MUSIC IS LIFE P.XXIII :AYITI:THE DIASPORA

"HEARTBEAT" -

NNEKA

"New York City has the largest concentration of Haitians in the United States as well as the oldest established Haitian communities of the country. The conservative estimate of the legal Haitian population in the New York City Metropolitan Area, as recorded by INS is approximately 156,000. However, community leaders and directors of community centers, who come in constant contact with the illegal population, strongly believe that the actual number is closer to 400,000." -

Wikipedia

Z.A-Post Haiti's earthquake the world still wacthes as the poorest country in the western hemisphere rebuilds and restores the ediface of society and life. Today's A.L.I.H.S.T feature briefly looks at haitian diaspora through the beat of survival, and culture as expressed in examples as the dispersal in America:


"The largest communities are found in Brooklyn where the legal population is placed at approximately 88,763, and in Queens where the number of Haitians is believed to be around 40,000. Members of the community who are of working-class background tend to establish their residence in Brooklyn, primarily in the neighborhoods of Flatbush, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, and Canarsie; many are apartment dwellers many homes in the area are duplexes and triplexes. Middle-class Haitians who choose to stay in Brooklyn own brownstone homes in the Park Slope area and single family homes in the Midwood section."

Wikipedia

A description of one of the tri-state area haitian communities. Between refugee camps, U.N control, and government centers, the people of haiti, one are strengthening the ties that bind:


"The country needs to go from the uncertainty of the moment, to some normalcy. We have waited too long after January 12, 2010 to build and rebuild the new Haiti, which must be decentralized."-

Wyclef Jean


Words from Recording artist/Politician Wyclef Jean. Among the diaspora, in places as the Domenican Republic and france, the struggle of this people has encountered everything from poverty to discrimination; to political strength to a thriving culture. One voice to close this brief outlook is the international entity of "Negusworld Enterprises"(Clothing line/Multimedia). My brother/associate Johwell Baptiste(co-founder), also of haitian descent expounds on J.E.M.B.H.A; A movement/train of thought launched last year that communicates to diaspora's within urban communities, and nations.



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STREETS CONSCIOUSNESS P.XX: AMERICAN ECONOMY

"Poverty is the worst form of violence.”


Mahatma Gandhi

"If you look at the year in economic statistics, you could tell two different stories of two different Americas. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a two-year high this week: retail sales, industrial production, factory orders, all are up. And the biggest corporations are posting healthy profits. And yet, hidden among all these trends is one that was released this past week by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
In 2010, cities across America saw a 9 percent increase in the number of families seeking emergency shelter. One out of 200 people in America slept in a homeless shelter this past year. The homeless crisis now affects more families, people who just a year or two ago had jobs, apartments, relatively stable lives that affects more families in that any other time in recent history. '-

Food. Clothing. Shelter. One night listening to BBC radio in my home, they addressed a story that slowly grabbed my attention. The reality of a homeless family, a single father raising his nine year old daughter. He explained the trial of losing his home, sleeping many nights in a car and struggling to send his daughter to school everyday, to finally finding a home just before its foreclosure. Recently passing through the holiday season, i thought of the burden, the struggle and his age(only 28). And the relevance to how homelessness touches all walks of life.


"Im, on top of the world blue diamond or black pearl"-

DA GIF(Nyc based independent recording artist)

-Ive seen some of my peers witnessed the pains of economic struggle, from finding a place to rest their head to dealings with social services. Post 21st century the Obama administration progressively seeks to repair a damaged economy. Homelessness is relative to all brackets of class system; hunger pains as told and experienced by some leading figures:

"Born Lawrence Parker in Park Slope, Brooklyn in the fall of 1965, the MC left home at 14 to become an MC and Philosopher. He came to live in a homeless shelter in the South Bronx, where he was dubbed Krishna by residents because of his interest in the Hare Krishna

spirituality of some of the antipoverty workers."-

Wikipedia

The many examples of the struggle of american economy:

"I CONTEMPLATE BELIEVING IN KARMA, THOSE ON TOP CAN JUST BREAK, AND WONT BE EATIN' TOMMORROW"-Nas

"I have to be here with my daughter and grandson. I mean, not being able to have our own house and - because I know I'm better - well, not better than that, but I mean, I know I can do it. It's just - the work is just hard after hard. You know, you go to an (unintelligible), there's 15 people there. And (unintelligible) always is to having my own place and being able to provide for my family, which I can't right now. "-

Jamie stewart(temporary shelter resident)

-One of many realities. Closing 2010, the A.L.I.H.S.T series(blog) has bore as a reflection of our own societies, troubles to triumphs. This brief look at homelessness is one of many social issues. As we enter 2011 my hopes is that we continue to look at ourselves head on, and move progressively into the coming generations. Peace.

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010

LANGUAGE OF ONE P.XIX : SONGS OF PALESTINE P.II

"THIS AIN'T THE LIFE THAT I
CHOSE BUT IM TRYIN TO FINISH"-

John forte

"Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition calls on all its members,supporters and people of conscience to demand that the US administration direct the state of Israel to stop the targeted arrests and immediately release all Palestinian children detained in its prisons and detention centers. The US is bound by its laws and international conventions to cut off all aid to Israel until it ends the institutionalized and systematic abuse of Palestinian children and all of its violations of Palestinian human rights and basic freedoms in a verifiable manner."

Above is an exerpt of a petition letter written by a palestinian activist on behalf of Isreali military abuse. Langauge of one revisits "songs of palestine"; the extension of the historic Palestinian/Isreali conflict, the systematic oppression/exploits of the palestinian territory.

"Minors, defined as anyone under 18, should be questioned by specially trained officers and only during daylight hours. The children must be able to consult with a lawyer and a parent should be present." Ronit Sela, a spokeswoman for the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), said her organisation had been "shocked" at the large number of children arrested in East Jerusalem in recent months, often by units of undercover policemen."-

Journalist John Cook

http://www.jkcook.net/



-Disturbing as the situation is this is one facet of the political and military oppression in the palestinian territory by the Isreali-Zionist regime. The conflict generally stems from a deep ethnic struggle of race, religion and land. Some of the atrocities committed by Isreal bear as a form of fear tactics to the palestinian community.

"Race Matters"-Cornel West

-One of the factors to fuel my activism in palestinian solidarity via music, information and publishing is seeing the reflection of systematic oppression globally; from the history of apartheid in Cape Town South Africa, to the civil rights struggle, and people of color in america, even post 21st century. The same fuel and views shared in organizations as SNCC:

" After Israel occupied Palestinian territory following the 1967 Six-Day War, some American blacks supported the Palestinians and criticized Israel's actions, for example by publicly supporting Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat and calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.


"The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's (SNCC) newsletter wrote an article criticizing Israel, and asserting that the war was an effort to regain Palestinian land and that during the 1948 war, "Zionists conquered the Arab homes and land through terror, force, and massacres". This article led to conflict between Jews and the SNCC, but black SNCC leaders treated the war as a "test of their willingness to demonstrate SNCC's break from its civil rights past".-


Wikipedia

- Here in the west its easy to see the conflict in the east/Gaza strip is pretty deep seated. Recent efforts from the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton tried to bridge the gap with peace talks, only to struggle with unstable results. The struggle of the palestinian territory is reckonized by leading progressive artists as M1 from dead prez, and today's feature, a lyricist with a strong underground prescence Narcycist with "Hamdililah" an underground single with cameo's from Jay electronica, and Tragedy Khadafi; a song relative to all people, spoken through an Arabic tongue.



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MUSIC IS LIFE P.XXI : GENERATION GAP

"We got to have peace"-

CURTIS MAYFIELD

"Beginning of moral decay"

"USA TODAY's series overlooks the role Baby Boomers played in establishing the moral ambiguity that plagues us today. Their rejection of their parents' values, their idealism and their inexperience made them easy marks for Saul Alinsky, a community organizer who wrote the book Rules for Radicals.
Alinsky used the Boomers and their struggle against racial injustice to popularize his own radical agenda. Primary among that agenda was the moral freedom implicit in the dictum "the end justifies the means." Human nature, not the Boomer generation, is responsible for the abuse of this moral freedom, but understanding its historical context is a step toward recognizing and combating it."

Doris Kabureck; Palmetto, Fla.




One letter from a reader on the changing face of american generations since the years of the early 20th century. The term "baby boomers" emerged from the generations after 1945; post WWII. This letter gives the illustration of the moral/ethical value decline of america; from the struggle of the civil rights movement, to during and after the vietnam war.

• Race and ethnicity. Seventy-six percent of early Boomers are non-Hispanic whites, compared with 68% of those born later. Blacks are the largest minority among older Boomers but are outnumbered by Hispanics among younger Boomers. Blacks make up 12% of Boomers born in the 1960s; Hispanics are 13%.

-In the matter of the moral fiber, every generation since the mid 20th century up till now was responsible for raising and influencing the next to come. Post 21st century pop-culture plays a Major part of this and the coming generation. Amongst all ethnicities in america, since the baby boomer generation, has experienced a shaking in moral ethics; though pop-culture has a degree of influence to the social ills; the ultimate restoration begins within,the family structure. We close this early december brief post with a recent progressive effort from contemporary band "The Gorillaz" with a closing of a generational gap: two features of Mos Def and veteran soul singer bobby Womack. Aside from freedom of speech and political agenda's, if america reckonizes a moral decay and its fruits, it only calls the masses to be conscious of what we leave behind for the next generation. Peace.

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010

MUSIC IS LIFE P.XX :THE PENDANT P.III

"Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real."-

Tupac Shakur

1971-1996

"Black males continue to perform lower than their peers throughout the country on almost every indicator," the Washington-based Council of the Great City Schools, which represents the nation's 66 largest urban public school systems, said in a recent report.
While much of the news coverage of the council's gut-wrenching report has focused on the failure of nearly all fourth- and eighth-grade black males to read and do math at proficiency levels, less attention has been paid to its conclusion that educational improvements alone won't fix this problem. What's needed, the council said, is a "concerted national effort to improve the education, social and employment outcomes of African-American males." -

Dwayne Wickham

The plight of urban academia. The statistics/estimates of "the minortity report" and the ladder of american class system usually cut close. But the above article refrenced in usa today focuses in the education of the black male.

"If you think that's just a warmed-over pitch for more funding of a liberal agenda, you're being shortsighted. In 13 years, minorities will be a majority of this nation's children younger than 18. In just 29 years, most working-age Americans will be black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American. This nation will be hard-pressed to remain the world's leading economy if a sizeable — and growing — share of its potential workforce is slipping through the gaping holes in our education system."

-In a truthful account the passage of the black male in the american in the american urban public school holds a testament by itself. The african dispersal in general holds its own rich history in america; more exceptionally the black male in the inner city faces the rites of passage of peer preasure; to overcoming the hurdles of the social ills of the environment. The unfortunate facts of this article of black males and education should encourage them and the youth to equipt themselves for todays world: in and out the classroom. As stated in one A.L.I.H.S.T blog, academic education to a degree is still the "pendant", due to a ever changing world, economy and educational system. We close this brief analysys and insight with one lament of people of color, a throwback from industry veterans D-Block's Styles P and Black Thought.

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STREETS CONSCIOUSNESS P.XVI: SOLDIER'S STORY:URBAN YOUTH

"LEAVE IT UP TO ME IM A BE LIVING PROOF, TO KICK THE TRUTH TO THE YOUNG BLACK YOUTH"-



JASON HUNTER(INSPECTAH DECK)




"Current positivist approaches generally focus on the culture. A type of criminological theory attributing variation in crime and delinquency over time and among territories to the absence or breakdown of communal institutions (e.g. family, school, church and social groups.) and communal relationships that traditionally encouraged cooperative relationships among people."-

Wikipedia


The main reason to a generation growing up unconscious to a code of ethic and order is stated above: the breakdown of the family/community. Older people of yesteryear at times recall times that were generally simpler; where the culture wasn't as heavily impacted with mature ideals, that childen were exposed to. By observation most troubled youth adapt anti-social behavior "hand to mouth"; by the examples or conditions out of their own homes or communities. Some youth that eventually seek better opportunites,or choices are forced to navigate through a "jungle"; dealing with pro's and cons to come to desired ambitions of their life:

"Youth crime is disproportionately male: theorists and others have examined why this is the case. One suggestion is that ideas of masculinity may make young men more likely to offend. Being tough, and reckless may be a way young men attempt to express their masculinity. Acting out these ideals may make young men more likely to engage in antisocial and criminal behaviour."-

Wikipedia


-In one Street's Consciousness blog, p.xiii, it adresses the power of reason, conscious descision. As simple as it is, in a culture where the odds are stacked socially, it can be the same power that can preserve a life from a pattern of self destruction. The south's underground icon K-rino gives illustration to the door, the alternative:





"Its 10pm where ya seeds at? whats the deal?"-

mos def (mathematics)

-Chron smith(Hell Razah) who is currently recovering from a brain aneurism paints the picture with a snippet of "Kids on the street", with his eldest son as the main role in the video(plaid shirt). In the midst of the what the youth are plagued and challenged with, and in spite of statistics; enrichment still produces results, and the power of reason is still relevant.



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LANGUAGE OF ONE P.XV :EURO TONGUES

“One good thing about music, when it hits- you
feel no pain"-

Bob Marley

"Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early 1980s. The first German hip hop artists emerged in the mid-1980s as part of an underground music scene. Early underground artists included Cora E. and Advanced Chemistry. It was not until the early 1990s that German hip hop entered the mainstream, as groups like Die Fantastischen Vier and the Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt gained popularity. German hip hop was heavily influenced by films which led to a strong emphasis on cultural elements such as graffiti and breakdancing, rather than just the music itself."-

Wikipedia

Post 21st century Euro hip hop. Thick basslines and dark undertones usually paint the reflection of germany's landscape. Those intune with Euro sound understand the progressive movements germany has made in hip hop through the last 20 years. One example is the Wu Tang's Gza and affiliate Prodigal sunn, With an american-german ode to hip hop(Berlin):

- One affilate of mine, Abiz and Bdoub of Be focus records realeased "Mehr als rap"(more than rap) in 2009. Langauge of one focuses on the "Art imitates life" principle. One aspect/reflection of the spirit of germany.

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010

LANGUAGE OF ONE P.XIV : THE 5% NATIONALITY

"Twelve Jewels"-

Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (RZA)

"The Tao of Wu is the second philosophical book written by prominent Wu-Tang Clan member and principal producer, RZA. It is a sequel to The Wu-Tang Manual."-

Wikipedia




"The Nation of Gods and Earths, sometimes referred to as NGE, Allah's Nation, the Five-Percent Nation, the Five-Percent Nation of Islam, or the Five Percenters was founded in 1964 in the Harlem section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City by Clarence Smith, known most commonly to the public at large as Clarence 13X, but referred to by his contemporaries and students as Allah (the Arabic word for God) or the Father. The Nation of Gods and Earths angered religious and political leaders, who viewed the group as little more than an offshoot of the Nation of Islam (NOI), which was already viewed by traditional Muslims as heretical. While the Nation of Gods and Earths is commonly characterized as an organization, an institution, a religion, or even a gang, representatives of the Nation teach that it is a way of living. The Nation of Gods and Earths teaches that the Original Blackman is God, the Original Blackwoman is the planet Earth, and through the inner esoteric powers of the Gods and Earths, people can transform and possess their true potential."-

Wikipedia


-As plainly stated by Wikipedia's definition, as plainly communicated in hip-hop culture over the years. Thursday is language of one:the global front of the NGE. In the U.S, the late 80's, throughout the 90's and early 2000's the east coast and midwest shot the popularity and philosophies of the nation to progressive high. It was proclaimed through artists as Wu tang, Rakim and Brand Nubian, also the culture of Busta Rhymes. Growing up in the bronx in my mid-teens i seen the influx of the nation, and its teachings(120 lessons) in the streets and among my peers. From a personal and socialogical effect, some studied and became involved, some studied for reference /knowledge (as myself), and due to its popularity some carried it as a fad. But other than instiutions who criticzed the nation, most in the culture respected the movement. In 2010 since its days in the height of popularity most chose their own faiths, idealogies and philosophies; but from the midwest to the borough's of New York some still raise the principles of nation's teachings high:




-As you seen in the feature Lord Jamal of Brand Nubian speaks on the origins of the culture and the influence of the movement. A definite archive in hip hop history. We close with a new feature one hip-hop veteran and my brother, Prince po 1/2 of Organized Konfusion with "Lacth key Chronicles":




THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010

________________________________________________________

Post scripts:

One of my mentors in my early years that still works perfusely, and that aided me in the study of the african diaspora, Radio journalist/activist/ criminal lawyer Micheal Coard Esq. gives you the pan-african school of thought:

http://www.avengingtheancestors.com/

_________________________________________________________

A group/organization that also helped in formative years, Temple University's Pascep Program, the new generation.

http://www.temple.edu/pascep/

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:

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010.

LANGUAGE OF ONE P.XII UGANDA SKY

"SORROW TEARS AND BLOOD"-

FELA KUTI



"The African country of Uganda has had a turbulent history in the 20th century, and music has been an integral part of the nation's development.

The first form of music genre in Uganda was kadongo kamu (single guitar).Top artists in Uganda include Jose Chameleon (heavy weight), Bebe Cool locally called Munene Munene, Bobi Wine who is called ghetto president, Radio and Weasel (also operating as Goodlyfe Crew), another sammie e with an exceptional talent, Ragga Dee and Madoxx Ssematimba, Babaluku and The Bataka Squad founders of Luga Flow which promotes rapping in your mother tongue. These artists are also doing well on the international scene."-

WIKIPEDIA

BREAKING: 1/4 OF THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF HIP-HOP


Monday gives the picture of a stream: healing waters of culture in the midst of conflict. I personally hold the U.S as the "breadbasket of pop-culture"; knowing every style and genre of music had and has global effect, the highlight is when a movement aids, or empowers a people. Bouncing cats is one example. This movement bears reflection of my brother, Joel baptiste, CEO of negusworld enterprises, who started this clothing line/movement for the self-actualization/empowerment of a people globally:







THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010

MUSIC IS LIFE P. XIII: CONSCIOUS VS. COMMERCIALISM(THE PRELUDE)

"CASA DE MUSICA"-



NNEKA

"Popular music belongs to any musical genres "having wide appeal",[1] and stands in contrast to art music,[2][3][4] and traditional music which was disseminated orally.[2][3][4] Although popular music sometimes is known as "pop music", the two terms are not interchangeable. Popular music is a generic term for music of all ages that appeals to popular tastes";[5] on the other hand, pop music usually refers to a specific musical genre."


"Conscious hip hop or socially conscious hip-hop is a sub-genre of hip hop that focuses on social issues. It is not necessarily overtly political, but it discusses social issues and conflicts. Themes of conscious hip hop include religion, aversion to violence, African American culture and advancement, the economy, or simple depictions of life in the projects/ghetto that reveal the struggle of ordinary people. Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" was an early and hugely influential political and conscious hip hop track, decrying the poverty, violence, and dead-end lives of the black youth of the time."-



Wikipedia



Thursday hosts the prelude to an exclusive blog feature: "CONSCIOUS VS. COMMERCIALISM"; 1/3 part of a U.P.G blog series called "CONTEMPLATION AND RESISTANCE" (Authors Zion Antoni and Cesar "Yedeed" Espinoza). Contemplation and resistance is a blog series that moves in the train of thought to simply "stop, look, and think" at a present situation or circumstance. Conscious vs. commercialism takes a brief view in the contrasts between the two. We start with a video on the reflection of the messages exchanged in pop music, and cultural influence, featuring today's leading figures.

With this.. we conclude with the official "Contemplation and Resistence" series:(click link)

http://contemplationresistance.wordpress.com/

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010.

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.




THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010.

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.

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010.

LANGUAGE OF ONE P. X: RASTAFARI: THE GLOBAL FRONT

"NO MAN IS AN ISLAND"-




DENNIS EMMANUEL BROWN

"The Rastafari movement is a monotheistic, Abrahamic, new religious movement that arose in a Christian culture in Jamaica in the 1930s.[1][2] Its adherents, who worship Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, former Emperor of Ethiopia (1930–1936 and 1941–1974), as the Second Advent, are known as Rastafarians, or Rastas. The movement is sometimes referred to as "Rastafarianism", but this term is considered derogatory and offensive by some Rastas, who dislike being labelled as an "ism".[3]

"The name Rastafari is taken from Ras Tafari, the pre-regnal title of Haile Selassie I, composed of Amharic Ras (literally "Head," an Ethiopian title equivalent to Duke), and Haile Selassie's pre-regnal given name, Tafari. Rastafari are generally distinguished for asserting the doctrine that Haile Selassie I, the former, and final, Emperor of Ethiopia, is another incarnation of the Christian God, called Jah.[5] They see Haile Selassie I as Jah or Jah Rastafari, who is the second coming of Jesus Christ onto the Earth" -

Wikipedia

The vibration of the rastafari movement is globally known. Thursday gives a brief insight beyond the common themes of cannabis, and universal rythyms of reggae (regal music); The honorable Robert Nesta Marley O.M communicated unity, love and peace in prophetic resonance. As an international third world artist, in his own lifetime he was involved in the religious, but mystic practice and idealogies of the rastafari movement. In my early years of study, i found most of the masses had little knowledge of the deep origins of ras tafari mokennen, the religious aspect (mansions of rastafari, boboshanti, nyabinghi and twelve tribes) and the movement of rastafari, aside from what's communicated through the culture:

-A culture globally known and celebrated, is also considered a language of one. We close june with a exclusive interview of lauryn hill through NPR.org's Zoe Chase, on the lauryn hill past, present and the future moves of the modern day's leading voices.

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2010.