Run This Town (Parody)

Thanks to Sandy for putting me up on game for this joint. This cat is really funny and this parody is well done. He keeps this up and he might get a show.

Colecovision...my old friend

When I was a young lad growing up in the 80's like most American kids I was stuck on video games. The first video game system I ever owned was the Colecovision. This system was a powerhouse of gaming back then. Back in a world where Atari ruled with an iron fist providing games that looked nothing like their arcade counterparts Coleco stepped the game up. The system came with two joysticks which operated more loosely like an arcade stick than Atari's (before the 7800) and the games had better graphics. The game that came with the system initially was the arcade classic Donkey Kong (produced by Nintendo). This version unlike Atari's looked pretty much just like the arcade version.

I didn't realize how great this system was at the time, at least until I got Turbo. Turbo was a cool driving game in the arcade, and it came with an actual steering wheel and gas pedal for the Colecovision. It doesn't get much better than that my friends. This is before any light zapper or a power pad was created by Nintendo. Other Colecovision classics I owned were Smurf, Ladybug (MAN I LOVED THAT GAME) and Time Pilot.

Unfortunately the Colecovision came out right before the Video Game Crash of 1983 and it suffered the wrath of low popularity. When Nintendo came in 1985 and gave life to video games again the Colecovision was officially dead and gone.

I'm paying tribute to an old friend who held me down before I knew what a Mario brother was. This weekend I'm going to my mothers to pull out the Colecovision. I think I need to get a game of Ladybug going.

Netflix Comes To The PS3!!!!

You read right. The PS3 will now stream Netflix content (Movies & TV Shows) like it's Microsoft competition the XBox 360. I'm so glad I made the Blu-ray choice over the red rings of death. I can now rock my Street Fighter IV (PSN: ThirteenRose) and when I'm tired watch old Kate and Allie episodes from my childhood. Currently you will need to order a free disc from Netflix to load in your PS3 to allow this new function but hell that's fine with me. This my friends is the definition of a win / win situation. I am only 1 month in with Netflix and I'm VERY pleased with my investment.

Straight From The Horses Mouth

Old School Mondays

As a fan of Old School R&B I thought we could take a trip down memory lane to some bangers from the 80s.

This is one of my favorite Whitney songs (pre Crack is Wack era)


The King Of Stage ladies and gentlemen


Soul II Soul ruled the summer of 89.


This song and video brings a smile to my face. Look at the choreography.

BlackRoc

Word on the street is Dame Dash (HOLLA) has gotten together with the band the Black Keys to construct a project called BlackRoc. This is not the first time rap and rock has crossed paths, nor will it be the last. Looking at who's involved (Mos Def, Rza...) it could actually be a good situation. Take a look at these webisodes and judge for yourself.

MP3 Players AKA The Battery Man Killer

Once upon a time in a land called New York people used portable CD players. Before those CD players came into play a little thing called a Walkman was the tool of choice for your resident music lover. During my days of walking the streets in the 90s I would run through many a Duracell rewinding those college radio show jams plus using the great invention of auto-reverse. I remember discovering that there was a man on Utica Ave. selling 2 AA Duracell batteries for 1 dollar. In a local store they were going for at least $2.25. This was a blessing for a teenager without much money in his pockets.

Fast forward to today as I'm riding the B train into the city for the days work to begin. I see a man walk through the car holding several loose packages of double A Duracell batteries. I couldn't believe my eyes. I mean I haven't seen a cat selling $1 batteries outside since MP3 players came into play. The rechargeable battery player rendered their services mute honestly. Others look at this man with looks of bewilderment looking to figure out what he was actually doing in this day and age trying to sell this particular product. It was all explained when he began to announce to my train car that we were on a Uptown bound B train headed to 145. He further explained what our next stop would be and that there was a D train directly behind this B. How he knew about a closely following D is beyond me but I digress.

I support that man in his endeavors to make an honest living, however I didn't purchase any batteries, I just don't need them now. Instead I skipped to a Black Spade song on my iPhone that I charged last night...

CHIN CHIN Live for CMJ @ Von Kellar

The super dope band Chin Chin is gonna be performing at one of my favorite spots in the city Von Kellar (the basement of Von's). It you are in the streets on Friday you MIGHT wanna make it over to this event. There will be a set by DJ Such and Such (Jaleel from TV on the Radio) and some giveaways apparently. Do yourself a favor and see these guys live. I have their album and play it regularly but it's not the same as their live act. The show starts at 7pm the spot is Von's which is located @ 3 Bleeker St.

If you are unfamiliar peep this little taste of the Chin Chin experience.




That's Where I'll Be

Fall Weather Music

AKA East Coast Stomp weather. This is the time when I throw some good old 90's east coast stomp music in the iPhone (IhaveaniPhonevertisement). The air is crisp, the leaves are a golden brown and the wind is picking up. You need to soldier through this change but it's not cold enough to throw on a mean mug. Thus you want to listen to some lighthearted head nod walk tall music.

Enjoy these selections from my high school years.

Leaders Of The new School - The International Zone Coaster


Fu-Shnickens - La Schmoove


Lords of the Underground - Chief Rocka


A Tribe Called Quest - Check The Rhime


Naughty By Nature - Uptown's Anthem

Gone But Not Forgotten (1st in a series)

There was a time in NYC where if you walked down the dark streets of the Lower East Side on a Friday or Saturday night you had to be on your toes. You could walk for a little bit and not see an open store and thus no real light. During the 90s this was a recipe to become the next victim of the night. However it was during this time that I ran the streets from Ave. A down to Chinatown. I would close down an old staple restaurant in the LES called Mekka (RIP) and then walk down to a little hole in the wall spot at the end of Orchard St. called Good World. This was a place for the true lover of Hip Hop and Soul music overall. My boys Shan Boogie and Torbitt (drummer for Chin Chin) would get together every Friday night and tear this spot down!

I've had so many good nights there man. The way I would go is just walk down Orchard past Max Fish, crossing Delancy St. walking by small chinese internet "cafe's" until you see the USPS mail trucks and hear some music. That's how you know your in the right place. There was this ill muscle marine forces black dude on the door checking IDs. Once I got inside I would walk pass the bar and say what's up to my man Marcus (member of Antibalas now) and hit the back where Shan and Torbit were rocking. Once my bag was down the dancing didn't stop until Marcus would let out this famous yell "If you are not working here or f*%king someone working here time to go!".

Man I would go to Good World every Friday to hear joints like Aretha Franklin's Rocksteady, Poor Righteous Teachers' Easy Star and Michael Jackson's Baby Be Mine. In fact I would have to ask Torbit sometimes if I missed Baby Be Mine if I got there later than normal. I remember one time this cat tried to buy me a drink because I was going so hard to the Doobie Brothers' song Long Train Running. He was just happy to see me loving that song so much.

Well years have passed and the LES is no longer the same. The weekends are packed with limos and filled with folks from New Jersey with gel in their hair and their bottle service business. Orchard St. is now filled with little boutiques and crepe spots. I was in Chinatown about a month ago for dinner at a cool Italian restaurant. I noticed when I got there the old mail trucks were still on the scene and thought I'd go around the corner and visit an old friend. I saw a demolished building undergoing construction and felt a lump in my throat. The sounds of racing rats ran me away as if to say "get out of here New York Native, this aint for you any more!". Another piece of NY is gone.

The picture you see above is all that's left.

The San Francisco Treat Pt. 2

Photo's by Shino Yanagawa

There's a little stretch of land in San Fran called Castro. In my opinion this is the big brother of Chelsea. It's kind of like Chelsea times 10. As Shino and I walked over to this colorful neighborhood from Mission we noticed a number of rainbow flags in many restaurants and other well designed establishments. Once we hit the main strip of Castro we noticed we were the only man and woman couple to be seen for blocks. If you are the kind of person to get offended by walking down 8th Ave in the 20s, don't even think about setting foot in Castro. The innuendo is ALL OVER the place. I loved it. I found a really dope comic book store in the area and a Levis store unlike any other. Shino and I wound up having a conversation with a fellow breeder about the area and where to hit next on our walking tour. After looking at the Castro theater (which is super dope with the films they show) we took off towards Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks is the main hill you will see while traveling through the city of San Fran which is home to a large fork shaped antenna. What's so great about Twin Peaks is the fact that people actually live on the hill in a number of beautiful homes. The streets can get pretty steep so at night it can get rather cold and depending on the season foggy. The views however are gorgeous. You can see the whole city from their and it's very picturesque. I highly recommend it.

Check in for Pt. 3 (The Conclusion) coming soon.

Force MD's Take Us Back

This is one of my favorite groups of all time right here. This was a group of young men from Staten Island who were at the forefront of the hip hop doo wop scene. This was at a time when rappers employed a LOT of melody into their music and performance. I remember when Krush Groove came out and Tender Love dropped. It was officially a wrap and the Force MD's had to get their props. The group is from the early era of hip hop when cats like Kool Moe Dee and Kurtis Blow were running the scene. Take a listen as they give an education on their start in the game.

R.I.P to the fallen members Mercury, TC and the DJ Doctor Rock.



This is my favorite Force MDs song. FORGIVE ME GIRL!

RIP Captain Lou Albano

As a kid of the 80s I spent plenty of time watching WWF on television. I was in love with wrestling. To me this was the golden age of wrestling. Today I'm paying tribute to one of the best managers ever Capt. Lou Albano. He will always stick in my mind with those rubber bands of his. The Captain leaves us at age 76. You might remember him from Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video. He also played Mario on the Super Mario Bros Super Show.

Here's a little review of the man. He was a part of my childhood, and now I feel a little sad.
Respect.

Do The Mario!


Doing the damn thing as a great manager.


Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Official Music Video) - For more amazing video clips, click here

Bobbito Garcia Profile on CNN

My man Kool Bob Love B.K.A Bobbito Garcia getting love on CNN. This is what I'm talking about people. The power of real deal New Yorkers speaking about the unity of Black, Brown and Yellow. Salute!

Jay - Z - Empire State of Mind (Brock Mills Stills)

Check out this video from a talented young brother straight out of Brownsville, Brooklyn. Watching this video made me appreciate the song way more than just hearing it or even seeing the performance on MTV's VMAs earlier this year. Be on the lookout for Brock Mills Stills you might want him to do some work for you. He's ill!
http://www.brockmills.com

Empire State Of Mind from Brock Mills on Vimeo.

The Demise of the Chirp

Nothing has made me smile harder than realizing that the era of the "chirp" is over. I was talking with a friend at work today and she brought up how she hated speakerphone people. This reminded me that I had an old co-worker who would 90% of the time answer her cellphone on speakerphone. You would have to ask her to take you off speaker to have a normal conversation. What a waste.

Those thoughts made me think of the infamous "chirp". For those of you not in the know the chirp is the sound emitted by a phone when it's on the setting of a walkie talkie. The first phone company I came across to use such technology was Nextel. Nextel allowed people to not use their regular phone minutes and instead contact their friends/family directly. This mode of conversation became known as "chirping". So now as a way to save money people would chirp their friends making a damned walkie talkie sound whenever they wanted to talk or receive a communication from someone else. HOW ANNOYING! Yet, it caught on like wild fire and we were forced to endure another company with similar technology, Boost Mobile. During this time people would be on the bus and the train chirping away. I've seen people wait for that fateful moment the train leaves the tunnel and gets some reception to get busy chirping.

Jerkstore #1 :"CHIRP CHIRP Hey I just got out the tunnel. Where you at? CHIRP"

Jerkstore #2:"CHIRP Oh word. I got a bottle of Bacardi here. CHIRP"

Jerkstore #1 :"CHIRP CHIRP Yo! Don't drink all the Bacardi yo! I'm almost there. Two stops left! CHIRP"

Jerkstore#2 :"CHIRP Aight! CHIRP"

Jerkstore#1 :"CHIRP CHIRP One CHIRP"

Now did I really need to hear that conversation. More importantly did the whole train car need to hear that conversation? My answer is a resounding NO but that's my opinion, yours may differ. You probably got annoyed just reading that exchange imagine hearing it. I've heard all types of conversations that I really REALLY didn't need nor want to hear. Where is the common courtesy for your fellow man? Will someone please think of the children!?!

These days I remove my terrible iPod earbuds from my ears and hear no signs of chirping. The fad has gone to rest along with other fads like Crystal Pepsi and Keffiyeh scarfs. May it rest and leave our ears in peace.

The San Francisco Treat

Photos by Shino Yanagawa

I have a friend who always goes on and on about how great San Fran is. My only experiences with California have been with southern Cali and they at times have left me underwhelmed. However this was not the case once I touched that good San Fran soil. My first views leaving the airport were those of hills and fog with a sun on the other side begging to be enjoyed.

I haven't been taken in by a city in the way that SF took me in since Chicago. Once we got settled next stop was downtown to see the people and do some walking around. The bus ride out there is very rough I must say. The MUNI line is filled with buses which seems to only stop using hard breaks and make turns requiring you to hold on for dear life. There was a large number of Chinese women on the bus with us almost all the time. One even mentioned to Shino that I was cute (HOV!). Fortunately none of our rides were like this.

In town for 5 days we made sure to hit the ground running. We made a journey down to Fisherman's Warf which is very much a tourist attraction but fun nonetheless. I found an In and Out burger down there and was very tempted to get a grilled cheese animal style. However that will have to wait for next time.

During the trip I discovered the super dope neighborhood of Mission with its many restaurants and beautiful people. On the train ride over there we met a gentleman who helped us with directions. He told us where to get off to maximize our time. We ate at a restaurant with the largest stack of fresh blueberry pancakes I ever had...MAN! The food was official tissue. Shino had some crazy fish tacos. The service was very nice here as well as the prices. After grubbing we walked up and down many hills to burn off the calories looking at the many striking homes lining the streets. Then we crossed over into Castro...

Pt 2 coming up (c) Old Dirty.

Old School Mondays

Lets take a trip to the west coast and peep how it used to be.

I still listen to this song every other week.


One of the illest to ever do it right here.


MC Eiht....Geah


Ice T The official tissue cat right here.

Tanya Morgan - Hardcore Gentlemen @ SOB's

The boys Tanya Morgan put it down something terrible at SOB's the other night. The energy got live when they performed this throw back to the early 90s. Peep the MotherGreen T being rocked by the homie Donwill. Rugged and Smooth.

Hardcore Gentlemen - Tanya Morgan featuring Revive Da Live from filthygomez on Vimeo.

NEW Lupe Fiasco - Fire

Been a while since I heard some new Lupe music. I didn't get to see his concert on Governor's Island but Just said it was official tissue. This new track is kinda hard. I like the energy of it for sure.
Go Chicago!

Lupe Fiasco - Fire

Lost In Translation?

I've never been to Australia so I don't know how they view people of color. Unfortunately I'm not up to snuff on the status of the Aboriginal population there. However I can honestly say I was not ready for the video shown below. I'm very pleased to know that a gentleman named Harry Connick Jr. stood up and said something against this deplorable behavior. Skip towards the end if you can't take the performance to see commentary from the judges.

What do you think of this "tribute"?
SPEAK OUT! (c) Insane Martin Payne

You Need Some MF Doom In Your Life

Hopefully you know who Doom is but in case you don't here's a little taste. He's not for everybody but those who dig him are blessed. I fought against listening to him for years then I finally caved in once I heard One Beer before the Madvillain album dropped. I've been a fan ever since.




And here's a video of Mos Def discuss how much he loves Doom.

The Foreign Exchange - I Wanna Know

If you don't have this album and you like R&B you're playing yourself. This is the latest installment in banging videos for their album Leave It All Behind. Phonte' and Nicolay are really doing their thing for this project. Salute to my OKP fam.

The Foreign Exchange - ''I Wanna Know'' from The Foreign Exchange on Vimeo.

Does Your Child Have A Cellphone?

If so why? When I grew up the cellphone was a mark of luxury. It was something I saw on television and was always a big deal. The rich kids in the suburbs would use their cellphones to talk to friends. I never thought I would actually hold one in my hands. Then high school came in the mid 90s and cell phones became more accessible. I remember taking a Regents exam in my senior year of high school. One student got a call on his phone and walked into the hall to answer it. It was the ultimate sign of cool. Fast forward to today and everyone and their child has a cellphone.

The world is a very different place but the more things change the more they stay the same. It's interesting to talk to people and hear about how all of these school children have phones. A personal phone! Why? You need to get in touch with a 12 year old while they are at school? CALL THE SCHOOL!

I don't see why any child who is not a teenager should have a cell phone I'm sorry. If I was a parent (which I'm not) and I wanted to give my child a phone they would get the cheapest no frills phone. Minutes only and you can only call ME. No texting allowed on the plan, no web pics, NOTHING. Just "I need you to pick me up." and that's it. These kids are getting spoiled AND they are learning NOTHING. When I was a kid we would find ways to not pay attention in school. We had no cellphones and we would draw or do something to stray from the lesson. I can only imagine with cellphone games and texting how much actual learning takes place. In my opinion we need to help our teachers and students to get the most out of their time in school. So I ask you, does your child have a cellphone? If so why? And if you don't have a child what's your position on this issue?

Speak Out! (c) Martin Payne

Tanya Morgan and Black Sheep Tonight @SOB's!

If you want a dope show to see tonight in NYC you really want to be at SOBs at around 8pm. My boys Tanya Morgan are gonna tear it down something terrible with a band backing them up. Not to be outdone they will be sharing the bill with Black Sheep. It's gonna be a hip hop fernanzie in the spot and I can't wait.

Here's a lil video to give you a taste of what we are in for tonight.

BabyStone (Sly's Legacy In Good Hands)

Just a few days ago I was listening to California's radio station KCRW and came across a super dope band by the name of BabyStone. I started going crazy listening to their song "Halfway" as it didn't sound like anything out currently. The song was just plain sick!

Once the song finished I immediately went to a few friends for some info and got nothing. I did find on cdbaby that their is an EP out by them. The real nugget was learning that the band is comprised of none other than Sly Stone's baby girl Novena Carmel and Itai Shapira. I'm a still learning fan of Sly and the Family Stone. I think the band put together some of America's most amazing music from a very important time.

BabyStone is exactly what I'm looking for right now in music. Been feeling a lil stale with my iPhone choice of albums as of late. I can't wait til I get this CD in the mail.

Enjoy the video and the song I initially heard from them is the second jam they perform.
(Oh and doesn't Novena look just like her daddy?)

I guess it's that time for World Disasters

First I hear about the terrible flooding in Atlanta. I'm sure there was a ton of damage down there. Next I see there was major flooding in the Philippines which is very scary. I have a bunch of friends who are from there. There is a serious push to get relief to Filipino people. For those of us who want to help the people who are under serious duress right now check this link and give what you can. This company (Xoom) is providing money transfers to the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) with no fee attached for a limited time. Lets make a difference folks.

Philippine Assistance

While I'm still digesting those two disasters Indonesia gets hit with an earthquake that kills over 700 people and the numbers are rising. *smh* So much death caused by nature. What makes rain hail snow and earthquakes?

I just got back from San Fransisco (which I will discuss later) and I noticed there is a surcharge on plastic bottles to encourage folks to recycle. While we possibly cannot change the situation regarding living in the ring of fire in the pacific, we can affect change here at home. Remain conscious of the abuse visited upon the Earth every day by humanity and the role we all play. Every moment is a choice, lets choose to be helpful rather than a hindrance and/or burden on our planet. What if Fulton St. got flooded or Guy R. Brewer BLVD? You would want people to assist in ending your suffering and rebuilding so lets do the same.

Remember that the Planet Earth is our home not just our respective countries or our block. We are responsible for every square inch of it. 196,940,000 sq miles. Lets treat it and it's people with some respect.