Al Sharpton's the man!

With the numbskulls who seem to be able to pass themselves off as presidents throughout US history, I think that Al would have done just fine. He did a good job entertaining on Saturday Night Live. He sang, and he was just the life of the party. I'll never forget when that other candidate, Joe Lieberman, said he would do the show, but he'd either have people snoozing, or laughing at him, not with him. I look forward to Al's new reality show.

Bored with commercial rap?

Check out Blackman Preach!

From the site:

The State of the Ghetto Address is a spoken word album that fuses Hip-Hop sensibilities with the Black Arts/ Black Power Movement legacies. Listening to The State of the Ghetto Address, you will see why he is not only a poet, but a leader in the poetry movement of Minneapolis, who has worked to help other poets and gain support for the art form that continues to gain popularity across the country.

The Hip Hop Convention

The Hip Hop Convention seems to be drawing some positive publicity, but I heard the attendance was no more than like 200. Just 200? I can see that, because it will take alot of work to make this something that hip hop fans will think is cool, and for the mainstream to actually think this is a serious thing.

Tupac's got the right wing mad!



The right wingers are all to forgiving of their flawed icon Rush Limbaugh, but when it comes to Tupac, they want to condemn him to Hell, and tell you that children shouldn't be reading his poetry. They only find literary value in stuff like Robert Frost, Edgar Allen Poe, and Shakespeare. Poetry slams, spoken word? For the birds, they say.

In the ultra-right wing World Net Daily, they go into this whole tirade of how the teachers are too lazy to teach, and how its wrong for children (who will hear his music anyways) to listen to his music. I guess they want to replace Tupac as a role model for many, and he is a role model to alot of youths black, white, hispanic and Asian, and replace him with another positive role model-perhaps Rush Limbaugh?

Joking aside, I think that this should be the subject of many more debates, like the acceptance of somebody like Tupac. Most conservatives will say that he is a drug dealer, murderer, thug, rapist, sexist, and so on. However, this because of the fact that he was a rapper, and put his lifestyle out there for the world to see. You read enough, and you will find the dark side to all poets. I mean, after all, thats why they are poets, because they are weird, odd, and different. Not many poetry buffs will be interested in the dull musings of some button down 9-5 average joe.

Then, another argument would be the validity of his work being considered anything of literary merit. Thats a funny argument, because who is too say that the four lines of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost is anymore valid than anything Tupac writes? Poetry is always changing an evolving, and so why should teachers push the poetry of somebody who lived 100 years ago for somebody who is part of the current generation. Also, just because its not something you like does not mean you can easily dismiss it.

There should be balance, but in a nutshell, the conservatives dismissing Tupac will only increase his allure. Don't they know that most children crave the forbidden?