David Banner speaks and presents a short documentary at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. I can’t really add much to this, so just check it out. Directed by Pauline Dyer and worth every second you spend watching. I will add this actually, I believe wholly in what David said, we should never believe someone just because they say. We should always be willing to do the homework and study to discover the truth for ourselves. That’s the only way that we will believe what we believe.
Originally aired back in 2003 and features cameos from Chuck D, Richie Havens, Clive Davis, The Last Poets, Mos Def, and more. Gil recounts growing up in Jackson, TN, moving to Brooklyn while the Black Arts movement is beginning, and the influences around him. Seeing him and Brian Jackson (rocking the Mortal Kombat shirt!!) recount meeting each other at Lincoln University is pretty cool. From the recording of their first album, Pieces Of A Man together to . You would be hard pressed to find another artist who is more important to the hip-hop music industry. Their songs ring just as true today as they did when he first recorded them. Imagine being able to hear “In The Bottle” on the radio today or in clubs when you went out. I’ll shut up, just watch and soak it all in.
Certainly one of the saddest in the Unsung series. Donny was a tormented soul, who left so much for the world still. I certainly challenge anyone to name a catalog as full and rich as the one Donny was able to put together in such a short period of time.
The Turnup Sessions is a video series that showcases emerging talented Mississippi artists. #2 in this series displays the rock group Spacewolf. Drew, Murph, and Don talk about the groups origins and their newest album Ii which is available now at local music stores in Jackson as well as iTunes (see below for link). “Things We Do” the lead track from the album is showcased through out the video, as the group sets up and performs live in TurnUp Studios. The Turnup Sessions is a well put together visual looking glass into the dynamics of Mississippi music. Be sure to check out the first Turnup Session below, which was done on Hattiesburg’s Oh, Jeremiah.
Reebok & Complex tag Rakim to define classic, which works out pretty well considering Rakim is either one of you favorite emcees or he influenced you favorite emcee or you’re a punk. Just sayin’, it’s dope seeing Bill Adler talk about Rakim, “Oh, my God, game changer!!”, DOPE!
David Mingay, Robin Banks, & Danny Garcia bring an inside look into the rise, but mostly the fall of the most famous punk band in the solar system, The Clash. Not sure when this is set to be released but it will definitely be worth watching. It’s supposed to be full of rare and even unseen material for you crazy studded leather jacket fanatics out there….so lace up your Doc Marten’s, stitch on some new patches and let’s start kicking some babies…….
In 2001, when Training Day was released and Denzel Washington uttered those lines “King Kong ain’t got Sh** on ME!” everyone was raving about the movie and how gritty it was, how real. I was blown away that Antoine Fuqua was actually allowed into th Jungle in South Central Los Angeles, let alone allowed to film it. It was later known that the reason he was allowed this exclusive look was becasue of Cle Shaheed Sloan, or Bone as he is more properly known. Sloan is an Athens Park Blood and a leader in his community. He was brought on and starred in the movie to offer a realistic portrayal of Los Angeles gang life. In 2006, Fuqua, along with NBA star Sam Cassell, assisted Sloan with the release of his own documentary titled Bastards Of The Party. The film was a journey for Bone, as he looks to uncover the history of not only the Blood gang in LA, but the origins of the gangs themselves. What starts as a quest for knowledge comes full circle and becomes a step towards self realization and the path towards healing. Sloan has been very active in the Los Angeles gang community speaking about the lifestyle and educating those not neccesarily on the outside but the ones inside the gangs. He has started a non-profit organization called Aktive, which does this for gangs worldwide. I strongly recommend this documentary for everyone. You don’t know where you’re going to you figure out where you’ve been. You can’t heal something you don’t know anything about.