the PRESIDENT OF PEACE?

A lot of people on both sides are commenting on the nomination of United States President, Barack Obama for a Nobel Peace Prize. With only 9 months into his Presidential bid, Mr. Obama has managed to accomplish what few have in the same amount of time.

Thorbjorn Jagland,the Nobel Peace Prize committee judge, said the decision was "unanimous" and came easily."Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future."

The Huffington Post wrote; "Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said their choice could be seen as an early vote of confidence in Obama intended to build global support for his policies. They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change."

Obviously, there are individuals who disagree with the nomination and they are usually the ones who disagree with mostly everything the President does. It is their own survival that is at stake so spouting dissention and confusion is what is in their best interests, not the unity and effort of solidarity for the American People. I, like most Americans, have serious ideological issues with certain individuals and have learned over the years to agree to disagree or to have an intellegent debate about the differences and still manage to get a fair amount of sleep. With that being said, I can respect a person who has an alternate view point as long as they can intellegently defend it. I, not unlike the President, have found common ground with those I respect and disagree because it's not personal with me. However, I have found it rare that those who report from the extreme sides of the coins maintain their objectivity and fairness. Perhaps that's why they are considered extreme in the first place.

Nevertheless, I think when it comes to the President, it goes beyond extreeme. In fact, I would go on a limb and say it borders hate and intentional disrespect for our (and theirs) Commander In Chief. When Senators like Jo Wilson of South Carolina feel it appropriate to shout out "YOU LIE!" during a Presidential address instead of speaking privately with the President or through a vote on the Senate floor or when Joe Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League as he describes Obama's receiving the award "tokenism or that it cheapens the award to the point that it means nothing, it's just a token....He hasn't done a thing except talk. ... So it demeans the prize to the point that it has no significance. And it's a shame because it belittles all those people that went before." These comments among the countless others including the infamous poster of the President's face being painted as the "JOKER" by an anonymous creator or the First Lady as a stepit and fetchit slave goes beyond the normal acceptable boundaries.

So what's all the fuss about anyway? Who questions the committee who has delivered the nominations for decades? Could it be the leaders of the south still find it difficult to take direction from a Black man? Could it be they are still in robot mode and cannot flip that switch off Hannity and Rush talking points and THINK for themselves? OR is it just what we call in the hood, "hating"? I'm not sure perhaps it's a combination of all. The bottoom line for the JEDI is; "RESPECT THE OFFICE of THE PRESIDENCY even if you disagree with who is in the spot." Where are your good intentions? It's perfectly okay to criticize the President and to hold him accountable for his actions and policies just as we did Bush, it is entirely another thing to blatenly disrespect the MAN who is Commander in Chief on the level it has been done since November 2008. Get your debate game on, haters. Stop yelling out from the sidelines without being ready to offer some substantive solutions to the table. I don't mean one-sided, all or nothing, my way or the high way solutions either. Real, inclusive measures that are designed to give those of us who have not had the opportunity for CENTURIES a chance to CHANGE things for the masses and not just the few. OH but wait, I forgot that's not in "their" best interests, just ours!

DEATH of autotune!

YES, Jay-Z is back! and back with a vengeance indeed. His 11th album, The Blueprint 3, is a variety of melodies mixed with hardcore beats to fill the soul of the hip hop enthusiast. Jay has dominated a discipline that is mostly reserved for the younger rapper. With a cool 40 on the horizon this December, Jay is re energized and definitely feeling his swagger peak. Although his album is full of variety and complex lyrics, there is a familiarity to it that is classic Jay. One of the more interesting songs is not the most likely. DEATH of Autotunes. This rendition is better appreciated when combined with the video.

The full context of the song “Death of Autotune” is a condemnation of the existing patterns of music that are dominating the airways by popular producers like T-Payne, Rodger Troutman and Jamie Foxx where the human voice is synthesized to give a computer like tone. According to Jay-Z, the Autotune techniques that are currently used to create songs have overshadowed the need to create intricate lyrics or to use real musicians in creating music.

Jay-Z is clearly frustrated with the state of music and emphasizes that in DOA. In his first verse he rants;

“This is anti-Autotune, death of the ringtone.

This ain’t for itunes, this ain’t for sing-alongs…”

He is attacking the way in which the music industry has endorsed the dumbing down and vast commercialization of music and its lyrical content subjugating it to a fad, especially in hip hop. On a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Jay-Z described some of the music being put out as befitting of a “Wendy’s commercial”. He reiterated that point in DOA when he raps;

“I know we facing a recession,

but the music y’all making gonna make it the great depression.

All your lack of aggression

pull your skirt back down, grow a set, man

n---a this shit violent

this is death of Autotune

moment of silence.”

In the previous line of that DOA verse, Jay-Z also attacked the current culture and the way in which they have concentrated too much on the appearances and producer’s studio gimmicks and not the substance of not just hip hop culture but the integrity of it when he writes;

“You n----s singin too much,

Get back to rap you T-Pain’n too much

I’m a multi-millionaire

So how is it I’m still the hardest n—a here?

I don’t be in the project hallway

Talkin’ bout how I be in the project all day

That sound stupid to me

If you a gangsta this how you prove it to me

N---a just get violent

This is death of Autotune,

moment of silence”

What Jay-Z is also showing in this verse is the hip hop culture was meant to embrace the struggle of the streets. Jay-Z believes his financial success should have placed him in an obsolete position, he feels he should not be still relevant in hip hop. Yet because of the mentality and the current obsession with commercialism (i.e., ringtones), he still is able to not only navigate the system but dominate it. He challenges the young rapper to stop talking about menial topics and expand his lyrical and musical base to say something worth saying and to say it in a clever way. He also gives him a “Blueprint (3)” of how to go about accomplishing this.

While hip hop has always been about describing the conditions in the inner city, including those in the projects, the intent was not to deify the lifestyle but to bring like to them and find a way out. In songs like DOA, Jay-Z challenges those who are self-described as “gangstas” to do what so-called gangstas like Sinatra and himself have done, innovate, create, and expand the base while keeping the integrity of the discipline alive.

IF we look deeper into the metaphoric symbolism of the lyrics we will notice in the beginning of the song, Jay-Z compares the gritty baselines and grimy feel of the DOA song with that of a “deadly weapon.” Despite what has been put out in the media and in commentary such as the one listed in the October 4, 2009 Sun-Times; "Letters to the Editor," he isn’t advocating physical violence in this song at all. What he is doing is creatively and intelligently using symbolism to characterize how hip hop music should be represented. He suggests the real essence of hip hop music is hard core in its presentation and that has been lost to trivializing it to ringtones and jingles. We he tells the listener “IF you a gangsta this is how you prove it to me, n---a just get violent…” he isn’t suggesting to go out and commit random acts of violence or to even engage in violence. What he is saying is get back to the basics, get back to substance and cultivate the lost art of hip hop music. Re-energize the integrity of the music through lyrics and through real musical approaches. REST IN PEACE, AUTOTUNES!

Iran in unrest

Thousands of protesters fill the streets of Tehran to show their anger over the allegations of stolen votes for President. Opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi is trying to convince the religious leaders to overturn the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President of Iran. This request has gone largely unheard with the supreme leader casting his affirmation for the President. These types of demonstrations have the potential of being a game changer and the US is looking on with renewed interests.