A lil note of news

My people,

I am off to Cabo Verde, my mamaland, for minimum one month. I leave on Sunday. Just when I'm adapting to the Canary Islands in a positive manner, they up and send me away. I'm hoping to sort out some bizness and set down my terms so that someday I save enough mula to make it to grad school.

I'm not trying to downplay the beautiful island of Sal, but I am oft not online there because the internet likes to play tricks on me. I'll try to post my work and ideas, hoping that I'll be inspired by my surroundings, as often as I can.

Peace, balance and love to the handful of you who acually read my silly blog. I love you all

Fiyah Fresh

Nowadays if I'm not rockin' my headphones on at work it is imposisble to be productive in any sort of way. We got this pamphlet about work conditions and the Dos and Don'ts concerning the workplace and I beg to differ when they tell me it is harmful to listen to music on my headphones...ok, maybe it can damage my eardrum thingies but how can I not bump to music that is soooo sooooo soooo freeeesh!!! And besides, I need something to remind me every other minute that life is not only about what exists in the present :)

Obama on Foreign Policy

The U.S presidential elections have captivated the whole world. Everyone is itching for change in the face of our current economic and political crisis. Now that it has hit home for many Americans, people are actually starting to pay attention to foreign policy, particularly that of the United States. Given the current situation, Obama's foreign policy speech focused mainly on Iraq and Afghanistan and he failed to make specific references to any other countries, choosing instead to quickly allude to Africa and the rest of the Middle East, noting his interest in creating stronger relationships with the AU and curbing Iran's nuclear potential because it is an ally of states that support terror. I wasn't too happy about the manner in which he spoke about Iran but he partly made up for it when he insisted that the only way of "containing" Iran is if the U.S. actually follows through with the responsibilites and measures laid out in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty. I'm glad, even though it was done indirectly, that he referenced the U.S.'s failure to go through with its commitments.

I have to say that even though I cannot vote, I am semi-obsessed with the U.S. elections and yearn to see democrats win the elections. I have been wary about Obama because many people were focusing on the wrong things when he won the running ticket. Don't get me wrong, something stirred in me when I saw someone win the nomination that does not speak with a Southern accent, was not born into wealth, and is bi-racial all at the same time, but I was scared that people were not following up on his policies and ideas so that's why I have posted the speech he made last night. When (if you are jocking Obama like I am) you defend his candidacy, fill yourself in on his policies because you can actually use them as arguments, hahahahaaaa.

peace my people

Thoughts on Thoughts about Hip Hip

Maame was right. Blogging is definitely a commitment and it has certainly been difficult for me to keep up with my postings. I guess it's also because I only want to post when I reeeeeeally feel like it, and i don't always feel like sharing my mediocre thoughts with others, :).

I have been working on a response to all the talk about hip hop and whether its "dead". People interested in the subject have been circulating a lot of great thoughts and opinions concerning hip hop on their blogs and now, more than ever before, there has been a lot of scholarly writing focused on hip hop culture and where it's going. Well, I am a firm believer that hip hop (and hip hop means and represents different things to different people) is definitely not dead. From my point of view, it is more alive than ever. I crumpled up what I had been writing and threw it in the bin (that i recycle) just because I realized I was being too structured with what I was writing. When it comes to talking about hip hop I always try to choose my words so carefully because I want people to understand exactly what hip hop means to me. However, as I was writing I realized that what hip hop means to me is a feeling shared by many people that have an interest in the genre. Soooo, I want to talk about what Bothers me most by some of the writings I have come across.

I know hip hop is a culture that was born from struggle and a need for a voice that translated into creative genius. It has not only become a voice for the Black American community in the United States. It speaks for other minority groups in the states as well as all over the world. Hip hop exists everywhere you go nowadays. When I was in Paris I got so tired of hearing mainstream american stuff on the radio that I failed to see what was going on in "french" communities. The hip hop that comes out France is incredibly fresh (i mean, not all of it but...) The play on words, rhymes, it's got its own style. Its everyhwere; London, Moscow, Lagos, Karachi, Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, Addis, hip hop is universal. BUTTTTT, I do not see why we have to limit rights to hip hop and its "essence" or understanding to minority groups who were formally colonized by "the white man". I'm tired of people talking about hip hop as if its exclusive to a certain people. If we do that, we are making the same mistake certain European countries made when they stumbled upon their colonies or the same mistake Bush and his possy are making today when they label muslims as terrorists. Yes, minorities struggle in a country that is not their own and yes, i love hip hop for providing them with hope, determination and happiness, but in no way do lovers of hip hop who are minorities have a "right" to put down "white people". When I hear certain friends of mine who are either spoken word artists or musicians throw that term around, I wonder why they get so upset when we are continually treated as an Other(if you havent, i recommend checkin out Edward Said's Orientalism). I might not like country music or line dancing but I am definitely going to respect it. And that's all I ask, respect. Let's not develop the superioirty complex that has created words like "faggot", "nigger", "7-11","gook"guinea""(list can go on an on) Because if I make those kinds of references I cannot expect someone to categorize me in ways that I do not want to be categorized in. If a white person is going to get respect in the hip hop community only if they grew up in a bad neighborhood and have the ability to spit lyrics then i definitely question whether we have learned anything from hip hop.

I mean, i am not trying to make the case that whites are suffering as a result of segragational behaviors practiced in the hip hop community. I just do not believe in segregation, the world is too globalized and mixed to go backwards to pre-civil rights era so why do we keep singing that same tune even after all history has taught us. I mean, its great that 2nd and 3rd generation Ghanaiens, Nigerians, Filipinos, Capeverdeans, Columbians, Jamaicans, Cubans, Afghanis, Chinese, Koreans etc want to stick to their roots and be nationalistic but we have to do WAY MORE than that now. We have to actually KNOW what the hell we are talking about and what changes need to be made and how we are going to make them. It's one thing to be aware that your people became destined to live unfortunately for several generations due to colonialism, war and abuse but it is a completely different to take action and consciencely decide to be better. Unfortunately history has dealt minority groups that card. No matter where we are in the world, we always have to take that extra step and be even better than another to be recognized but hell, let's step up to it. Speaking up helps...a lot. But when we speak up, it should not be solely to criticise, we also have to contruct, plant seeds (and this goes for me as well people).

So please remember that sometimes it is much easier to point fingers at others and not yourself.

And I know I am going to get a lot of criticism for this piece but I feel like when certain people I love , respect, admire or know speak like this--- well it feels as if people think that hate is some kind of natural inherent feeling.... and i might be an idealist but i definitely do not think it is.

When I think of Hip hop, i think of progress ..... and i would like to keep it that way.

To end on a happy note and relating back to the diversity of hip hop, here is what I am listening to right now:

It's past my bedtime... peace and thank you for reading this far