DJ Stylus - The Vibe Conductor

Monday, June 30
cover: none
9:30 to 1′ish
Marvin
2007 14th St NW, WDC

New isht from my crew!

Tracklisting:
1. Please Forgive Me (The Unknown Remix)
2. Please Forgive Me
3. All About (Brainstorm Sounds Remix)
4. All About

PURCHASE:

- iTunes
- Emusic
- Rhapsody
- HipHopSite.com

LINK UP:

myspace.com/StormTheUnpredictable

WATCH: (some classic material)

From the days waaaaaaaay before YouTube:

The theory of three is still holding strong among my scarce superstitions. While absorbing the losses of Tim and George, we missed another bright light being extinguished. Cyd Charisse was a baaaaaaad broad!!!

Peep Sammy D. on the croon too:

And from my favorite Janet video of all time (yes, even over Pleasure Principle, and that’s a tough choice.) Check the glamour splash at 3:01.

I’ll be getting my James Lipton on.

Doors open @9PM
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th Street, NW Washington, DC
advance tickets: $15

So apparently a 50 year old man has pinned the entire downfall of hip-hop on a wildly popular kid who makes inane, irksome songs.

Fortunately for me and my laziness, Jay Smooth breaks down my thoughts on the matter in bite-sized fashion suitable for a block quote. If I were important I’d make dude my spokesman:

I’d love to see his generation feel more of a connection with our hip-hop, but they don’t OWE that to us. It would only happen if we built relationships with them beyond the same arrogant knee-jerk hate our elders gave to our music. Like Soulja Boy said, if we think they can do better we should be helping them. Or else just accept that they have their own thing that isn’t meant for us, and move on. Cuz we’re sounding way too much like our parents at this point.

There is a troublesome challenge I’m having these days, which is to not let my adherence to standards expand to a close-minded dismissal of everything I can’t immediately relate to. It’s almost like turning into your parents is inevitable.

Well, that’s the mature, measured thought process. My id is also partial to this one.

And in related news from the “I’m old and just can’t understand” department, this hipster hop thing isn’t going away any time soon (the battle still rages, just hasn’t merited any more discussion on these pages.)

I recently had a meeting of the minds on this topic:

stylus: so I’m trying to give the Cool Kids a chance
but it’s just alien to me
they’re talking about ‘88 like they were there
PJ: i could care less.
i’ve never heard any of their shit
i find the whole thing puzzling
PJ: so fucking pretentious
stylus: very puzzling
this article made me hate them
but i’m listening to some stuff now
because I don’t want to be old bitter dude and I want to be fair
is it homage or irony?
the “Black Mags” joint is kinda fun
about picking up a honey on your BMX bike
PJ: arent they from UPENN?
stylus: detroit and chicago
it’s REALLY hard for me to not hate these kids
but then I tell myself, we were borrowing heavily from the ’70s in the ’90s
how are these cats different from Camp Lo?
PJ: they dont have ski beats
and they have the internets
stylus: right
but you know what I mean
Camp Lo bathed in that whole blaxploitation style
isn’t that what these cats are doing, just focusing on a decade later?
PJ: DING DING DING
stylus, you’ve won the contest
wait
does this mean cats are gonna start doing 90s rap next decade?
stylus: very quite possibly
hoodies, Carhart and iggedy biggedy
machetes
tie-top hats
PJ: lol
stylus: east coast stomping
I don’t think cross colours will be resurrected though
so if these youngsters get a pass because our generation did the same shit, why am I still annoyed?
PJ: because it’s lame
pretentious
internets pitchfork blog hype
thats why
stylus: they’re only hot because of the online hype machine?
they actually rap pretty decent
and they name drop the old school a lot
isn’t that a positive thing?
especially since the young generation is so quick to dismiss history
PJ: yeah
i guess so.
stylus: I’m still annoyed though
PJ: rightfully so
stylus: can’t pinpoint why
they’re talking about boomboxes and cassettes and shit
they were 1 and 4 years old in ‘89
PJ: they r posers
stylus: so the rappers who borrowed all that 70’s pimp imagery were poseurs too?
PJ: yes
stylus: there you have it
PJ: but
camp lo werent some upenn grads
this is ivy league suburb 80s poser
i think thats the difference
stylus: where’d see they were upenn grads?
PJ: maybe im making that up
or confusing them
stylus: I tried to post about it a while back
then I couldn’t make myself care any more

Stay tuned to this ongoing process.

For the past 6 years I’ve had to deal with a lot of escalation of beef from the dj booth when I squash R. Kelly requests.

And the saddest part is that black women usually get the most indignant when I respond with “I don’t play the music of child molesters”.

A couple of times I’ve relented. And the joy in the room once I dropped the tune just made me feel terrible. Like a hypocrite.

I haven’t yet heard anyone whooping it up to “Not Guilty” (like ‘Tay predicted) but Jesus be my strength against a grand mal kirk-out if it does come to pass.

It’s much bigger than records at parties though.

We have to do better.

Statement of Black Men Against the Exploitation of Black Women

Six years have gone by since we first heard the allegations that R. Kelly had filmed himself having sex with an underage girl. During that time we have seen the videotape being hawked on street corners in Black communities, as if the dehumanization of one of our own was not at stake. We have seen entertainers rally around him and watched his career reach new heights despite the grave possibility that he had molested and urinated on a 13-year old girl. We saw African Americans purchase millions of his records despite the long history of such charges swirling around the singer. Worst of all, we have witnessed the sad vision of Black people cheering his acquittal with a fervor usually reserved for community heroes and shaken our heads at the stunning lack of outrage over the verdict in the broader Black community.

Over these years, justice has been delayed and it has been denied. Perhaps a jury can accept R. Kelly’s absurd defense and find “reasonable doubt” despite the fact that the film was shot in his home and featured a man who was identical to him. Perhaps they doubted that the young woman in the courtroom was, in fact, the same person featured in the ten year old video. But there is no doubt about this: some young Black woman was filmed being degraded and exploited by a much older Black man, some daughter of our community was left unprotected, and somewhere another Black woman is being molested, abused or raped and our callous handling of this case will make it that much more difficult for her to come forward and be believed. And each of us is responsible for it.

We have proudly seen the community take to the streets in defense of Black men who have been the victims of police violence or racist attacks, but that righteous outrage only highlights the silence surrounding this verdict.

We believe that our judgment has been clouded by celebrity-worship; we believe that we are a community in crisis and that our addiction to sexism has reached such an extreme that many of us cannot even recognize child molestation when we see it.

We recognize the absolute necessity for Black men to speak in a single, unified voice and state something that should be absolutely obvious: that the women of our community are full human beings, that we cannot and will not tolerate the poisonous hatred of women that has already damaged our families, relationships and culture.

We believe that our daughters are precious and they deserve our protection. We believe that Black men must take responsibility for our contributions to this terrible state of affairs and make an effort to change our lives and our communities.

This is about more than R. Kelly’s claims to innocence. *It is about our survival as a community*. Until we believe that our daughters, sisters, mothers, wives and friends are worthy of justice, until we believe that rape, domestic violence and the casual sexism that permeates our culture are absolutely unacceptable, until we recognize that the first priority of any community is the protection of its young, we will remain in this tragic dead-end.

We ask that you:

o Sign your name if you are a Black male who supports this statement:

http://www.petitiononline.com/rkelly/petition.html

o Forward this statement to your entire network and ask other Black males to sign as well

o Make a personal pledge to never support R. Kelly again in any form or fashion, unless he publicly apologizes for his behavior and gets help for his long-standing sexual conduct, in his private life and in his music

o Make a commitment in your own life to never to hit, beat, molest, rape, or exploit Black females in any way and, if you have, to take ownership for your behavior, seek emotional and spiritual help, and, over time, become a voice against all forms of Black female exploitation

o Challenge other Black males, no matter their age, class or educational background, or status in life, if they engage in behavior and language that is exploitative and or disrespectful to Black females in any way. If you say nothing, you become just as guilty.

o Learn to listen to the voices, concerns, needs, criticisms, and challenges of Black females, because they are our equals, and because in listening we will learn a new and different kind of Black manhood

We support the work of scholars, activists and organizations that are helping to redefine Black manhood in healthy ways. Additional resources are listed below.

Books:
Who’s Gonna Take the Weight, Kevin Powell
New Black Man, Mark Anthony Neal
Deals with the Devil and Other Reasons to Riot, Pearl Cleage
Traps: African American Men on Gender and Sexuality, Rudolph Byrd and Beverly Guy-Sheftall

Films:
I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America, by Byron Hurt
Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, by Byron Hurt
NO! The Rape Documentary, by Aishah Simmons

Organizations
The 2025 Campaign: www.2025bmb.org
Men Stopping Violence: www.menstoppingviolence.org

Hat tip to the homie Ty for the laink:

And on the heels of this topic, be sure to peep the funky and creative exchange between the DJ and the guitarist near the end of the tune. I will definitely be biting.

Again it’s confirmed why folks I know do so well in France. Real black music thrives there, jazz and particularly hip-hop. They’ve already produced some of the world’s best b-boys.

Of course it’s definitely not all good but it comes pretty close to a bizarro version of the U.S. black musical landscape, which would be a place where quality artists actually blow up.

Dill and Jill both knew.

And even when it was much worse across the way, it looked more attractive then trying to outrun the Klan in your tourbus through the Jim Crow south, avoiding fiscal rape at the hands of record companies (plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose) or the best gigs being those where your people weren’t welcome as patrons.

The grass is always greener, I guess.

But this shit is dope. And damn it if isn’t exactly what I envisioned a DJ Stylus solo project would look and sound like.

DJ Meistro knows his way around some crates. We’ve had him on the show a few times and we’ve made Wonderland structurally unsound a couple of times too. But it’s been way too long since then.

Napoleon is the sexy subterranean jump-off with amazing sound… and no cover. Our agenda shall be one of afrolatinfunkboogie abandon.

DJ Meistro’s “Top Ranking”
w/guest DJ Stylus
Napoleon (in the downstairs Metropolitain Champagne Bar)
1847 Columbia Road NW WDC
Thursday, June 19
9 p.m.

12th Floor, 11 p.m.
1200 First St NE, Washington, DC 20002
Capital Plaza I - corner of First & M streets NE - NY Ave Metro
Free admission