STREETS CONSCIOUSNESS P.XV: HOUSING AUTHORITIES

'THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK"-







W.E.B DUBOIS

"Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable housing.
Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty and other criteria for allocation vary."-

Wikipedia

The group "war" coined a song in the 70's: the world is a ghetto. The housing project is international, from america to asia, but most are relative to poverty. Government owned, the culture of the housing project is usually condusive to crime and poverty. In the united states life in the projects is generational, especially since the mid 20th century. One example of many is one located in chicago:


-9x's out of 10 poverty= social unrest and crime. Currency is part of any livelihood, a great necessity; but among the poor/low income, in a ghetto setting for simple means of survival, most are plauged with the love of money. One respected artist from Stapleton housing in Staten Island, Trife da God explains his worldview; the world in the hands of corrupted politicians.

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THE ARCHIVE P. VII : BLACK HISTORY: WATTSTAX

"EVERYTHING REMAINS THE SAME" -


OTIS RAY REDDING JR.

"The concert was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 20, 1972, and organized by Memphis's Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots. Wattstax was seen by some as "the Afro-American answer to Woodstock". To enable as many members of the black community in L.A. to attend as possible, tickets were sold for only $1.00 each. The Reverend Jesse Jackson gave the invocation, which included his "I Am - Somebody" poem, which was recited in a call and response with the assembled stadium crowd. In the film, interspersed between songs are interviews with Richard Pryor, Ted Lange
and others who discuss the black experience in America"-

Wikipedia

http://www.wattstax.com/

"
Black Power"- a term coined by the late pan african socialist/activist kwame ture(stokley carmicheal) in the 60's serving as prime minister of the black panther socialst party. In the african diaspora, the time between the late 19th century and the mid 2oth held progressive movements to empower blacks and people of color; from the scars and generational effects of the atlantic slave trade, and the oppression of institutionalized slavery. It resonated between movements and global influence of leaders as marcus garvey(pan africanism), to the highlights of the civil rights movement(king, Black theology, N.O.I, black nationalism). The early seventies carried the torch with progressive pride in black culture..heavily infuential in entertainment and the arts. With stax being a major record label in this time, the sound of soul reflected all points of the african diaspora in america, from ghetto, to politics. The archive reflects on "Wattstax".."the black woodstock":

- STAPLE SINGERS

-"Wattstax" came to my attention about 5 years ago, in its airing through a public television documentry. Though pop culture in 2010 has a new face, this landmark is still relevant, as relevant as the importance of social consciousness, as relevant as preservation of any culture and diaspora:

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THE ARCHIVE P.VI : JAZZ: AMERICAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

“It is an honor to be here.”

Sonia Sanchez





"By 1808 the Atlantic slave trade had brought almost half a million Africans to the United States. The slaves largely came from West Africa and brought strong tribal musical traditions with them.[16] Lavish festivals featuring African dances to drums were organized on Sundays at Place Congo, or Congo Square, in New Orleans until 1843, as were similar gatherings in New England and New York. African music was largely functional, for work or ritual, and included work songs and field hollers. The African tradition made use of a single-line melody and call-and-response pattern, but without the European concept of harmony. Rhythms reflected African speech patterns, and the African use of pentatonic scales led to blue notes in blues and jazz."


"The origin of the word jazz is one of the most sought-after word origins in modern American English.[citation needed] The word's intrinsic interest—the American Dialect Society named it the Word of the Twentieth Century—has resulted in considerable research, and its history is well-documented. The word began as West Coast slang around 1912, the meaning of which varied but did not refer to music or sex. It came to refer to the music in Chicago around 1915. The music was played in New Orleans prior to that time but was not referred to by that name." -


Wikipedia



One of the greatest genre's of music in the african diaspora, Jazz, in its many forms. Late jazz historian, and a friend of my mine and teacher Harrison Riddley Jr. who tuaght at temple university,once spoke and said "jazz should be rated as traditional as classical music that have its origins in europe, due its legacy and longevity" :



-The list of american jazz greats is seemingly endless. Harrison once stated that the institutionalized slavery of africans is one of the worst; but here post 21st century from then the greatest genre's of music and artists issued out from the african diaspora, from soul, bebop, jazz, and ultimately hip-hop. We close this brief archive spot tonight with a throwback of one of the greatest..and one of my favorites; a late 60's performance of "Favorite things" by the late philly native John Coltrane.




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MUSIC IS LIFE P.XI : THE LOST BOROUGH:Y.O.

“Don't Waste Your Time,”

- Mary J. Blige







"Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York (behind New York City, Buffalo and Rochester), and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 (according to the 2000 census), and an estimated 2008 population of 201,588.[3] Yonkers borders the New York City borough of The Bronx and is 2 miles (3 km) north of Manhattan at the city's two respective closest points."

-Wikipedia

"Ayo, yonkers is the lost boro" a sentiment spoken to me by a friend which is also a native. A region that graced the industry and world on international level. Music is life abroad.. especially in the city of yonkers:

"Yonkers is struggling to overcome its violent image. This violent image of Yonkers has been endorsed largely through hip-hop culture. Many hip-hop songs can be found where crime and violence in Yonkers is praised. Many neglect to realize that almost all of this crime in its entirety takes place in the Southwest section of the city. Other sections of the city (particularly the eastern side) are, in fact, wealthy neighborhoods with low crime rates."-

Wikipedia

"B, yonkers is L.A without the colors" - expressed in music, arts and entertainment is the struggles and issues of a city; even in politics. Four years ago yonkers native Victor Earl ran for mayor; someone who has come through the rites and passage of the social ills, and sought to establish reform in the city, and proggressive change among the youth. Figures in the industry, as D Blocks Styles P holds on to social consciousness of his hometown, and the black and latino diaspora's under the umbrella of the urban plight. My family Jayonez, CEO of up and coming "Moneyshotfilms" film company was there to cacth footage of styles p realease party of his fiction novel "Invincible" in june:


<-To close we have behind the scene's footage of Joell Ortiz "Project boy" video narrative..and the official cut..a story too familiar amongst america's inner cities.

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LANGUAGE OF ONE P. IX: CUBAN JOURNAL

"ITS BIGGER THAN HIP-HOP"


-DEAD PREZ








"Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is the most populous insular nation in the Caribbean. Its people, culture, and customs draw from diverse sources, including: the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples; the period of Spanish colonialism; the introduction of African slaves; and its proximity to the United States. "-

Wikipedia


Mid-june visits the island nation of cuba, the wealth in culture, political history, and of course the active interface of hip-hop. The conflict of one nation known for its beauty, and political discourse from cuban-american relations, deep rooted music, prisoners of conscience and natural rescource. Monday hints a closer look, since the days of Ernesto "che" guevara, to the legacy and longevity of Fidel castro, every generation in its time possesed one thing, a voice. One small nation with global impact. Starting with a simple introduction of cuba's modern day, todays clips bridge insight into the youth from Art fennel's journalism, and a grassroots documentry of the views heard through cuban hip-hop.










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STREETS CONSCIOUSNESS P.XI : THE BEAST

“Only God can judge me”

~Tupac Amaru Shakur

"The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world.[1][2] The U.S. incarceration rate on December 31, 2008 was 754 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, or 0.75%.[3] The USA also has the highest total documented prison and jail population in the world.[1][4][5]
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS): "In 2008, over 7.3 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year-end — 3.2% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 31 adults"-

Wikipedia

"More than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities. For Black males in their twenties, 1 in every 8 is in prison or jail on any given day. These trends have been intensified by the disproportionate impact of the "war on drugs," in which three-fourths of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color." -

http://www.thesentencingproject.org/

Crime and politics have close relation; right here in america. Today's features of Philadelphia black journalist Mumia Abu jamal and recent interviews of artist Felipe coronel(immortal technique) are self- explanitory. Mumia states the true active nature of the "prison industrial complex":

-In closing is an unadulterated interview of immortal technique about his personal account, and a socio-political view of the criminal justice system, and an exclusive track from the roots recent project "Rising down" Ft. Mosdef and Styles P.






the roots - rising down feat. mos def, styles p

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP 2010.

THROWBACKS: SOCIAL RENAISSCANCE

An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose. -

Langston Hughes


The above late 90's to 2000's album realeases is a reflection of artists who didnt hide their gifts and contributions to the world. In retrospect the late 90's still told stories through the modern day; streets genre narrated drugs, money, violence..the "backpacker" held thier hip hop purists truths to heart...commercialism lit up the charts with flamboyant suits, jewelry, dances, and materialism. Then you had the rebirth of the generation of the "conscious" mc/activist. Monday highlights though during this time where so many seeds sprung forth, from swinging chains, to the ice of the rockafella era,the return to the streets of the ruff ryders era, those who stepped out and brought the love and meaning of music back to its old standard,and ushered the call for social change. Both through music and action. In the wide world of the industry, to each his own..i personally co-sign any entity that is a catalyst for greater change. One example is the late 90's blackstar -
Nkiru Books is the oldest African-American bookstore in Brooklyn, New York City, USA. Founded by Leothy Miller Owens in 1976, the bookstore was bought by Talib Kweli and Mos Def in 2000. Today it is operated as the Nkiru Center for Education and Culture, a nonprofit organization promoting literacy and multicultural awareness for people of color. It is currently located at 732 Washington Avenue.-WIKIPEDIA

*Salutes the fathers and mothers* ..at the same time we take a peek into some of the ever growing new school..one of my favorite groups..diamond district dmv

http://twitter.com/StandOnD http://twitter.com/oddisee
http://twitter.com/yuthe78er http://twitter.com/uptownxo


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