Bad Ink - Chris "Preach" Smith

There's been people who have asked me, 'Why don't you have a
tattoo, Chris?' My stock response is. 'I got enough scars on my soul.' But
in all honesty, I don't have tattoos for the simple reason that there are too
many jackasses out there with bad ones. I mean BAD ones.

You've seen them before. People who tried to shortchange their tattoo
artist and wound up with an image of a tiger that looks like a bloated
cat you'd find on the Bowery. Or people who have a grouping of tattoos
that obviously made no damn sense at all outside of those Russian mob
symbols. I've borne witness to some epic fails as far as tattoos go. One
example was in a strip club. Normally, a tattoo on a stripper wouldn't
make me cringe. It goes with the territory, like bulletproof glass in a
liquor store in the 'hood. But Tanqueray*was different. She was friendly,
and we had a nice chat. What threw me off was these two sets of
hand prints on her ribcage. 'Um, what's the meaning behind that?' I
asked. 'Oh, those are the hand prints of my two sons!!' she replied in
glee. Now, far be it from me to knock someone wanting to remember
their children in a lasting way, but the way those tats looked, it was
as if those were the remnants of some chest-bursting demon spawn
you'd see on a B-grade horror flick.

Another tattoo that makes me shake my head is the newest one from
DeShawn Stevenson of the Washington Wizards. This cat has a five
dollar bill scrawled all over his neck. Listen. Stevenson seems to be
one of those dudes that talks sideways out of his mouth; when you
have Jay-Z come in and burn you for a whole track after you talk
trash about LeBron James, you fit the description man. But having
a tattoo of Abraham Lincoln on the five dollar bill on your neck is a
waste of damn money and it makes me wonder about the grade of
cannabis you may have ingested prior to getting this bad ink. For one,
I know that hurt like hell. Two, you're an NBA player. Couldn't you have
gotten an artist who could've actually PUT the bill on your neck
instead of a bootleg version? And why Abe Lincoln? I know you share
the same beard, but damn man. You've officially joined the 'Smart
Dumb Negroes' club with this one.

So, yeah, a tattoo is DEFINITELY not in my plans. With these examples,
can you blame me?

Bleeding Blue and Orange - Chris "Preach" Smith

Around this time every year, the air gets crisp, the leaves change
and the streets of New York become slightly less noisy. It's about this time
of year where you start seeing members of a group that used to number
in the thousands sporting blue and orange here and there. Basketball
season has arrived. And that weary tribe of folks known as fans of the
New York Knicks are front and center. For better or (more than likely)
worse. See, I understand because I am one of them. I do bleed blue and
orange, but in a more understated way.

You see, I grew up as the son of a major Knicks fan, my father. He was
around to catch their last World Championship season. In 1973. Let me
repeat that again...in 1973. I used to hear all about former Knick greats
like Willis Reed, Walt 'Clyde' Frazier and Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe. Growing
up in the 1980's, being a Knick fan basically meant that your hero, your
patron saint of the hardwood was Patrick Aloysius Ewing. Ewing was
cherished in the household because he was a Knick and also because he
was Jamaican. He was a truly great player, and the cornerstone of great
teams that never could quite get past the Chicago Bulls. And we all know
why that was. To see the Knicks now is like watching the popular girl you
had a crush on in high school ten-plus years later with the same hairdo,
but also rocking forty extra pounds running around with cats who
looked like they used to eat crayons for lunch. It can get downright
painful at times. I mean, when you have C.L. Smooth say in the lyrics
to 'Chocolate City', 'laid back watching the Knicks/we up 10/we need to
stop shootin' bricks'...it is almost unbearable at times.

While it has been ten years since the Knicks' last trip to the NBA Finals,
it might as well seem like thirty. I mean, things have been so bad here
that hoping for Lebron James to spurn Cleveland for here has become
the new lottery dream. Isiah Thomas' disruptive reign has only made
the whole thing even more sad. I mean, this man killed the NBA's minor
league system and he comes to run MY team? Oh, the agony. Now when
I tell people I root for the Knicks, they look at me as if I got a bad
diagnosis from the doctor. Look, I want to believe this year will be
better. I want to believe this year will be the year we break through
and become..repsectable. We've got Nate "Kryptonite" Robinson, and
we've got David "Better than Kiki Vandeweghe" Lee. Those two along
with Mike D'Antoni at the helm gives me hope. Trust me, when you
sit and watch Eddy Curry basically gain weight each quarter, and when
you remember Stephon Marbury's rambles on and off the court, you
realize the Knicks need it. So on opening night, like many others in
New York City, I will be bleeding blue and orange and dreaming of
the day when we make the playoffs.

I just hope that day isn't too far off.

Columbus Day is Just Another Day Off - Chris 'Preach' Smith

'Columbus in 1492/set sail to s**t on me an' you...'
- King Farouk(RIP)

Today is Columbus Day in the United States. For all parties
concerned, it is a nationally recognized holiday on the
surface. But its become one of those days where the
only thing you had to look forward to about it was the
fact that it guaranteed a three-day weekend if you were
in school or your job gave you that day off. But this day
never really held any significance for me outside of that.
And why would it?

I remember that old rhyme we used to sing in school
around this time. It wasn't until fifth grade when my eyes
were opened to the real history behind the explorer known
as Christopher Columbus, and how his 'discovery' of the
Americas in the name of Queen Isabella of Spain led to
the seizing of land, and the subsequent elimination and
slavery of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. In
time, Columbus' expeditions also became a driving force
behind the full-blown enslavement of Africans. Finding
that out gave me a lot to think about. Drawing and
coloring pictures of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria
didn't seem so important after a while. And of course,
sharing a first name with the guy gave me some added
grief. There are few things more annoying than hearing
a couple of ashy-kneed, gum-popping schoolgirls calling
you 'Chhrrrrrrris-topher Columbus' on the schoolbus as
a joke.


The Arawaks.

As I grew up, I began to learn more and more about Mr.
Columbus. How he refused to baptize the remaining Taino
population on Hispaniola because enslaving Christians would
be a sin even though he was an adamant supporter of
slavery. Columbus also was not above using torture as a
means of control during his time against the Tainos, the
Arawaks and even Spanish settlers. It was the complaints
of the settlers that led to his arrest and imprisonment.
On this day, I choose not to celebrate Columbus and what
he did. Instead, I choose to have a moment of silence for
all of those poor people who lost their lives in the name
of colonialism and empire. So today, as you sift through
another round of daytime television, run an errand or
just catch up on some rest, think about them. After all,
today is just another day off but we can spend some time
to reflect on their fate at the hands of Mr. Columbus.

Desperately Seeking Vinyl - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Things are apt to change, and New York City is no exception.
This past Friday, I was in lower Manhattan over by City Hall. On a whim, I
decided to walk up a block north from J&R to check out Bondy's, a record
store I used to love going into. It was a grey day, full of light rain and chilly
wind. I find myself in front of Bondy's and my jaw dropped.

'Closed?!!! Aw man...' In the midst of tourists, college students and others on
their lunch breaks, I stood in front of the empty storefront, its old facade
still intact. I stared into the dark interior, covered with dust. Verizon was
taking over; the neon sign in the window and giant banner hanging from
the storefront seemed to lean towards overkill. Walking away, I began to
remember hanging out in Bondy's when I used to work in the area. They
were one of the few stores in the city that had albums in stores BEFORE
the advertised release date. And usually at good prices. It had an aged
atmosphere, from the radio station that played '60's hits to the scuffed
fake wood flooring. Bondy's was one of those record stores that also had
some choice vinyl for grabs as well. I remember seeing someone walk
out with a couple of vinyl LPs stashed under his arm, looking as if he
just took Bloomberg's lunch money. Seeing Bondy's closed brought it all
home for me: the record store scene in New York City is on the verge
of being extinct.

Melodramatic? Maybe so, but in the last year, Bondy's was one of four
notable music stores to close in the five boroughs. Beat Street Records,
an icon of music in downtown Brooklyn in the Fulton Street(or for the
true-schoolers, Albee Square)Mall closed with a whimper. Hot Waxx, one
of my high-school hangout spots on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, had
to relocate to Hollis and soon closed down afterwards. And perhaps the
biggest shock was Virgin Megastores' closing of both their Times Square
and Union Square locations, leaving huge holes in the landscape of
both areas. A lot of this is due to music being in the digital age. Who
wants to pay 14 bucks for a new album when you can get it for five
dollars less online? That makes even more sense now considering the
struggling economy. But when you also add the countless amount of
blogs and websites that make music available to anyone with a good
connection and a decent computer, you can see how stores suffer. It's
become a trivia contest of sorts when you bring up the names of
record stores and chains that have gone under(remember The Wiz?)
and you find yourself nominating stores that will end up on the same
path.

"...they made a difference beyond dollars."

For New Yorkers(and I suspect people all over the country as well), the
loss of these stores marks a painful passage of time. It's not as if
you can't get the music at all. But going to the record stores was
a total experience. You could sift through a bin and find a copy of
an album you used to cherish until it got stolen from you. Or you'd
take a look at a cover and it would compel you to buy it. There
was one time when I went into Hot Waxx to buy the newest Pete
Rock & CL Smooth single on tape and I heard this real mellow track
that had some knock to it playing on the speakers. It turned out
to be The Artifacts' first single. I took that home with me as well.
You got more of a connection with your favorite artists there. Beat
Street and Hot Waxx and other stores lived for that extra press
that brought more people in. It was the music that brought people
in and brought them together. I mean, Hip Hop as we know it would
never have been born without these small record stores. Sure, they were
mostly independent businesses trying to compete with superstores
who boast cheap prices and rebates. But they were part of the community.
Part of this country's lifeblood. And they made a difference beyond
dollars.

I am grateful for those few record stores that have managed to thrive
in these days and times, because they manage to give me that
opportunity to really comprehend why I love music so much every
time I hear a new song or get the chance to run my fingers along
a 12 inch B-side or a 45. Let's hope that the winds of change don't
completely blow them away.

Self-Hate and the Self-Righteous Politician - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Denial, as they say, aint just a river in Egypt. And Mahmoud
Ahmadenijad, the Iranian president may wind up being the
caption photo on Wikipedia for that particular phrase. This is
due to the jaw-dropping story in The Daily Telegraph of London
that Ahmadenijad, a boisterous anti-Semite and Holocaust
denier, may be...wait for it...Jewish.

Even Larry David couldn't have scripted this better.

The investigation began in March when the Iranian leader held
up his identity card which had a handwritten note on it. It was
then revealed that his family changed their surname to
Ahmadenijad from Sabourjian after his birth and their own
conversion to Islam. According to experts, the 'jian' in Sabourjian
denotes that they were known followers of Judaism. Now with
all of that said, this news doesn't surprise me in the least. Mr.
Ahmadenijad is just doing what a good deal of politicians do
to get ahead. Iran is an Islamic country, a country that since
the fall of the Shah has embraced it in its fundamentalist and
even extremist form. While it has some moderate elements
that sympathisize with Western ideals, Iran still has some
animosity towards Israel and the United States and Britain.
For Mahmoud, a self-proclaimed defender of Islam who quite
possibly was involved in the hostage crisis in 1979, the only
way to stop detractors who would bring that up in their tracks
is to spew hatred. It only serves to make him that much more
laughable...but also that much more dangerous. Which reminds
me of someone else with those same traits in history.

J.Edgar Hoover. Head of the FBI from 1935 until
his death in 1972, and arguably the most reviled
figure in American politics. He possessed a mean,
calculated animosity that was embedded in his
pursuit of justice. This animosity was notably evident
in his attacks on civil rights leaders like Martin
Luther King and the COINTELPRO program as
well as Eleanor Roosevelt and countless others.
But as time marched on after his death, there
were some startling pieces of information that
came to light. First and foremost, it has been
widely asserted that Hoover was a closeted
homosexual and transvestite. Some scholars do
refute this, but when you have Roy Cohn, the
notoriously gay attorney opine that Hoover was
'scared' of his sexuality, in addition to a witness who
saw him in drag, it wouldn't be shocking. Perhaps
the only thing that could trump that which has been
given credence is that Hoover had African-American
ancestry, as stated by author Millie McGhee who
released a book in 2002 asserting her family's ties
to the FBI chief.

What the recent revelation about Ahmadenijad says
is this: most, if not all self-righteous people, live with
a good deal of self-hatred. They are individuals who
turn this vitriol outward for various reasons. In these
two cases, it is in the interest of maintaining a firm
grip on absolute power. Ahmadenijad recently saw the
people of Iran rise up over a suspicious election that
saw him reclaim the presidency. Instead of trying to
calm the populace, he resorted to threats. Hoover
waged a vicious war against MLK, even starting a
brutal letter campaign that threatened to ruin his
marriage. And those who challenged him felt the
pressure from the FBI, especially those who he felt
insulted him by implying he was homosexual. He knew
he had great power, and so did the government, who
instituted term limits after his death.

The real issue here is not what these men are. The
issue is that Ahmadenijad, like Hoover before him, is
someone who is extremely dangerous because of the
hatred of self he possesses. Someone like that in a
position of power endagers us all. And that is no
laughing matter because they feel they're justified
in spreading that hate through their words and deeds.
There will be those people who hate their lot in life but
are afraid to stand up to them who will unfortunately
stand with them. And that is something the world
can't afford to have happen.