Tha Bizness Present: Downtown ATL Nightlife

I thought this was pretty cool video shot by the homie Henny-- one half of the uber-dope production duo, Tha Bizness (alongside Dow Jones, who makes an appearance, holding the camera at one point in the video).

You never know what you'll find out when you talk to people on the street. The scenes with the brother breaking down everything from the gospel to crack was especially cool to me.

Downtown ATL Nightlife from HENDERWORKS on Vimeo.

Sk8tique, the Cool Kids, Asher Roth, E-40 and Fabby Davis

I'm hella late with this, but oh well. Got some cool pictures from the opening of Sk8tique in Little 5 this past Friday. It was hella hot, but cool. I ran into my boys Spree and later A.Leon outside and shared the feeling that I was in for an evening of semi-pretensiousness based on the line outside of the store. I mean, it was the opening of a skateboard shop, not the return of Visions. But once inside, it was pretty cool.



Speaking of cool... the Cool Kids (yes, that was a corny ass transition) were freestyling with Em, er, Asher Roth. I'm joking about Asher. He's a cool little dude, but damn if he don't sound like Eminem circa 1999... Or now based on Em's latest ditty. Should be interesting.

Chuck Inglish beat-boxed while Asher and Mikey freestyled when the sound malfunctioned

Then, I ran into one of my favoritest rappers, Mistah FAB (mostly because dude is just smart as hell) and my other favorite rapper of all time (aside from Face), E-40 and his big ass Sic' Wid It Chain. Which reminds me...



I was having a discussion with my boy, Bay Area Ali and Encyclopeezia Brown the other week about 40 being recognized at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors next year. Of course, we all thought that it only made sense that 40 be next up to represent for the west coast. No diss, but if they can honor Cypress Hill, surely 40 Wata is worthy, right? Then, I got to thinking. If they're only doing one west coast artist, maybe 40 should be skipped next year in favor of Digital Underground. Dude, Shock G is clearly one of the most underrated artists in hip-hop EVER. Think about all of the things he spawned.... As an old bio of his reportedly said, "he was Andre 3000 before Andre 3000."

Anyways, that was me off on a tangent. Check out some more pics.

Jay Rock and Fab. His eyes may be closed but he knows how to throw up the dub!

Why is Sol Messiah lookin so mean?
Kaos and Sean Faylon

The Blind Leadin the Blind

Saturday I got a chance to check out a cool exhibit at Atlantic Station- Dialogue in the Dark. Basically, it's an exhibit that tries to give you a sense of what it would be like to be blind. You get maneuvered through various rooms-- which recreate real life situations that you might face, like grocery shopping and walking across a busy street-- all in complete and utter darkness. There was a guide in the room, telling our group where to go-- what to feel for etc., but you pretty much had to completely trust that the knew what the heck they were doing-- because they couldn't see either (actually, most of the group leaders were blind themselves). Anyways, it was very cool, a little irritating/disturbing but overall a great experience.

Of course you know my analytical self couldn't help but draw some life comparisons. I mean, a lot of times these days I kinda feel like I'm navigating my way through the dark, just trying to feel my to the right direction. Not that I'm a lost soul or still stuck in an early 20s "finding myself" phase, I'm just sayin. There's a lot going on right now. My bank just got bought out. My job has been firing longtime employees left and right without any explanation. My Neon is thirsty for some 4.39 cent gas--- you get the picture.

Funny thing is, I've discovered that most folks enjoy walking around in the dark- or with their eyes closed. In some warped way, it makes them feel safe not knowing what is out there, or seeing reality. That way they don't have acknowledge and deal with the truth-- they can keep blindly following illusions. Meanwhile, they let our self-imposed "leaders" guide them-- even though they really can't see either. Dig? Not trying to be on anything deep- I'm just sayin, the great Willie D said it best-- "it's the blind leadin' the blind."

Anyways, if you get the chance- go see the exhibit.

FYI.... Johnson & Jonson is jelly jammin.

Killer Mike & Yelawolf show

So I was at Killer Mike and Yelawolf's show last night- and realized just a few minutes ago that me and Yela have the same boxers. Cool, right?

Anywhoo, the show was good, even though the crowd was kinda thin- probably because Gripplyz and Supreme's show and Broke & Boujee were all going on at the same time. Nevertheless, Ashanti was ferocious on the violin (that they call a fiddle) and DJ Artime was still spectacular on the drums and the tables. That's why we voted Yela Best Live Hip Hop Act in Atlanta.

Mike's show was great too-- especially his spontaneous commentary. Although I was kinda mad he didn't do my current favorite song on the album- "Gotcha" ("just wakin up like a grown ass man, clutchin my nuts, the world ain't holdin my hand/standin at the window with a rifle in hand, getting my Malcolm X on lookin at this van..."--dope ass opening bars). I was also mad he only did the first verse to my other favorite song, "God In the Building" where he has one of my favorite lines on the album-- "the wages of sin is death, not the chain gang." That's why we voted him Best Local Lyricist.

But anyways it was cool-- great recession music.

Gospel Artists and Lame Rappers vs. Posers and Agents

So, the other night I had to cover this gospel event. It was a competition for best choir in Atlanta. Yes, apparently we Christians like to give away prizes for who sings the best for Jesus.

Anyways, I had some encounters with some big gospel stars who were in attendance. Let me just say that they were very stand-offish and self-important. T.I. is far more personable. Killer Mike is far more personable. Big Kuntry, Alfamega and even Bun B (who spends a lot of his time looking like he doesn't want to be bothered- and hell, who can blame him?) are all far more personable. So much for being Christ like.

After that encounter, the next day I was semi-harassed by a popular Houston rap artist not named Bun B, Scarface, Lil Flip, Z-Ro, Paul Wall or Mike Jones. He was upset because of an audio interview the plantation did with another rapper regarding some of his recent activities. Mind you, this was an audio interview-- meaning just the audio was posted, meaning there was no manipulation or sensationalism added on the part of the writer. Why on earth would you call a publication tripping on something someone else said in an interview? Like, really.

I'm so beyond being sick of rappers not named Killer Mike, Phonte, Bun, Scarface, Andre 3000 or Devin. Like seriously dude. The hell is wrong with ya'll? People are so wrapped up in their make-believe, Rapperville world that they've completely isolated themselves from actual reality. They've become the character that they are on wax, and think that everyone should relate to them as such. They've forgotten that for the rest of the free world, hip-hop is just that... hip-hop. Not life.

Needless to say, both of these events had me very irritated. I'm tired of posers. Tired of fakers. Tired of sheep. Then, this morning I came across this video.



Now I have a new word for them. Agents. I'm tired of agents. Wake up or get ran over.

Transgression Art Show in Atlanta at City of Ink

Although I was holed up most of this weekend, I was able to make it out on Friday to Mr. Soul and Goldi Gold's Transgression Art Show at City of Ink. I really love both of their art work, and the theme behind this show in particular was dope. If we weren't in the midst of a recession, I would've supported with more than blog... but in the meantime, here's some pics that I took. Support these guys- they're both not only multi-talented, but genuinely good dudes.

Goldi and Mr. Soul

Mr. Soul's work (read what the letters spell)
Goldi's Dilla Piece
this isn't a good shot, but it lists the names of victims of police terrorism (Mr. Soul's piece)

Fred Hampton!

One of my favorite's (Gold's piece)