story time.
it was a warm, kinda humid day in our great city. i'm at my place of employment, selling an assortment of sporting goods ranging from the standard to the ridiculous (feel free to replace the word "ridiculous" with any of the following: expensive, bougie, non-functioning, awesome, best underwear ever). there's not a whole lot of traffic in our little store that could. that's a problem. i'm trying to hit my sales target before the end of the fiscal year. that bonus money is public transit money. it's that new phone money. it's that pay-some-bills-around-the-house money. in order to get that gwop (not to be confused with guwop), I would have to put on my Lux cape and put in work.
in case there was any doubt, I was putting in said work.
The biggest risk I ever took for a burger
When I was 13 my parents went away on a trip for a few weeks, and I wasn't old enough in my mom's eyes to handle living on my own (or maybe she was cautious of how other parents would view this negatively even if I was capable of doing it at 13, she's always concerned with how people view our fam... actually kind of a wise move, I respect your choice mom) so we made a deal with the parents of a classmate and I was gonna stay at my boy Tremo's house while they were gone.
Is He Eating? (ft. Tank) (TGT Remix)
Welcome to our newest Adliberace Original Series Is He Eating?, where we use our powers of deduction, induction, and seduction to arbitrarily decide the successfulness of people far more successful than us.
Editor's Note: Should the subject of our Pulitzer Prize-winning series be a woman, the necessary changes will be made to the title. I got you.
Got it? Get it? Good.
Our first subject is Tank.
Editor's Note: Should the subject of our Pulitzer Prize-winning series be a woman, the necessary changes will be made to the title. I got you.
Got it? Get it? Good.
Our first subject is Tank.
Subtle implications of racism and slavery in Django
Up to this point in time, all the reviews I've read about Django in terms of it's "racist" and edgy portrayal of slavery have mainly revolved around the use of gore and accuracy in depicting mandingo fighting. A few have mentioned Leo Dicaprio's discomfort in using the n-word so profusely and etc.
I will focus solely on one scene from the movie for my basis in evaluating Tarantino's depiction of slavery. It stood out to me because it served no significant plot device, but rather strictly character deveopment.
As Django and the dentist were on their way visiting Candyland, Django assumes the role of a slave owner, to be the advisor for the dentist in picking a quality fighter. As they are walking, Django gets some sass from one of the slaves, and so he lashes out. Nothing substantial up to this point, but the dentist gets out of the wagon and pulls Django aside. He tells Django that he's being too harsh, and not to lose himself in the role. Django replies that he's got it handled, but the expression on Jamie Foxx's face was what really drew my attention, because for a moment it felt like Django was already lost in the role.
Using the cover-up of "I'm just playing what a slave owner should do, and that's be abusive towards slaves" only made the underlying point clearer for me. Slavery was not about ethnicity, it was about property. The fact that Django lost his cool going off on his power trip is exactly what slavery did to white men, power is a drink many men want and few can handle. So then is it really racist that slavery happened? Sure it could be, but I'd claim a power dichotomy is far more plausible than an ethnic disdain. If anything, the cultural distinction only came into play after the colonialists became accustomed to treating slaves as property.
Historically speaking, slave trade in Africa during the colonial era weren't seldomly operated by white europeans, many of the local slave traders were native African. I don't see what could compel someone to betray his brothers and sisters other than the allure of greed. You can't possibly argue that one African man was a white supremacist before white supremacy existed, and thus decided to sell off tribes of people for slavery, all for the glory of the white man. I'm not going to properly cite historical references, you can do the research yourself (i.e. I'm making this up so you believe me, but if you believe that, find out for yourself).
I'm going to say something radical here that will likely piss off a lot of Americans. I don't think Lincoln solely support abolishing slavery on humanitarian grounds. Before the civil war began, slave refugees from the south typically found work in the north in city factories. They were becoming a valuable labour source. I think Lincoln did it for the money. Because the second slavery became abolished in the south, the north would be benefit from a huge influx of labour, propelling economic development and close the gap between merchants in the north and the slave owners of the south (Calvin Candy being a prime example of the extreme wealth derived from zero labour costs). Well, maybe Americans won't be so pissed off afterall, Lincoln was just following the American Dream. Ain't nothin' more important than the mula, hallelujah!
So if my interpretation is correct, Tarantino is depicting slavery and racism as causal links. With slavery leading to racism, whether or not you want to argue that, at that point in time racism alone drove the abuse of slaves, is up to you. All I'm claiming is that if anything, Tarantino is lessening the impact of racism on slavery. Tarantino is presenting slavery as a power dichotomy, so then I guess it's not the white man's fault that blacks were mistreated. It's because they were slaves and they happened to be black, and that's why racism started. Tarantino wants to say that if it were the blacks who were slave owners it'd be the same thing with whites being oppressed. I think he's got a point there.
But I don't think Tarantino is that eloquent. Frankly I think this interpretation vastly surpasses the artistic ability of Tarantino's entire career. Nevertheless, Christoph Waltz's acting in Inglorious Basterds earned my respect. Let's appreciate Tarantino's superficial depictions, and that he wanted "slavery to be realistic, and gruesome so that we never forget its horrors" [I'm paraphrasing but it's off some interview with some low credibility reporter, it's not even worth citing.]
But if you ever want to suck Tarantino's dick at a party and go off on how great of a director he is, the above points are all yours.
Cheers,
The Prince.
I will focus solely on one scene from the movie for my basis in evaluating Tarantino's depiction of slavery. It stood out to me because it served no significant plot device, but rather strictly character deveopment.
As Django and the dentist were on their way visiting Candyland, Django assumes the role of a slave owner, to be the advisor for the dentist in picking a quality fighter. As they are walking, Django gets some sass from one of the slaves, and so he lashes out. Nothing substantial up to this point, but the dentist gets out of the wagon and pulls Django aside. He tells Django that he's being too harsh, and not to lose himself in the role. Django replies that he's got it handled, but the expression on Jamie Foxx's face was what really drew my attention, because for a moment it felt like Django was already lost in the role.
Using the cover-up of "I'm just playing what a slave owner should do, and that's be abusive towards slaves" only made the underlying point clearer for me. Slavery was not about ethnicity, it was about property. The fact that Django lost his cool going off on his power trip is exactly what slavery did to white men, power is a drink many men want and few can handle. So then is it really racist that slavery happened? Sure it could be, but I'd claim a power dichotomy is far more plausible than an ethnic disdain. If anything, the cultural distinction only came into play after the colonialists became accustomed to treating slaves as property.
Historically speaking, slave trade in Africa during the colonial era weren't seldomly operated by white europeans, many of the local slave traders were native African. I don't see what could compel someone to betray his brothers and sisters other than the allure of greed. You can't possibly argue that one African man was a white supremacist before white supremacy existed, and thus decided to sell off tribes of people for slavery, all for the glory of the white man. I'm not going to properly cite historical references, you can do the research yourself (i.e. I'm making this up so you believe me, but if you believe that, find out for yourself).
I'm going to say something radical here that will likely piss off a lot of Americans. I don't think Lincoln solely support abolishing slavery on humanitarian grounds. Before the civil war began, slave refugees from the south typically found work in the north in city factories. They were becoming a valuable labour source. I think Lincoln did it for the money. Because the second slavery became abolished in the south, the north would be benefit from a huge influx of labour, propelling economic development and close the gap between merchants in the north and the slave owners of the south (Calvin Candy being a prime example of the extreme wealth derived from zero labour costs). Well, maybe Americans won't be so pissed off afterall, Lincoln was just following the American Dream. Ain't nothin' more important than the mula, hallelujah!
So if my interpretation is correct, Tarantino is depicting slavery and racism as causal links. With slavery leading to racism, whether or not you want to argue that, at that point in time racism alone drove the abuse of slaves, is up to you. All I'm claiming is that if anything, Tarantino is lessening the impact of racism on slavery. Tarantino is presenting slavery as a power dichotomy, so then I guess it's not the white man's fault that blacks were mistreated. It's because they were slaves and they happened to be black, and that's why racism started. Tarantino wants to say that if it were the blacks who were slave owners it'd be the same thing with whites being oppressed. I think he's got a point there.
But I don't think Tarantino is that eloquent. Frankly I think this interpretation vastly surpasses the artistic ability of Tarantino's entire career. Nevertheless, Christoph Waltz's acting in Inglorious Basterds earned my respect. Let's appreciate Tarantino's superficial depictions, and that he wanted "slavery to be realistic, and gruesome so that we never forget its horrors" [I'm paraphrasing but it's off some interview with some low credibility reporter, it's not even worth citing.]
But if you ever want to suck Tarantino's dick at a party and go off on how great of a director he is, the above points are all yours.
Cheers,
The Prince.
Local musicians, local sadness
One night not too long ago, the ADLIB crew was walking on the street, having just finished attending a flute recital, and naturally started jumping around while shouting rap lyrics.
A local musician picked up on this subtle cue, recognized us as his target audience, and came over with CDs in hand, one for each of us, FREE OF CHARGE.
According to his CDs, his name was School Boy Slingy AKA Slingy Boy AKA Slingy.
Unfortunately he's too underground for me to feature him here.
Some days later in k-mart, a white guy with dreads called Chris B. approached me with CDs of a hip hop "mixtape" he made. I grabbed one out his hand and reassured him that I would listen to it. He quickly responded by telling me that there was a catch, but it was however, a good catch. When I asked him what it was, it turned out the catch was that the CD cost 5 dollars, not a good catch at ALL. I put the damn CD back in the guys hand.
I asked him if his music was online though, and he directed me to his youtube channel, where I would not be able to find the music from his CD, but instead remixes of various other popular rap songs.
I checked it out and it was depressing.
Lots of popular rap songs are about struggle, and are usually inspiring because the artist tells his/her story from a place of success, reflecting on the struggle. Some other rap songs are about a struggle with no resolution, but are still interesting and touching because of their emotional content.
But this guy's songs were about a struggle that was just sad and not compelling.
For example, his song "I wish I went to college" (a remix of "I love college" by Asher Roth) begins with depressing adlibs punctuated with forced, defeated laughter.
I'm broke right now...
[laughs]
I feel like shit...
[laughs]
It's hard being a rapper...
Should've went to school...
The beginning line of the chorus comes in afterwards:
Wish I went to college, and got knowledge, now I'm broke, eating out the garbage...
So he's broke, feels like shit, eats garbage, but doesn't get knowledge.
That's at least 75% of college... some would argue that's actually 100%.
Maybe what makes a song of suffering compelling is actually our INABILITY to relate to it.
BIEBER IN THE CUT
THATS A SCARY SITE
Please direct your eyes to the video embedded below.
Okay now pay close attention to this next vid and try your best to spot the differences.
Pretty difficult right??
I'm not sure if Biebs just found out about Lil Twist's accident..
Or if this is some marketing ploy to lure in an older fanbase..
Or if he is indeed, as we all have guessed at some point, Pac reincarnated...
Now what I do know is this is Canada's son. He is the true north's strong and free.
And if some obstructive yuck mouth brit is talkin reckless...
And Justin decides to go in...
THEN WE ALL. GO. THROUGH. IT.
REMEMBER..
WE DONT HAVE TO ANSWER TO SHIIIIT.
Stay tuned. I predict Bieber will be catching bodies soon enough.
Please direct your eyes to the video embedded below.
Okay now pay close attention to this next vid and try your best to spot the differences.
Pretty difficult right??
I'm not sure if Biebs just found out about Lil Twist's accident..
Or if this is some marketing ploy to lure in an older fanbase..
Or if he is indeed, as we all have guessed at some point, Pac reincarnated...
Now what I do know is this is Canada's son. He is the true north's strong and free.
And if some obstructive yuck mouth brit is talkin reckless...
And Justin decides to go in...
THEN WE ALL. GO. THROUGH. IT.
REMEMBER..
WE DONT HAVE TO ANSWER TO SHIIIIT.
Stay tuned. I predict Bieber will be catching bodies soon enough.
SOMETIMES THE RAP GAME REMIND ME OF THE FONT GAME
Word to Mr. West. The font game is an important and oft overlooked part of the rap game and we should all take a moment out of our day to reflect on the use and abuse of typefaces in hip hop. Relax sit back and take notes.
Children's art and the magic eye
T.S. Eliot on the critique of poetry
[There is a false perception of] the author’s having left
something out which the reader is used to finding; so that the
reader, bewildered, gropes about for what is absent, and puzzles
his head for a kind of meaning which is not there, and is not
meant to be there.
something out which the reader is used to finding; so that the
reader, bewildered, gropes about for what is absent, and puzzles
his head for a kind of meaning which is not there, and is not
meant to be there.
I feel like that's a popular mentality in the visual arts, this kind of thought that each work is a magic eye piece in of itself.
I recently came across some children's art while working. I was facilitating a Korean group of teachers as they toured a Canadian elementary school. It had been a long time since I was exposed to such genius.
The contrasted words FREEDOM and LABOUR echo the nazi concentration camp mantra Arbeit macht frei (work makes you free), all placed within the context of major brands Nike and Adidas. Considering how advanced this concept is, and how it was created with such poor mechanical skills, the artist must be very young and very intelligent.
Maybe this is a piece made by an immigrant student, maybe a former sweatshop labourer from China, who lived in what is essentially a modern day concentration camp, forced to stitch Nike and Adidas shoes for ignorant consumers.
Maybe the black backdrop in this painting symbolizes the artist's ethnic background, and this piece comments on the historical duality of labour and freedom for black north americans, and the modern manifestations of this duality in the context of Nike and Adidas's targeted marketing campaigns to that demographic?
- - -
Then later that day I came across a hallway filled with something special. The hallway was covered in various painted portraits. The venue was called The Hall of Faces. I snapped my favorites:
This abstract expression of a face in the lower left of the photo.
The accusing eyes and apathetic face of the lower right.
The various skull-like faces all smiling viciously, surrounding an unsuspecting victim.
A ventriloquist doll (just creepy) in the upper left.
A baby with a bindi in the lower right, with badly burnt skin and scabbed lips
The sour and jaded woman in the upper left, nose broken, neck bearing a bloody stoma likely from a tracheotomy.
The ghost of a murdered child in the lower left, hair wild, sticking his tongue out playfully.
The crazed jaundiced man in the lower left, make-up haphazardly applied to his face.
The drowned woman, lips blue from lack of oxygen, hair covered in algae, in the upper left.
The flayed man in the upper right, bloodied and yet unmoved, framed by his own fragments of self-excised skin.
The inbred troglodyte in the lower left, experiencing the only emotion he knows.
The bald, lidless, noseless, monster of the lower right. With its leathery face placid, looking at you with its all-knowing red eyes, basking in an evil aura.
Who knew children were capable of such darkness? Carl Orff, the 20th century composer, was said to only take children as disciples because they still had the rawness of the human mind, which tends to get removed through education by adulthood.
Perhaps this is what we're seeing here.
Or maybe works of art aren't magic eye pieces. Maybe the magic eye is something we develop, something we learn to do with art. We look hard, squint, tell ourselves we see something deep within the obvious image, and just see what we want to.
"The Oscar goes to Beasts of the Southern Wild" and Other Statements That Would Cause This Reaction
 |
- "The final exam is cumulative."
- "I think Kanye West is just alright."
- "Sorry sir, we don't have honey mustard, just regular."
- "Cash only."
- "I'm telling you, 2013 is Hoodie Allen's year."
- "Man, I don't fuck with all-dressed chips."
- "I didn't like Django. They said the N-word too much."
- "Don't got a large chocolate milk. Do you want a small?"
- "I'm looking for a friend."
- "This bus is short-turning."
- "This bus is not in service."
- "There is a delay both ways at <INSERT STATION NAME HERE> Station."
- "There is a $1.50 surcharge."
- "if you can't handle me at my worst, then you dont deserve me at my best
Thank You, We Needed More of Your LoveSounds
 |
| RAP GAME POP ICON. |
Justin Randall Timberlake, former member of *NSYNC, current wearer of stylish hats, and a dude who makes money from acting on the side, gave the world...nah, hol' up...BLESSED the world with his first single in over 6 years. You know what has happened in the past six years?
This guy runs the free world.
Twitter was a child.
I broke my ankle because a very rotund child thought "ultimate frisbee" meant "tackle football".
Fergie tried to go solo. BEP fans worldwide hoped she stayed solo.
Saddam was alive...for most of '06
I recovered from a broken ankle, fixed with two screws, and was walking IN FOUR WEEKS. Yes, I can.
It's Goin' Down was hot, Paris Hilton released a single (which wasn't a carcinogen, so it beat all expectations), and people who went to private schools and wear Birkenstocks thought this was hilarious.
AdLib fam (© now; patent pending), it's been a while. Go find the track. Suit and Tie. Better yet, here. You're welcome. Make sure you throw on a bowtie and pour something nice for yourself as you immerse yourself into the soothing falsetto of Mr. Timberlake.
Look, why am I so hyped? The man has only released two solo albums in ten years. The two albums he dropped? Brilliant. Cry Me a River, Senorita, that track with Clipse, My Love, LoveStoned...I mean, that's some catalogue of songs from only two albums. Also, FutureSex/LoveSounds was a classic. Give it a listen. Its collection of pop and R&B fused with a sound that was years ahead of its time made it an essential album for any pop/R&B/music fan of the 00s.
The album will be called "The 20/20 Experience". I didn't think I had to wait until I was AGE REDACTED to hear some new JT music, but here we are.
I'm ready. Are you?
Bruno Mars, JT runnin' this pop/R&B shit
Chris Brown, JT runnin' this pop/R&B shit
Ne-Yo, JT runnin' this pop/R&B shit
Justin Bieber, JT runnin' this pop/R&B shit
Maroon 5, JT runnin' this pop/R&B shit
Michael Buble, JT runnin' this pop/R&B shit.
On the real doe, I'm worried about our boy Abel. I mean, JT's runnin' up in territory that Abel claimed as his own. Holy shit, I'm worried. If JT's gonna start singing about girls "so thick now [he knows] why they call it a fatty", we might have to chalk up at least the first half of 2013 as an L for him. Stay tuned...
P.S. I love this tiny font. It's like an aside. Props to Sharkface.
THE NAMESAKE
Wuts up guys wuts really good, happy new year to our loyal readers we appreciate each and every none of yalls support. May this year bring good tidings to your existences.
Today I would like to take the time to tell the tale of the man, the legend, the boy, the kid, the one, the only, the essence and the realness. The best guy. Sharkface.
The name the apotheosis of rawness. You can still hear it spoken in hushed whispers at CENSORED CI. Its presence as palpable as the New Spiceland Supermarket fragrance hovering in the hallways.
Equal parts wu tang and anime, this alter-ego was the base from which I made my greatest endeavours. From killing rap battles to asking girls out to pissing in public washrooms, I drew my confidence from my chosen name. (Not to say that my government name aint all that. But after years of having to explain the point of a silent g, i realized it wasn't the most suitable name for me to rap under.)
Sharkface has been with me through thick and thin, through the fire and in the water. But fam, a challenger approaches...
September 2003, white rapper Macklemore releases this video and instigates my identity crisis...
And to top it off this dude says this in a Complex interview :
Fuck you macklemore. corny ass cracker in your corny ass thrift shop. and how come MURS didnt blow up off his gay song (which was a much better song too)? He made WAY riskier moves with that song AND that video but I dont see his ass on Ellen.
I thought about it for a long time and at first I thought this was the end. Of an era. If I put out rap songs as Sharkface, white people everywhere will ignorantly call me out for biting when it was my name first and that is some bullshit. Macklemore single-handedly handicapped my rap career. And I thought I'd have to change my name for this belligerance...
MY NAME IS MY NAME. Shout outs to Pusha T.
Shout outs to Marlo.
Shout outs to John Proctor.
Sharkface will live on, gang or no gang.
fuck macklemore and anybody that love em.
SHARKFACE out. peace
P.S. (no hate doe i like macklemore this is mandatory listening for nonblack rappers tbh)
P.P.S. (hopefully we are gonna step our post game up this year so look out for that)
Today I would like to take the time to tell the tale of the man, the legend, the boy, the kid, the one, the only, the essence and the realness. The best guy. Sharkface.
The name the apotheosis of rawness. You can still hear it spoken in hushed whispers at CENSORED CI. Its presence as palpable as the New Spiceland Supermarket fragrance hovering in the hallways.
Equal parts wu tang and anime, this alter-ego was the base from which I made my greatest endeavours. From killing rap battles to asking girls out to pissing in public washrooms, I drew my confidence from my chosen name. (Not to say that my government name aint all that. But after years of having to explain the point of a silent g, i realized it wasn't the most suitable name for me to rap under.)
Sharkface has been with me through thick and thin, through the fire and in the water. But fam, a challenger approaches...
September 2003, white rapper Macklemore releases this video and instigates my identity crisis...
And to top it off this dude says this in a Complex interview :
"It started out as kind of a joke. Just playing on the fact that everyone has their own little squad or their own little gang. You know, [their] fanbase."...a joke? really?
Fuck you macklemore. corny ass cracker in your corny ass thrift shop. and how come MURS didnt blow up off his gay song (which was a much better song too)? He made WAY riskier moves with that song AND that video but I dont see his ass on Ellen.
I thought about it for a long time and at first I thought this was the end. Of an era. If I put out rap songs as Sharkface, white people everywhere will ignorantly call me out for biting when it was my name first and that is some bullshit. Macklemore single-handedly handicapped my rap career. And I thought I'd have to change my name for this belligerance...
BUT NAW.
Shout outs to Marlo.
Shout outs to John Proctor.
Sharkface will live on, gang or no gang.
fuck macklemore and anybody that love em.
SHARKFACE out. peace
P.S. (no hate doe i like macklemore this is mandatory listening for nonblack rappers tbh)
P.P.S. (hopefully we are gonna step our post game up this year so look out for that)
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