'e
Stoudamire, the new hero of the revitalized New York
Knicks, was seen hanging out with Amber Rose, the famous
ex-girlfriend of Kanye West after the game against the
Celtics Wednesday night. This is right after her being
linked to (in no particular order): Drake, Reggie Bush,
Lil Wayne and Kanye again.

All of this reminds me of that scene from 'School Daze'
where the Gamma Phi Gamma pledges are locked up
in the basement, with one task. Find one female so
they all can sleep with her. If you know that scene, you
know the song. It's not like Amber Rose isn't attractive
to some degree, which she is. It's the fact that she's
AVAILABLE. And every MC or athlete who gets at her
essentially goes into 'Pass the P---y' mode. Dangerous
waters. Because the last noted case of that occurring
is Karrine 'Superhead' Stephans. Which blew up in a
LOT of people's faces.

These cats don't learn...that Pass the P business is the
worst thing they can do. Superhead made a ton of
money 'cause dudes didn't learn to diversify. Even after
she wrote a book and dished a Mack truck's worth of
dirt on everyone she messed with, there were others
who fell for the okey doke. Just ask Darius McCrary.
I'm not saying I'd refuse an offer from Amber Rose
for..ahem..activities but if I don't see her as girlfriend
material I'm not going to play the serial monogamy
game. Reggie Bush got a lap dance and kept it moving.
I mean, Biggie said it best, 'Bad boys move in silence.'
Some of you cats broadcasting your business are worse
than those stereotypical ladies at the hair salon. Look
at the crapstorm that surrounds Kat Stacks. This chick
is as dirty as the soles of a homeless person sleeping
on the subway. Yet Soulja Boy messed with her and
got outed as a cokehead. At the risk of seeming sexist,
expand your dating pool!! I don't need to see Hoopz
on the arm of three dudes in one year. Treat such a
situation with women like this like the H1N1 virus and
don't pass it on. Because you might catch something
that you can't get rid of: loss of respect.

Welcome Back, LeBron - Chris 'Preach' Smith

This was almost like an early Christmas.

ESPN had been heavily promoting this game for weeks. The
Miami Heat versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James
versus Ohio. Even though Miami had gotten off to a rough
start and Cleveland was owner of a sub-.500 record, it seemed
like this was Game 7 in the playoffs. Hype brings in viewers
and makes money. So I grabbed some limoncello fresh from
Italy, turned on TNT to catch the game and observe.

From the start, the Cavaliers came out hyped up. You've
got the TNT crew in the house, Eminem as the backdrop
for your intro, and 20,000 fans booing D-Wade and LeBron
and the rest of the Heat the moment they stepped out of
the tunnel. The crowd did what was expected. I have to
give them some props 'cause they came prepared. (That
dude with the 'Lyin' King' t-shirt will soon be a millionaire.
Trust.) And they even had the chant..'AKRON HATES YOU!!'
But the team itself seemed too...well...cavalier.

I saw a little bit of fight in the beginning up until the second
quarter. Then Miami pretty much took over. No, strike that..
they put their foot on Cleveland's neck. It was a bit of a
shock to see the crowd, which was booing lustily from the
moment Bron Bron and Miami stepped on the court look
absolutely dejected in the third quarter. Then again seeing
your former star drop 30 on you and his team lead by 40
at one point will do that to you. That and Terrell Owens at
courtside. Even some of the Cavs players were talking with
LeBron during the game, which ticked off Reggie 'Black
Nosferatu' Miller and Charles 'Sir Po'Boy' Barkley to no end.
I actually flipped the channel to watch a bit of Centric just
so I could wake up, the game had gotten that bad.

Cleveland, I feel your pain. I agree LeBron handled the whole
thing badly. It's another dagger in the heart after everything
you've been through with the Indians, the Browns(both
versions)...but I hope that tonight, at last, you can leave it
all behind. Because ultimately, LeBron leaving was a grown
man's decision. He spent seven years with you, took you to
the Finals. He gave. Leave all of that venom for your owner.