Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Bythewood about the film and the controversial icons:

One night, Mike was going in to the Palladium (night club) in Hollywood. And he sees this little skinny guy fighting with the bouncers, who don’t want to let him in because of how he was dressed. He tells them “Hey, let the little guy in” and it was ’Pac. That’s where their friendship started. The night before the big fight, ‘Pac was in the studio recording a song for Mike’s entrance in to the ring.

There’s always been a relationship between athletes and entertainers. Look at Joe Louis and Frank Sinatra, they were buddies. The interesting thing about Mike was that rappers seemed to look up to him. He seemed to embody Hip-Hop, more than any other boxer prior to that.  I don’t remember anyone else coming in to the ring to Hip-Hop before him.

My goal is to honestly reflect (Tyson and Tupac’s) worlds. I make no attempt to paint them as choir boys. One sister, Joan Morgan, makes some really interesting comments about these issues. Sonja Steptoe speaks about that. You had a lot of Black women who supported Mike. There was a day in the courtroom in his trial where you had a row of White men who were holding up signs that say “No means no” and on the other side, a group of Black women who had “Free Mike” signs. Sonja received a lot of letters from Black women after doing an article about the case where people called her a ‘sellout’.

Not every intelligent woman thinks that ‘Pac was guilty. There were a lot of women who don’t think he was and others who think he was and that (his actions) were unforgivable. It is indeed complicated (but) this isn’t what the film is all about. Going back to the trial, there was a lot of racism coming not from Desiree (Washington)’s lawyers, but from Mike’s. They basically said he wasn’t smart enough to be accountable for his actions. Even people who felt he was guilty took issue with this. A lot of people identify with Mike as a guy who came from the gutter. He was the Hip-Hop champion. He was the people’s hero and a lot of people can’t let their heroes go.

When talking about that night (in the film), Mike says that he wishes that ‘Pac had stayed home and watched the fight on television. It happens that this is the last night that Mike walks in the ring and walks out a champion. If Pac hadn’t gotten killed, would Tyson have won against Holyfield? Who knows? It’s not for me to say.

People looked at Mike and ‘Pac like superheroes. The reality is they were mortals. (In the film) we see that side of them. You’ll see a few different things about their worlds. For example, Maya Angelou visiting Mike in jail, ‘Pac’s relationship with Maya. It’s like a character study. Mike is the most dynamic boxer post (Muhammad) Ali, but that night was the last time he walked out of the ring a champion. People will discover the really strong friendship between these two men.

Check out ESPN’s 30 for 30 site for more information about One Night In Vegas and future airings!

Take a peek at the trailer:

Commentary is provided primarily by woman rappers, including MC Lyte, YoYo, Trina, Salt n’ Pepa, The Lady of Rage, Diamond, Eve, Missy, etc. Other heads weighing in include Kevin Lyles, Joan Morgan, Questlove, Glennisha Morgan of The Fembassy and Russell Simmons. I was really excited to hear the thoughts Jean Grae, Tiye Pheonix and a few other female rappers who aren’t as familiar to the BET audience (there is a great independent artist roll-call at the end as well).

Continue reading after the jump.

The film itself is visually stunning. The colors are rich and lush and warm. The women themselves look beautiful and they were shot in a way that feels very intimate, personal. I got tears in my eyes about 15 minutes in. I felt like I was watching a family reunion or something. So many of the special names, faces and (most importantly) sounds of my youth were present in this piece.

The filmmaker and her subjects took no shorts and take on some tough questions: why are so many female rappers hypersexualized? Why do women seem to need a crew of men around them to be taken seriously? How is it that the absence of one person had such a tremendous impact on an entire genre of music (and it’s listeners)? Why is it still so hard for women to make it in this game? Make sure you pay particular attention to Trina’s thoughts on her own success at the end of the film. Her astuteness was both remarkable and incredibly depressing.

I had been a while since I had really sat down and thought about the role of sistren in Hip-Hop and the film inspired me to finally take on the topic of Lauryn. My conversation with the fabulous Esther Armah after the film a was the spark for this piece as well. Even if you are as cynical and jaded as I about what mainstream Rap has become (particularly as it relates to women)…if you have love in your heart for Hip-Hop, you are gonna love this movie.

It is important that people know we are interested in seeing work like this not just in small, independent spaces, but on major networks like BET. We’ve been asking to see work like My Mic Sounds Nice for years and we have to make sure that we support it if we want to see more. If you are on Twitter, check out the official page for the film. “Like” it on Facebook. Tell friends to tune in and MOST IMPORTANTLY….watch!

My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women In Hip-Hop will premiere on August 30th at 10:00 PM EDT on BET.

Shout out to the homey Vandalyzm for killing it last night at Public Assembly in Broooooooklyn! His album Megatron Majorz Redux is in stores now. Buy it here.

This song is off of the Vaughn Garcia (M1 Platoon) produced EP The Doug & Patty. Carlitta Durand debuts in her first set of visuals for “Lost Love” alongside Jabee. The video is directed by NC videographer, Napoleon Wright II.

Powell is currently making his second run for Congress in Brooklyn’s 10th Congressional District, which includes the iconic Bed Stuy, Fort Greene and East New York neighborhoods (home to a lot of Hip-Hop history and some of your favorite artists, indluding Jay, B.I.G., Jeru, the GZA, ODB,  etc). My interest in Powell’s campaign is twofold: I’m not only a huge fan of his writing and activist work, but I’m also a resident of the central Brooklyn area he wants to represent. And I definitely think the brother represents a change we need around these parts.

Powell has been a Brooklyn resident since 1990 and admits to being detached from local politics until the second half of the decade. When he began to ask people about sitting Congressnman Ed Townes, he soon found out that the politician was a “Wizard of Oz type figure” who had little physical presence or positive impact upon the central Brooklyn communities he represents. Today, only 30% of East New York high school students will graduate in four years. Ed Townes has been in office longer than I’ve been alive and yet he has no major legislation tied to his name.  It should be noted that he DID,  however, sign legislation to continue the war in Iraq, has received a lot of lobbyist money (including from the tobacco lobby), miss some 1,000 votes since 1993 (he spends most of his time in Florida and DC) and closed his Bed Stuy office because of mice infestation. Townes seems to have arrived at that place in a politicians career where the people are here to serve him, not the other way around. Unfortunately, generations of older folks tend to go out and reelect these people who they are familiar with, without taking the time to question the things that they aren’t getting from them. And we younger people tend to have a political apathy that is embarrassing on a number of levels.

One of the things I’ve heard Kevin state on a few occasions that holds a lot of weight with ne is hiw cannot sit back and wait for President Obama to be all the change we have waited for in this country. In a speech a few months ago, Powell spoke on how the election of Ronald Regan in 1984 brought with it a very carefully orchestrated paradigm shift on the part of the Republicans. They “penetrated the minds of the youth” via the spread of college Republican groups and “changed the spiritual conversation of the country” with the work of the Christian Coalition. The creation of Fox News, to inform the public as they saw fit, also furthered their agenda. Imagine if we, the members of “the Hip-Hop generation” were interested in mobilizing ourselves in the same way…

Powell, who describes himself as a “pro-feminist, anti-sexist American male” stated that he and his activist comrades (including writer and public relations maven April Silver of Akila Worksongs) are already doing the work of an elected official and that not a day goes by without people of Brooklyn reaching out to them for some sort of help.  ”Imagine if we had the resources that the Congress people have” he said. Resources that Ed Townes does not seem to be using for the greater good of the people of central Brooklyn.

To be frank, I believe in this person and that’s the only reason I’d take the time to write this. A longtime follower of his career, Powell is no longer the angry young man he appeared to be through the lens of MTV’s “The Real World” some 18 years ago. He is approaching his campaign with a level of righteous indignation, tempered with love and a profound sense of peace.  Powell has a deep demonstrated to helping others, with a focus on women and Black males I find to be quite admirable. He’s not some lifelong politico, but a member of the Hip-Hop generation who has grown up essentially before our eyes in to the sort of leader Central Brooklyn is crying out for.  This is a person who I feel best represents my interests in Congress and the interests of my community.

For more information about Kevin Powell and his campaign, please check out his website, which details his platform and gives you the opportunity to both sign up to volunteer and donate.  You can also connect with him via Facebook and Twitter.

This is dedicated to…me and Maiya! Enjoy!

But some shit just ain’t okay.

THIS MF RIGHT HERE: NOT OKAY.

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I rebuke Flo Rida. I regret the day his parents met. I resent his lungs for continuing to draw breath, with which his mouth is able to make sounds.  I hate his dog. I HATE HIS DOG.

More after the jump

I want to blame Nelly for this. Flo Rida took his brand of “I’m cool to White folks who don’t actually listen to Rap” and completely brought it to a new level of embarrassment. Nelly walks away looking like Rakim compared to this Ed Hardy be-clothed monster.

I saw the commercial for the theatrical abomination that is Step Up 3 (THEY MADE TWO OTHERS?) the other day and before I even peeped that Mr. Rida was a part of the situation, I was shaking my head. This foolishness has the nerve to be in 3D. One dimension wasn’t enough? I need these clowns jumping out at me from off the screen? No.  And by the time they got to “featuring Flo Rida”, my face was in my hands. I said “Naw, son, come on. Dude, you not serious…” to myself over and over for about the length of Puff’s adlibs on “The Ghost of Christopher Wallace”. My family started to worry about my whereabouts.

Flo Rida is the antithesis of  “Black cool”. He makes the whole concept look like a myth. In fact, he makes Bryant Gumble look like Shawn Carter. Flo Rida makes me wonder if it’s all worth it. It= my life. Existing on the same planet as this thing.

Yes,  Hip-Hop has had such a humongous influence on global culture and I realize that can’t always be a good thing. We don’t have any tribunal or group of Rap elder statesmen to vote on who or what can be remotely associated with the genre. If we did, this fool right here would be permanently barred (a ghostwriter on Craigslist? You not serious about life, playboy).  And while his music is technically Pop, it is with a heavy heart that I acknowledge that my beloved Rap music is why this fool Rida has a career. I know there’s nothing I can do about it; much like that Black Eyed Peas record that sold one billion copies, I don’t know a single soul who would touch a Flo Rida record with a chicken finger, let alone their own. But he bothers me deep in my soul. I had to get that out.

Unlike a lot of folks in my generation, I am not a hater of Jesse Jackson. I respect him first as an elder and second, for the many things he has done to help disenfranchised people across the globe. Now, there are some *other* things about him I take issue with or have questions about. But you’ll never catch me out her saying “f*ck Jesse Jackson.” He’s part national treasure, part symbolic ruins of days past, grasping for a place in an era which has rendered his modus operandi outmoded.

When I heard his comments about the Lebron James situation in Cleveland, I must say I was disappointed. Not in his assessment; there was an air of entitlement and possession in Cavs coach Dan Gilbert’s remarks about his former star player. While I can appreciate the pain that both the franchise and the city are feeling, it’s laughable to act like Lebron wouldn’t be Lebron if it weren’t for their nurturing. The league has changed and you won’t probably wont see another Patrick Ewing loyalty story again today.

But the Lebronathon and the coach’s bitter response came the same day as the Oscar Grant verdict. You mean to tell me that on the same day another cop was practically exonerated for cutting down yet another Black man’s life, the most important thing Jackson could comment on was Lebron freaking James? That’s one thing for a writer, but for a civil-rights activist who, despite his detractors and controversies, still has a broad national platform?

The “I marched with King” leg that Jackson has stood on for so many years is worn out. While Al Sharpton has become more synonymous with exposure vs. importance when it comes to Black issues (and the occasional non-issue), Jesse is right behind him compromising his own legacy with each poorly selected and/or self-serving cause. His statement on James seemed like a cry for attention, but if he truly wants relevance, he should use his considerable influence for something worthwhile.

We don’t need Jackson to do pop culture commentary; there are plenty of writers who are more than capable of reading Dan Snyder the riot act. Jackson could have used his name to get Oscar Grant’s story the national attention it deserved. Instead, he chose to go with the big story, leading me to ask…”Why”? Jackson commenting on Lebron is like Aretha Frankin hopping on a track with Cassie. If this is the best you have in 2010, Brother Jesse, go on take that complimentary watch and be OUT.

Zap Mama f/ Bilal-The Way You Are

Download audio file (The-Way-You-Are-feat.-Bilal.mp3)

1/14. John Martyn – Sunshine’s Better (05:00)
2/14. Stephanie McKay – Jackson Avenue (03:17)
3/14. Jeff Cascaro – Tripping Out (04:16)
4/14. Les Nubians – Makeda (04:52)
5/14. Joe Williams, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Orchestra – Get Out Of My Life (03:20)
6/14. Amy Winehouse – Valerie (03:50)
7/14. Bobby Hebb – Sunny (02:39)
8/14. Baby Charles – This Time (02:55)
9/14. Flow Dynamics – Just Expressin’ (04:12)
10/14. Paula Cole – Rhythm Of Life (07:42)
11/14. Soul Sugar – Silver (03:33)
12/14. Toumo – My Thing (03:43)
13/14. James Brown – Tengo Tango (04:14)
14/14. Zap Mama – The Way You Are (feat. Bilal) (04:22)
1/12. Nat Queen Cool – Flowers (04:50)
2/12. DJ Graham B – Down Down (Dum) (03:39)
3/12. Cookin’ On 3 Burners – Push It Up (feat. Kylie Auldist) (03:35)
4/12. Jackson 5 – We’re Almost There (DJ Spinna Remix) (05:03)
5/12. Esther Phillips – I Can Stand A Little Rain (03:14)
6/12. Richard Bona – Good Times (feat. Frank McComb) (04:29)
7/12. Nicola Conte – Like Leaves In The Wind (feat. Jose James) (04:45)
8/12. Marlena Shaw – Woman Of The Ghetto (05:55)
9/12. Bobby Womack – I Left My Heart In San Francisco (02:13)
10/12. Nina Simone – Suzanne (05:11)
11/12. Jarle Bernhoft – On Individuality (01:56)
12/12. India.Arie – Wonderful (05:32)

Download HERE or HERE

Chris Brown, who was unable to partake last year in the wake of beating his girlfriend’s ass, was given clearance to do the sort of MJ tribute all of us had been waiting for (not to shortchange the dope tribute at last year’s VMA’s, which was overshadowed by the Kanye/Taylor and Jay+Alicia+Lil’ Mama incidents):

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Let’s table the last two and a half minutes for a second and focus on the dancing first. Did Brown bring it? Yes, he did. As most of us know, there isn’t really another artist around who can dance as well as Chris does. Justin Timberlake is good, but not that good. Usher might have been able to pull it off, but I’d wager that had he wanted to do it, he would have been the one up there in the glove. However, we never had any doubt as to whether Chris Brown can dance. He’s been dancing since we met him. That’s what he does best; his vocals are fair to middling, but he can move those feet.

The immediate reaction to the dance performance from a LOT of folks on Twitter was “Chris Brown is back!” and “This is his redemption song!” (this was the reaction on the Negro Net; other folks felt differently). Hmmm. Interesting. Brown hasn’t really been gone as of late; he released an album last December and his name has stayed pretty constant in the gossip pages. This was his first performance at a major awards show since his arrest, but it wasn’t exactly a comeback. More like a high moment in a career that has, as of late, been marked with low ones. A comeback would require some new music; Brown can’t just show up everywhere and do Mike choreography (as much as I would enjoy watching that). And since he hasn’t ever been known to do bad dance performances (remember: we haven’t engaged the attempt at singing “Man In The Mirror” yet), the only ‘redemption’ he could have been seeking on stage would be for his assault on the Barbadian sensation.

A few weeks ago, I wrote that R. Kelly’s star only began to fade as the quality of his music declined. Not as a result of his scandal. The reaction to Brown’s performance last night gave me a similar feeling. Graffiti didn’t tank because of what the singer did to Rihanna; the album failed because people didn’t enjoy it musically. Did his trouble make things worse? Absolutely. Brown’s victim was famous, there was photographic evidence of just how bad the beating was and he never denied what he did. Plus, his post-arrest interviews and apology video were infamously terrible. But I think had the kid recorded some better music, it wouldn’t have taken this long for people to forgive him. The fact that people want to call a great dance performance a “redemption” troubles me greatly.

I personally would have liked to see Chris disappear for a while. He was arrested for the Rihanna incident in February of 2009 and his third album was released in December. If I were in charge of his career, he’d have been gone at least a year and reemerged after some serious therapy and media training. And then he’d come back to say he was still in therapy, that healing would be a long process and that he wanted to be an example to young men and women everywhere who grew up witnessing abuse and found a way to brake the cycle. I’d get some great songwriters and producers to give him an album that had some lighthearted dance material for the kids and a few cathartic ‘I am changing’ cuts. And I would keep him off of Twitter without a chaperon. But, alas, I ain’t in charge of his career (evidence of which: Larry King interview (and bow tie), apology blouse, Sandra Rose jokes, Wal-Mart rant, ‘I miss her’ rants, etc.)

Ah, yes, so how about those tears when he attempted to sing “Man In The Mirror”. Staged? I can’t call it one way or another and with no apparent evidence that it was, I’ll just say it looked real to me. Chris is 21 years old, which is still remarkably young. He’s just barely an adult. He was plucked from a little town in Virginia before he could halfway finish high school and before he could drive legally, he was at the top of the music charts, being spoiled and coddled and exposed to all types of things a person his age shouldn’t have access to. Even without the fame, the fact that Chris Brown grew up with domestic violence in his home made it very likely that he would repeat the behavior he witnessed as a child. I am not making excuses for him, but instead, trying to highlight some reasons as to why the Grammy night assault (and any violence prior to that event with Rihanna or other girls) may have happened.

I’m personally hoping that we do get an actual ‘redemption song’ from this young man. Is his personal life my business simply because he’s an entertainer? Well, he’s a young brother and I want what’s best for him and what’s best for the community: rehabilitation. For his safety and happiness, for the sake of the women he dates and for the many young people of this celebrity obsessed culture who take their cues from entertainers. I’m glad to know that on a legal end, he’s doing what he’s supposed to do and I truly hope that Brown is in a space where he can work on himself for real and not just going through the motions to stay out of prison.

I am in no way saying that we should blacklist him for life for something he did at age 19, but the suggestion that dancing and crying on TV redeems him from his violence against his girl is pretty disturbing. Had he not performed well, would people say “See, that’s what he gets for beating up Rihanna!” ? What if the dancing had been bad, but he broke into tears; would people still say that was his ‘redemption song’?

All that to say, if Chris Brown redeemed himself yesterday, it wasn’t for beating up his girlfriend but for releasing a crappy record. He did a great job and it was enjoyable to watch. But by delivering a fitting salute to the King of Pop, Brown simply reminded the world that he can perform. Nothing further. If you feel that he requires public forgiveness for what he did to Rihanna, then he shouldn’t be able to earn it from dancing. If you don’t think forgiveness is required, then just say he’s good at what he does.