Stripping is a topic, admittedly, that one wouldn’t expected debated on Do Better Movement… However, like most things in life… the current climate of the profession can Do Better… at least in my eyes.
A few months ago, a friend asked for suggestions of songs that she could create a pole dancing routine. As expected, most of the replies she received, via Twitter, was chock-full of current songs that can be heard on the radio or in the club. My reply… wasn’t like the rest. As I read her request my “Stylistics – Hurry Up This Way” iTunes Genius playlist was in full swing. And the following smack me in my face…
What if there was gentleman’s club that specialized, or in the least had a night, that catered to lovers of a beautiful woman and even prettier music? No offense to the ladies… but we’re talking about music that has spawn generations… Ballads that are the very reason you’re reading these words… Grooves that allowed your Mom to steal your Dad away… or Rhythms that convinced MaDukes, a brother with a mean two-step means “He can provide…” Now, what he would be providing… that’s neither nor there.
But what if there was such an establishment…
Let’s take a trip to that very place.
*******
Welcome to Onions.
That’s right, the same Onions that lost the lawsuit from Hooter’s for infringing on their lane of serving average food with neatly-bosom servers. The courts ignored the fact that Onions hung their hat on serving out-a-sight Soul food and wondrous sights of chocolate angels with fully furnished tail-feathers. But I digress…
The original Onions location… in the heart of Uptown Washington, DC on Georgia Ave, in the same strip the former local hangout Faces once stood, is now the only one standing. Due to the economic climate of the recently gentrified Washington, DC… owner Lamont Arnez Pressley has converted his Soul food restaurant into a gentleman’s club. In an attempt to capture the happy hour wallets of DC’s “ole heads” and the rising population of young buppies. He’s declared Friday nights, “Shed A Tear at Onions” featuring DJ PoleSoul (that’s me!) on the 1’s and 2’s.
Happy Hour – 5:30 to 9:00PM
Brother Shaze’s iPod is providing the sounds for the backdrop for the evening… As he’s behind the bar serving up deceiving concoctions… setting up a liquid base both of the alcohol and financial sort… You overhear new patrons claim… “It doesn’t even taste like anything’s in this…” Oh, but there is. Several guests are being served by the “Onionettes” also known as the main attraction for this evening. That’s later, currently they’re simply taking drink and wing orders with a hint of seduction and a flair of flirtation. By the way… it should be noted the Onionettes sport the classic Onion uniform. White sleeveless bottom-down tops with red strips… topped with black bow-ties. Covering the “fully furnished tailfeathers” are heavenly designed “boy shorts” in red, matching the Louboutin heels that are given to each Onionette, after completing 2 months of training. The kitchen is busy pumping out orders… especially the famous “Four-Topped Fried Catfish” plate… featuring fried catfish topped with shrimp, scallops, lobster & crab meat, with a side of mean greens and mac & cheese. Smoke of cigars float above the discussions of DC politics or whomever owes Big Cess “twenty large for picking the Skin’s over Eagles.” The vibe is simmering…
“Nick Tha 1da 2-Step” – 9:00 to 11PM
Happy Hour has ended and normally there would be an exodus, however, DJ Nick Tha 1da is spinning hits from yesteryear and today… Deep hip hop cuts and side-B soul. The younger folk have decided it’s a good time to make an appearance… producing a wonderful blend of ages, styles, energy and sensibilities. Some have come to beat the 11PM deadline for the waings & thangs that the kitchen is dishing out. Others wanted to pay homage to elder statesmen… most came to secure a seat for the show. Something they’ll remember for a lifetime… or at least until next week.
“Cue the music…” – 11:00PM
DJ PoleSoul has made his rounds… and provided the women his selection of tonight’s songs. It is an Onion’s tradition that 11PM is the party-starter time. Typically a young lady from Crystylz “Get It Right” pole dancing class volunteers to test out her routine as a prelude for the evening’s festivities. It is customary that the selected song serves as musical cue for the patrons to focus their attention to the stage and most importantly… get them dollars ready. It also should be noted that this dance is routine-centric, therefore the performer doesn’t go nude… unless she wants to. Tonight’s pupil chose to get the crowd’s attention with help of The Stylistics “Hurry Up This Way Again.”
…hurry up, indeed.
After rounds of applause and dollars collected, PoleSoul announces that this week’s “Onion-In-Training” set will feature Elise aka Miss E… he also mentions that she’s a 3rd year student at Howard University… whether her name or collegiate status are true remains to be seen… nor does it matter. What does matter is that most of us are willing to contribute to good cause… and we all know a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Elise comes out in the traditional red, white and black Onionette uniform to the yearnings of David Ruffin’s “Slow Dance.”
“Can’t take it too fast… you’ve got to… s l o w… i t… d o w n.”
She continues her 2-song set with another Ruffin ballad… “Don’t You Go Home”… at which point everyone in the crowd believes the song is speaking to them.
…only more enter Onion’s… no one dare leaves.
“Blue Pill Special” – 11:45PM
After the a break from the “Onion-In-Training” set… during which a number of Onion’s have gone on stage and earned a living to a blend of DJ PoleSoul’s best. Club-wise it’s still early and the vibe is classy and relatively tame. It’s about a quarter til and time for the 1st headliner of the night. It’s her job to conduct a set that features one full-length song that is ten minutes or longer… certainly a routine that’s not for amateurs. Tonight is Phoenix Phyre’s night… she’s chosen Isaac Haye’s rendition of “The Look of Love.”
I can only imagine what takes place from 7:20 onward…
Strike of Midnight! – 12:00AM Most radio stations programs have their signature song that is played either at the beginning or closing of the show… Smokey Robinson’s “Quiet Storm” is a popular selection amongst the urban landscape… Onion’s is no different… at the stroke of midnight… each and every night two songs are played. Signaling the gathering of the Onionettes… some take the stage and begin individual or tandem routines… while others frolic on the floor to offer… one-on-one “consultations.” Truly a sight to behold… beautiful women all about teasing clients from the stage and up-close and personal. It’s only appropriate that Barry White’s “Midnight & You” is the 12:00AM signature…
Perfect for the hour… Perfect for the 1-on-1…
The vibe is pushed to another level when Part 2 of the 12:00AM signature drops… Marvin’s “Rockin’ After Midnight”… Typically this is when a lot of the gentleman (and ladies… Onion’s serves all walks of life…) are led into the back rooms.
Ray’s Boom-Boom Room Music!!!
The Main Act: Starsha – 12:15AM
After the 12:00AM signature… the customers have returned from the Boom-Boom rooms… regulars have gotten their “Lee specials” drinks and nestled in their familiar booths… New-comers are wondering why entire bar has drawn silent… It’s time for the main act… Typically, an Onionette that has her own style… Relies heavily on routine and her physical attributes… Is an all-star student from Crystylz’s “Sneeks & Cheeks” pole / lapdance class… and also, has a strong following…. Tonight that lady is Starsha… the lights dim and DJ PoleSoul announces her before the crowd… She begins her 3-song with Minnie Riperton’s “Every Time He Comes Around”…
…entire stage is showered with dollars.
Her signature song is played… Norman Connors “You Are My Starship”… after tonight everyone in the club will know it as “Starsha’s Song.”
Even the stingiest of brothers can’t up but to let it rain down…
Out of nowhere a strong number of people ease their way to the front of the stage for Starsha’s closing piece… During the last song she usually picks one lucky person to receive a lap dance on stage. Tonight she doesn’t disappoint… the lucky guy has been selected and placed in the chair… The Moments “Ride Your Pony Girl” begins…
Ginuwine… who? Can you imagine… what happens at the 1:18 mark?
“Time for the Classics…”– 12:45AM
After the headliner, Starsha, has collected her tuition donations off of the stage… The ladies from the Midnight Special return and being to rotate dances on the various sections of the stage… This event is started with The Staple Singer’s “Let’s Do It Again”…
…the line to the “lady with the ones” grows.
For the next hour or so… DJ PoleSoul continues to spin classic hits for the ladies to garner donations to a cadre of soul jams… mixed in with some current club faves… as clouds of denominations continue to downpour… it’s during this stretch the Onion’s theme song is spun… The Four Top’s “Catfish”… of which the famous plate is named after.
“Catfish… makes my nature… rise.”
PoleSoul keeps the party going with another Four Tops cut off the Catfish album… “Strung Out For You Love”.
By now… this song couldn’t be truer… everyone’s fallen in love with a…
Almost closing time… – 2:15AM
The end is drawing near… only a handful of women are working the floor… and a few remain on stage getting that last dollar out of the wallets… Most of the Onion vets are in the back counting their take… In this utopia, the girls tip the DJ 10% of the earnings… Once DJ PoleSoul has collected all of their tithes… He tallies up and announces to lady with the largest tip. In true Onion’s tradition… the winner is summoned on stage for one final dance… what makes this dance special is that all of the earnings gained during this song will be split among the other girls… in order to foster a team-like atmosphere. It’s a thing of beauty to watch 10-15 women coaxing the greenbacks out of the remaining clients… All in honor of the lady of the night… to the tune of The Dramatics “She’s A Rainmaker”…
…they’ll call her Storm tonight…
…and that’s how “Shed A Tear At Onion’s” Friday ends…
…taking a break from ranting on who’s doing it right and wrong for the week… check out the “on.us.thoughts” video series… “What is on.us.tees?” and “Behind the Design: Raise Your Kids”…
Rest In Peace to the Rap Hook King… Brother Nate Dogg.
“THE RHYTHM IS THE BASS AND THE BASS IS TREBLE!!!”
Yeah, it didn’t make sense to me then… and it still doesn’t make much to me now… but dammit… it’s what Nate Dogg saing… and that’s all the reasoning I needed…
So, rest and thanks, Nate Dogg.
This has definitely been a “Do Better Movement” week… from the tragedy in Japan and the subsequent comments of ignorance… to the Fab5 documentary on ESPN and the “Uncle Tom” backlash… the lil man who wasn’t gonna take it no more and proceeded to ThunderSlam his bully… can’t forget the UCLA student who had issues with “Asians in the library”… and more… let’s get to it!
Doing It Right!
Signs of life in the Hip Hop arena are becoming more and more present… Big KRIT is dropping his sophomore album, Return of 4eva, next week, 3/22… Oddisee just released a video of “Different Now” a track he did for Mello Music Group’s Helpless Dreamer compilation… Zo! of Foreign Exchange music also released a video featuring Phonte for song, “Greater Than The Sun”… Bonus: thrown in the mix is Raphael Saadiq’s video “Good Man” for his upcoming project “Stone Rollin'”… I meant to include it weeks ago, better late than never… enjoy!
BIG KRIT’S “RETURN OF 4EVA” DROPS 3/22/11 – CAN’T WAIT!!!
Looking forward to “Stone Rollin'”… drops in May 10th…
Jalen Rose announces bid for 2011 “Negro Who Keeps It Real” award… Also known as, the FAB 5 documentary that premiered in ESPN this past Sunday… If you don’t know by now… it tells the story of Michigan’s 1991 recruit class that featured Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson and Rose… Along the way, the topic of Duke appeared and whether or not their Black players were Uncle Toms for playing for Coach K… Rose and others have since defended their stance in the face of journalists and even garnered a response from Grant Hill, a former Duke player… I’m quite tempted to voice my opinion on this here blog… and may do so soon… Until then, try to catch the Fab 5 doc on ESPN… regardless of where you stand on that issue and others… it’s still a very good piece…
“Can someone, please, tell this cat to get the f#@k on???”
What it is, good people?
I hope you’re having great March thus far…
No complaints over here…
Hope you enjoyed the “Black Music History: Giving Them Roses” series… featuring living legends that typically don’t get the mainstream attention that they deserve…
Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers. Much has been made about the album… the issues releasing the album… from label delays… to shelving… to fan outcry and protests… the subsequent release… and even Lupe’s disdain with the process and handling of the project that he isn’t raving about the work… However, with all of this going on… he’s managed to release a pretty solid album. The content is what you’d expect from the artist… sonically it’s continues along the rock/rap/pop sound of some of the track from The Cool… I’m not sure what others expected with this work… but it’s Do Better Approved in my book.
It’s not for everyone… but then again… it is.
On the fence…
PETA gets Waka Flocka Flame to promote… I’m not even sure where to begin with this… PETA, although, their premise is cool… Has some crazy-ass ways of delivering their message… and this venture, of Waka “Ink Not Mink” campaign seems to be in the same bucket… Wasn’t just last week, he was involved in a gunfight… Plus, I’m not sure if you want him as a SPOKESperson… last I checked… one would have to speak… judge for yourself… I’m undecided.
Wadaphacka???
Doing It Wrong!!!
There’s plenty of Doing It Wrong going around… with the conflict in Libya… wild-ass Charlie… gas prices steadily rising… and Heat not able to hit a game-winner… but this week’s Doing It Wrong awards goes to Winter. Come on, chief… let’s wrap this thing up… I’m ready to hang up my peacoat for good. Thanks.
It’s time to really Move with The Movement & Do Better!
This Spring, the Do Better Movement is taking it to the streets… Joining the wonderful volunteer efforts of Greater DC Cares, we will be out in force contributing to various service projects in Washington, DC… If you’d like to join the Do Better Movement team this Spring… Check out pictures from previous volunteer events and details below…. Sign up and Move with The Movement!
You never know… The Baddest Man on the Planet might show up!
Do(ing) Better in action…
What: Greater DC Cares Servathon – the largest day of service in the region!
When: Saturday, April 16
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 pm.
Cost: $25 Volunteering is NOT free. Registration fee helps cover the cost of supplies for the day (trash bags, paint, ladders etc).
Why should I volunteer?
I shouldn’t have to answer this question, but…Volunteering helps build the capacity of the nonprofits, schools, and community based organizations in our community. Plus it feels good as hell to help others, try it on for size!
Who’s Involved?
Over 8,000 volunteers, but we’re trying to get a Do Better Movement Team together. If we get 25 or more people on our team by March 9, we’ll get our team name on the t-shirt. So let’s go folks!
What will we be doing?
The fine folks over at Greater DC Cares are still developing service projects. But past projects include – playground enhancements at area schools (painting basketball courts, four square, us maps on blacktops), landscaping projects, interacting with seniors, improving the look at feel at recreation center and nonprofits and more.
I’m not sold yet. Tell me again why I should volunteer.
In celebration of National Volunteer Week (April 10 – 16) and the great accomplishments from the day Greater DC Cares is organizing the annual Servathon After-Party. So come out to volunteer and celebrate.
It’s Do Better time… *does Championship Belt Move*
On the heels of the Green Bay Packers victory in the Super Bowl… It’s time for a Do Better Thursday post with a sports slant…
Clock’s running out… Let’s get to it…
DOING IT RIGHT!!!
Wake Forest baseball coach donates kidney to freshman player and becomes MVP…No one in Kevin Jordan’s family were a match… His coach, Tom Walter, was and stepped up to the plate… Truly, a feel-good story about a coach dedicated to the well-being of his players… This isn’t the 1st time he’s shown his compassion… Walter was a coach for the University of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina… Despite his house being completely destroyed… He was willing to aid any players looking to transfer… Definitely… Do Better Approved.
Eagles continue to make my “hop on the bandwagon” decision a prudent one… DeSean Jackson of the Eagles met 13 year old bully victim, Nadin Khoury, on The View with teammates… There to discuss the incident, which was captured on video, and speaking out so others wouldn’t meet the same fate, Nadin was surprised by his favorite player… Check out the video…
25 Million plus hits!?! Wish he was rocking an on.us.tee…
Do Better Approved.
I haven’t touched on the uprising in Egypt… but it should be known… anyone fighting for freedom and/or a better way of life… is Do Better Approved. Here is a clip mashing up protest footage with Kanye West’s “Power”…
This b!tch is crazy… and I ain’t taking about the dog…
GOING TO HELL!!!
Been awhile since something has surpassed “Doing It Wrong”… Sure, the mother who shot and killed her children for being “mouthy” is worthy… But that is uber-depressing… So instead… I’ll leave you with this image that came across my Tumblr dashboard… Your Welcome.
CHARLES WOODSON DIDN’T BREAK HIS COLLARBONE IN THE SUPER BOWL FOR THIS!!!
Is Hip Hop back!?! Ok… I know it’s never left… but admittedly… I did leave it for a period… But it wasn’t my fault… So many of my favorite artists had done the same… Phonte dissolved Little Brother and begun making wonderful music with Foreign Exchange… Outkast has gone completely M.I.A… Common put out that last thing… not even sure what the hell that was… and they (see: The Man) attempted to shelve Lupe’s work… (fortunately he’s releasing a new album in March…) …so, all I had was this new crop of mess to contend with… No Thanks.
I just went back to my Soul… and stayed there for a while… b/c like Sam sang “Nothing Can Change This Love” I have for the classics… nothing.
But then… Big K.R.I.T. drops “Krit Wuz Here”… Lupe’s announces his release date… Talib drops “Gutter Rainbows”…and then I hear a Busta Rhymes verse… where he SOUNDS LIKE BUSTA RHYMES!?! (also, Big K.R.I.T. is releasing Return Of 4eva on 3/22/11)
So maybe… just maybe… the Hip Hop I knew and loved is slowly coming around…
DOING IT RIGHT!!!
Nicki Minaj does a pretty damn good job on SNL… Safe to say… I’m not the biggest Nicki Minaj fan… I appreciated her verse on Monster… but aside from that… I thought she’d be a fad and would have begun to fizzle out by now… but it seems she’s just picking up steam… and I’m just not in her target audience… but there’s no denying she does bring some excitement to the Hip Hop realm and much needed feminine representation… Check her holding her own on SNL…
The Angie Martinez Show takes karaoke to the next level… Earlier, I mentioned that I recently heard a Busta Rhymes spit a verse… where he reminded me of… BUSTA RHYMES!!! Here’s Angie and her crew doing the karaoke version of the song…
Impressive…
“J Dilla: Still Shining” comes to light February 7th, 2011… If you’re a fan of J Dilla, you should enjoy this… Just visit TheJDillaProject.com on 2/7/11… and make sure you TURN IT UP!!!
“You must be out of you’re head if your system ain’t up to The Red.”
Ambam the Gorilla does it right… as in walks upright... Apparently, apes walking like humans isn’t new… but I’ve never seen anything like this until earlier this week… and I was quite shocked… Not shocked on some End Of Days steeze… Moreso, because Ambam is strolling like he has someplace to be… on some, “Oh shit, is it 4 o’ clock already?!? I need to go punchout.” That’s what gets me… however, the GorillaKeeper is not impressed it seems…
Ambam claims, “Ape betta have my money…”
ON THE FENCE…
Reportedly, 3 rappers spend $1M in a strip club… Initially, I was going to go H.A.M. on Rick Ross, Diddy and Pharrell for apparently making it Hurricane Katrina in a strip club for Ross’s birthday… but much like last week’s “on the fence…” with Flava Flav… what rapper’s do with their money, legally, is none of my concern… either that… or I’ve completely given up on the fact that they would something reasonable with that amount of money… Maybe help out the Father of Hip Hop Kool Herc pay his kidney stones bill… (but really Herc, kidney stones??? that’s another issue… that I’ll let slide this post…) or perhaps they can go buy a bunch of on.us.tees… They’d certainly be “Doing It Right” in my book…
What The Hell Is This??? #DiddysDirtyMoney
DOING IT WRONG!!!
This week’s Doing It Wrong will be a quickhit list… mainly, b/c these are things I really don’t know MUCH about (nor have delved into…) but on the surface appear wrong…
MTV “Skins” TV show is going too far… I’ve heard it’s damn near child porn… Never seen the show… don’t care to… but if so… Wrong.
I heard rants and raves over 127 Hours with James Franco… and it’s Academy Awards nominations… but wait… the movie was released AFTER the nominations… I’m saying, I knew the Academy didn’t and doesn’t give a damn about public opinion… (because Denzel would have won for Malcolm X or The Hurricane if it did…) but DAMN you ain’t gotta preempt our viewing of a flick before you brag on it… I guess that’s why there’s the People’s Choice Awards.
Lastly… I won’t speak on it… just look at the section of this post… and then look at this…
Damn, Cold/Flu bug caught me slippin’ but The Movement must roll along…
DC almost caught the return of Snowmageddon… but it couldn’t measure up… it looks more like a Snow Poop… it’s not pretty at all…
Anyway…
Let’s Get To It…
DOING IT RIGHT!!!
A&E revives prisoners attempt to save lives with Beyond Scared Straight…So far, only 2 episodes have premiered and it’s already become a hit in my household at least… I’m not sure if my 1-bedroom condo is considered a “household” because it’s only holding* me… Back to the subject… One word: Diabla …I’m still not sure if she was/is a woman… I really thought this was where “Beyond Scared Straight” meets “Punk’d”… and someone was going to come out and exclaim “WELCOME TO JAIL, LADIES!!! WE EVEN LET MEN IN HERE SOMETIMES!!!” Now, I’m not even sure that the show will help scare other kids from jail… 1, because it comes on at 10PM… and 2, it’s on A&E… but it damn sure is keeping me from going out here and thieving…
“YOU WANT SOMMA DIS OLD MAN!?!” …”No!”
8 year olds do some cool new dance… or old dance… I’m not sure of the timeline with krumpin’… just that MADTV used to do a pretty funny skit on it… It feels likes just 2 decades ago I was in their circle… and now… all they do is make me feel old… Enjoy…
These young scraps don’t have nothing on my old man bop… (<—– when did I get here…)
Kaing Obama drops the future rap hook for the hottest songs soon to come… Get ready for a huge summer… Remember when Swizz sampled every Jay-Z line known to man… and made hits with them… Get ready for Barack on your iPods with “WE DO BIG THINGS!!!”
Baddest man on the planet…
ON THE FENCE…
Flava Flav opens a fried chicken and rib shop... I couldn’t think of a clever lead-in… I think “Flava Flav opens a fried chicken and rib shop” says enough… This could have been in the “Doing It Wrong” category… but truly… anyone getting money legally and morally correct is quite alright with me… and truthfully, this is the natural progression of Flava Flav… it only makes sense that he’s doing this… It’s much better than his endeavor of finding love on VH1… and I don’t recall there being much of a backlash when Kenny Rogers opened up Rotisserie Chicken shops… So, why should we have one for a brother bringing flava to the coup… I’m just happy the ONE shop is in Iowa versus DC… because I’m not sure if I’d be able to withstand the temptation of another fried chicken interpretation… I’m quite sure if asked did I want to go get a bucket of Flava Flava chicken… I’d have to reply… “YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!” 😦
Couldn’t even replace the Long John Silvers banner, Flav???
DOING IT WRONG!!!
Toyota makes innocent kid appear Douchey… Initially, when I decided to speak on this… I was going to go after the kid… much like a person who goes after the mistress / other man as opposed to addressing the significant other… So, Toyota or whomever they hired to come up with this Highlander promotion is to blame for this Douchey ass kid… Outfitted in the latest hipster attire… Skinny jeans, buttoned-up-to-the-top demin jean shirt, leather jacket with hood and hair that don’t care… Prances around his folks new van while showing up other kids “less fortunate” in the cool car department… There are several issues with this… The main one being will parents stake car payments on the advice of a pre-teen… Another, is the car even cool??? Lastly, fuck you douchey ass kid… I don’t mind riding around in my pops Brown Beatle… and I’m talking Bug Beatle… the old one… the one where you can hear your ride coming 4 blocks away… The one where the heat was regulated by the opening and closing of a vent… and NOT a temperature control setting… The one with the engine in the back… and the trunk in the front… The one without power steering fluid… DO YOU KNOW HOW TOUGH THAT IS LEARN HOW TO DRIVE ON!!! *wait…* I made this personal… My bad…
FUCK YOU TOYOTA!!!
THIS IS HOW COOL KIDS RIDE!!! SHOUT OUT TO MY 6th GRADE SELF!!!
As Eddie once sang… I’m “Loving You The Second Time Around”… or third… or fourth…
It’s only right that the day I stumbled across the sample to AZ’s “I’m Back” lines up with my return to the Do Better Movement… I know we’ve gone through this before… I run off to chase some dreams… and leave The Movement behind… However, it should be noted that the spirit of the Movement has never left… with the advent of other social sites it’s taken new forms…
For instance, you can catch The Movement over on Tumblr at landofonustee.tumblr.com …you can check out my rants or tweets as they’re called at @KidChasesDreams (warning… I rarely hold anything back over there…) …and as always… you can be up-to-date with the latest on.us.tees info at @onustees …and let’s not forget The Movement on twitter… here: @DoBetterMvmt
Fortunately, each year we declare our resolutions… and one of my top ones was to “Do Better. Move with the Movement.”
So… with that being said… let’s get to it…
Doing It Right!!!
(Hand me my Late Pass) Mississippi Rapper, Big K.R.I.T., revamps a long forgotten trend in Hip Hop… That trend is and once was known as “good ole southern rap”… Formerly, the purveyors of this sub-genre were OutKast, UGK, & Little Brother… However, over the past couple of years… most of the music pumping out the South made you wonder (or worry) about the education climate of that region… Yet, with 19 self-produced tracks Big K.R.I.T. puts all fears to rest with “K.R.I.T Wuz Here”… Right off the 1st song “Return of 4va”, I was transported back 1994 burning up my tape of Kast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik… It’s not just the Soul-heavy beats that get you… the lyrics are Do Better approved as well… most have themes of trying to do better in an environment that makes it quite difficult to do so… evident on the Marvin Gaye “Distant Lover” sampled “They Got Us” with hook “When this storm gon’ settle, I can’t hurt forever, how can I do better now… Break my back for nothing, lock me up for strugglin’, only God can judge me now…” …truths like “it’s hard to do be broke and do better…” …I strongly urge you to go out and support this young man… It took me a few months to finally load up the album sitting on my desktop because of his name alone… but after many friends, whose ears I trust, repeatedly told me I was missing out… I booted the album up and… they were right. Get on the Big K.R.I.T. train now before it’s overbooked…
…you’re also gonna need this…
…don’t worry, we’re all getting them.
DOING IT WRONG!!!
Club promoters take sh!t a little too far trying to get patrons… Now, I know as a race we, the Black people, have ALWAYS had issues with light skin, fair skin, dark skin debates… But to promote parties with “Light Skin” vs. “Dark Skin” battles is just so… slavish… Like truly, what does the winner get… 3 days off the fields and a chance to sip lemonade on the porch? and does the loser have to serve time breastfeeding massa chilluns?!? Well, whatever is the outcome, I hope this fad ends soon…
…it looks like they even airbrushed some of the Cocoa Loveliness off of “Dark Skin”…
Skin color shame becomes a pandemic!!! That’s right… just after you found out what time the “Light Skin vs. Dark Skin” party started… Reggae artist Vybz Kartel decides to up the ante and bleach his skin… Fortunately, I don’t know much about is music… and certainly won’t be checking for GhostMan’s work anytime soon… So, whether he decides to turn yellow, purple or blue makes no difference to me…
LAWDAMERCY!
Old Coca-Cola R&B artist… makes it all too easy… If you’re familiar with #BlackTwitter… then by now you’ve run across a retweet or trending topic featuring the wizzdumb* of Sir Tyrese Gibson… give him 24 hours and his timeline is certain to reward you with absurd gems… This time he interprets his tweets through art with the painting “What If”… The painting illustrates Malcolm X baptizing Tupac Shakur… let me repeat… the painting illustrates Malcolm X BAPTIZING Tupac Shakur… (no Boardwalk Empire-o) …I would relish the chance to go-in on this… but Luvvie @ www.awesomelyluvvie.com has done a terrific job doing so…
TUG LAGE!!! Wait… What!?!
The Game returns… Negroes rejoice… yet, no one wants to suggest that they’ve might have jumped the shark 5 minutes into the 2nd episodes!?! …first… let me be honest… I’m not a fan of the show… didn’t care for it when it was on the Public Negro Channel… and damn sure didn’t clamor for it to return on the Cable Negro Channel… I may have seen 2-3 full episodes during it’s run… So, this rant comes from a realm of hate… but dig… I was chillaxing Tuesday evening surfing on Hulu catching up on Family Guy when The Game pops on… and in the very 1st scene (well, 1st that I saw…) three of the main ladies on the show are taking off their tops!!! What the phuck!?! Now, I’m not what the phucking* them taking the tops off… No ma’am… Go right ahead… I just didn’t get WHY they did it… but I had to see what would come of this… therefore, I sat and watched the rest of the show assuming at some point they were going to address them getting “Girls Gone Wild” just to discuss somebody’s drama… I watched Derwin find out the baby is his… I saw the Jason Taylor looking dude throw his ex-teammates under the bus on-air… I observed Derwin punch a hole in the wall… again… I even got a chance to mute that dumb ass “Dips & Pitts” or vice versa song… and yet, with all of that… no one acknowledged that these women showed dem’ yammies… Well, not really… they were visually obstructed and I’m quite sure they actually had on pasties… by my imagination said “oh my damn, they bout to get butt ass naked…” and for what??? No one knows… or cares to write it in the story… However, I’ll be tuning next time to see if they repeat the peep show… but I’m only giving them until the 1st quarter.
Take them out to Basic Cable… & they might just give you a show second time around…
And there you have it… the 1st Do Better Thursday post of 2011… Thanks for reading and bear with me… Still, getting the rhythm back… I thought I had more Doing It Right topics… but Big K.R.I.T. can hold it down for this week…
Do Better Movement 
