Fear of a Brown Blogger: 05.2006

set your tivos.....

... or keep it analog like me with the VHS recorder.

BET Rap City: Hyphy Week

Monday May 29th Hyphy
Tuesday May 30th Too Short
Wednesday May 31st E-40
Thursday June 1st Heiroglypics & Davey D
Friday June 2nd Bay Area
Saturday June 3rd Top 10 Countdown

rupertspace.com

I posted this as a bulletin on Myspace, but just so more folks have a chance to peep it, here ya go:

Aight... ever since I found out News Corp bought out Myspace,, I had a sense that this site would fall under horrible leadership and eventually become as useful as FEMA. But now it seems as though its shaping up to be more like the NSA.

I was linked to two of my friends pages that were somehow deleted:

http://www.myspace.com/zandimusic
and
http://www.myspace.com/djmarkmarcelo

So, it is either censorship towards a few musicians that actually exude quality (as opposed to the gazillion wack ass independent musicians that bombard me with friend requests), or some hater is going around snitching (queue the hood rich "stop snitchin" shirts) on some friends of mine. I have been notified of other accounts being deleted for whatever reason, but this is some weak shit. Myspace has become the spot for independent musicians to get their music heard, and although I am still hating on the wack ones that keep wanting me to check out their mediocre music, there are those few that are capable of captivating my ears.

Also, I've heard of other bulletins being deleted for whatever reason, this one better not be one of them (I'm talkin to you Tom, or should I say Rupert Murdoch?).

yo mama's so pilipino...

... that she's Asian (A.P.I for some folks) and has hella rhythm.

Celeste Legaspi - Bolero Medley (Lupe Fiasco - Kick Push)

I'm not too sure how folks of other ethnicities react when they find out that a celebrity actually shares the same cultural heritage, but Pilipinos take that information and become possesive of that celebrity. We're always making a point to tell other people that she's Pinay, that kid from the Neptunes too, and Prince, just take a look at how short and freaky that cat is (or used to be). Seeing our folks gaining mainstream attention, especially for positive contributions, instills a sense of pride that is needed among a marginilzed group.

So when I found out that the sample used on Lupe's "Kick Push" it gave me the same chills that I got when I heard Joe Bataan crooning about his Afrofilipino identity. Y'all should already know that Lupe is the truth and the future, so no need to explain who he is and what "Kick Push" is. But, the fact that the song samples a Tagalog song should be worth noting on my blog. I mean, the contributions of Filipinos in hip hop have been around since its infancy, and the samples used by hip hop producers are global, so it would make sense for more hip hop samples using Pilipino music. I've been trying to locate other songs that have taken its sample from this root, but the only other one I was able to find was a snippet of Lea Salonga's "Journey" for Jaylib's "Starz" (good lookin Norm). I'm sure Black Eyed Peas have sampled something, but I won't bother wasting my time investigating their music.

With that said, I'm not sure who produced "Kick Push" and how he came upon the sample, but my thing is that its cause Lupe is part Pilipino. Just look at it, he's into the sneaker freak culture, he skates, and he eats with a fork and spoon (well maybe not the last part, just trying to exhibit a possessive trait of claiming anybody popular as Pilipino).

Unrelated ish:

J Dilla's ma dukes is still workin to keep his legacy alive

Ice Cube: Best Rapper Ever? He's definitely on my g.o.a.t. list but its tough to put him on the top.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't feelin that sh*t Mike Shinoda's callin rap. Although I will disagree slightly with Kris about Lupe.