just picked up Blackalicious’ latest album, The Craft. they’re evidence that good hip-hop is still around, but you may have to flip off mtv, bet, and vh1 to find it. their recent album is a breath of fresh air in a world consumed with booty shaking and bling (but don’t get me wrong, they do have some bangers that will have you up boogying). they make me believe that there is still hope for hip-hop (of course along with Common, Mos Def, Outkast, Nas, The Fugees…).
Have you ever wanted to learn Kiswahili? I have become increasingly interested in learning the language commonly referred to as Swahili by non-speakers (Jasiri means bold/courageous in Kiswahili). The Kamusi Project (kamusi=dictionary) is currently working towards establishing new dictionaries of the Kiswahili language. The project established the Internet Living Swahili dictionary that allows users to search for Kiswahili translations of English words and vice versa. The project is an undertaking of the Yale Program in African Languages and the Council on African Studies. The website is a wonderful resource, but unfortunately the project is out of funds and cannot proceed with any further development of the internet dictionary. However, all of the current features of the project are still available so check out the site, and add your financial support for this important project.
Malian musician, Ali Farka Toure, passed on today. I stumbled upon his music a few years ago when I heard the song “Ai Du” featured in the film Unfaithful. The song captivated me! Toure was a great musician who, in spite of his fame in the west, returned to his village to live in solidarity with his people.
Today we also mourn the pasing of Gordon Parks–an acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, writer, and composer. As a photographer for Life magazine he captured the essence of black American life, and as a director he captured the experience on film.
These two talented and inspiring men will be missed, but they will live on through their art.
Peace.
So it was somewhat difficult but i managed to not watch the Academy Award ceremony. I’ve always hated award shows but a few years ago I started to really get involved with all of the hoopla surrounding the Oscars. Then I realized it was all very idiotic. This is an Academy that has perfected the art of giving the Oscar to the right actor in the wrong year–i.e. Denzel Washington not winning for his excellent portrayal of Malcolm X, but taking home the statue for his role in Training Day. That was the year (1992) that Al Pacino won best actor for his role in Scent of a Woman–a good performance but after having never won for his great performances in The Godfather I &II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, etc. the Academy felt the need to reward him even if it was at the wrong time. And this year, Crash winning Best Picture–things that make you go hmmm?
I felt excited about this year’s ceremony in part because it appeared to be overun by independents. But I could not bring myself to turn on the tv–I just found myself not caring. EXCEPT I absolutely had to see Three 6 Mafia perform the song “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” (which won Best Original Song). I really just wanted to see the faces of the audience while the song was being performed. I can’t say that I agree with the win, but then again the other two nominated songs were not that great either.
I will say that there were some great films nominated this year–I loved Brokeback Mountain. But like always there were very good films that did not win or were not nominated such as: Me and You and Everyone We Know, Palindromes, Turtles Can Fly, and MatchPoint (which i have yet to see, but heard it was great and Woody Allen rarely lets me down). So check these out.
I am a little excited because i’ve set up my first blog. I have a friend who suggested that I begin my own blog. I’m a big talker but I was afraid I would not have anything interesting to write about. But I figure the first step is to actually set up my blog, and then the ideas will come. So stay tuned.
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