Biochemical Slang

Guess Who's Bizzack?!?!??

2007-06-16T13:00:00.001-04:00

It's SUMMERTIME. And the livin' is easy. Relatively speaking.

Yeah, there's still rent, bills, air conditioner eff ups, your nasty neighbors, and THE MAN. But eff it. It's summertime and the livin' is EASY.

Now that our exams are over (temporarily), Biochemical Slang is back on its grizzly. Supremacy: watch your back. The truth is out there.

Biochemical Slang wants to know: WHERE THE EFF WOULD WE BE WITHOUT MUSIC? Can you imagine life without a soundtrack? Me neither. It's summertime, SNITCHES!

The Originals - Sunrise
Al Green - Summertime
Sam & Dave - Summertime
Sam Cooke - Summertime
The Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze

Millie Jackson - Summer (the first time)
Jack McDuff - Summer Dream
Ice Cube - My Summer Vacation
The Specials - Too Hot
Jay-Z - Dear Summer

I Can ALMOST See the...

2007-06-12T11:19:00.001-04:00

...the light? The end?

June 14th is just around the corner. That means Biochemical Slang will be back in business. That also means Vik gets to return to the REAL WORLD. Apparently, even as you ignore the world, time STILL MOVES FORWARD.

HOLLA at Biochemical Slang at CENTRAL PARK on June 16th. The legendary TELEVISION is playing what is rumored to be their last show. For those that don't know, it's BIGGER than just hip-hop. Remember: Hip-hop is rock 'n' roll. Rock 'n' roll is hip-hop. Eff the music separatists. They have no idea what they're missing.

As if you don't already know, Biochemical Slang will be in the building for the hip-hop event of the summer (it helps that this is a free show, eff Rock the Bells expensive-sold-out-ish), the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival.

For those that have no money, SUMMERTIME in NYC is a great place to be.

BIOCHEMICAL SLANG: Livin' ain't free, but it doesn't have to be expensive. Holla!

Don't Let the.....

2007-06-03T07:51:00.000-04:00

DON'T LET THE JONESES GET YOU DOWN - The Temptations

The Joneses? They're the LAST of my worries. You know how it is.

The Temptations need to update this track for the 2-double-0-seven. The Joneses have been coastin' for years.

Long live ~~SUPREMACY~~ ACADEMIA!

I Don't Want to Become...

2007-05-23T13:57:00.000-04:00

...THIS GUY.

So please bear with me as I prepare to take my BOARD EXAMS. Updates will be less frequent until June 14th.

Be sure to visit my Internets family, located to your right.

A Birthday THEY Want YOU to Forget About

2007-05-21T08:25:00.001-04:00

Keith LeBlanc (feat Malcolm X) - NO SELL OUT
Donny Hathaway - Someday We'll All Be Free
Above image courtesy of the "Official Malcom X Website"

Did you know that this past Saturday was Malcolm X's 82nd birthday? If not, I can empathize. There were no flags-at-half-mast. No video montages on the local news. No words of remembrance from our "civil rights leaders." No official national recognition. Just another Saturday. It even momentarily slipped under the radar screen, here at Biochemical Slang.

Eff supremacy. I'll be confident that supremacy is loosening it's grip around my neck when my government, at the very least, acknowledges the existence of Malcolm X. Every yin needs a yang. Every Martin needs a Malcolm. Turn the other cheek, with a clenched fist in your pocket.

Believe it or not, the hippies may be ahead of the game with this one. Believe it or not, Berkeley city offices were CLOSED in recognition of "Malcolm X Day:"

It's a START. What was goin' on closer to home? The Harlem H & M closed on Saturday. It's SOMETHING, right?!?

Pictures that Speak MORE than a Thousand Words

2007-05-20T01:15:00.000-04:00

I'll Just KEEP Tryin' - Roy Ayers

Supremacy still lives! Did you notice the dude's broken graduated cylinder? Peep the following quote from this article:

"Africa’s best universities, the grand institutions that educated a revolutionary generation of nation builders and statesmen, doctors and engineers, writers and intellectuals, are collapsing. It is partly a self-inflicted crisis of mismanagement and neglect, but it is also the result of international development policies that for decades have favored basic education over higher learning even as a population explosion propels more young people than ever toward the already strained institutions."

While we bicker about immigration reform and nappy-headed-hos, these students are sleeping on floors, working multiple jobs, and getting up before the sun rises. For what? AN EDUCATION. When those same students land on OUR shores and take YOUR jobs, don't say that we didn't warn you. They WILL come. They won't have much, but they'll have DEGREES.

Or maybe we could prepare our children for the competition that they will face by investing more of our time, money, and cultural weight in education. Or maybe we could just bicker over what to do with those damn landscapers.

It Ain't Rainin' On Nobody's House But Mine - The Dramatics

This Dramatics song is THE soundtrack for that picture of Alberto. Poor dude is learning the G DUBBZ administration's meaning of the word affirmative action.

Mr. Cool - Rasputin's Stash

Believe it or not, Estonia is one of the most wired nations in the world. Believe it or not, this dude is an officer in the country's Computer Emergency Response Team. Did dude find the blogger dream job? A real job, with GULLYNESS factor and real money, all while living in his mother's basement? Baaaaalliiinnnn! Dude found the blogger wet dream. Nullus.

How do we fight CRIME in NYC?

2007-05-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

One SEGWAY at a time, snitches!

The NYPD is for the people.

Say, "Hi, how ya doing, officer?" as they roll by.

I can't make this stuff up, people.

RESPIRATION (Pete Rock Remix) - Black Star (feat Black Thought)

An Open Letter to the Government of China, from Ira Newble and Colleagues

2007-05-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

FINALLY. People are beginning to take some sort of stance.

Yeah, people are still dying OVER THERE. Yes, China STAYS POURING MONEY into Sudan. Yes, China is hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Biochemical Slang is here to remind you: History REPEATS itself.

Major props goes to Ira Newble for spearheading the "Bring the Olympic Dream to Darfur" campaign. Major anti-props go to LeBron James and Damon Jones for NOT SIGNING the above letter.

Apparently, Damon Jones has to make sure one of his sponsors, Li-Ning Sports Goods Co. Ltd., stays happy. The people of Darfur? Not so much.

Can You IMAGINE??!?!?!!!??

2007-05-16T14:44:00.000-04:00

Nas - I Gave You Power
Damian Marley - It Was Written

Can you imagine a NEW YORK CITY without guns? Can you imagine a PHILADELPHIA, an OAKLAND, or an EAST ST. LOUIS without guns? Probably not.

How sad is that? It's like guns have become a part of our fabric of reality. Woven into our collective consciousness, to the point that the world seems strange without them. How odd would it be to turn on the local late night news program and NOT hear about GUNS? Exactly.

Can you imagine a MOGADISHU without guns?

Mohamed Dheere can. The new mayor of Mogadishu has OUTLAWED the ownership of guns, "The first thing I will do is to improve security. No weapons will be allowed to roam freely in the city and no guns will be fired." Is the man CRAZY? Obviously. Does the man have an IMAGINATION. Hell yes.

When's the last time WE could say we had a political leader with IMAGINATION? With CHUTZPAH? With COJONES? Even Zubaz dared to be different.

"There are so many places that so far have been searched and so many weapons unearthed. There is no exact figure or statistics on all the weapons that have so far been found," Interior Minister Mohamed Mahamud Guled said. Well, at the very least, it's a START. We care more about our guns than we care about our people!

The next time you hear of another senseless GUN murder, think of MOGADISHU. A Somalian Mayor dared to IMAGINE. What is YOUR mayor doing?!?!?!????!

The Terrorists Have Already WON

2007-05-15T09:02:00.000-04:00

Why should we invest in alternative fuel sources? To ensure a hospitable environment for our future generations? To become a more self-reliant people? To make us leave our houses using our TWO FEET, rather than an automobile? To improve our nation's air quality and, ultimately, our nation's health?

No, no, no, and no. Why should we invest in alternative fuel sources? G DUBBZ had this to say: "Our dependence on oil creates a threat to America's national security, because it leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists who could attack oil infrastructure."

By Biochemical Slang's count:
Fear tactics = 1,251.
The American People = 0.

...and the GAMES continue.........

The Hip-Hop Generation STILL Believes in Social Security

2007-05-14T07:21:00.000-04:00

Outkast - Git Up, Git Out
Buddy Miles - Dreams
Special Ed - I Got it Made

Let's be real. If you're in your teens and twenties, social security is an exercise in futility. It's something you just have to do. Just don't expect anything in return. NEWSFLASH: You're not gonna get anything back. You might as well deal with that fact NOW. Right NOW!

If you're between the ages of 18 and 25, only 1 out of every 3 of you are electing to participate in your 401(k). Less than a third of you are participating in your company-sponsored retirement plans. Only 1 out of 25 of you are maxing out your workplace retirement plans. Only 1 out of 5 of you have a tax advantaged IRA .

You're living in your parent's basement! Do you really need those new kicks? Buying those new jeans on sale is not an investment plan! Downloading an album does NOT constitute a SAVINGS plan!

While you're helping THESE GUYS with THEIR investment portfolios, what are YOU doing with yours?

If you can WEAR your investment portfolio....YOU lose. If someone can SNATCH your portfolio while your not looking....YOU lose. If you can turn your portfolio on with a button or a KEY....YOU lose. If your money is only of the paper variety....YOU lose.

Tomorrow is just another day, isn't it?

I Love this Game!

2007-05-13T16:21:00.001-04:00

Watch it here.

Watch Baron Davis working at McDonalds here.

Was this a TOP TEN dunk?

Who protects GUNS from US?

2007-05-10T14:30:00.000-04:00

Pharoahe Monche - Gun Draws
Harlem River Drive - If (We Had Peace Today)
Bushwick Bill - Dollars and Sense

It's a testament to these days and times: GUNS have just about as many rights as we do. We all know that guns don't kill people. People WITH guns kill people. So, why not just make it more difficult to get a gun?

If it were only so simple.

Here's how some politicians are trying to PROTECT YOUR GUNS:

Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell has warned New York to stop sending private law enforcement agents to Virginia to nab illegal gun dealers. Apparently, many of the guns used in violent crimes in NYC can be traced to Virginia gun shows. "If anything, these [gun] dealers are the victims," replied the gun dealer's attorneys. When will we stop reading the 2nd Amendment OUT OF CONTEXT?
Philadelphia, currently in the running for murder capital of America, has state gun laws WAITING to be passed. There's just one problem: they're not being considered, due to the powerful state gun lobby. Turns out, only the state legislature can OK gun laws. While 137 Philadelphians have been murdered, the state legislature is STILL sitting on these gun law proposals. In fact, the city of Philadelphia is suing the state of Pennsylvania for the rights to enact these gun laws and attempt to slow the ever-rising Philly murder rate.
A federal appeals court in Washington refused yesterday to revisit a March decision striking down parts of a gun control law there. By my count: 2nd Amendment = 3, The People = 0.

In related news: before you sell your USED CDs in Florida and Utah (and soon to be Rhode Island and Wisconsin), you'll need to present a driver's licence and be thumbprinted. Furthermore, used CD stores and pawn shops in states that pass the law are also barred from paying cash for CDs, offering store credit instead, and must retain CDs for 30 days before reselling them.

I WISH I was making this up.

Guns win.

MARKETING Runs This Rap Ish

2007-05-09T08:35:00.000-04:00

Tupac - Shorty Wanna Be A Thug
Hank Crawford - Wildflower
Ed OG - Life of a Kid in the Ghetto
Donny Hathaway - Little Ghetto Boy (live)

I was walking home the other night and this little kid, looking smug as ever, pulled his Huffy up next to me. I'm not one of those kids-these-days type dudes, but I was expecting the little dude to get fresh. Maybe joke about my scuffed Stan Smiths.

Mind you, this kid wasn't more than ten. Eleven tops. "Hey! Can you buy me a VANILLA DUTCH at the store?"

MARKETING works, people. Peep the following quote, from the Altadis USA, Inc. Sales and Marketing VP:

Who's ALTADIS, you ask? These dudes make CIGARS for the rest of the world, yet they make BLUNTS AND PHILLIES for their other targeted demographics. They don't even have to lead us to the cliff. We know we've been targeted. We know we're merely a means to corporate profit. We know we're throwing our money away. Yet, we willingly jump off the cliff, the lemmings that we are.

Here's what they'll tell you: "Phillies offers an extensive selection of fine cigars for the value-conscious smoker and has the perfect size, shape and blend to satisfy any taste."

Here's what they MEANT to say: "Ni**ers buy anything, as long as we keep those rappers talking."

When the DRUG WAR hits YOUR STREET, Altadis will be too busy investing YOUR MONEY to give a shit. Yeah, they lost a customer to the prison system. Eff it, emulation of prison culture SELLS. That customer probably has kids. That customer's kids probably has friends. All those kids probably have no supervision. All those kids have money to burn. All those kids are willing to follow their friends off the cliff. All those kids are LEMMINGS.

MARKETING runs this rap ish.

Fishbone is STILL Red Hot!

2007-05-08T19:33:00.000-04:00

Eff the SOAP OPERAS that have become modern day cRAP music. Eff the radio stations that have become marketing pawns for the record companies. Eff corporate America for defining "urban" so precisely. If you don't fit the mold, you just don't fit in.

Don't fret. FISHBONE is STILL red hot! Fishbone is still channeling Parliament's MOTHER SHIP. Fishbone is still shattering musical boundaries. Peep the best tracks of their (somewhat) new album Still Stuck in Your Throat:

Behind Closed Doors
We Just Lose Our Minds
Forever Moore

Eff the he-said-she-said Jim Jones/Cam'Ron we're not friends anymore NONSENSE. Peep Angelo Moore's wordplay from the track BEHIND CLOSED DOORS:

Now if life was a thing that money could buy,
Then the rich man would make war and the poor man would fight.
The rich mother would pity while the poor mother would cry,
While the rich make excuses and the poor people die.

Type a thing make I wanna go run and hide,
Back to me condo over off of Rodeo Drive.
Grab a beer, try to remember a verse from the Bible,
Put on me Tivo and see who's off American Idol.

Does that make US CRAZY?

2007-05-08T07:46:00.000-04:00

At first, it seems like one of those studies with obvious conclusions: when soldiers experience lengthy and repeated tours of duty, they begin to suffer both mental and physical consequences.

Then we find out there's more: 30% of the troops in close combat missions are at increased risk for long-term mental and psychological problems. More than 40% of our troops support the idea of torture. More than 10% of our troops report harming Iraqi civilians and property, when it was not directly necessary.

Furthermore, we come to find out, this report came out in NOVEMBER. BEFORE the troop surge. If you don't release a report, it was never written. Of course, what is and was most US soldiers' primary concern? You guessed it: 40 percent of soldiers rated uncertain redeployment dates as a top concern. We're only PAWNS in THEIR game.

It seems that soldier mental health and stability are issues that we've known about for quite some time. How do we plan on PREVENTING the increased mental health risks our soldier's carry? Intensive pre-service training? Fixing the Walter Reed veteran's health care clusterfuckery? Providing mental health care on site? Nah. "So the first step is that we've got to ... make sure that folks remember that that's a foundation for our moral compass ... anything we do that violates that is done at considerable peril," General David Petraeus said. He's also "drafting a memo."

When will moral compasses and memos CEASE to be our answer to everything?

When SUPREMACY releases us from its relentless grip.
When the NOLA levees are repaired and fully functional.
When we stop calling our problems SILENT EPIDEMICS (check here, here, and here) and START dealing with them.
When we stop killing each other.

CALIFORNIA Re-Ups and Bonus Cuts

2007-05-07T06:07:00.000-04:00

Above image courtesy of POPLICKS dot com.
Oliver Sain track courtesy of JTHYME.

Biochemical Slang has been about the underdog since day one. Eff the favorite. Eff the predestined. Eff the expected. This also gives me a chance to RE-UP some California tracks and post some BONUS California tracks. Enjoy, snitches.

Edwin Starr - California Soul
Oliver Sain - California Sunset
Leon Ware - Why I Came to California
Main Ingredient - California My Way
California Dreamin' - Bobby Womack
California Dreamin' - Eddie Hazel
California Dreamin' - Lee Moses

Pop Your Coronas, Snitches!

2007-05-05T22:33:00.000-04:00

G DUBBZ is poppin' Coronas today. Join him.

He even brought out the maintain-stereotypes-mariachi-band. Ole! Where's the Taco Bell?

And don't forget G DUBBZ's favorite landscaper, Alberto. He's STILL maintaining that pristine, green White House South lawn. The US Department of Justice lawn? Not so much.

And what would a Mexican celebration be without mentioning immigration reform?

Pop those Coronas, SNITCHES! And don't forget the limes! Hasta luego.

JUST a FRIENDLY Game of Basketball

2007-05-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

Main Source - Just a Friendly Game of Baseball (Bonus version)
Bob Dylan - Only a PAWN in THEIR Game

NEWSFLASH! Supremacy permeates every corner of our society! Even sports! Even sports that are NUMERICALLY dominated by Black men. Don't get it twisted. What you SEE isn't what you GET. Yeah, Black men are runnin' up and down the court, but who's holdin' the marionette strings? Who's signin' the checks? Who's the 40 million dollar slave?

Apparently, referees call fouls against black players at a higher rate than white players. Does the presence of racism constitute NEWS? Of course, David STERN had a response: “We think our cut at the data is more powerful, more robust, and demonstrates that there is no bias.”

I wasn't moved to post about this, until I headed to the NYTIMES reader's comments about the article. It's amazing what your computer can do to you. Basement bloggers become philosophers. The sheet of anonymity brings out the animosity. The truth lies beneath the surface.

Biochemical Slang got an EXCLUSIVE look at the NYTIMES READERSHIP. Take a look at the NYTIMES readers below and try to match their pictures to their QUOTES, found below. Make a GAME out of it!

The College Grad White (owns a dead prez CD).

The College Grad White: the ANTHROPOLOGY major.

The NEVER-gonna-leave-da-BRONX white.

The Black academic AKA the Black exception to the rule.

The you-can't-FEEL-MY-pain white.

NYTIMES Reader's Quotes:

What I have experienced is a social failure to instill the same values in every segment of society. The people I have encountered in my life who were raised in urban situations have less “filters” to their vocality. This lack of respect and manners aggrivates me. I treat them with less respect in turn. Am I racist, probably, Classist, more likely.
look i’m not racist, i’ve even worked in one of the most prestigious african-american ad agencies, but i’ll be completely honest and i get more scared seeing a black man in an alley rather than a white man when it’s late. i bet you if the readers our honest they would say the same thing. and i bet a black guy gets more suspicious of a white guy when all things are equal?
I would be surprised to find that black players DON’T commit more fouls. They seem to whine and complain and expect special treatment more than white players, why wouldn’t they foul more?
Will this nonsense EVER STOP!?!? I’m white and live in the Bronx. If I get pulled over or stopped for anything, can I claim discrimination and maybe sue someone/anyone? Why not? I’M the MINORITY in my neighborhood. Let’s stop with this ridiculous victim mentality. What a joke.
Why don’t we all just stay in our homes for the rest of our lives, as we need to be sensitive to EVERYONE’S feelings! We have to watch what we say, who we say it to and HOW we say it.
...electrifying the hoop so a slam dunker who touches the hoop for more than one second gets a 10 amp shock. Does this sound ludicrous? So does the idea of ANYTHING in the NBA being biased against African-Americans!
Is it possible that a significant portion of black players learn to play a more physical brand of basketball in the playgrounds/streets than their counterpart whites who were more likely to learn it in some suburban league, and thus blacks are more prone to get called for fouls? I don’t pretend to know the statistics of where white/black players learned to play the game but I suspect that the question I pose above might show some interesting results.
ridiculous. maybe urban b-ball is rougher than suburban hoops; are they calling more fouls when the “victim” is white and the “criminal” ‘non-white’?
Perhaps the discrepancy is due to the fact that black players break the rules more often, thus getting more fouls.

I LOVE THIS GAME!

Were you able to match the quotes to the pictures?

Who Punched Ya? Who the EFF CARES?!?!??

2007-05-02T19:22:00.000-04:00

Kurious - Walk Like a Duck
Masta Ace Inc. - Jeep A** Niguh

Has it really come to this? Really? It's bad enough hip-hop has become a ring-tone-driven market. It's now officially worse. In an attempt to keep it real, maintain his "code of ethics," AND give a message to the youth, Tru Life's management company (one of his weed carriers) issued the following statement (email) to the folks at XXL DOT COM:

“The rumors are true. He did punch Cam’ron in the face. But he honestly doesn’t want to promote violence. He really feels strong about ending gang violence. He feels like they got kids brainwashed with that bullsh*t movement so he got to show them what it is. He feels like he got to keep it a little street just to get the kids’ ears because they listen to the rah-rah sh*t. So once he gets their ear with the bullshit, he’ll get their hearts with the real shit.”

It only gets better. Peep Tru Life:

Tru Life says he wants to apologize to hip-hop for the negative press but “you got to break an egg to make an omelet. I don’t care how positive dead prez and Mos Def is. Nigg*s just ain’t checkin’ for that.”

Jay needs to give this dude a better marketing budget. Dude's spendin' all of his money buying drinks at clubs, just waitin' for Cam'ron to enter. Dude can't even afford his schizo pills anymore. If you were wondering...yes, Tru Life IS for the children.

Everybody's Got A Pistol...

2007-05-01T06:49:00.000-04:00

GUN - Gil-Scott Heron
Jesse James - Scarface

Let's not hide behind the facts: America has a love affair with guns. Yeah, a love affair. We love our guns. We hold 'em. We polish 'em. We take 'em out when no ones looking. We fantasize about our prowess with our steel. We talk to our friends about 'em. Our wives hate 'em. A love affair.

Of course, our laws are merely a reflection of this love affair. Did you know that terrorist suspects can purchase a gun in this country? As long as you have not been found to "have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism,” that automatic weapon is YOURS. How did you get on that terrorist list in the first place? Nevermind, here's your gun.

Did you know that up until YESTERDAY, people with a history of involuntary mental health treatment could purchase a gun in Virginia? Don't you just love RETROACTIVE politics? People died at the hands of a mentally ill man with a gun. Next up on our agenda: preventing mentally ill men from purchasing a gun.

What happened to anticipatory politics? What happened to vision?

Don't even get me started on rappers and their love affairs with their guns. Two words: no homo.

NOLA: The EVERYDAY Struggle

2007-04-30T00:02:00.000-04:00

What's Goin' On? - The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (feat Chuck D)
What's Goin' On? - Donny Hathaway

The truth is out there. You just have to look for it. Opening a newspaper or turning on the news, it's easy to forget that New Orleans is still in the "rebuilding" phase. Eff that. They haven't even crossed the bureacratic red-tape line.

All the while, the folks of New Orleans are just trying to get by. Grocery stores. Hospitals. Schools with teachers. Streets without guns. They're just trying to get by.

The truth is out there. We'll just help you look. Biochemical Slang presents: News you can USE (NOLA EDITION):

You don’t have to go to Baghdad to see what happens when government loses its monopoly on force; just visit New Orleans. The title "BAGHDAD ON THE BAYOU" says it all.

The PROJECTS: The slums or the best buildings in flooded New Orleans? I've never been a betting man, but...we all know what's gonna happen to the projects.
Cam'Ron sure didn't help NOLA with his latest publicity stunt: Scared Silent: Fear of deadly retaliation mutes many NO witnesses.
Teachers may soon be the next to flee NOLA.
Not only did FEMA eff up its handling of Katrina, they couldn't even correctly count the number of meals they were forced to throw away after not even delivering them to the Katrina refugees.
Foreign allies offered more than 854 million dollars in aid and oil to help those in need after Hurricane Katrina hit our shores. So far, only 40 million has been used and only 400 million has been collected. YOU do the math.

Good night and good luck.

G DUBBZ is for the CHILDREN

2007-04-27T22:56:00.000-04:00

Nas - I CAN (Bob James remix)
Blind Melon - Three is a Magic Number (Schoolhouse Rocks!)
Biz Markie - Energy Blues (Schoolhouse Rocks!)
Skee-Lo - The Tale of Mr. Morton (Schoolhouse Rocks!)

G DUBBZ recently visited a Harlem charter school to push for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind act. Like our man Jay, DUBBZ knows that numbers don't lie:

" It's amazing what happens, though, when you measure. The percentage of New York City 4th graders meeting state standards in reading has increased by more than 12 percent over five years. The percentage of 4th graders doing math at grade level has increased by 19 points."

Biochemical Slang decided to dig up some of its own numbers:

The New York City graduation rate is at an all time high, 50% (that's 1 out of every 2 kids, for the math-phobic folks). AND, people are overjoyed: "I think New York City is a very positive story," Commissioner of Education Richard Mills said. "There's just a very determined effort." Chancellor Joel Klein, ever the mathematician, added, "But 50% is a lot better than 44%."
The rate of NYC students who drop out before completing four years of high school is 20%, up from last year's 15%.
There are approximately 70,000 NYC high school students who are either over-age or under-credited. There are only 13,000 seats in programs designed to help these kids graduate. YOU do the math.
Theodore Roosevelt HS, in the Bronx, boasts a 3% graduation rate. Yeah. Three percent.
57% of the freshmen class of 2001 graduated in five years. Bloomberg's response: "If kids graduate in four years, three months, if they graduate in five years, if they graduate in six years, more power to them."

Biochemical Slang to G DUBBZ: We don't believe you. You need more NUMBERS.

G DUBBZ is Blacker than Obama UPDATE

2007-04-26T00:37:00.000-04:00

"Look at me Laura! I'm doing the African!"

"This is as close to Darfur as I'm gonna get."

"Eff Karl Rove's dance."

"Move aside Nee-grow. I have 26 million dollars of the white man's money to spend."

YOU caption the above pictures. (Obama pics courtesy of CRUNK & DISORDERLY)

Priorities? Not on the Agenda.

2007-04-25T11:49:00.000-04:00

Graham Central Station - Ghetto
Sister Nancy - Gwan a School

It's bad enough that we will be subjected to a plethora of arguments pertaining to the significance of a black man or woman president, during our trip to 2008. It's even worse when we need ADVERTISEMENTS to convince American voters that the education of our children is an ISSUE worth fighting for.

How far have we fled from normalcy, when we need to be coerced into VALUING an education? How far have we fled from normalcy, when TV and radio personalities get more press than our FAILING children?

If only we could get Cam'Ron, Jay, and Lil Wayne to rap about it.

Keep FEEDIN' You, and FEEDIN' You, and FEEDIN' YOU

2007-04-24T12:27:00.000-04:00

For those of you with the stomach and the patience, watch Cam'ron's explanation of the stop snitchin' "code of ethics" (courtesy of THE RAP UP).

I'll spare you some of the details and leave you with some choice quotes:

You don’t need someone destroying you when your own people are the worst messengers possible.
It's like we're saying to the criminals: You can HAVE our communities.
A few years ago when Cam’ron started wearing pink clothing, kids in inner-city schools across the country started wearing it too.

My personal vote for saddest quotes (taken from children from a Harlem church group):

WHATEVER THEY DISH OUT, WE EAT IT UP. They could dish out the nastiest thing in the world, but we would still EAT IT UP.
If rappers are your teachers, what are they teaching you? Don’t back down from a fight. Get money. Hold your own. Mind your business. Don’t snitch. Look fresh.
It’s a crime, you remember, in our community to snitch.
Why? Because that’s the rules.

Damn. It's time to START OVER, people. It's times like these that the COSMIC FORCES of Prophet STEVIE WONDER calm the nerves and the SOUL. People, it's time to LOOK AROUND!

We are idle strangers
Married to our dangers
Into space we go to change our ways

Flying to our heavens
We are all together
Into hell we chase the light of day

Look around and you'll see
Ruins of the human history
Look around and you'll see
Time is only floating in your mind
You will find
Searching for time
Empty is your mind

We are charmed by living
Dazzled into giving
All the waste we plan to ignore

Coldness is the virtue
Measured by the untrue
Love is used for something but what for?

The South Is NOT Killin' Hip-Hop.

2007-04-23T05:59:00.000-04:00

Sly & the Family Stone - Babies Makin' Babies
Della Humphrey - Don't Make the Good Girls Go Bad
Smokey Robinson - The Family Song

Enough with the arguments. Biochemical Slang will concede: the South is NOT killing hip-hop. Their babies? Not so much.

Things are looking UP in America. It just depends on WHERE you look. Along with gas prices and the American death toll in Iraq, we can add the Southern infant mortality rate to the numbers that are on the RISE in America.

A black child born in MISSISSIPPI has a 17/1000 chance of dying before reaching the age of one year. What makes that statistic even more heartbreaking? That number is on the RISE. Let's put Mississippi's black infant mortality rate in perspective. The following are a selection of countries with a lower infant mortality rate than the black population of Mississippi:

Malaysia
Bahrain
Jordan
Brunei
Uruguay
Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Mississippi, infant deaths among blacks rose to 17 per thousand births in 2005 from 14.2 per thousand in 2004, while those among whites rose to 6.6 per thousand from 6.1. How can we explain these terrifying numbers? Obesity? Cuts in Medicaid? Lack of prenatal care? Lack of motivation to attend prenatal care classes? Lack of an adequate public education system? Disenfranchisement? Lack of jobs? Lack of responsibility? A culture of failure? A culture of supremacy?

Enough! We need to be asking ourselves more important questions: Is Lil Wayne the greatest rapper alive?

The INTERNETS Is Runnin' This Rap Ish

2007-04-21T18:50:00.000-04:00

Joey, over at Straight Bangin' DOT COM, recently sent out an email to the who's-who of the blogosphere (me included, snitches!). He had a simple request: name your TOP 25 HIP-HOP albums of all time.

I had one rule: go with the gut. Eff the critics. Eff the albums that "have to be" on these lists. Eff boundaries. This is hip-hop! These are the albums that I STILL play on the regular. These are the albums that embody MY definition of HIP-HOP. How do YOU define hip-hop?

1. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
2. Ultramagnetic MCs - Critical Beatdown
3. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
4. NWA - Straight Outta Compton
5. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
6. Nas - Illmatic
7. Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
8. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
9. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
10. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
11. Notorious BIG - Ready to Die
12. EPMD - Strictly Business
13. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
14. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
15. Pete Rock & CL SMooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother
16. Common Sense - Resurrection
17. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
18. Outkast - Aquemini
19. Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts, and Hip-Hop
20. Goodie Mob - Soul Food
21. The Krown Rulers - Paper Chase
22. O.C. - Word...Life
23. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
24. The Beatnuts - Street Level
25. Black Star - Black Star

Be sure to visit STRAIGHT BANGIN' later this week to view the final list of the blogosphere's top 25 G.O.A.T. HIP-HOP albums.

Got Introspection?

2007-04-21T09:31:00.000-04:00

Ernie Hines - Our Generation
Donald Byrd - Stepping Into Tomorrow
KMD - Boy Who Cried Wolf

A week after a white man invented another N-WORD, hopefully we have all realized that there are more relevant issues that are DESPERATELY crying for our attention. Gas prices, bombs over Baghdad, and post-Katrina recovery (yeah, they're STILL "recovering"), just to name a few.

At the very least, we use the Imus incident as a ~~means for political gains~~ catalyst towards INTROSPECTION. According to the latest Pew Research Center poll, we all have a little bit of Imus in us (no Lil Weezy).

At least whites and blacks can agree on SOMETHING: Black males are NUMBER ONE at making racist or sexist comments! There's a positive side to every story.

Let the BLAME GAME Begin...

2007-04-19T12:05:00.000-04:00

SCAPEGOAT - Atmosphere

Visit these quality sites for the latest in the BLAME GAME media frenzy.

Stopping Genocide With WORDS. ACTIONS? Not So Much.

2007-04-19T08:02:00.000-04:00

To Be Invisible - Gladys Knight
Government Land - Horace Andy
I'm Alone in the Wilderness - Culture
Englishman - Barrington Levy
Inspired by Dallas Penn DOT COM.

Kids draw the darndest things. Crayons + Paper + Genocide = THE TRUTH. Eff the neoliberal media. When you're seeking the truth, talk to a child.

During his recent visit to the Holocaust Museum, G DUBBZ talked the talk about Darfur:

" It is evil we are now seeing in Sudan -- and we're not going to back down. For 22 years, Sudan was plagued by a civil war between the north and south that claimed more than 2 million lives." TRANSLATION: These nigge* tribes are hopeless. They naturally kill each other, it's in their genes.
" This museum cannot stop the violence. But through your good work, you're making it impossible for the world to turn a blind eye. Earlier I saw an exhibit that puts faces on the millions of men, women, and children who have been killed or driven into the desert. I also saw an interesting new venture that you've arranged with Google Earth. As a result of this partnership, millions of Internet users around the world will be able to zoom in and see satellite images of the burnt-out villages and mosques and schools." TRANSLATION: American can do what they do best: We'll watch the world from a distance, do nothing, and feel better that, at the very least, we WATCHED someone suffer.

How are we gonna try to stop this madness? Guns? Tanks? A military presence? Nah. We've got diplomats. We're gonna sanction. We're gonna talk the talk. Walk the walk? Not so much.

G DUBBZ highlighted his proposed sanctions in three easy-to-follow steps:

" First, the Department of the Treasury will tighten U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan."
" Second, we will also target sanctions against individuals responsible for the violence."
" Third, I will direct the Secretary of State to prepare a new United Nations Security Council resolution."

Even the CHILDREN know that talk is cheap. Sanctions + UN Resolutions = ONGOING genocide.

Unfortunately, our ability to dangle the threat of economic sanctions will fall on deaf ears. When you're GDP has MORE than TRIPLED in three years, threats of sanctions begin holding less weight. When China is spending BILLIONS on oil and military ties, why should American sanctions scare Sudan into action?

The money trails run DEEP. Supremacy has been runnin 'things in Africa, long after Europe carved the great continent into artificial boundaries. Check your stock portfolio. Even Warren Buffet is funding genocide. Sudan may be way OVER THERE, but YOUR MONEY travels fast.

While we talk of sanctions, BILLIONS of dollars are pouring into the oil fields of Sudan. Money talks, genocide wins.

While we threaten UN resolutions, BILLIONS of dollars are pouring into the oil fields of Sudan. Money talks, genocide wins.

While we sit in our living rooms, watching Sudan burn, via our newly downloaded Google Earth "Crisis in Darfur" program, BILLIONS of dollars are pouring into the oil fields of Sudan. At least we can sleep at night.

Biochemical Slang Presents: News You Can USE

2007-04-17T21:27:00.000-04:00

O.V. Wright - Motherless Child
Mandrill - Peace & Love Movement IV (Encounter)

Believe it or not, Rwanda is STILL counting bodies from their 1994 genocide. Believe it or not, they've exceeded ONE MILLION. Believe it or not, Darfur is still a genocide-in-progress.
Apparently, we discovered ~~WMD's~~ IRANIAN weapons in Afghanistan. Let us now watch as the kindling gets thrown upon the let's-invade-Iran-FIRE. Oh wait, it's already started: "Military force is your last tool," General Pace said, "not your first."
US gun laws are drawing HEAT from other countries in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy. An example from the French paper Le Monde: "It would be unjust and especially false to reduce the United States to the image created, in a recurrent way, from the bursts of murderous fury that some isolated individuals succumb to. But acts like this are rare elsewhere, and tend to often disfigure the 'American dream.'''
Now it's scientifically proven that our government is wasting our TAX dollars. $176 million dollars is spent on abstinence-until-marriage-education in this country. Turns out, kids start doin' the nasty at an average of 14.9 years of age, regardless.
The number of American casualties in Iraq has reached 3,305. On top of this, during the last six months of fighting, American troops have experienced the highest death rate since the Iraq war began.
The kids of Katrina, instead of being educated, are being USED as pawns in the charter school game.
Student loan provider Sallie Mae's stock soar, as the company is bought for $25 BILLION. Meanwhile, 20 student loan providers and 100 colleges have come under scrutiny for effing students for their own paper.
Oh yeah, about this guy named Gonzales.....

Good night and good luck.

A Moment...

2007-04-17T12:33:00.000-04:00

A moment of silence.

A moment to reflect.

A moment for perspective.

This is My Story, This Is My Song - Thelonious Monk

At least Paul Newman had the decency to RUN THROUGH the BRONX

2007-04-16T23:43:00.000-04:00

BOOGIE DOWN BRONX - Man Parrish
Step to Me - Diamond D
Show 'Em How We Do Things - Lord Finesse
The Way You Do My Life - Joe Quarterman & the Free Soul

Imagine the following situation:

The instructor tells the soldier, "You are in the Bronx. A black van is stopping in front of you. Three African-Americans are getting out and they are insulting your mother in the worst ways ... Act."

The soldier fires his machine gun several times and yells an obscenity several times in English. The instructor then tells the soldier to curse even louder.

Now click on this link and WATCH IT. I don't know a word of German, but I know SUPREMACY when I hear it. The perception of Bronx Blackness as an incentive to kill. The mental image of Bronx Blackness to pump that extra adrenaline, before your finger squeezes the trigger. Black boys are invading YOUR space, SHOOT! Fort Apache is here and now, SHOOT!

Perception isn't everything. Perception is the ONLY thing.

Of course, seeing and hearing those words, we are quick to condemn them. Of course, the politicians are also quick to publically condemn the German army and their officer's choice of venomous words. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. noted, "The German government obviously has work to do to correct something that is insidious." Obviously.

Overt racism gets dealth with real quick. Just ask your man Imus.

Before you gasp at the German officer's use of the BRONX to get his troops to KILL, consider the following:

Driving through the BRONX on the Hutchinson River Parkway, Bronx River Parkway, Major Deegan, etc is NOT considered visiting the Bronx.
Visiting Yankee Stadium is NOT considered visiting the Bronx.
Going to Riverdale is NOT considered visiting the Bronx.
Watching A BRONX TALE, FORT APACHE THE BRONX, or listening to a Fat Joe record is not considered Bronx culture.

Perception is everything.

No joke, while walking the streets of Manhattan recently, I overheard a dude telling his new-to-NYC-friend to make sure he LOCKED his car doors while driving back to Connecticut, even while on the FREEWAY!

SUPREMACY...still pimpin' all over the world!

RESPECT the Architect

2007-04-15T22:29:00.000-04:00

DID YOU SEE JACKIE ROBINSON HIT THAT BALL? - Count Basie Orchestra

60 years ago today, an architect helped build a foundation. A foundation that we still stand on TODAY. A foundation that is strong enough to withstand those that despised its very existence.

A foundation built upon the belief that the WORLD IS OURS. You just gotta go for it.

Peep this insightful article written by Gerald Early for TIME Magazine: Where Have We Gone, Mr. Robinson?

Put Your MOUTH Where Your MONEY Is

2007-04-13T08:16:00.000-04:00

Al Green - Gotta Find a New World
Gil-Scott Heron - Home is Where the Hatred Is
Sun Ra - Angels and Demons at Play

We live with supremacy EVERYDAY. The proverbial 800 pound gorilla. The bad smell that hits you on the way in and, given enough time, you just GET USED TO. We have grown so accustomed to the ambient level of supremacy in our country, we fail to notice it's daily effects. We even fail to notice our very own complicity in supremacy's master plan.

We've grown so accustomed to supremacy, we only respond to the blips on the radar screen. The Michael Richards. The Mel Gibsons. The Don Imuses. The Duke lacrosse team. The blips on the radar screen. The drops in the ocean. The grains of sand on the beach.

As a result of Don Imus' drop in the supremacy bucket, advertisers have pulled sponsorship of his radio show. Do the corporations that pulled out (nullus) of Imus's show truly condemn the actions of Imus? Are they willing to make a REAL difference in the most vulnerable communities in America? Or, are they willing to use Imus as a distraction, a scapegoat? Will they use the Imus incident as evidence of their "diversity" or will they put their MOUTH where they put their MONEY?

Will DITECH DOT COM step up to assist minorities who need low-interest loans to buy their dream house? They were quick to step up to condemn the usage of the NEW N-WORD = nappy-headed-ho.
"GENERAL MOTORS obviously does not condone the comments Don Imus recently made." Does this mean we should expect GM to provide us with affordable cars that do not contribute to the epidemic of urban asthma? Does this mean GM will hire more minorities to fill their high-tech and corporate positions?
AMERICAN EXPRESS, will you provide low-interest loans to promote and assist minority business-owners to open their own business? You demonstrated your commitment to diversity by dropping your sponsorship of Imus. I assume that means that you are more than willing to help out the plethora of minorities who need financial assistance to get through college.
STAPLES, you have opened up storess in Harlem, started the Staples Soul program, AND dropped your ads from the Imus show. Can we now expect that you will provide full-coverage health insurance, dental insurance, and day care for ALL of your employees, including your cashiers and stockers?
"PROCTER & GAMBLE's purpose is to improve the everyday lives of the world's consumers." Dropping their ads from the Imus show has done nothin' for me. Can I assume P&G has more in the works?
GLAXO SMITH KLINE dropped their ads from the Imus show and people STILL can't afford their medicine!

American corporations have shown that they are the experts of talkin' the talk. Now we'll wait and see if they can WALK THE WALK. I don't know about you, but I'm not holdin' my breath.

After Laughter (Comes Tears)

2007-04-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

Don Imus was fired today. Newsflash: The world will still be filled with hate tomorrow. Supremacy will still be makin' C.R.E.A.M. tomorrow. A change is gonna come...eventually. I wouldn't advise holding your breath.

These are the times I turn to the UNIVERSAL healing power of MUSIC. SOUL music. This song fits perfectly.

A Biochemical Slang Friendly Reminder

2007-04-12T11:42:00.000-04:00

Jerry Butler - No Money Down
Bill Withers - Use Me

YOU struggle to balance your budget every month. You've got rent, utilities, KIDS, and loans. If you forget, even for a second, a collection agency will be more than happy to remind you of your credit status. Wanna buy a house? Gain some equity? Get some money BACK from the government, for a change? You better BALANCE that monthly budget.

Our government? Not so much. The U.S. government posted a March deficit of 96.27 billion dollars. Yeah. $96,270,000,000. In one month. This is a 12.9 percent increase over last year's March deficit. AND, we'll do it again next month.

This is a friendly Biochemical Slang reminder: don't forget to file your income tax return!

You Get What YOU (are forced to) PAY FOR

2007-04-10T02:20:00.000-04:00

Above the Law - Uncle Sam's Curse
The Unemployed - They Won't Let Me
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - This Land is Your Land
Brother Ali - Uncle Sam Goddamn
Fred Wesley & the JBs - I'm Payin' Taxes, What Am I Buyin'?

With tax day fast approaching, we've ALL been making sure to dot our i's and cross our t's. We've gotta keep the IRS from knockin' on our doors. As you write that check, have you ever wondered what they actually DID with your money (as you simultaneously wonder why your tax check seems to get bigger every year?!?!)?

Using the United States 2008 fiscal year budget, the National Priorities Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and advocacy group decided to actually sit down and crunch some numbers.

27 cents out of every one of our tax dollars goes towards defense and the current military operations in Iraq. If you include the interest owed from military debt, you can add another ten cents.

Priorities?!!?! Not so much. Education gets a nickel on the dollar. Affordable housing? 2 shiny pennies. I don't even want to know what is included in the "other" column.

Do you want to actually SEE where your money will go? Before you send your check to UNCLE SAM, visit the National Priorities Project Interactive Income Tax Chart. Enter the amount of federal income tax you will pay and see how the government spent the money. Once you've picked up your jaw from off the floor, don't forget to put that check in an envelope, put a stamp on it, and send it to Uncle Sam.

Do you feel your tax dollars could be better spent? Do you think that our government's priorities are EFFED UP? Visit the Federal Budget Trade-Offs site to see how YOUR government COULD have spent their money. If you live in NEW YORK state, here's how our money stacked:

NY state residents' contribution to the 2007 fiscal year ballistic missile defense budget could have provided 180,535 people with health care coverage.
NY state residents' contribution to the 2007 fiscal year Iraq War budget could have provided the state with 70,169 affordable housing units.
NY state residents' contribution to the 2007 fiscal year nuclear weapons budget could have provided the state with 173,586 Head Start locations.
5.9 billion dollars in tax cuts were afforded to the wealthiest 1% of NY state. This additional income could have provided 971,836 students with college scholarships.

We are what we invest in.

The Post-Globalization Dolla Dolla Bill Y'all

2007-04-09T01:21:00.000-04:00

Jimmy Spicer - Money (Dollar Bill Y'all)
Funkadelic - Funky Dollar Bill
Madlib and Talib Kweli - Funny Money
Too Short - Money in the Ghetto

The dollar bill may not be able to stretch like it used to, but it still holds some weight. Hold on, you say? What about the tremendous fall the DOW JONES took after the Chinese decided to slow their growth rate? Can the dollar still hold it's own in the GLOBAL marketplace? Here's what economist David Wyss had to say: "Usually when there is a shock like we had, it's like an earthquake and another shock will follow. When there's an earthquake and the shaking stops, you are happy, but rather than enjoying the comfort, I suggest securing the environment for potential aftershocks."

Dude. EFF THAT! I got money in my pocket just WAITING to be spent! Let's find out what my dollar is really worth.

Tropical Fantasy "juices." Where else, but America, can you find so much corn syrup for 50 CENTS?

Let's do the knowledge: 50 cents x (2 Tropical Fantasy "juices") = ONE dollar. Tax? There ain't no such thing in a Bodega! The dollar is lookin' good.

I've spent one dollar and I feel refreshed, but I still need some FLY GEAR for the upcoming NYC summer. And I'm not talkin' about the gear everyone has, I'm talkin' that EXCLUSIVE ish. One dollar can get me two of my very own Bihari kids (that's 50 cents each!).

Two dollars has gotten me refreshed and clothed. After all this work, a brother's HUNGRY. Of course, we return to our favorite bodega. One bag of UTZ = 1 case quarter = 5 nickels.

Let's do the math: $1.00/($.25/bag of Utz) = 4 bags of Utz! God bless this great land!

Three dollars down, I'm FINALLY ready to find the girl of my American dreams. This is Biochemical Slang. The Macy's jewelry section just won't cut it. One dollar = one African with one rock!

Four dollars down, diamond on my neck, food in my belly, sugar in my veins, and that exclusive ish on my back, I need to stock the fridge. The lady needs to get her drink on when I take her home. EFF those cosmos! Here, the math get's a little bit tricky. One 22 OZ = $1.25. Not to worry.

($1.25/22 oz Ballantine Ale) = 6 cents per ounce!

Of course, the lady will NEED to go shopping. No problem: this girl will make you 500 bags for one quarter! That's 2000 bags for a dollar!

Let's recap, ONE DOLLAR can buy you:

TWO 16 oz Tropical Fantasy "juices"
TWO Bihari garment workers
FOUR bags of Utz potato chips
ONE African diamond worker (with stone!)
17.6 oz of Ballantine Ale
2000 bags

EFF what you heard! Our economy is STILL number one!

We Don't Believe You. You Need More People.

2007-04-08T02:00:00.000-04:00

Edwin Starr - WAR
Sylvers - Fool's Paradise
Black Merda - Sometimes I Wish

In an effort to curtail the rumors that Iraq is nothing more than a clusterfuck, surrounded by chaos, violence, and mayhem, John McCain, Indiana congressman Mike Pence, and others visited Iraq. McCain doesn't have any ulterior motives, he just wants the best for the Iraqi people.

It's nice to know that 100 armed guards, helicopters, and snipers can give Iraq a temporary feeling of normalcy. You also have to love the fact that this article mentioned that Pence was under "a relatively small military escort and without helmet." Look Ma, no helmet!

More tellingly, the day after the McCain/Pence marketplace visit, the vendors in the market were dying, literally, to tell their side of the story.

“What are they talking about?” Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. “The security procedures were abnormal! They paralyzed the market when they came. This was only for the media.”
“They asked about our conditions, and we told them the situation was bad,” said Aboud Sharif Kadhoury.
Ali Youssef, 39, who sells glassware from a sidewalk stand down the block from Mr. Kadhoury, recalled: “Everybody complained to them. We told them we were harmed. This area here is very dangerous,” continued Mr. Youssef, who lost his shop in the February attack. “They cannot secure it.”
Abu Samer, a kitchenware and clothing wholesaler, scoffed: “He is just using this visit for publicity. He is just using it for himself. They’ll just take a photo of him at our market and they will just show it in the United States. He will win in America and we will have nothing.”

Meanwhile, since the cameras and extra snipers have left, things have returned to normal. At least, how the new Iraq defines "normal." People wake up to the fresh smell of the suicide chlorine bombs. In addition, the war has created new, fruitful ways to make a living. Like checking the stock market in the morning, the US military casulaties stay rising. Of course, the answer to the Iraqi-problem is IRAN.

It's just another day. Another day in which the definition of normalcy becomes perverted, twisted, and left to rot.

Will Take Child To Doctor For MONEY

2007-04-05T08:53:00.000-04:00

BAMA the Village Poet - Welfare Slave
William DeVaughn - Give the Little Man a Great Big Hand
The Impressions - Don't Forget What I Told You
Horace Andy - Poor Man Style
Louis Armstrong - All That Meat and No Potatoes

Endemic poverty is rampant in New York City. It's the only heritable disease you won't find anywhere in the Human Genome Project. Manhattan, may slowly be gaining immunity over this insidious disease, but cross the rivers and you'll find it.

How is Bloomberg attempting to tackle the multi-faceted issue of endemic, multi-generational poverty?

“In the private sector, financial incentives encourage actions that are good for the company: working harder, hitting sales targets or landing more clients. In the public sector, we believe that financial incentives will encourage actions that are good for the city and its families: higher attendance in schools, more parental involvement in education and better career skills.”

Of course. To a business man, DOLLARS always make SENSE.

Are you really poor? Did your kids go to school everyday? Here's 25 dollars. Did you take your kid pass the Regents exam with an above-average score? Here's 300 dollars. Did you make an appointment for your kid to see a doctor AND keep it? Good for you, here's another check.

This upcoming year will see the inception of this curious social experiment: 2500 families will receive "conditional cash transfers" for good behavior and will be compared to 2500 families who will receive absolutely nothing (All of the funding for this experiment was garnered via private donations.).

We're all just rats in a cage, especially if we're POOR.

How will this PRIZE MONEY be spent by the families? How do the experimenters define a "success?" How do we make sense of needing cash incentives to help your own child?

YOU be the judge.

Things Are Lookin' UP in the REAL CARTOON World

2007-04-03T08:20:00.000-04:00

Temptations - Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down
Staples Singers - This Old Town (People in this Town)
Pablo Moses - Blood Money
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Black & Crazy Blues

If you've been keeping tabs on the status of the black community in America, there's exciting news coming from the world of CARTOONS. Things are definitely looking up. Uncle Ben, the resident house boy of Mars Incorporated, was recently promoted to CHAIRMAN. After 60 years of slaving for the man (literally), Uncle Ben has made it from the back room to the boardroom. It just goes to show you, in the CARTOON world, there's always hope.

Don't believe me? Check out Uncle Ben's (virtual) office for yourself!

In other CARTOON news, there is new-found hope for young African-American girls....Frog Princess! After years of struggle for equal schooling, voting rights, and equal opportunity employment, things finally appear to be paying off: Disney is currently making a full-length CARTOON starring a black princess. Kathleen McCarther, a mother, captured the feeling perfectly: "I am so excited. There are lots of dolls of color and cartoons of color, but a Disney princess is a whole other level of acceptance."

Biochemical Slang wants to know: Can it get any better? What can our future possibly hold? Could Sprite's MILES THIRST be in line for a promotion? It would surely be a milestone. The world's first black, plastic, micro-dwarf CEO. We're all pulling for you, Miles.

Meanwhile in the REAL WORLD:

40% of Americans who die from AIDS are Black
Yale or Jail?
28% of black male dropouts have a job compared with 71% of white males with the same level of education
Poor and minority homeowners are bearing the brunt of the "mortgage crisis"

Obama Reconnects With His Black Constituency

2007-04-02T23:55:00.000-04:00

"This is called a B-BOY STANCE, kids."

"Contort your hands and put your arms out to the side, like this."

"Next lesson: the soul shake."

"For our next picture, try NOT to smile."

"Here's how you HIP-HOP, children."

Here's what happens when you blog too late. YOU caption this Obama-moment.

Celebrate LIFE with Marvin, TODAY!

2007-04-02T00:23:00.000-04:00

MARVIN GAYE, April 2nd 1939 - April 1st 1984

Can I Get A Witness? - Marvin Gaye
I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
All The Way 'Round - Marvin Gaye
You Can Leave But It's Going To Cost You - Marvin Gaye
That's The Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye
The World Is Rated X - Marvin Gaye
Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye
You - Marvin Gaye

What's Goin' On? - Les McCann
Inner City Blues - Gil-Scott Heron

On his born day, celebrate MARVIN's life and legacy by playin' his tunes. LOUD. There's so many choice cuts to choose from, I posted some of my favorite non-overplayed Marvin tunes. These tracks will get you through anything the world throws your way today. Love. Betrayal. Politics. Bigotry. Lust. Frustration.

Peep the above picture, which happens to be my favorite Marvin shot. WHAT'S GOIN' ON in that head of his? Eff those coifed, slickback pics. This shot caught the essence of Marvin.

What I loved most about the man's music was his willingness to embrace the natural hypocrisy of life. One minute he's singing that GOD IS LOVE, the next he's singing LET'S GET IT ON. Well, I'LL BE DOGGONE, ain't that life? On Monday he's singing IF I COULD BUILD MY WHOLE WORLD AROUND YOU. By Tuesday, he's changed his pitch to YOU CAN LEAVE BUT IT'S GOING TO COST YOU.

Isn't that what this great-ball-of-stress-that-we-call-the-earth is all about? Isn't that why his music still sounds fresh? Isn't that why his music still rings true today?

New York City Public School Numbers are RISING!

2007-04-01T10:34:00.000-04:00

David Axelrod - The Fly
Weldon Irvine - Juggah Buggah
Busy Bee - Suicide

Finally, I can open up the Sunday paper and read that NYC public school numbers are on the rise. What's on the rise in NYC schools, you ask?

Test scores? Not so much.
Attendance? Try again.
Graduation rates? Nope.
Number of extracurricular activities offered? No.
More teachers? Ummmm. No.
Percentage of students who go on to two- and four-year colleges? Hell-to-the-no.
BED BUG INFESTATION? Hell-to-the-YES!

During October and November of last year, 34 cases were reported in 24 schools. The number of cases reported more than doubled to 73 during January and February of this year.

With 35 NYC public schools considered "troubled" and "under review," what are NYC officials currently working on changing? Student disenfranchisement? Reading and math proficiency? Affordable college tuition? Qualified teachers? NYC officials are livid at the makers of Grand Theft Auto, as their newest version of GTA's setting has an uncanny resemblance to NYC: "Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland," said City Councilman Peter Vallone, chairman of the Council's Public Safety Committee. A Bloomberg spokesperson added: "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers."

NYC public school children were unavailable for comment.

Friday is LADIES NIGHT at Biochemical Slang

2007-03-30T14:53:00.000-04:00

It's Friday. You KNOW you ain't got ish to do. You got some money in your pocket (those few extra pennies earn ed you the beer-to-champale upgrade) and your lady is coming over. You've thought of EVERYTHING. You've already put the CHAMPALE on ice. You've aleady lit the incense and those candles she bought for you. You've cleaned the bathroom and made your bed. You've already ordered the pizza, just the way SHE likes it.

Ballin' on a budget is keepin' it real. Ballin' on a budget is ALL WE KNOW. Ballin' on a blogger salary IS ballin' on a budget.

Your cypher is almost complete. Unfortunately, she HATES all that damn rap music you own, with all that dirty talk. Can you remember back to those good ol' days? BIOCHEMICAL SLANG has got that FIRE for your STEREO. Thank me on Monday.

Bobby Byrd - I'm Not to Blame
The Ohio Players - Heaven Must Be Like This
Quincy Jones - Body Heat
Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Superman Lover
The Whatnauts - Girls
Willie Hutch - I Choose You
Sugar Minott - Save Your Love For Me
The Sylvers - Let It Be Me
Donald Byrd - I Love the Girl
Ike & Tina Turner - Baby Get It On

If you're ridin' solo this Friday night, don't fret. There's always the best-selling ale in the world, BALLANTINE. 99 cents will buy you 22 ounces of I-don't-give-an-eff. $2.25 will buy you 40 ounces (YOU do the Bodega Math.) of I-don't-give-an-eff-about-no-got-damn-cupid!

There's always NEXT FRIDAY.

Straight Outta Congress, A Crazy Mutha Named MC Rove

2007-03-29T23:06:00.000-04:00

It's nearly impossible to describe what happened at the Radio and Television Correspondent's Dinner last night. Karl Rove transformed into "MC Rove" and showed the world that he truly does understand the intricacies of Black culture. How did he express these feelings? Song and dance, of course. According to Rove's rap and dance, race relations are doing just fine in America. If you don't believe MC Rove, just ask the token Black guy dancing in the background. He can also tell you how in-sync the Bush administration is with today's "urban youth."

THE ROVE RAP

Now listen up suckers
Don't get the jitters
But MC Rove tears the heads off critters.

That's true, it's cruel to see
But he's gonna be about animal cruelty.
He's a man, he's a treasure trove.
Tell me what is your name?
I'm MC Rove.

That's right he can't be beat,
Because he so white from his head to his feet.
But he will rap it when you give him a chance
Look at him move doing a rappin' dance.

That's true, he's a dancing resident
He is the side-kick to the president.
Tell me what is your name?
MC Rove.

That's true he's crossing his arms,
He rapping and a chilling and showing his charm.
He will do it without fail,
Get out his gun cuz he's shooting quail.

That man will never stop
Look at him jumping up and down,
Ready to hop.

He's got so much to prove,
Tell me you never knew that this man could move.
Doing the dance,
The Karl Rove dance.

Dancing and talking, dancing and talking (repeat)
You were such a helpful treasure trove
Tell me what is your name?
MC Rove.

See him later hanging in the cove
Tell me what is your name?
MC Rove.

If you haven't thrown up in your mouth, you can check the video of MC Rove in concert (via THE RAP UP).

BIOCHEMICAL SLANG BONUS: Check out these choice quotes from the ruler of this rap ish G DUBBZ:

I'd like to thank Senator Webb for providing security.
Well, where should I start? A year ago, my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the Supreme Court had just withdrawn, and my Vice President had shot someone. Ahhh, those were the good old days.
Sorry the Vice President couldn't be here. He's had a rough few weeks. To be honest, his feelings are kind of hurt. He said he was going on vacation to Afghanistan, where people like him.
I have 664 days left in the White House. So technically, I'm a temporary guest worker.
Considering what's next -- President Clinton, of course, wrote a very successful presidential memoir, with 10,000 pages or something. I'm thinking of something really fun and creative for mine -- you know, maybe a pop-up book. I'm considering a number of titles -- Which do you like? "How W Got His Groove Back." "Who Moved My Presidency?" Or, "Tuesdays With Cheney"?
People Magazine recently had a photo of the Senator [Obama] there on the beach in Hawaii, his sleek, hairless pecs glistening in the surf.
I have to admit we really blew the way we let those attorneys go.

The truth hurts. The truth hurts so bad it makes you wanna laugh. It'll make you laugh so hard, you'll have no idea you're crying.

Slip My Aide a .44 And He Got in the Back Door

2007-03-29T07:53:00.000-04:00

James Brown - Caught With A Bag/Gimme Some More
Sam Cooke - Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out
Positive K - Friends
O.C. - War Games

Politicians love to blame rap music and rappers for the ills of society. Violence, misogyny, and misplaced priorities? Blame it on those damn rappers and their bling. That doesn't mean that politicians won't borrow techniques that have been honed and perfected by the rappers.

Weed carrying. It's not just for rappers anymore. Just ask Senator Jim Webb and his self-professed "friend" and aide Phillip Thompson. It turns out that even though it's legal to pack a firearm (with a concealed weapon permit) in Virginia, you can't just walk into an airport or the capitol building with a 9 milli.

Enter the weed carrier. Phillip Thompson decided to hold the heat.

Enter Russell Senate Office Building security. Phillip Thompson was arrested for carrying a pistol without a license and possessing an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition. Just an innocent mixup, right? Surely, Senator Jim Webb will clear his friend's name, right? “To our knowledge, this incident was an oversight by the senator’s aide,” said Jim Webb spokeswoman, Jessica Smith. “Phillip Thompson is a former marine, a long-term friend and trusted employee of the senator. We are still awaiting facts.” Jim Webb added, "I have never carried a gun in the Capitol complex and I did not give the gun to Phillip Thompson."

Surely, Jim Webb won't use the arrest of his aide and friend to further his own pro-gun agenda, right? Surely, others come before self, right? “If you look at the number of people who are defending the president and other members of the executive branch, there is not that kind of protection available to people in the legislative branch. We are required to defend ourselves, and I choose to do so.”

Damn. The rap game needs to start charging. Without even asking, Washington DC has already stolen weed carriers from rap music. Now, they want to use the downfall of their weed carriers to further their own agenda?

Anything for record sales. Anything for votes. It IS bigger than Hip-Hop.

Not In MY Backyard

2007-03-26T16:06:00.000-04:00

Ini Kamoze - World-A-Music
Bushwick Bill - Letter from KKK
Willie D - Put the F**kin' Gun Away
Stop the Violence All-Stars - Self-Destruction

There's a war goin' on outside. And it's closer than you think.

``I got...the cutest little Smith & Wesson, snub-nose .38 you ever saw. I've never been more confident.''

``Things are way worse than they used to be. You have to do something to protect yourself.''

``But it's not much safer at home. The police chased a guy through my yard one time with their guns out.''

"People are in fear of their lives. They're looking for ways to feel safe again."

Are we in the streets of Iraq? The slums of Haiti? The starved chaos of Darfur? The heroine-tinged back alleys of Afghanistan?

Nah. These are the mean streets of New Orleans. Newly crowned the murder capital of the United States, NOLA has counted more than 37 homicides this year, a rate of 96/100,000. To add to this chilling statistic, the number of permits to carry concealed weapons has approximately doubled since Katrina.

Recently, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms conducted a "time to crime" study, asking the question, "What is the interval between the legal purchase of a firearm and its seizure for a crime investigation?" The national average is five years. NOLA's average? 6 months.

With murders, gun purchases, and concealed weapon permits on the RISE, is there anything, other than bodies, falling in NOLA? The NOLA school district's standardized test scores.

The aforementioned problems cannot just be conveniently filed away as post-hurricane clusterfuckery.

Philadelphia, where you at?!?
Newark, where you at?!?
O akland, where you at?!?
Cincinatti, where you at?!?
St. Louis, where you at?!?

This ain't OVER THERE. We have our own war, right here, in our backyard. You may not live in Philly, but it's OUR backyard. You may not live in Oakland, but it's OUR backyard. Cincinatti may be hours from YOUR home, but it's OUR backyard.

Sometimes I Feel Like...The NYPD is WATCHING Me

2007-03-25T23:05:00.000-04:00

Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me
MC5 - Motor City is Burning

Further adding to their stellar reputation, the NY Times uncovered evidence that the NYPD sent officers to infiltrate organizations that were planning on protesting during the Republican National Convention of 2004. Far from terrorist cells, the NYPD went as far as Europe and Albuquerque. Far from terrorist training camps, the NYPD infiltrated church groups, antiwar groups, and people who were openly against the death penalty.

These are YOUR taxpayer dollars at work. If you live in the FIVE BOROUGHS, those are also YOUR CITY TAXES at work. Do you feel safe, already?!?

“Activists are showing a well-organized network made up of anti-Bush sentiment; the mixing of music and political rhetoric indicates sophisticated organizing skills with a specific agenda,” said the NYPD report, dated Oct. 9th, 2003. “Police departments in above listed areas have been contacted regarding this event.”

The mixing of music and political rhetoric indicates sophisticated organizing skills? WTF? I wish I was making this up. Maybe this is why we haven't found Osama. Maybe this is why we hit Iraq instead of Afghanistan.

Have our overzealous methods turned against us? Biochemical Slang wants to know, "Are we living in a police state?"

Killing US Softly With His WOK

2007-03-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

Willie Bobo - Fried Neckbones and Some Homefries
Goodie Mob - Soul Food
Kenny Burrell - Chitlins Con Carne
Horace Andy - Eating Mess
World Famous Upsetters - Cabbage Greens
L. Anderson - Neck Bones and Hot Sauce
Them Prodigals - Cake Time

We all know Chinese take-out isn't good for you. But did you know it was THAT BAD for you? The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently released a study of the nutritional contents of the typical chinese take-out cuisine. Healthy options? Not so much.

Here's what a CSPI nutritionist had to say: “My basic advice to diners is this: Stick with the veggie-rich and stir-fried shrimp or chicken dishes, steer clear of the entrées that are basically deep-fried meat or chicken in sauce, and don’t waste your calories on greasy noodles and fried rice.”

I'm sure your kids are salivating. Who goes to the Chinese take-out for vegetables?

The chicken wings and fried rice combo is that ish when you're searching for a lunch special and your moms only gave you 3 dollars. They'll cut your wings for you. They'll squirt hot sauce and barbeque sauce on your wings. All that for $2.75. God bless America. As a bonus, you'll get enough salt for two days. If you grab a couple Yi-Pin soy sauces, you'll get four days worth of salt. In my book, that's an effin' BARGAIN.

YOU do the math.

You have a QUARTER leftover for dessert. You'll need to find the nearest bodega. Don't fret, you've got CHOICES. You can go for the nickel Swedish fish (five of 'em). Or, you can get one QUARTER water (yes, it's a dessert). Or, you can get one Lil Debbie oatmeal cream pie. If you skip school on Monday and Friday, you can have a different dessert for every school lunch!

It doesn't end there. The Chinese take-out offers even more bargains for your kids. You can always go for the $1.25 large fries. If they squirt enough FREE ketchup on it, you got your vegetables too. Free ketchup and $1.75 in your pockets. Life is good.

This is America, we have the freedom to make our own choices. With your extra change do you go for the 50 cent honey-bun or splurge on the 2-cookies-for-99-cents?

Hip-Hop is Rock 'n' Roll. Rock 'n' Roll is Hip-Hop.

2007-03-21T14:22:00.000-04:00

Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime
The Clash - Rock the Casbah
The Police - Roxanne
The Police - Message in a Bottle
AC/DC - Back in Black
Graham Nash - Chicago
The Who - Eminence Front

Little Boy Blues - Dream Weaver/Seed of Love
Eric Clapton - I Shot the Sheriff
The Stooges - Dirt
Steely Dan - Peg
Blood, Sweat & Tears - 40,000 Headmen
Hall & Oates - Method of Modern Love
Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)

Biochemical Slang wants you to know that DONNY HATHAWAY had it right when he said, "EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING."

We here at Biochemical Slang are often misconstrued as conspiracy theorists. Don't get it twisted. It's hard out there for a truth seeker. We made a prediction after the induction of Grandmaster Flash into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame: With rap music sales in a record slump, did the TI's decide to let a rap group into the hall of fame to boost rap's credibility as an artform?

Eff the critics. Hip-hop doesn't need approval from anyone, outside the FANS of the music.

Quadruple eff the TI's. After counting the final votes, it turns out that Grandmaster Flash was beaten by the British group The Dave Clark Five.

It turns out that Rolling Stone publisher and chairman of the Rock 'n' Roll Foundation, Jann Wenner, decided to ignore the actual votes and help the TI's with their dwindling investments in ~~black culture~~ rap music: "Jann went back to a previous ballot instead of taking the final vote as the last word," the source continued. "He used a technicality about the day votes were due in. In reality, The Dave Clark Five got six more votes than Grandmaster Flash. But he felt we couldn't go another year without a rap act."

Quintuple eff the TI's. Hip-hop didn't need an induction to be rock 'n' roll. Hip-hop IS rock 'n' roll. Hip-hop didn't need an induction to be considered an artform. Hip-hop didn't need anybody's sympathy. Talib Kweli had this to say to Jann Wenner:

Hip-hop is big business like Con Edison or Medicine
But f**k it, they gonna let us in, or else we rush the door
I got to many reasons, save your 'whys' and 'what fors.'

Maps are for Imperialists

2007-03-19T16:05:00.000-04:00

Geto Boys - The World is a Ghetto
War - The World is a Ghetto
Thanks to Junichi from POPLICKS for puttin' Biochemical Slang on to Worldmapper.

WORLDMAPPER realizes that the world doesn't need more maps that merely tell us where to go. We've got GPS. Plus, we all know most boundaries found on maps are nothing more than post-imperialism carving. Just ask Africa. Just ask Southeast Asia. Just ask Central and South America.

WORLDMAPPER has re-sized the world map, relative to the subject of interest. Boundaries don't define who you are. What you do within those boundaries defines who you are. How you spend your capital within those boundaries defines who you are. Wanna talk prisoners? America easily takes the cake.

Wanna talk military spending? America keeps growing and growing. Do YOU feel safer now?

Public education spending? Once again, USA is number one. How are YOUR kids sizing up, relative to the children of China and India?

How about a RETURN on our public education spending? Not so much. Unless you talk to the parents of China and India. They seem to be making a RETURN on their investment.

Again, we may be the NUMBER ONE spender in public health dollars.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean you'll get a bed in the emergency room when you REALLY NEED ONE.

Eff it. At least we have our alcohol and cigarettes. Reality is best served chilled, not stirred.

Charles Wright Reads the News and Makes a Prediction

2007-03-16T15:11:00.000-04:00

NYPD detectives miraculously "discover" a mystery witness in the Sean Bell shooting. This coincidentally occurs during the grand jury's did-the-cops-break-the-law deliberation.
Valerie Plame testified in an investigation regarding the "leak" of the classified identity of a CIA operative. Did the Bush administration mishandle this highly sensitive information? Hmmmmm.
Would the White House fire eight prosecutors, simply because they were not aligned with the Bush administration?
Was Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, the Army surgeon general, ousted, merely to serve as the scapegoat in the Walter Reed fiasco? Or is this just the tip of the iceberg?

Charles Wright had this to say: ONE LIE LEADS TO ANOTHER.

Pimpin' All Over the Latin World

2007-03-14T13:39:00.000-04:00

The Honey Drippers - Impeach The President
Billy Baron - Communications Is Where It's At
Bushwick Bill - Mr. President

G DUBBZ has spent the last week spreading the gospel of democracy in the Latin Americas. In the words of DUBBZ, "I want to talk about another important priority for our country, and that is helping our neighbors to the south of us build a better and productive life."

Translation: We desperately NEED the Hispanic vote.

Peep this DUBBZ classic: "Yet, despite the advances, tens of millions in our hemisphere remain stuck in poverty, and shut off from the promises of the new century. My message to those trabajadores y campesinos is, you have a friend in the United States of America. We care about your plight."

Riiiiiiiiiiight. Translation: I wasn't kidding. We really need votes from you people.

During the past week, G DUBBZ spent time in Brazil, Uruguay, Columbia, Guatemala, and Mexico. Let's check in on G DUBBZ's kick-the-truth-to-the-young-Latin-youth tour.

Did the people of Brazil welcome the spreader of democracy, freedom, and rising GDPs? Not so much.

Did the folks of Uruguay relate to G DUBBZ we-doubled-our-aid-to-you-people rhetoric? Not so much.

Did the Columbians believe G DUBBZ's "our nation has a vital interest in helping the young democracies in our neighborhood succeed" schtick? Not so much.

What about Guatemala and Mexico. Surely, G DUBBZ found some love there. "If people can come into our country, for example, on a temporary basis to work, doing jobs Americans aren't doing, they won't have to sneak across the border." Surely, the you-can-come-here-as-long-as-you-do-the-nig***-jobs argument worked? Not so much.

G DUBBZ come home! We got nothin' but love for ya here.

Just make sure you stay far, far away from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

You should also try to avoid New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. You know, all the states that were hit by Hurricane FEMA. More than the weather, it's the aftermath that STILL HURTS.

You should probably also watch your back. Even your BOYS may decide to carry weed for someone else.

Eff it, G DUBBZ. There's always the cocaina.

“The shot heard ’round the world was fired from the South Bronx.”

2007-03-13T09:27:00.000-04:00

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - The Message
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - Rap City Freestyle (courtesy of On Smash)

Hip-Hop is Rock and Roll. Rock and Roll is Hip-Hop.

If you needed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to prove that fact, you need to OPEN YOUR EARS and EYES. Everything is everything. Congrats to the whole crew. Biochemical Slang would also like to take this opportunity to shout out Rock 'n' Roll Nigg** Number One, Patti Smith.

Biochemical Slang Conspiracy Theory Alert - With rap music sales in a record slump, did the TI's decide to let a rap group into the hall of fame to boost rap's credibility as an artform?

With Hip-Hop becoming 3 minute up-close-and-personal-with-Robin-Leech made-for-BET jingles, Biochemical Slang wants to know: Where is TODAY'S MESSAGE?

Trailers? FEMA's Got It For CHEAP.

2007-03-11T19:47:00.000-04:00

Showbiz and A.G. - Fat Pockets
Donny Hathaway - The Slums
Max Roach - The Profit

Your tax dollars were used to buy 145,000 mobile homes after Katrina hit NOLA. That was a 2.7 BILLION dollar bill. With Katrina slowly becoming a memory in the back of America's mind, FEMA has to unload 41,000 UNUSED trailers. Yeah, brand-spankin' new. You can get a deal: you'll pay 40 cents for every dollar those sucker tax-payers spent. Also, keep in mind that 900 million dollars worth of RV's were bought by FEMA, only to be stored because the homes were not meant for "storm zones."

Wait a second, you may be asking yourself: What about those tornadoes that left many homeless? "While FEMA has 8,420 brand new, fully furnished, never-used mobile homes in a cow pasture in Hope, Arkansas, they refuse to provide the people from Desha, Back Gate and Dumas counties with help. This is crazy," said Mike Ross, a Arkansas representative, "If this is the new and improved FEMA, I don't want any part of it."

Exactly.

Wait a second. Where are FEMA's PRIORITIES, you ask? Here's what Michael A. Molino, president of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association, had to say: "As you can imagine, a public auction of so many vehicles could devastate the market for travel trailers."

Wait a second. What about our brothers and sisters who need a ROOF over their head? What about their kids? What about their homework? FEMA spokeperson Deborah Wing said that FEMA is working with the RV Association "so we do not flood the market or harm business." I'm sure that she meant to use the word FLOOD figuratively. You gotta love the fact that the mobile-housing market takes priority over PEOPLE.

What about the NOLA housing market? An anonymous trailer park tenant had this to say: "People say we shouldn't still be living in a FEMA park. But take a look at the rents people have to pay in New Orleans now -- who can afford that?" FEMA spokesperson Deborah wing had nothing to say.

Ron Harrell, a FEMA trailer park tenant, put it best: "WE CALL IT HURRICANE FEMA."

Like Butter Played Toast...

2007-03-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

Isley Brothers - Between the Sheets
DeBarge - Stay With Me
Mtume - Juicy Fruit
Sylvia Striplin - You Can't Turn Me Away
KC & the Sunshine Band - I Get Lifted
Mick Boogie & Terry Urban - Unbelievable: A Tribute To Biggie Smalls (courtesy of Rizoh at THE RAP UP)

It's been TEN YEARS and most of us still face the EVERYDAY STRUGGLE. Pay some RESPECT by celebrating life. Today. Right now.

Yeah, THE WORLD IS FILLED...with obstacles.....with locked doors. No problem, just KICK IN THE DOOR. The SKY'S THE LIMIT.

It depends on what the meaning of the word "PROGRESS" is.

2007-03-08T06:53:00.000-05:00

Queen Latifah - Evil That Men Do
Res - They Say Vision
Beanie Sigel - Man's World
Helene Smith - Got To Be A Man

It has been 42 years and a day since our fellow citizens took it upon themselves to CHANGE their world. One step at a time, they took their baton blows and tear gas, as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, on their way to Montgomery, hoping to find salvation for a country that desperately needed it.

Fast forward to the year 2007. The remaking of Hairspray marks a pivotal moment in American cinema and, perhaps, American culture. No longer is the Black man the only person allowed to fulfill the role of the man-in-a-lady-suit. No longer is the Black man the only person eligible to be emasculated on screen. No longer is the image of a Black man dressed up as a woman only available to Black men. This is the YEAR 2007, people.

John Travolta, the pioneer, has opened up numerous avenues for White actors across the country. If a roll involves dressing up a man as a woman (preferably in a fat suit), no longer do we read "whites need not apply" on the job notices. We have come a long way since those dark times. Hollywood, once again, has helped the American public see the light. Hollywood is so far ahead of its time. When a fat suit, wig, jewelry, and makeup are necessary for your role, don't let your race hold you back. On-screen emasculation is no longer Black-only. Line up Whitey, there's money to be made!

You've Come A Long Way, Baby

2007-03-07T19:54:00.000-05:00

Prince Buster - Wreck a Pum Pum
Prince Buster - Wreck a BUDDY (ft. the Sexy Girls)

Don't write Prince Buster's Wreck a Pum Pum off as yet another example of the patriarchal world in which we live in, until you listen to the second track. Prince Buster's gotta have it. But, don't forget about his backup singers. They gotta have it too! This was a call-and-response record (No Scott Storch. No Cam'Ron. No 50. No Timbaland).

This is the 2-double-0-7. We ALL gotta have it.

Happy Women's History Month!

Hillary Asks Us ALL: "Am I Black Enough For YOU?"

2007-03-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway - Be Real Black For Me
InI - Fakin' Jax
MC Lyte - 10% Dis
James Brown - I Got a Bag of My Own

With Black people's votes becoming a hot commodity, the presidential hopefuls decided to tackle the issues facing the Black community. They discussed the prison industrial complex, the improvement of the public school system, the encouragement of property ownership, and the benefit of reading.

Ummmmm. Not so much.

Rather, the presidential hopefuls decided to stage two competing celebrate-Selma-by-voting-for-ME speeches. The personal highlight was Hillary's interpretation and interpolation of James Cleveland's freedom hymn:
"I don't feel no ways tired/I come too far from where I started from/Nobody told me that the road would be easy/I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me."

Yeah. Now imagine Hillary saying that with an accent. Yes, that's what it sounded like. Not for nothin', Obama had to ebonify his vernacular a bit too.

If degrees of Blackness are an issue up for discussion and debate, HILLARY wants her piece of that pie as well. She loves God. She's got Sharpton on her side. She's even got Timbaland ridin' with her. She's married to the "first black president of the United States." Biochemical Slang wants to know: Is Hillary blacker than Obama?

New Orleans Kids Experiencing a Record Number of JOB EDUCATIONAL PHOTO Opportunities

2007-03-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Rance Allen Group - Talk That TALK Part 1
The Rance Allen Group - Talk That TALK Part 2

After not even mentioning the word "Katrina" even ONCE during his State of the Union Address, G DUBBZ graced New Orleans with his presence, yet again. Among others, he visited students at a CHARTER school and the New Orleans ARCHBISHOP. Appealing to the Religious Right and the "privatization" of public schools, via charter schools, are NOT the problems facing NOLA. They are the issues Bush is pushing as a pawn of the Republican machine. The oil from this machine, apparently, is provided by the sweat and suffering of the Katrina victims.

Of course, money is NOT the root of the problem, but the GREEN leaves get the most attention, even as the roots below insidiously ROT: "And to the extent we can help, we'll help. I told the people that I would work with the Congress to write a $110 billion check -- the people of Louisiana and Mississippi, and that check has been written. And now it's incumbent upon us to get the money into people's hands. Sometimes it's hard to see progress when you're living close to the scene. I guess the New Orleans Saints football team represents to me what's happening in this part of the state -- a resurgence, there's a renewal."

Money ain't a thing, G DUBBZ.

Crime and safety, two primary concerns of the people that actually live in NOLA, were not mentioned once during G DUBBZ's brief stop there. According to Mary Beth Romig, spokewoman for the New Orleans' Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, "Once again it's a situation where violent crimes are taking place in inner-city neighborhoods and traditional hot spots."

Translation: Ain't a damn thing changed: let the darkies kill each other.

Crime is so bad, Tracy McGrady had this to say when he found out that next year's All-Star game may be held in NOLA: "If I don't feel that I'm going to be safe, if I am on that team, I will look into probably not even going." Damn. Even ball-players are runnin' for the hills. And they have security guards.

27 people have been murdered in NOLA, since January 1st, 2007. NOLA Police Superintendent Warren Riley may be on to something: "For us to correct this, we have to look at the root of the problem. The root of the problem is our education system."

When the children of NOLA witnessed, first hand, their government's lack of response, they were taught a grim lesson: you ain't ish. You're just a cog in the system. You're just a baton in a never-ending race: you'll be used and passed on.

The kids will now become part of the system’s educational baton race. They will be passed on, from grade to grade, from teacher to teacher. They’re YOUR problem now. Passed on. Passed on and dumped on graduation day. There will be one more generation sitting at the finish line, not realizing they have just started the REAL RAT RACE. There will be one more generation with nowhere to go, with nothin’ in their pockets but frustration, anger, and hate.

Prophet Stevie Wonder's Once-Every-Four-Years Prediction: Beware the Upcoming Campaigns

2007-03-04T15:25:00.000-05:00

Stevie Wonder - BIG BROTHER

Your name is big brother.
You say that you're watching me on the tele,
Seeing me go nowhere.

Your name is big brother, 
You say that you're tired of me protesting, 
Children dying everyday. 
My name is nobody, 
But I can't wait to see your face inside my door.

Your name is big brother, 
You say that you got me all in your notebook, 
Writing it down everyday. 
Your name is I'll see ya, 
I'll change if you vote me in as the pres, 
The President of your soul. 
I live in the ghetto, 
You just come to visit me 'round election time.

I live in the ghetto, 
Someday I will move on my feet to the other side.
 
My name is secluded, 
we live in a house the size of a matchbox, 
Roaches live with us wall to wall.

You've killed all our leaders, 
I don't even have to do nothin' to you. 
You'll cause your own country to fall.

Money Only Gets You So Far

2007-03-03T16:31:00.000-05:00

Barrington Levy - Money Makes Friends
Gil Scott-Heron - Or Down You Fall

Now that Al Sharpton has some time to kill, as he waits for his DNA results to come back, he can work on Sean Bell's "friend" Trent Benefield. Al was nice enough to buy him a new suit. He probably even ironed it for him. If you stop by Trent's MySpace page, you'll notice the "money-shots" are missing (see above for a sample of the deleted pictures...thank god for right-click-save-as). No more makin' it rain for Trent.

Al KNOWS how to handle his business in the courtroom. Just ask Tawana Brawley. Yeah, I said it.

Trent has changed his pitch up. No more swimmin' in the community's hard-earned money. With all those leathers and crisp brims, it's probably long gone. Hundred dollar bills only last so long. Hundred dollar bills can only help you forget for so long. Sean Bell is still gone. I truly hope Trent has come to grips with the passing of Sean Bell. I truly hope that Trent has realized that life is a blessing. Literally. 50 bullets and he's still breathing.

Money ain't a thing, Trent.

American RACE Relations = Not So Much.

2007-03-02T06:10:00.000-05:00

Curtis Mayfield - Kung Fu
Dennis Coffey/Black Belt Jones OST - Main Theme Version 2
Dennis Coffey/Black Belt Jones OST - Dragon Style
Dennis Coffey/Black Belt Jones OST - Super Slick
Dennis Coffey/Black Belt Jones OST - Symphony for Jones

Hopefully, this didn't stem from BLACK BELT JONES being honored as one of the 50 worst movies ever made. For those of you that haven't heard, self-proclaimed "God of the Universe" Kenneth Eng (who happens to be Asian, obviously) wrote a piece for San Francisco's Asian Week entitled "Why I Hate Blacks." How this slipped past the editors is beyond me.

Of course, the clean-up crew has come out in FULL FORCE. After the fact, Asian and Black local leaders held a press conference to make the following obvious statements: Kenneth Eng will no longer write for Asian Week. The editor who allowed the piece to run SHOULD be fired. I hope we will use this incident as an opportunity to open up much needed dialogues between the Asian- and African American communities. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Racial tensions aren't new news. However, when they become so blatant, they force themselves upon us and the news media. Why do we always wait for the inevitable boiling over to begin to address these issues? Does it really take Michael "KKKramer" Richards to let us know that black and white folks may have some issues to work out? Does it really take Paris Hilton to elucidate the lack of communication between the black and white communities? Was it necessary for Mel Gibson to alert us to the fact that Christians and Jews may have to iron out some differences? Did it take the senseless murder of a 14 year-old Black female at the hands of a Latino gang member to get the Black and Latino communities at the same table? Does America need Kenneth Eng to help us realize that the Asian and Black communities have some talking to do?

Yes. Apparently, the answer is yes. People, we have a lot of growing to do. When the only interracial dialogue we take part in is whether we want fried rice or white rice with our General Tso's, we've got a problem. When the only interracial dialogue we take part in is you-pay-now-or-leave-store, we have a problem. We're all of the same stuff, people. We're all of the same stuff.

Peep these insightful post-Kenneth Eng posts:

Oliver at Poplicks DOT COM speaks the truth.
Jeff Chang says Asian Week is Dead.
Gawker helps bring Asians and Blacks together.

Cheney All Over the World

2007-03-01T07:55:00.000-05:00

Separated at birth? Damn, the resemblance between these two pics is uncanny.
London Symphony Orchestra - Imperial March
Metallica - Imperial March

The chickens (tried to) come home to roost. Or something like that. Cheney emerged from his underground lair this week to remind the world that the USofA still runs this rap ish. How was he received? American approval ratings be damned! Cheney decided to see check up on his international comrades.

Upon arrival in Japan, Japan's defense minister was noted as saying "starting the Iraq war was a mistake" and who had also "insisted Americans would not back a 'policy of retreat.'" That wouldn't hold Cheney back. Off to Australia!

Cheney, upon arrival, was greeted by a barrage of Australian protesters. Being used to these sort of things, he carried on to his press conference: "I don't see any prospects of damage to the alliance....I think this alliance has been solid. We fought together in every major conflict for the last 100 years. We do from time to time, as all governments do, have differences of opinion on various and sundry alliances but I think the alliance is rock solid." However, according to the Melbourne Herald Sun: "Sorry Dick, but no."

Cheney brushed his shoulders and headed to China. Surely, he'll meet with a better reception here, despite raising concerns over China's increased miltary budget. When asked about Cheney's remarks, China's defense minister Qin Gang replied, "If someone always tears through your clothes and even wants to lift open your underwear, saying 'Let me see what's inside', how would you feel? Would you want to call the police?" Ummmm. No Weezy F Baby.

No problem, let's check up on Afghanistan. Remember that place?

Yeah, Cheney headed right for a bomb shelter, when the words suicide bomber were yelled. However, did you know that we knew of the threat facing Cheney before it occurred? “We know for a fact that there has been recent intelligence to suggest that there was the threat of a bombing in the Bagram area,” the spokesman, Col. Tom Collins, said at a news briefing in Kabul. Has the administration become so desperate for APPROVAL that it would set itself up for attack?

YOU BE THE JUDGE.

As a supremacy sidenote: the plane that Cheney has been touring the world with is called "The Spirit of Strom Thurmond." Seriously. I WISH I could make this ish up.

President Bush's Black History Month QUOTE of the Month

2007-02-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

Stevie Wonder - Do Yourself a Favor

President Bush ends February with a BANG: "I mean, I'm in awe of their athletic skills..."

YOU be the judge. Tomorrow, February will be behind us, and it'll be back to normal at most schools. Napolean, Vikings, Boston Tea Party, Roman civilization, Greek mythology, Queen Victoria, and all things European and American.

No more last minute Harriet Tubman Wikipedia searches kids! Until next year, that is.......

For God's Sake, Give More Power to the PRESS

2007-02-27T08:05:00.000-05:00

Alton Ellis - The Preacher
Tupac - Temptations
Yabby You - Deliver Me From Me Enemies
Chi-Lites - (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the PEOPLE

When the cameras are rolling, the flashes flashing, and the tape recorders recording, the Reverend Al Sharpton gets that gleam in his eye. People are listening to me! People are really listening to me! Sharpton's inner voice, the giddy little school girl, gets ready to speak. These are the moments he lives for: the sweat from his brow, reflecting off the flash of the cameras, his voice recorded for the local radio news shows. Who will Sharpton speak for? For what unspoken cause, will he use his booming voice?

Social justice? Health care? Racial inequality? Unemployment? Education? Affordable housing? Political disenfranchisement?

Nope. Apparently Ancestry DOT COM and the NY Daily News were able to prove that Al Sharpton's great-grandfather was owned by Strom Thurmond's distant cousin. Of course, with the cameras rolling, Al was at his verbose-best: "It was probably the most shocking thing of my life. I couldn't describe to you the emotions I have had . . . everything from anger to outrage to reflection to some pride and glory."

Is this finding ironic? Sure. Is it interesting? Maybe.

But don't you find it SLIGHTLY suspect that immediately following the "real Blackness means your ancestors were slaves" argument that the DAILY NEWS, along with a privately-owned genealogy company, suddenly "discovers" Sharpton's slave connections? Don't you find it convenient that this news pops up NOW? Work with me peoples. Al Sharpton was the same guy that said this a month ago: "...just because you’re our color doesn’t make you our kind." These are the things that make Biochemical Slang go hmmmmm.

Apparently, Sharpton is "shocked," "angry," and "amazed." We here at Biochemical Slang have some suggestions for Sharpton. Here are some recent news items that are MORE shocking, MORE anger-provoking, and MORE amazing than contrived discoveries.

President Bush's budget for supplementing state coverage of children's health care shortchanges children to the tune of 13.4 BILLION dollars over five years. That translates into 14 states that will run out of child health care money, by this coming October. This translates into more than 9 million children, mainly impoverished minorities, who will remain uninsured. Sharpton, WHERE YOU AT?
The black-white academic achievement gap has become a fixture of American education. Test score differences between black and white students, regardless of socioeconomic status, remain huge. This is especially true for African-American boys. Money, truly, ain't a thing. Sharpton, WHERE YOU AT?
Sean Bell's case is still open. Sharpton, WHERE YOU AT?

What's Sharpton's next move, you ask? Sharpton wants a DNA test to prove whether or not he is related to Strom Thurmond. I can't make this ish up. Biochemical Slang's question for Sharpton: WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?

The Clipse and McDonalds Collaborate on the COKESPOON Project

2007-02-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Cocaine Re-Up Anthem (Nick Catchdubs Remix) - The Clipse
Cocaine in My Brain - Dillinger
Cocaine - Eric Clapton
Cocaine Blues - Johnny Cash
We Got the Remix - The Clipse (Biochemical Slang Re-Up)

I'll be honest with you. The title of this post was merely the bait to get you to read this. How we all wish it were true. When you break it down, how different are the Clipse from McDonald's? They both slang addictive products. They both got it for cheap. They both are loved by white and black alike. They both come with major hipster credits.

Anyhow. Back to the subject at hand. Do you remember back in the day when McDonald's made little spoons to stir your coffee? Not only did they stir your coffee, they were perfect for puttin' that coke up in your nose. The suits at McD's got wind of the street usage of their product and promptly replaced 'em with standard coffee stirrers.

Believe it or not, you can buy these vintage stirrers on Ebay. We here in America STAY on our grind.

Fast forward to the present, "artists" were gold-plating and selling replica McD's coke spoons for $295. It turns out, McDonald's wasn't too happy and pulled the old cease-and-desist. According to McD lawyer-speak, "There is an element of trust between McDonald's and our customers in what those trademarks and other representations of the brand mean. Any dilution of that, or any association without McDonald's approval to third parties, entities or objects, is an erosion of that trust that we have with our customers."

Sure. Give McD's the big eff you by orderin' yourself a ghetto big mac. Anything to cure us of the MONDAY BLUES.

No Matter HOW You Slice It

2007-02-23T17:56:00.000-05:00

Stevie Wonder - Look Around
True Reflection - Society

I only have five more days to discuss black history. Then it's back to whitey, whitey, and more whitey. Check out this survey that posits the question, "How do you feel about black history month?"

Is black history month necessary? Is black history month the catalyst schools need to mention Malcolm, Martin, Harriet, Booker, Langston, etc, etc, etc? Is black history month "simply a guilt-driven public relations scam to pacify blacks who otherwise receive no attention on the bread and butter issues of education, jobs, and health care?"

We here at Biochemical Slang will let YOU do the math. You know these guys have already done THEIR math. Guess who's laughing all the way to the bank?

Out of Sight + Out of Mind = The Perfect Vacation

2007-02-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

Curtis Mayfield - The Other Side of Town
Bill Withers - Take It ALL In and Check It All Out
Artifakts - The Wrong Side of da Tracks
Beres Hammond - Another Day in the System

Looking to temporarily escape the madness? Trying to forget your troubles? It's time to leave the city and head out to an exotic island. An island where the natives serve you. An island where you can safely negrify yourself and get those "corn rows" you've heard so much about. An island where the natives leave your white teenage daughters alone.

Don't sleep on HAITI.

Those pesky "facts" may tell you that Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemispere. Yeah, the median age is only 18.2 years. Yeah, more than 1 out of every 20 Haitians are infected with HIV/AIDS.

But can the "facts" describe the pristene beauty of a private beach? Exactly.

Perhaps, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines spokesman Dave Scott can help explain: "You think of Haiti, you think of poverty. You think of violence. You think of politics. You think of a suppressed people. But when they actually sail into the bay and they see the pristine sand and the blue seas and the smiling people, their whole attitude changes.”

Exactly.

The United Nations may have troops stationed in Port-au-Prince, but that shouldn't stop you from walking the beautiful, virgin beaches. You know, the beaches that are fenced from the actual Haitians. The beaches that are under constant surveillance by armed guards.

I'll let Haitian tourism minister, Patrick Delatour explain: “Yes, there is violence in Port-au-Prince. But you could sleep on the beach in Jacmel and you’d be safe.”

Exactly.

Yeah, there's violence. Yes, there's death. Yes, AIDS is endemic. Yes, poverty is a way of life.

But, eff it. You won't SEE any of it. If a tree falls and no one's around to hear it, did it make a sound? Hell to the NO! However, if you do decide to leave the fenced-in, secured tourist-only compounds, you have to present your passport and sign a waiver. Just a minor detail, according to Royal Caribbean.

We'll let tourist Helen Murphy explain: “I don’t want to see poverty. I’m on vacation. I don’t want to think that these people don’t have enough to eat.”

Exactly.

Where Are They NOW? New Orleans Students Remix NEEDED

2007-02-20T17:51:00.001-05:00

Bob James - Take Me To the Mardi Gras
Professor Longhair - Big Chief

Nas was able to get Sir-Mix-Alot, Dana Dane, and Chip Fu for his remixes. Yeah, Chip Fu. However, even Nas may not be able to answer the REAL TALK where are they now?

Where are the kids? Enrollment at NOLA public schools, a year and a half after Katrina, is 1/3 of its original enrollment. Yes, NOLA is at half-capacity since the hurricane. Is it too far an extrapolation to assume that school enrollment should be at half-capacity as well?

Not only is school enrollment dismally low, average attendance rates are only 83%. So, schools are at 1/3 of their pre-Katrina enrollment, with 83% actually showing up to school. Is it irony, poetic justice, or governmental bureacracy to blame for the renaming of NOLA's school districts to the "Recovery School Districts?"

Damn. Add to the mix the severe teacher shortage in NOLA. So, let's forget the "where are they (the kids) NOW" question. How about, "Are you ready for some SAINTS FOOTBALL?"

Biochemical Slang presents: A BLAST from the Past

2007-02-19T13:45:00.000-05:00

Biochemical Slang wishes you ALL a Happy President's Day! Or as we like to call it around here: Enjoy your DAY OFF.

Ghost Town - The UNDENIABLE Truth

2007-02-18T00:23:00.000-05:00

GHOST TOWN - The Specials

Mardi Gras seems a bit empty this year. Ghost town is more than just a metaphor.

VERY EMPTY.

Homes remain boarded up. The folks that remained in New Orleans, are beginning to leave. The teachers that came, are leaving classrooms with no teachers. The murder rate is the only number on the way up, with 24 bodies in the morgue since January 1st.

All that and the only person that NOLA could find that was willing to grand marshall the Krewe of Endymion parade was Taylor Hicks. Ouch.

Have we truly forgotten New Orleans? Have we created the modern-day Atlantis?

NEWSFLASH: America is a Democracy!

2007-02-17T15:12:00.000-05:00

Funkadelic - If You Don't Like the Effects, Don't Produce the Cause

We at Biochemical Slang know it's been a long time since many of you have cracked open a US History or civics textbook. Thus, we view this post as a PSA of sorts.

Apparently, our House of Representatives (a part of the legislative branch of our government) formally repudiated the president (the executive branch of our government). In Biochemical Slang speak: they took hours of tax-payer funded work time to tell the president, in writing, that they didn't approve of his surge.

Apparently, this was a big deal. Apparently, the House Democrats worked EXTRA HARD for this 61 word, NON-BINDING resolution. Apparently, symbolic "formal repudiations" mean a lot to the House of Reps. Apparently, G DUBBZ can still do whatever the eff he wants.

Apparently, we have forgotten the centerpiece of our fine government: CHECKS and BALANCES. Apparently, this system of "checks and balances" prevents one part of government from usurping total control. Apparently, this "separation of power" is written somewhere in the Constitution.

It's amazing the things you can find...when you're LOOKING for them.

It's Friday....

2007-02-16T18:38:00.000-05:00

Life is good. Enjoy a laugh. Courtesy of Rizoh at THE RAP UP DOT COM.

I'm not gonna even TRY to caption this ish. You gotta love the internets.

Biochemical Slang is for the (making of) CHILDREN

2007-02-14T10:37:00.000-05:00

We here at Biochemical Slang strive to bring you the truth. Unfortunately, the TRUTH doesn't usually come with rainbows and sunshine. Unfortunately, the truth doesn't always allow us to crack a smile.

The truth can hurt: New Orleans is slowly becoming our modern-day Lost City of Atlantis, as we forget its people as they murder one another. Our country has become so accustomed to autocratic rule, our House and Senate are spending valuable hours debating the phrasing of a resolution that will officially denounce G DUBBZ's surge. Don't believe the hype this February, Supremacy still runs this rap ish. While we take our democracy for granted, others are DYING for some democracy. Literally. While other countries prepare their children for the FUTURE, we underfund our schools, we hold debates over the validity of Creationism, and we prepare our kids for the fantasy-world of MySpace, PS3's, and rap beefs.

WHERE'S THE LOVE?

It's more than the internets. February 14th, 2007, although MAN-made, can hold a higher purpose. Family and friends are the reason we're here. Family and friends are the reason this fight is worth the struggle. Family and friends are THE TRUTH. LOVE is THE TRUTH. Go tell someone that. NOW.

Biochemical Slang wishes it's readers all the LOVE in the world (no Mark Foley). We're in this struggle together (Double No Juelz Santana).

Betty Davis - Your Mama Wants Ya Back
Betty Davis - If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up
Millie Jackson - If Lovin' You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to be Right)
Millie Jackson - The Memory of a Wife
Laura Lee - What A Man
Ann Peebles - You've Got the Paper s (But I've Got the Man)
Ann Peebles - Bip Bam Thank You Mam

We'll Give You Sports. Entertainment? Maybe Next February.

2007-02-13T00:32:00.000-05:00

Stevie Wonder - Black Man
Living Colour - Cult of Personality
Lakim Shabazz - Black is Back
Ice Cube - I Wanna Kill Sam

Being February, the obligatory made-for-the-press White House functions are in full gear. Words, promises, and handshakes. No matter that New Orleans has become the lost city of Atlantis. No matter that Black murder rates are skyrocketing. No matter that urban education has become America's Peace Corps. G DUBBZ says, "EFF THAT, it's February!"

Peep the above subliminal, jacked straight from WHITE HOUSE DOT GOV. Yes, it's Black history month, but George Washington is still YOUR forefather. Yes, we'll let you wear "Black History" sashes, but only if master watches over you. Is it just me, or does it look like the slave owner watching over his field hands?

Not only is master watching over his field hands, G DUBBZ added that sports have been the crowning African-American achievement:

"It might just have been a game for some, but for a lot of folks it was a moment, an historic moment. And we congratulate Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith for their strong leadership and their example."
"Sylvester Croom, who is the head football coach from Mississippi State University. His achievement is the first African American coach in the Southeastern Football League -- Southeastern Conference."
"I want to tell you the story of Bonnie St. John. She grew up in California, which is -- most places in California are not very close to the snow. But she wanted to be a skier...."
"Some of you baby boomers might remember Mudcat. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins. They went to the 1965 World Series, and he won 25 games. He founded what's called the Black Aces."
"Any baseball fan knows he's a Hall of Famer -- and that's Fergie Jenkins, a member of the Black Aces, as well as Mike Norris, former pitcher for the Mudcats."

And let's not forget, Wesley Autrey, G DUBBZ's new favorite black man. He's been to the White House TWICE already. They love when you save one of their own: "You know, you might remember Wesley from the State of the Union address. I remember Wesley was I think sending a hand signal to you, Mr. Chairman. So was I, by the way. (Laughter.) I love you, man. Ummmm. No Mark Foley. Hand signals? Love you?

Athletes are all you could come up with? OK, so you threw in a couple of token non-athletic Black folks here and there. G DUBBZ, that's it? Where are the Percy Julians? The Jane Bolins? The Dr. Charles Drews? The Daniel Hale Williams? The Rita Doves? The Ossie Davises? The Alain Lockes?

History ain't what happened. It's what's TOLD.

A CHANGE is Gonna Come......Eventually

2007-02-12T12:35:00.000-05:00

Sinnerman - Nina Simone
Busterismology - The Coup
Old Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear
Don't Call Me Brother - The O'Jays
Props to fellow TRUTH-SEEKERS Dallas Penn and PardonMeDuke for the images.
Pics jacked from Trent Benefield's MySpace page.

Police used their guns gratuitously, in an all-too-familiar scenario. Sean Bell was taken from us too soon. His two friends were injured. A call to arms was made. We shouted for justice. Slowly, Sean Bell's name faded from the front page. Slowly, life returned to the way it was.

Slowly, Sean Bell's friends recovered from their injuries. Slowly, Trent Benefield's wheelchair became crutches. His healing was more than the mere physical healing of bones and flesh. We all hoped that his physical healing would be a transcendant symbol for us: YES WE CAN. Yes we can fight. YES, a change is gonna come.

Slowly, Trent Benefield transformed from a victim into a baller. From a political activist, into the dude with latest gear. From being pushed by Al Sharpton, to pushing the latest whips. From being the victim, to fulfilling a stereotype. From being the recipient of sympathy, to being the wielder of Supremacy's whip. Supremacy works in many ways: it hurts the most when it's one of our own carrying the torch.

Hundred dollar bills CAN take us far.

Money, Money (The Root of ALL Evil) - Horace Andy

They'll buy you some fresh clothes. They'll buy you a ride. They'll buy you a temporary ticket from REALITY. They'll buy you a temporary feeling of elation. Unfortunately, they cannot buy back the LIFE of a fellow human being. A father. A friend. A brother.

Lest We FORGET

2007-02-11T14:21:00.000-05:00

Mutabaruka - De System
Mutabaruka - Witeman Country
Mutabaruka - Naw Give Up
UPDATE: Jay-Z's Minority Report video, via Eskay @ Nah Right.

With all this talk of women and minorities running for president, PROGRESS seems to be the word of the month. "America is different now." "Look how far WE'VE come." "Everyone and anyone has a chance."

Biochemical Slang's opinion on American progress: Not so much.

The above portrait was painted in 1789. The picture below was taken in 2007. According to my calculations, white men still run this rap ish. According to my calculations, American progress is defined as token women and minorities. Since 1789, fashion has changed, electricity has become commonplace, indoor plumbing is easier to come by, the dollar has inflated, and we live a bit longer.

Lest we forget, white people still run this rap ish.

The RACE is On

2007-02-10T13:49:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Oliver at POPLICKS for the above image.
Schooly D - Am I Black Enough For You?

According to Obama, "It's time to turn the page." How we define that page-turning, is up to us.

Do we turn to a page without Bush? Do we turn to a new chapter, where content of character is held to a higher standard than content of melanin? Do we turn to a chapter where actions speak louder than words, melanin, and chromosomal content?

To say the least, this will be an interesting race.

The Art. The Vocab. The Truth. The Fight. Where Are They NOW?

2007-02-09T22:14:00.000-05:00

Nas recently dropped some ill remixes, opening up pages in HIS book of history for the rest of the world to see. No George Washington. No Thomas Jefferson. Grandmaster Caz? Check. Dana Dane? Check. Kool Moe Dee? Check. Nas wished us all a Happy MY History Month.

Nas got me reminiscing. TROY style. Where's the remix that includes the PASSION, the ART, the VOCAB, the FIGHT, and the TRUTH? We're havin' the hardest time finding them. Hip-hop may not be dead, but we definitely killed the PASSION, the ART, the VOCAB, the FIGHT, and the TRUTH. No, we didn't put the milli to their face. We ignored 'em. Starved 'em.

DJ NOODLES dropped "Lost Ones," a mixtape that compiles rare Jay-Z tracks and freestyles. Back when rap MANDATED the PASSION, the ART, the VOCAB, the FIGHT, and the TRUTH. Back when the FANS (that's us) DEMANDED the PASSION, the ART, the VOCAB, the FIGHT, and the TRUTH.

Download the mixtape over at GetRightMusic DOT COM.

I Can't Feel My FACE!

2007-02-09T18:22:00.000-05:00

A work week always feels longer than the 120 hours it's defined to contain. Especially when it's cold. Not JUST cold. More like, never leave the house cold. More like, I can see my breath and my nose hairs are frozen cold. More like, we need to wear multiple layers no matter how fat it makes us look cold. More like, I can't feel my face cold. Really. I couldn't feel my face.

Commuting never makes your day any better. Especially on a Friday. Especially when it's cold. If you're heading to an outer borough, you better pick just the right seat. When you get above ground and those doors open, that gust of COLD will slap that taste out of your mouth. Be warned.

Of course, the train is crowded. The volume of jackets, scarves, and hats accentuates the crowd, adding to their mass AND girth. One brave soul grabs the pole. With all that sniffling, who KNOWS what's growing on it?

Don't fret, peoples. It may be bricker than brick, but you KNOW the sun will come out tomorrow. You KNOW you can sleep in tomorrow. You KNOW your covers will put in extra work tomorrow. You KNOW you can play your records extra loud tonite. Life is good.

Here's some suggestions for the stereo. Close your eyes. Imagine. This is keep your brain warm type ish:
WELDON IRVINE - Morning Sunrise
ROY AYERS - Everybody Loves the Sunshine
THE TEMPREES - You Make the Sun Shine

STAY WARM PEOPLES!

Cherry Coke: Now Available for Coloreds, Hipsters, and Ghetto Party Attendees

2007-02-08T18:13:00.000-05:00

EPMD - Crossover
Joe Budden - Dumb Out

The HUSTLE continues. I shouldn't hate on Jay-Z....as long as he stops putting out "rap albums." Again, I'm not knockin' Jay's hustle. I've heard that men lie, women lie, but numbers don't. The dude was payed three million dollars to redesign a can. A can.

Corporate America realizes the potential of the youth. Potential, bear in mind, is not measured by grades in school. Potential is not measured by performance on exams. Believe it or not, it's not even measured by your jump shot percentage. It's measured in GREEN.

Jay-Z is the perfect negrifier (my word). Corporate problem: Coke needs GREEN from Blacks. Corporate solution: Hire Jay-Z. Chevy needs ghetto authentication. Solution: Jay-Z, Mary, and TI are available. Budweiser wants the Heineken-Hip-hop set. Solution: Jay-Z comes through, yet again. Corporate America also knows that once the coloreds start buying, the whites aren't too far off. The real question becomes: Who's playin' who?

Are we the suckas for buyin' into this ish? Is corporate America the suckas for shellin' out millions for the negro-seal-of-approval? We at Biochemical Slang asked the question to the folks at Coke and Rocawear: Who's playin' who?

Here's COKE'S response: "Cherry Coke already tastes great, but we wanted to give the brand an energetic new look and feel," said Katie Bayne, senior vice president, Coca- Cola Brands, Coca-Cola North America. "By partnering with Rocawear and its founder Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, we've been able to fuse design, fashion and music to create a hot new look and personality for Cherry Coke and Cherry Coke Zero."

Here's Biochemical Slang's translation: Show me the Black's money!

Here's ROCAWEAR's response: "When Cherry Coke approached Rocawear about creating a completely new appearance, we knew we could help deliver a fresh approach for an iconic brand," said Jameel Spencer, Chief Marketing Officer, Rocawear. "We've designed an urban landscape and a contemporary cherry icon that together reinvent the Cherry Coke brand in a stylish, hip, youthful new way that reinforces its great taste."

Here's Biochemical Slang's translation: Show me the Whitey's money!

Here's the final score, as tabulated by the judges at Biochemical Slang:

Cherry Coke = 1
Rocawear/Jay = 1
YOU = ZERO

Knowledge. Awareness. Action. Start NOW.

2007-02-07T22:39:00.000-05:00

Here's some sobering statistics:

AIDS is the NUMBER ONE killer of 25-44 year old Black people.
49 percent of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients are Black.
African-American women are disproportionately affected, with an infection rate 20 times that of white females.
1 in every 58 Black Americans are living with HIV/AIDS.

Before you decide who you're going to vote for in the near future, marinate on this quote from the president of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Debra Fraser-Howze:

"Black people are going to have to take responsibility for themselves in this epidemic. We have to make some serious decisions, a decision to first talk about the epidemic and a decision to own it. It is ours.

We are in a quandary because we as African-Americans have to be concerned about what is going on in Africa. But at the same time we are concerned about Africa, we have to be concerned about South Central Los Angeles. Both have to be addressed. Funds are dwindling, and everybody is taking money to Africa when African-Americans are dying in this country."

Remembering DILLA

2007-02-07T11:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday DILLA!

He created more than canvases for MC's to paint on. He created more than just a beat. He created soundtracks. Soundtracks for gettin' up in the morning. Soundtracks to get your swagger on. Soundtracks to cry to. Soundtracks to laugh with.

Hip-hop was too confining a term.

Soul. Jazz. Blues. Funk. Electronic. DILLA wasn't satisfied with the limitations of the aforementioned terms. Yeah, they're all facets to DILLA's sound, but he knew how to use them to make a brew that was all his own. There's a breakbeat. Then there's THE breakbeat that only DILLA could conquer, creating HIS sound out of a snare that no one else has duplicated.

Dilla didn't respect musical boundaries, he painted outside the lines.

Listen to a DILLA record today. LOUD.

J. DILLA - Donuts - The ORIGINAL Samples

STREAM Stones Throw Podcast #17: Thank You JAY DEE, Act 2

White Women Gone WILD

2007-02-06T21:08:00.000-05:00

Amy Winehouse - Love is a Losing Game

Amy Winehouse - He Can Only Hold Her

This woman went CA-RAY-ZEE. The media frenzy may be justified, but what about the REAL question here: Should women be allowed into space? Just foolin' you, my readers. How could the NASA selection process, which one must assume is rigorous, let HER slip through their door? How could this woman, in our post-9/11-war-on-terror-USA, make it into space?

Damn. This woman was more hardbody than all your favorite rappers. She was packin' a folding knife with two blades, a steel mallet, a pellet gun, pepper spray, rubber tubing, and trash bags. YOU do the math. Plus, the woman was wearing diapers. Sleep AND bathroom breaks are the cousins of death.

The first thing that popped into my head when I heard this news: "At least she ain't a minority." The media frenzy would've been a spectacle to behold. I'm willing to bet phrases such as "out of character," "life of accomplishment," and "very intelligent" would've failed to enter those articles.

Today was a long day. Plus, I needed an excuse to post some Amy Winehouse.

A Salute and Extra NULLUS to Prince

2007-02-05T09:02:00.000-05:00

No Lance Bass. Extra No Mark Foley.

No Juelz Santana.

No Weezy F Baby.

No James McGreevey.

Biochemical Slang SALUTES Prince. You reminded us of the spirit of Janet Jackson, without SHOWING us. You reminded the suits at CBS that no matter what the rules were, you could find the loopholes.

RIP Janet Jackson's post-Super Bowl career.
Extra NULLUS.

Biochemical Slang's Post-Super Bowl (non-Football) Wrap Up

2007-02-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

Shout Bamalama - Mickey Murray

Jay-Z told Coca-Cola that February is Black history month. Instead of scholarships, health care, or jobs, Jay-Z and Coke went for empty nostalgia. Investing in community is so last year. Where would that million dollars have been spent if it wasn't February? What has Coca-Cola ever done for the black community, except for DIABETES? Atherosclerosis?

Tostitos got in on that Black history vibe as well. Pepsi-Co may not have Jay, but they KNOW what the Black community wants. They may not have that Jay-Z-money, but Pepsi-Co is DOWN with the Black community. What has tostitos done for the black community, except for high BLOOD PRESSURE?

Jay-Z helped blacken Budweiser's image as well. This is Budweiser SELECT, mind you, field hands and plantation workers need not apply. If you can afford it and are willing to use your women to cheat, the white man will let you win. Once in a while.

That was a Biochemical Slang Post-Super Bowl (non-football) Wrap Up.

Amadou Diallo: We Remember. We Stay Fighting.

2007-02-04T14:52:00.000-05:00

Protective Custody - Dante and Main Flow Of Mood, Nine, Tiye Phoenix, Breezly Brewn' Of The Juggaknots, Talib Kweli, & Punchline
Amadou Diallo - Roy Campbell Trio
American Skin (41 Shots) - Bruce Springsteen
It's TIME - Max Roach

Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, 41 bullets fired at an unarmed man would have seemed like a fairy tale. A tall tale. A perverse extrapolation of a truth that could have never existed. The year is the 2-double-zero-seven and we've upped the ante: 50 shots. 41 seems reasonable in our current, perverse view. February 4th, 1999, our world permanently changed.

Easier than you would hope, a life can be taken away. 41 shots can be fired. 19 bullets can pierce flesh and take life away. As simple as that. 41 shots can take a life away FOREVER.

A candle can burn in memory. It's flame can only remind us for so long.

However, the light of that candle, no matter how small, can fill an entire room. The light of that small candle, no matter how small, can help us remember. Remind us of how lucky we are. We're still breathing.

A picture, I've been told, holds one thousand words. I've stood in front of this mural and asked, "Will those thousand words come close to rationalizing the death of a fellow human being?" If I could hear, what would HE tell me? At least I'm breathing, I tell myself. At least, I have the power to hold these rhetorical conversations with myself.

With time, paint may fade. The paint, although it may have lost some of it's initial luster, serves as a reminder of what we have. A reminder of how far we have left to go. A reminder of how much we HAVE.

I've been told that I live in a post-modern world. I still haven't been able to explain how a wallet could be "interpreted" as a gun. Do we truly live in The Waste Land?

Eight years have past since that fateful night. The night that redefined "normal." The night that stretched normal into the realm of the perverse. The unbelievable. The horrifying. The eye-opening.

Eight years have past since that fateful night. In light of recent events, it seems that we haven't evolved much since then. However, it is our privilege, being breathing citizens of this country, to remember the lives lost in the struggle. However, it is our DUTY, as human beings, to STAY FIGHTING.

It's Giuliani Time

2007-02-03T14:51:00.000-05:00

Triple No Mark Foley. Add an extra No Weezy F Baby, just to be safe.
Screwball - Who Shot Rudy?

There's a "good chance" Giuliani will be running for president in '08. He's already raising money in Texas, so let's make the assumption that the dude's gonna run. Before you jump on the post-9/11-Giuliani-bandwagon, the bandwagon he constantly REMINDS you about, consider some pre-9/11 Giuliani facts:

Giuliani's "Quality of Life" policing strategies, resulted in a 4,549% increase in arrests of misdemeanor marijuana offenses. Police abuse reports rose 56% during Giuliani's first four years in office. Despite national decreases, NYC's poverty rate increased to 25% during Giuliani's tenure in office. Even more telling, one in every three NYC children lived in poverty during his tenure.

His legacy in NYC lives on to this day. Walk the streets of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Harlem, Washington Heights, and Queens. Affordable housing is a thing of the past. Crime has become endemic to certain neighborhoods. On paper, crime in the city has decreased (just pick up a NYC tourist book!), as select neighborhoods have experienced record increases in crime. "Defense" of the city against gangs and drugs has overtaken the budget, as schools fight for a sliver of the pie. As half of our children leave the education system without a diploma, they head right back to the streets, fulfilling Giuliani's prophecy.

Is THIS where America needs to go?