#Quickblurb: The Sterling Affair

By now everyone has heard black belt racist and Los Angeles Clippers' owner, Donald Sterling's recorded racist tirade that made Mel Gibson say "c'mon man!" You may have also heard that as a result of said tirade, Mr. Sterling has been banned for life from all NBA functions, and rightfully so.

Who would of thought an 80 year old white American male would have harsh feelings for minorities? Rumor has it that the man tried to sue Fox Searchlight Studios for copyright infringement because 12 Years a Slave was what he named all the contracts he had his players sign (I kid, I kid).

Let's look beyond Skeletor...I mean, Sterling, and come to terms with another villain in this story. I'm talking about the NAACP (yeah, I said it!). Not only do they refuse to take the term "colored people" out of their name, but they were ready to award Sterling with a second (yes, second) lifetime achievement award days before this incident made news! Not only is it ass-backwards to give someone 2 LIFETIME achievement awards, but Sterling had a long documented history of racist behavior way before TMZ put him on blast. I mean a looong history. Here's a list courtesy of Business Insider, because I don't feel like writing that much right now.

Now, according to Yahoo! News, Roslyn M. Brock, the chairperson of the NAACP National Board of Directors, wants to meet with NBA commissioner Adam Silver to talk about...ahem..."the influence and impact of racism" in the league. Come the eff on. Al Sharpton is somewhere calling her a drama queen. How am I, or anybody else for that matter, supposed to take this attempt to piggy-back a hot topic seriously? With the disturbing amount of Black-on-Black violence going in Chicago, they haven't spoken out once as an organization, yet this is an issue of importance they want to jump on

Let's look past the fact that they have spent the last 20 years supplying Sterling with justification for his horrific views by showering him with multiple lifetime achievement awards. That's not even the real crime here. They still have "colored people" in their name, how racist is that? The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. I mean, who was their founding father, Archie Bunker? Its bad for the Redskins to call themselves the Redskins, but no one has issue with this?

All I'm saying is, if someone called me colored, I'd be pissed, bottom line. I have issue with your priorities, Ms Brock. Forget racism in the NBA, the NAACP's next order of business should be a name update (colored people...seriously?).

Upcoming Show: Future @ Concord Music Hall 5/25/2014 - Presented by React Presents

So, this past December I was invited to the Chicago leg of Drake's Would You Like a Tour tour (hey, if 2 Chainz can get paid to rhyme foreign with foreign, then I can say tour back-to-back for free...sue me), which, along with Drizzy, featured PARTYNEXTDOOR, Miguel, and Future. Due to my work schedule, I was only able to catch both Miguel's and Drake's sets.

I had no regrets about missing Future's set until he joined Drake on stage and injected some unadulterated energy into Aubrey Graham's show. The rapper/R&B singer from Atlanta definitely brought it. I told myself that I would check him out if he ever came back to Chicago anytime in the near future.

Well low and behold, the fine folks at React Presents have persuaded Future a.k.a. Mr. Freebandz a.k.a. Future Hendrix a.k.a. Ciara's fiance to make his way to the Concord Music Hall on May 25th and hit his fans with some new music off of his recently released sophomore album, Honest.

Future will be accompanied by another rapper/singer, Rico Love, and fellow ATLien Que, who is riding a strong wave of popularity from his current hit OG Bobby Johnson. This show should provide its audience with a good mixture of sounds from the urban music spectrum, and with as many people as Future has collaborated with, there could even be a few surprise appearances in store.

I'm just looking forward to hearing my guilty pleasure song of the moment, Move That Dope. For tickets, click here and pick your package. Until May 25th, enjoy some Dope. You're welcome.

New Music: The Roots - "When The People Cheer" & "Tommorow" (ft. Raheem DeVaughn)

It's been a while, but finally I have something I can look forward to as far as music goes. While they were busy being the best damn band on television, The Roots found time to record, what sounds like so far, another classic album titled And Then You Shoot Your Cousin.

Set for release on May 13th, this will be their 11th studio album. They have blessed the world with 2 songs that can only be described as, at the risk of sounding corny as hell, MAJESTIC!

When The People Cheer is The Roots sticking to their bread and butter, Black Thought delivering thoughtful yet lethal bars on a smooth ?uestlove directed orchestration. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 
Tomorrow features almost the same formula, subtract Black Thought's lyrics and add in Raheem DeVaughn's vocals. The result is just as effective and beautiful. Since I'm not cool enough (yet) for The Roots and Def Jam to personally send me a CDQ file to post, here's a link to hear it in all its glory, courtesy of Rap Radar.

The Roots - Tomorrow (ft. Raheem DeVaughn)

...and just throw a little more of The Roots' dopeness, here's John Legend joining them for a cover of the Bruce Springsteen's classic Dancing in the Dark. May 20th can't come soon enough. You're welcome.

Tycho & GEMS @ Concord Music Hall 4/10/2014

I was a trance virgin until last Thursday, when I popped my trance cherry at the Concord Music Hall by going to see Tycho presented by React Presents. The doors opened at 8 PM, and there was a line for ticket holders that was long, but the line moved quick. When I entered the hall, blue and green lights danced across the main floor as I made my way to the balcony. Lucky for me, there was also a bar hiding in the balcony. Drink in hand, I found a suitable observation spot as the opening act, GEMS, took the stage.

GEMS is a shadow-pop duo based out of Washington D.C. I wonder if they have had a chance to take a selfie with POTUS yet? Any-who. Clifford Usher and Lindsay Pitts harmonize together over guitar, synthesizers, and thick bass. The whole stage was flooded with purple lights, and when the bass kicked in the strobe lights would flash, putting the whole room in a trance. The crowd pulsed with music and roared after each song. So much energy. It was an excellent show and I plan on seeing them again whenever they come back this way.

Tycho is the musical pseudonym of Scott Hansen, an ambient music producer out of Sacramento (Sac Town for the cool kids). Tycho is backed by a drummer, a guitarist, and a bassist. No vocals, purely instrumental. Like I said before, I am fairly new to the trance genre, so the experience was just different for me. In contrast to the high-energy GEMS, Tycho played mellow, soothing tones. I enjoyed the live drums played alongside the echoing melodies. The crowd swayed as lights pulsed slowly in yellow and orange to accentuate the flowing music. Tycho's set massaged the crowds mentals for the remainder of the evening.

All in all, for my first live trance experience, it was very enjoyable. Through both acts, I was able to see both ends of the trance spectrum. GEMS was there to get that last lap of energy out of you right before Tycho came in to tuck you in, a perfect combination. See you next time.