JAZZ ATTACK

I thought I would share something with you all. Ya'll probably already know that I love me some Jill Scott. This is a great interpretation of Good Morning Heartache originally by Billie Holiday. Enjoy and Relax!

POET OF THE MONTH 2

RIVES




This dude is super talented and funny as hell. Even poets like to laugh sometimes. Enjoy the art and if you have any nominees for poet of the month you all know how to contact me.

PEACE
IAMNOTANIGGA

Party Like A Rock Star (Obama '08)

After much consideration and soul searching I have decided to officially endorse Barack Obama for President in 2008. Now this may not seem very important to some but to me I am very careful with my vote. I know some may say that my vote does not count or that a Black man will never win the election and that I am just wasting my vote on him, but of course I disagree. I am proud to say that I have Obama fever. There is something about this person that I am drawn to. I love his stand on the issues, especially Iraq. He is very straight forward about his past and the things that may taint him and his reputation. This guy is amazing. But it disturbs me that among most registered African American Democrats Hillary is the front runner and Barack is the front runner among Caucasian Democrats.
I am sure a lot of the Black Community will be going with Hillary because of her husband. But there is something about her that just does not rub me the right way. She has a stubbornness about her that is a big turn off to me. She does not seem to be very apologetic. And I think that we all know a President should know how to say "I am Sorry." I also feel that her being female is not a very positive thing. And please, before you guys fill my comments section with I hate you messages, hear me out. I believe that when it comes to foreign policy she will seem less competent(no matter how good she is) to the heads of our foreign counterparts. We all know the middle eastern ideas of women and how they are seen in their communities. I believe they will think us vulnerable because we have a female President. And I definitely believe that the President of Iran is ready to drop a nice big juicy Nuclear bomb on us as soon as possible.

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All in all out of all the candidates Barack seems to be the most capable. I think it is high time that we, as a community started to show the world what we can do. It is time to believe in ourselves and show them we are more than entertainer, athletes, and lackeys for our white counterparts.

As always comment and criticisms are always welcome.

Peace

IAMNOTANIGGA

VENTING (Because I can Damn it)

With all the coverage on the news regarding the comments that Imus made it got me to thinking. And ya'll should know that when a poet thinks a poet writes. There is a good posting on BygBaby's(aka Tafari) blog that goes into detail about what happened and there are a lot of comments from people that express their obvious outrage at Imus's idea that calling a group of Black Women "Nappy Headed Hos" was funny. When I heard it I was pissed the hell off. And I was more than a little shocked. I don't think anyone realizes or cares what kind of impact their words have on people. Especially those that are constantly in the public eye. And although the outrage is surrounding this old White man, people are not concentrating on the fact that Black men do it all the time. Truly how can we expect anyone else to RESPECT us if we don't. If we drag this man through the mud and kill his career (which I think he deserves) we should do the same to those Black rappers that do the same thing. If you do not agree with the language don't buy it, don't listen to it and don't acknowledge it at all.

Everybody that reads this blog knows I am a poet and poets write when they are happy. They write when they are sad and they damn sure write when they are pissed the hell off. So I am sitting at my desk and I hear a song by Mos Def called Umi Says followed by another Mos Def song entitled Rock N Roll. Hearing these two songs got me to thinking about the roles that Black Women have played in this country and all over the world. We are the mother's of this nation and yet and still we are considered sub-human and not equal. It just sickens me and I wrote a poem because it was on my mind and I couldn't concentrate on my job unless I got it out. (Yes I am at work.) But anyway I hope you enjoy...if not I really don't give a damn.

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This poem is dedicated to Tafari. Keep on teaching Brotha. Keep on teaching.

Nappy Headed Ho's

They sang with ropes around their necks, welts on their backs, blood in their mouths.
They sang and they danced with chains on their ankles, no shoes on their feet, couldn't escape the rocks thorns and debris.
They danced and they prayed with hope in their hearts, faith in their pockets, and strength on their sides they prayed.
They prayed and they cried with never ending tears that washed the pain off of their faces.
They caught those tears in calloused hands and saved them for a rainy day and fed them to their children so they would never forget.
Never forget what they could survive.
Tell the story they said.
Pass it on, so these marks on my back mean something.
Lord.
Tell my story; how we birthed this Nation we were forced to plow.
We are not cattle. You are not animals.
You are a King strong and powerful.
You are not uneducated.
You are a Queen lively and beautiful.
Lord.
Pass it on.
Let them know that this blood in you is the same blood in them.
The milk that I fed you is the same that I gave them.
Let them know that it was more than a joy ride.
No, it was not a pleasure cruise.
It was hell on wheels.
But we made it through.
Rough times and rocky roads.
No shoes and little clothes.
Nothing fancy we just jumped over the broom.
Strong family united from the womb to the tomb.
Tell them baby, tell my story.
Pass on your heritage of Oshun and Yemenya.
Tell of your roots of Hannibal and Shaka Zulu.
Tell them.
Let them know that they will never possess the power to steal your glow.
Lord.
Tell them my story.
Feed it to them forcibly and hold it down for them.
Make it known around the world who I am so these welts on my back and scars on my hands mean something.
Let them know, so the next time they want to call Black Women “Nappy headed Hos” they will think twice.

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Thanks ya'll for putting up with my venting. As always critisism is always welcome.

Peace

IAMNOTANIGGA

GOOD MUSIC 2

Whats up poetry heads? It's that time again. The CD of genuinely good music that I am presenting this month is by my new found favorite...Amy Winehouse. This girl gets the Shelly seal of approval. I give this CD 4 out of 5 stars. She would have 5 but the songs are a bit short for my liking. Once you hear her you want to listen all day, but sadly you will get about 40 minutes of GOOD MUSIC. Since I only discovered her about a month ago I am going to rely on AOL music to provide the info on this powerhouse of music.

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Much can be said about Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press and tabloids seemed to focus on her rowdy behavior and heavy alcohol consumption, but fans and critics alike embraced her rugged charm and brash sense of humor because of her distinctively soulful and jazzy vocals. Her platinum-selling breakthrough album Frank elicited comparisons ranging from Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Macy Gray and Lauryn Hill. And interestingly enough, one can often hear aspects of each of those singers' vocal repertoire in Winehouse's voice despite her strong cockney accent and vernacular. Born to a taxi-driving father and pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area in north London. Her upbringing was surrounded by jazz. Many of the uncles on her mother's side were all professional jazz musicians, and even her paternal grandmother was romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott. While at home, she listened to and absorbed her parents' selection of greats: Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra among others. However, in her teens, she was drawn to the rebellious spirit of TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and other American R&B and hip-hop acts of the time.
At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from stage school, she caught her first break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed on her demo tape to his A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. That opportunity led her to attain a recording contract with Island Records. At the end of 2003, when she was 20 years old, Island released her debut album, Frank. With contributions from hip-hop producer and keyboardist Salaam Remi, Winehouse's amalgam of jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop received rave reviews. The album was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize as well as two Brit Awards, but its lead single, "Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. Following her debut, the accolades and inquiring interviews appeared concurrently in the press with her tempestuous ongoings. In 2006, her management company finally suggested that she enter into rehab for alcohol abuse, but instead, she dumped the company and transcribed the ordeal into the U.K. Top Ten hit "Rehab." It was the lead single for her second critically acclaimed album, Back to Black. This time around the music delved into the sounds of '50s-'60s rock & roll, R&B, and soul with productions divided between Remi and British DJ and multi-instrumentalist Mark Ronson. ~ Cyril Cordor, All Music Guide

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Of course I have my favorite songs on this CD. My favorite is Me and Mr Jones followed closely by Back to Black. I have to say that I will be glad to pay my $15-$20 for her current and future albums.

Like always criticism is always welcome and if you disagree or have a suggestion for music that should be highlighted in GOOD MUSIC let me know.

Peace

IAMNOTANIGGA