The last Emperor

I'd just like to take a minute (k'naan voice) to introduce all of you souls who are deprived of good music to The Last Emperor. Far from a young'un in the game Emp as he is affectionately known has been steadily putting in work for a good minute. He has worked with legends such as KRS-ONE, Talib Kweli ,Common ,Dr Dre and The Roots. A Philadelphia (USA) native Jamal Gray started rapping from the 8th grade. He graduated from overbrook high school and went on attend Lincoln University. Not your average rapper Emp studied Political Science/International Relations, this is evident in his music as he talks about a wide range of topics, including politics, syfy movies and even comic book heroes. The album Music,Magic,Myth is well rounded and it caters to all types of heads. One of my personal favourite songs on the album is Do you remember?,to listen to this song just follow the link below and bask in the musical glory of  The Last Emperor.

http://youtu.be/peX8dHbql2M

Prepare to be Slaugthered

Crooked 1, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Royce da 5'9", these are the four parts that make up the well oiled machine that is the hip hop group Slaughterhouse. The 2008 Joe Budden song "Slaughterhouse" in his halfway house album in which he features the other 3 memebers is how the group was born. Five years down the line the collective are flying higher then a hippy back in the 60's. Their latest single "My Life" featuring Cee_Lo_Green is a thanks-giving and a celebration of life, be sure to check it out !

Machine Gun Kelly

Born Richard Colson Baker, Machine Gun Kelly or MGK as he is also known is a US rapper with a breakneck flow and  hard lyrical content. At 22 years of age  the Shaker heights , Ohio native has released four mixtapes, an EP and an album which have all recieved rave reviews from critcs and industry veterans alike.

He shot to fame in 2006 with the release of his first mixtape stamp of approval and has never looked back since. His hard work paid of when he inked a deal with hip hop superstar and business mogul Sean `P.diddy` Combs` record label Bad Boy.

MGK`s boom bap rap style is said to be reminiscent of the golden era of hip hop and pays homage to his musical influences, such as the likes of DMX, 2pac ,Nas and The Notorious B.I.G. His debut album was released earlier this year and has been received well. Look out for the single drinks on me which is curently blazing the airwaves.


http://www.machinegunkellyrapper.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGK_(rapper)#Musical_career

An ode to the crackberry

Sometimes certain things should be done in one’s own company. I know the dirty things that come to mind when I say this but I’m not talking to those things. I`m referring to the kind of things that make the people in your immediate space feel alienated.

There is nothing worse than being in a room with someone and trying to forge a conversation and not being listened to and the attention and preference being given to a device that fits into a hand. A device which in the wrong hands which can cripple the emotional attachment of a relationship.

This abusive use of technology – cell phones being/becoming a barrier in conversation and more importantly in the building of intimacy – has made me grow resentful of it. Just the thought of a smart phone fills me with feelings of frustration and annoyance.

The warmonger

A warmonger, the person in your circle of  friends that always starts fights. That is a term no one wants to be associated with, but is it better to suppress your feelings and become bitter all in the name of peace or harbour not the anger and resentment by freeing yourself and asking those questions no one else dares tackle ?
This is the predicament I found myself in just a few days ago. I tossed and turn over this issue and chose the latter , opting to be the instigator of war rather then to remain quiet as a church mouse. Well , my dive into the pool of quarrels was not a good idea and I am living to regret it every hour that I am awake.

So much for the truth shall set you free. It has actually done the opposite and I have landed myself in a prison of solitude.

The Blackman`s Plight

We black people have a troubling tendency of thinking that thinks are owed to us. This thought I believe  stems primarily  from the fact that we were oppressed for hundreds of years in our native continent and in other parts of the world. It cannot be denied that black people still have it rough, millions are living in informal settlements and poverty is rife but instead of working to take back our dignity one finds young able bodied people sitting ideally by the roadside.

Steve Biko once said " the most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the opressed". He fought for a liberated and non-discriminatory South Africa, he and many other freedom fighters watered the tree of freedom with their blood, it is our responsibility as young people to water that tree with our sweat. one needs to sharpen the most valuable tool that one posseses which is the mind, by doing this we will have no need to see ourselves as victims.

 One may argue that this is all the fault of the “white man” but a wiseman once said we cannot move forward while looking back. The enemy is no longer white people, the real enemy is poverty and unmployment. we need to now fight for economic freedom, that is where our focus should be. Just siting around hoping to get a handout is not the answer, a handout will only fill your stomach for the moment but true freedom will fill the stomachs of future generations.

i woke up feeling rather dejected this morning reason being my current state of affairs is like our government, in shambles.as i scurried along my usual morning rituals i  couldn`t help but to think that perhaps government officials have the same procratinative mentality as mine.my point to all tihis is would you hire yourself to govern the country ?