The opening features were mostly from Toronto. Tre Millions started the night off that set the mood for the rest of the show. From him to The Antiheroes, the energy was off the chain! They really got the crowd turnt up! I was trying to get a clear photo to tweet out but I couldn’t because of how interactive they were with the audience.

The standout line from their performance off a track of theirs was “this is the track that broke your mom’s back.” That was one of my highlights of the night and really enjoyed their Modern Day Riot track.

MMVA nominated Rich Kidd hit the stage right after The Antiheroes  and he performed his hit, Can I Get A? (Bom, Bom) twice.  My favourite part of his set was him tweeting and taking pictures with the fans – that’s what I love about small venues like Wrongbar. Kidd was showing love for Toronto and the other performers all night.

There was a special performnce by Deniro Farrar‘s and I had happened to get a chance to chat with him before the show started. I didn’t know who he was until I checked in on Foursquare to see that he was one of the performers for the night. He got on stage and killed it! Considering I hadn’t listened to his music before I dug the performance.

He got the whole diverse crowd dropping “n—-” word out loud. By the end of his performance it was a hot basement party and awaiting Joey Bada$$.

Keeping it real, before attending this concert I heard one Joey Bada$$ verse off the 1 Train track with A$AP Rocky alongside other artists. I liked that so I proceeded to download 1999 and get into the zone.

Fast forward to 1:05 am, the DJ gets the crowd going with some Brooklyn legends including of course, Biggie. The crowd got hyped reciting Juicy word for word. We were ready for him as light grey haze filled the room and then he “hits the stage for the first time in Toronto.” (Joey was actually here last summer for The Smokers Club Tour but he seems to have forgotten).

Joey performed Waves off of 1999 which got the audience in a New York state of mind. From World Domination to the 1 Train verse (another dope part of the night) to School High, it was incredible! Being his first (faux) time in Toronto, he performed a couple new tracks for us including ’95 till Infinity and even had Statik Select and Kirk Knight on stage with him.

My absolute favourite part of Joey’s performance was the Capital Steez tribute. The Pro Era member passed away in December but everyone to raised their two fingers up in memoriam. It was a great way to show love to him and the crowd was really feeling that.

It honestly was like being in a basement party in Brooklyn. The walls were sweating, the audience was sweating, Joey was sweating but we didn’t mind, we were having a good time!

Although, everyone was there to see Joey Bada$$, I really liked the whole showcase and was able to get some new music downloaded and ready for listening. It was an amazing concert – being my first – and it was cool to see how we have a lot of young talented rappers in our city – you just got to look for it.

Shout out to Smashmouth Entertainment, NXNE and Wrongbar for putting together a kickass show. It’s something I’ll never forget and always remember as a musical milestone! We’d also like to thank Cassandra at Flip Publicity for the media passes.

Click here to check out our dope photo gallery!

~

The Bottom Line To all you so-called socially conscious rappers – be careful what you say; you just might be as dangerous as the rappers you constantly criticize

INTRODUCTION: So, does anyone remember that Nas song from his 2002 album, God’s Son, that ever so inspirational “I Can”? Better yet, does anyone remember what he said in the third verse?

Be- be- fore we came to this country

We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys

There was empires in Africa called Kush

Timbuktu, where every race came to get books

To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans

Asian, Arabs and gave them gold when

Gold was converted to money it all changed

Money then became empowerment for Europeans

The Persian military invaded

They heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred

Africa was almost robbed naked

Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships

Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went

He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces

Shot up they nose to impose what basically

Still goes on today, you see?

Now, as an African (to be more specific, Nigerian) and a longtime history buff, I was rather disturbed when I first heard it. As much as I love Nas’ work (which I proved by getting God’s Son the day it was released), and as much as I respect him as one of my favorite rappers, I was very disappointed with the third verse of “I Can”. As intelligent as I still think he is…I mean, how could he…?

Anyways, on to dissecting the large portion I lifted from the third verse of “I Can” to let you guys know the number of things that I found wrong with it.

ANALYSIS:

Be- be- fore we came to this country

We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys

Okay, I’m not even going to discuss the main ways in which slaves were obtained for the Atlantic slave trade; let’s just stick to using common sense – if all Africans were kings and queens, who did they rule over? Obviously he was trying to counter a more recent racial slur placed upon black Americans, but there should be a wiser and more realistic way of doing so than using that all-too-common romanticized concept about all black Americans descending from kings and queens. If that’s the case, I should have royal blood running through my veins, not the warrior-class blood of my ancestors. Please!

There was empires in Africa called Kush

Timbuktu, where every race came to get books

To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans

Asian, Arabs…

Okay, so Nas gets off to a good start here. Yep, believe it or not, we Africans had our own several glorious political units before the colonial era – from the mighty trading states of Ghana, Mali and Songhai to the flourishing forest kingdoms of Dahomey, Oyo and Benin; from the long-standing empire of Kanem-Borno to the west to the dynamic Zulu Empire of Shaka south of the continent.

He is also right about Timbuktu. Founded in about 1100, Timbuktu – which is now situated in the West African republic of Mali – gradually grew to become the heart of the Songhai Empire (1464-1591). It also became Africa’s most famous city, becoming a metaphor in the West for an exotic and distant land, thus the saying: “from here to Timbuktu.”

One of the reasons for its fabled status is its scholarship – indeed, it became one of the centers of literary tradition in Africa, and this attribute is its contribution to Islam and world civilization. Timbuktu had several centers of Islamic learning, the most famous of them being the University of Sankore (it served as the center of the Islamic scholarly community in the city). It produced its share of renowned black African scholars – the “black teachers” Nas refers to. Ahmed Baba (1556-1627), perhaps the most famous of them all, is best known for his chronicle on West African history – the Tarikh al-Sudan.

It is no surprise that people outside the African continent were attracted to Timbuktu. But did “every race” come to Timbuktu to “get books”? Obviously Nas focuses on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when Timbuktu was at its scholarly peak. Being that the scholarship was Islamic, it would make perfect sense that the visitors to Timbuktu’s leaning centers were Muslim, thus they came mostly from the Middle East and North Africa. So Nas was correct in throwing “Arabs” in there. But “Asians”? That’s very questionable. When people think “Asians,” they automatically think “Indians,” “Chinese” or “Japanese” – the Muslim influence never penetrated that deep into the Far East. If Nas was in fact using that term to apply to Middle Easterners in general, he surely used a really vague, ambiguous and misleading one.

And how the heck did “Greeks and Romans” get into the mix? The Islamic faith was founded in, what, the seventh century A.D.? Hadn’t both peoples long faded by then in terms of power and influence? The Greek civilization had dissipated long before Jesus Christ was born; and the Roman Empire, at least the western half, had collapsed in A.D. 476, a century and a half before the prophet Mohammed walked the earth. So what was Nas thinking? Oh, did he mean the eastern half of the Roman Empire, the newly-christened Byzantine Empire? Couldn’t be – it was as Greek Orthodox Christian as you can possibly get.

Or did Nas use “Greeks and Romans” as a generalizing phrase for “Europeans”? Not likely, I suppose – he can’t be that stupid, can he? In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Europe was firmly Christian. In fact, the Europeans have been giving shout outs to Charles Martel ever since he routed a Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in A.D. 732. If he had lost, Islam could have swallowed Europe just like it did North Africa and the Middle East. So what business did Europeans have going to Timbuktu if not to engage in Islamic studies? Wealth, perhaps? Yeah, but that was not until three or four centuries later, long after Timbuktu’s heyday. Ironic, eh?

As you can see, I’m trying to help my man out here, but Nas’ inaccuracies mar whatever good research he has made. Anyways, onward we march:

…and gave them gold when

Gold was converted to money it all changed

Money then became empowerment for Europeans

Ah, the beauty of gold! If only these empires, most particularly Mali, had the same value for it as the Europeans! I mean, look at Mansa Musa (c1280-1337). The greatest of the Mandingo emperors and a devout Muslim who ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337, Musa embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 and gave out so much gold in Cairo, Egypt that the commodity’s value there did not fully recover for the next twelve years! Musa’s extravagance was exemplary of the abundance of gold in this side of the world – West Africans had gold up their a*ses.

It’s just that they hardly used gold as currency – it was a medium of exchange in trade for the things that West Africans needed or wanted, like salt, dates, horses, luxury goods and firearms. This complex trade network between and among West and North Africans led to a gold trickle to Europe.

By the time Musa died in 1337, he was an international superstar. Due to his expensive hajj, he and Mali were popular in both the Islamic and the Christian worlds. In fact, he was depicted in world maps afterward, with a fat-a*s gold nugget in his hand.

That must have whetted the Europeans’ appetites tremendously – a mere gold tickle wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Hey, why not just go out there and jack the poor bastards for their bling? By the end of the sixteenth century, the golden glory of Mali had long passed. But no, that didn’t stop them from getting gold from somewhere else – that’s why the Spanish had decided to pay the Aztecs and the Incas a visit. Before the rest of the world knew it, gold became the basis of the European monetary standard, and it led to the development of a system that is partly responsible for the West’s future world economic dominance – capitalism.

Damn it, if only the West Africans knew…

Anyway, good job, Nas. Too bad he couldn’t keep it up.

The Persian military invaded

They heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred

“The Persian military invaded” where, Africa? That never happened. Or perhaps Nas had the Moroccans in mind, but they are certainly not Persians! Undoubtedly they knew about the “gold” and the “teachings” of the Songhai empire, which had by this time replaced the crumbling Mali as the largest and most powerful political unit in West Africa; and inherited the attributes that had made its predecessor great. That prompted the Moroccans to defeat the Songhai forces at the Battle of Tondibi in March 1591 and effectively end Songhai’s reign as the premier West African power. As for the “Persians”? Well, let’s just say the Shah of the Persian empire at that time – Abbas I – was more concerned about maintaining his territory in and around Iran than going on some military excursion to some distant land thousands of miles away.

Yep, the Persians never invaded Africa.

Africa was almost robbed naked

Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships

That is correct. Enough said.

Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went

He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces

Shot up they nose to impose what basically

Still goes on today, you see?

This is what I believe is the most ridiculous and bizarre part of Nas’ inconsistent history lesson. The “mountains” Nas is referring to is the famed limestone Sphinx, a sculpture that was built by ancient Egyptians and is at least thirty-five centuries old. But let’s start from the beginning. Yes, Alexander the Great not only “went” to Egypt; he conquered it. At least he got that part right. But was Alexander a racist towards blacks? Nobody knows. Even if he was, how the heck did he “shoot” off the “Negroid” nose of the Sphinx in the desert, with arrows and javelins?

Oh, wait a second! Does he not mean Napoleon? It is a popular Afrocentric theory – that the troops of the famed Corsican general, on his expedition to Egypt in 1798, were so angered by the wide nose of the gigantic sculpture that they ended up shooting at it with their firearms, to the point that today the Sphinx’s face looks more like a skeleton.

Then again, they could have done it “just for kicks.”

Regardless of the motive, it has never been proven, and the Napoleonic theory is just one of the many embarrassments in the Afrocentric approach to history, which now eschews reasonable thought for blind passion and irrational romanticism; which now condemns European history as the evil counterpart to the history of people of African descent; and which has gradually descending from a balancing and remedial outlook on human history to a pseudo-science that has become tantamount to the racist ideologies of 18th and 19th century European imperialists.

See, there is even a fallacy in Nas’ fallacy.

And what is up with this black American obsession with Egypt? I could care less about ancient Egypt’s accomplishments, or the race of its inhabitants. I’m West African. The African ancestors of black Americans are primarily of West African stock, and ancient Egypt was like, where, North Africa? So what the heck are we doing with Egypt – or with Kush, Axum, Meroe and Abyssinia for that matter? Do we necessarily have to look outside from our region of origin? I don’t think so – West Africa alone has a lot to offer. There’s the aforementioned Mali and Songhai, famed for their trading fortunes, centers of learning, and efficient administration. There are mythical golden empires of Ghana and Asante. The Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife and Benin are world-famous for their classically-styled sculptures, and the latter is also known for the brass plates of historical depiction adorning the walls of the king’s palace. The region has its own stories, folktales and achievements, its own share of heroes and statesmen and warriors and rulers – Idris Alooma, Ewuare the Great, Queen Amina, Jaja of Opobo, Sango…who was deified in death as the Yoruba god of thunder…

I could go on and on…

If these Afrocentrists want to use a certain civilization as the center of African cultural inquiry, or black people in general are looking for a source of inspiration and identification, there are surely better examples than Egypt.

And as for Nas’ implication that inferiority is being “impose[d]” upon the black race by teaching bad history, well, that is another topic altogether…

CONCLUSION:

Whether they like it or not, rappers have a considerable influence on American society. No matter how utterly stupid some lyrics from these rappers are, there are people who are just as stupid, and who treat the words of their favorite rhyme spitters like Christians and Muslims do their holy scriptures. That is why you have some misguided youth shooting a state trooper and blaming it on 2Pac. Or Eminem writing about an obsessive fan that grows to resent the perceived neglect he gets from his favorite rapper and commits femicide, feticide and suicide.

Or, more recently, that fat buffoon. The guy defended his use of the N-word when clobbering a black kid by implicating rappers’ general use of it as a term of endearment instead of an instrument of hatred.

Yeah, they’re some really gullible people out there. Bloody robots will do anything they hear.

Bearing that in mind, Nas – as well as rappers who consider themselves socially conscious – have to be really careful. Much props to him for attempting to teach the youth a history lesson, and in a song released as a single at that. Considering that many young black Americans – and Africans, I might add – care so little about learning from or preserving their history, his effort is really commendable. Moreover, he did get a few thing right. However, by putting out inaccurate history – and indeed, inaccurate information – socially conscious rappers can just be as harmful as the materialistic and nihilistic ones. Having to hear that all whites are devils is just as dangerous as having to think that all black men care about is making money and having sex. The third verse of “I Can” is a prime example of what happens when a rapper lets his zealousness go too far.

Jay-Z of all people certainly wasn’t joking in “Takeover” when he said, “Your s**t is garbage, but you try and kick knowledge?” – hey, at least Nas tries to kick knowledge. It’s just too bad he stumbles with “I Can”. Nice try, Nas, but you need to step your game up.

Besides, I surely don’t want to hear that Mandingos ruled over England in the eleventh century anytime soon.

Written by: Balogun

The track was produced by You Need To Hear This, shot in London and directed by Powers, the video for “BOOKHEAD” reveals the ESPO masterminded security mirror mask.

Track List

1. He’ll Give Us What We Really Need – Holy Name of Mary Choral Family [on On Sight]
2. Rock and Roll – Gary Glitter [on Black Skinhead]
3. Zindagi Hai Khel – RD Burman [on I Am a God]
4. Forward Inna Dem Clothes – Capleton [on I Am a God]
5. Gyongyhaju Iany – Omega [on New Slaves]
6. Lately – Kenny Lattimore [on I’m in It]
7. Strange Fruit- Nina Simone [on Blood on the Leaves]
8. R U Ready – TNGHT [on Blood on the Leaves]
9. Down for My Niggaz – C Murder [on Blood on the Leaves]
10. Chief Rocka- Lords of tha Underground [on Guilt Trip]
11. Blocka – Pusha T [on Guilt Trip]
12. Memories – Beenie Man [on Send It Up]
13. Bound – Ponderosa Twins Plus One [on Bound 2]
14. Sweet Nothin’s  - Brenda Lee [on Bound 2]
15. Aeroplane – Wee [on Bound 2]

Kanye West – Yeezus (Samples Mix) by Boom Bap Beatnik on Mixcloud

Going to see Waka Flocka Flame in concert was a nail in the coffin of my previous marriage. Let me explain.

In attempting to learn more about Twitter, I found musicians were doing a better job of social media promotion than most social media experts. I blogged about two rap artists who got social media right, Waka being one of them. He retweeted my post and graciously followed me on Twitter when I asked.

This truly changed my life. As I learned more about Waka (and the entire Brick Squad Monopoly group of talented artists) I got back in touch with my musical roots and interests, and began expanding my follows to include more rap and hip hop artists than social media experts. Through this period, I began blogging reviews of upcoming artists. I was able to meet (via Twitter) some amazing artists and talents, and not just rap musicians but actors, writers, country and rock artists…a truly awesome mix of talent and celebrity.

So Waka’s following and retweeting me gave me happiness, more followers and credibility. He started my new career of reviewing rap artists. I can’t ever thank him enough.

Now, my ex-husband and I had always had problems. We were on a typical bad relationship roller coaster; good times followed by bad times followed by good times and so on. Finally, the good times were just too far between and although the bad times subsided too, we fell into a very polite and civilized existence. That is, until Waka came to town.

My ex NEVER liked rap, my interest in rap & rap artists, or my blogging about rap. When I knew Waka was coming to Ft. Lauderdale, my husband basically said he wouldn’t prevent me from going (as if) but he didn’t want me to go. When I didn’t immediately agree not to go, things got worse. He basically implied that (and I’m paraphrasing) “many black men would be putting their bodies in close proximity to mine.” Also, “since I was so enamored of Waka, if Waka asked, I might go out clubbing with him and end up doing something I’d regret.”

I feel fairly attractive. I’m 53 now (52 at the time of the concert) and I try to keep myself presentable. I don’t have as many lines and wrinkles as some women my age, and I’ve been told I look much younger than my true age. But…as attractive as I may or may not be, I know as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow that Waka and I were not destined to go clubbing together. And, nice thing to say to your wife.

Of course, my ex probably didn’t really think Waka would ‘co-mingle’ with me, but it was the fact that he even suggested this kind of bullshit scenario that made my mind up for me. I got my Waka concert ticket. I went by myself. And guess what? There were more white people there than anything else, and people from every age group. It was amazing. And the Brick Squad Monopoly gang (including Wooh Da Kid, Kayo Redd, Haitian Fresh, Sugar Shane, and more) burned up the stage.

Then Waka came out. The crowd went absolutely insane, and Waka did too. Waka onstage had enormous charisma and magnetism, and you couldn’t keep your eyes off him. He had the same kind of Jim Morrison combination of sex, danger & unpredictability. Aside from a group of little white boys in their sisters’ jeans who told me “Hey, this isn’t Woodstock” and the jackasses who kept blowing smoke at me, no one cared how old anyone was or what they looked like.

I paid extra for my BSM T-shirt and a meet & greet with Waka after the concert. This meant you got to get your photo taken with Waka. I had DM’d him a few times before the concert to tell him I was coming & would be the old white lady with reddish hair in the front. When I got my turn for the photo, I said, “Waka, you follow me on Twitter.” He replied, “Oh yeah, you said you was comin’!”

I was so thrilled! It really made my night, my week, my year, my decade. And when I got home, I realized that I’d gotten TWO photos with Waka; the first one was when I replied “Oh yes, Waka, that was me!” and was all googly-eyed and giggling like a schoolgirl. The second photo was the posed shot.

So, basically, the experience with my ex of the Waka concert made my mind up for me. It was time to make that break, and live my life without looking over my shoulder or being beholden to a man who didn’t appreciate me or the interesting turns my life might take. We’ve been divorced for a few months now. I couldn’t be happier.

The moral of this story? Don’t EVER let anyone else keep you from your bliss, no matter what that may be. If someone truly loves you, they will come along for the adventure. Otherwise, get the heck out and live your life to the fullest. Believe me, you’ll sleep better at night and have a song in your heart.

The song in MY heart will always be a song by Waka Flocka Flame.

A wall of the venue read “love your DJ” and we sure did as the attendees and I eagerly waited for the show to begin. The graphic print on wall hugged the tables that lined them. A variety of vendors were there to support the 1^st time project and offered everything from nail design to cupcakes– the not so holy trinity: Hip hop, nail art and cupcakes. The short lived hip hop comedian, as he jokingly addressed himself as, graced the stage and captured the crowds attention with his enthusiasm for the evenings line up. He introduced the host of the evening, the lovely Garvia Bailey.

“Do you remember your first time?” she asks the crowd. Some cheered, others blushed and many were visibly uncomfortable. This is precisely the goal of the 1^st Time Project, to remove shame from the equation of your first sexual experience. Baily cued a short clip that featured women speaking to their experience. You can watch it here .

Ngozi Paul joins the stage, unable to hold her excitement. She radiated enough energy to light the room and get the conversation started about first time experiences.

 We’re moving from a patriarchal society to a matriarchal society […] I know a lot of you asked me about the triangle on my shirt, it’s the symbol of femininity—a symbol of the womb. […] I started this project with and interview that I did with my grandmother and my mother about their first sexual experience. What I learned from that revealed so much to me about myself – things we carry inside ourselves and not even know.

The evening began with the first musical performance of the night by Lal, a Toronto collective: Rosina Kazi, Nicholas Murray and Ian de Souza. Rosina Kazi, the lead singer, encouraged the crowd to define our visions—to do what our imagination tells us. This message is reflective of the groups’ twin beliefs of escapism and change. Lal definitely took the crowd to the future with their spacious groove and hypophonic sound.

Tanika Charles was up next and joined the stage with a live band. Charles, like Lal took the crowd away from the present and into another moment in time. Tanika’s old soul was illustrated through her music that had a bluesy-60s feel. Homegirl can sing and I was enjoying every minuet of it.

Charles soothed the crowd with her soulful sound and Saidah Baba Talibah was about to change things up. The lights dim and Talibah steps on stage in a fierce red ensemble. Her Jewelry game was Gucci Mane, I absolutely loved it. Talibah is a natural born diva, owning the mic and the crowd. She took a moment to talk to the crowd about the importance of starting the conversation with our mothers. “It doesn’t need to be taboo, doesn’t need to be hush hush” she says. Talibah’s set did a phenomenal job at communicating the main message of this event. While on stage, her powerful lyrics were so beautifully married to the bliss of her voice. Ngozi Paul playfully joined her on stage to conclude the musical goodness she had given us.

I just want, rather need to, take a moment to talk about the wonderful Motion. I heard Motion speak at the History of Urban Music conference last week and was captivated by her eloquence and charm. I was beyond excited to hear what she had to say at the 1^st Contact concert. Motion stepped on stage to share with us a love story. She pulled out her Iphone and began to tell us the tale, her body moved as her words moved the crowd.

Last but not least was Zaki Ibrahim. The South African queen entered the stage in exotic, Arabian attire. With her were two back up dancers who were very much in sync in during their Destiny’s Child-type dance routine. The first thing that caught my attention was Ibrahim’s ability to werk the stage. The eclectic sound of her music filled the venue and had everyone around me dancing. Ibrahim got off stage and joined the audience on the floor to share a dance with host of the evening, Garvia Bailey. Victoria and I couldn’t stay for Ibrahim’s full set and we were sad to hear we missed Michie Mee’s surprise performance.

Overall a fantastic night filled with love, respect and unity. Thank you Mark for inviting me!

Review by: Amanda Girgis

PHOTOS HERE