SO much good material in this post, but most of the other commenters referenced it, so let me comment on the musical sheeeit:

You are the man for reppin’ that Contra and Bitte Orca. And again, the man for reppin’ that Solange cover of “Stillness” (shit is fire). Still, though, your central question remains incredibly pertinent: Why AREN’T more black musicians in America reppin that African sound? Fela Kuti is wonderful; a great musician with great songs, and a veritable treasure trove of inspiration.

In terms of that African sound, (if you’re interested), you should peep Extra Golden (who are 2/3rds American) or, if you’re willing to listen to music from foreign countries, Konono No. 1 is pretty damn great (and they’re Kenyan, I believe).

Vampire Weekend was obnoxious as hell to me on their first record (not digging the toungue-in-cheek hipster vibe), but they brought the heat on Contra. Thank you for representing and (hopefully) exposing their music to someone new.

(And Dirty Projectors are the band of the effing century, in my mind, so I’m always happy to hear their name mentioned…did you see the Talib/Mos Def performance on Jimmy Fallon where the ladies [Hayley and Amber] sang backup? Siiiiiiick.)

Real shit Bol! I can turn it on and off (slang/ebonics etc), and it’s a real part of how I speak. But I really don’t want my president, black or white, speaking like an idiot.

Classic , classic , classic!!

And whatever happened to Jindal ?

BTW, they need to give a show to Blaquavelvabitch, if only for our own amusement.

first, its brilliant. the argument that whites have been stealing/incorporating/interpolating african music forever (in america) is spot-on. so, why arent more african american musicians putting their spin on it? well, it turns out that indie bands such as “tv on the radio” have been doing it for quite some time, and they are 4/5ths african american.

so, theres that.

however (and its only right to point it out), ALL hip-hop is based upon african music, which originated with the drum and percussion, so whther you like anti pop consorium or eminem or gucci mane, all of their music is based upon the same essential thing: the beats.

anyone who tries to use the argument that vampire weekends music is somehow unauthentic because it borrows (largely) from african roots music, is simply some white person who is trying to align their self to black people by shitting on another white, which is not only condescending to african americans, but also a weak attempt at trying to be “authentic” to who they perceive as another “progressive” white person.

great post, bol.

Just playin’… Very well said!

that is truly a topic for discussion. Could you imagine if Sarah Palin was getting smashed on the low buy a brother? That makes for great headlines. This just in Sarah Palin and Blair underwood have couple talk on the Monique Show!!!LMFAO!!!!

^^^ This

Regardless of what that bird says, and we will ALL get to see and scrutinize her on FOX, if you don’t think she is infatuated with chocolate, but keeping it VERY DL, no disrespect but kill yoself.

That is all.

Yeah, people were kinda-sorta upset about it, but for the wrong reasons. Apartheid was in full swing, and the whole world was boycotting the government. Paul Simon had South African musicians on “Graceland” but he wasn’t supporting the government w/that album. If you ask me, he was helping South African musicians eat by giving them jobs on the album.

I’m sure there’s more to the story but, alas, I was pretty young too. Never did get the full picture.

I’m too young to know the answer to this, but were people pissed at Paul Simon when Graceland came out for doing African music?

See ? Black can’t win for losin….

Harry Reid made an extremely poor choice in words. But since he’s known for fucking up like that I wasn’t totally surprised. I get what he was trying to say, just leave the racial connotations out of the statement.

Now that ex-Illinois governor Blajosonovabitch (sp?) is something entirely different…

To you and everybody else who foolishly always confuses this issue when it comes up.

This “negro dialect” shit has nothing to do whether or not a certain Black person can conjugate the verb “be” correctly or whether they drop the g’s on the end of their words (like Sarah Palin) or not.

Close your eyes and listen to Oprah, Denzel, Michael Eric Dyson, any one of your Black professors from college, Chuck D, Louis Farrakhan or any other Black person that knows how to speak “plain English.”
YOU CAN STILL TELL THAT THEY ARE BLACK.

Black people sound different than white people. Period. Not because we’re speaking slang, or just because we may be in our comfortable environment and speaking cool like we do – I mean even when we’re on our best behavior and trying to speak in a professional manner, we still sound Black.

Just like you can cover your ears and look at a Black person and see the difference, you can do the same by listening. Hair is different. Skin is different. Voice is different.

Now, there are some exceptions to the rule, like Bryant Gumbel, and that’s why he gets all mad about the shit like, “why do they say I talk white just because my parents taught me how to speak properly” and all that shit.
No nigga. That’s not what it means. You just happen to somehow have the vocal chords of a white boy. There is a small percentage of the Black population who does sound white, and yes there is a such thing as sounding white.

Would you ever in your life confuse Al Sharpton’s voice with a white man’s? Hell no. How often do you hear him speaking slang or conjugate the verb “be” wrong. Never.

Sarah Palin doesn’t speak “plain English” and she embraces that shit and her braindead ass followers celebrate that shit like, “see, she’s a normal person” but nobody ever says that she “sounds Black.”

Bol been craftin classics like a Pac on deathrow lately !