"None Of The Above"

Richard Pryor sure did have it right. Its election season again which 4 years ago I was already dreading. Before I go any further let me make my position clear, I am "registered" as a democrat and voted for President Obama in the last campaign. Unlike most Americans these days I have the capacity to change my mind on certain topics and positions based on the information that's been either given to me or researched on my own. So instead of calling myself a "democrat" I choose to publicly not align myself with ANY party because neither party has the PEOPLE'S best interests in mind.

Let the rant begin:

Of course I am among the chorus of supporters who ran with the "Bush had 8 years to fuck up, give Obama a chance" argument. I must say now that that argument is no longer valid. In 3 years time instead of making sweeping drastic changes, the President kept many of Bush's policies and spent a majority of this term arguing for a health care package that NOBODY asked for because we're too busy looking for JOBS THAT AREN'T THERE to PAY for health care and when you ask the normal American on the street they can't begin to tell you ANYTHING about "Obamacare" other than the neanderthal cry of "ITS OBAMACARE AND I DON'T WANT IT". Many Black Progressives are sadly disappointed in what's happened in the last 3 years, we expected sweeping changes but instead got more "politician bullshit" from Obama instead of sticking to core principles of changes he got elected upon. Now that its re-election time the shit he was SUPPOSED to do in the first term NOW he's gonna do in the second?? My apologies and I say this with the utmost respect Mr. President but GTFOHWTBS.....

SOOOOOOO... let's talk about the alternative.... "Mack Mittens" Romney. (gonna talk to Mitt like a brother here yall so rock with me)

Mitt, can't front, that was a ballsy move you pulled in front the NAACP. Telling black folks (with a straight face mind you) that we'll do better under you than Obama..... MAN grapefruit sized nuts Mittens. I admire that. Of course we don't believe you but still we admire that. Americans over the last decade have fallen into the belief that the same people who have had a hand in the near collapse of our economic system due to "greed" SUDDENLY are perfect candidates for public office. "Hey that guys rich, I wanna be rich, I'm gonna vote for that guy" seems to be the mentality of many Americans these days, (consider the fact that Americans are actually contemplating voting for Trump speaks to that). Yes Mitt your stories great, you used the same opportunities we regular Americans have at our disposal to be a success in this country (gonna look past the whole "Thanks Dad and former Governor of Michigan" hook-up) and you're gonna help save us from fiscal ruin because you ran a conglomerate so you know the answers. Right? If I'm missing anything let me know. I agree with the "Less dependent on government" rhetoric and all that, I don't care about your tax returns, don't care about how much dough you made with Bain, I'm still waiting to hear WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO (besides repeal Obamacare) IF YOU'RE ELECTED?

But the gist of this piece is this, I have yet to hear any of these candidates or their media connects talk about anything that helps THE PEOPLE. The MAJORITY of us that have level heads, can keep our voices calm, that compromise with irrational muhfuckas DAILY just so we can make it through the day, are too busy taking care of our families to REALLY care but we want to know what our government is doing to make things better. Instead its pandering to the fucking NUT JOBS, the extremists, the people who SCREAM AND YELL AND JUMP AROUND and say the most illogical shit that we're shaping our way of life around. Its "tax returns" this and "fast and furious" that or the story I hear about daily with this election is the running tab on HOW MUCH MONEY BOTH CANDIDATES HAVE TO SPEND ON THEIR CAMPAIGNS. We (the people) have officially lost control of this government in every way. We have NO SAY. The next President of The United States will be determined by who can amass the most campaign dollars and spend them effectively on convincing you that the other guy is trash. This isn't a new game, its been going on since this country's inception. But the stakes are much too high. Who's to say that China isn't "investing" in the candidate they want to win? Invest a significant amount of money to the right candidate and you OWN them. Which makes Obama's campaign that much more disappointing.

 Its been said that:

"Public office is the last refuge of the incompetent"-Boies Penrose

Once again I will be checking back into "Le Inn of Ignorant Bliss" with politics because when the sun goes down and the last vote is counted, the next President of the U.S. will be sponsored by Carl's Jr. and Mountain Dew with promotional consideration from BASF and McDonald's. These people DO NOT care about us, they are just there to eat good, look good, and keep you talking about shit that has ZERO impact on your day to day operations. I'm not giving up....yet.....but I'm very damn close.


VOTE NONE OF THE ABOVE!

The Sports Dead Zone

Over the last decade, spearheaded by the NFL, major sports leagues in America (in an effort to better brand themselves) have created their own TV networks, websites etc. to control and keep more revenue for themselves and their owners and investors. With the inception of  MLB Network, NBATV, NFL Network & others we can pretty much talk about our favorite sports year round. If you know anything about marketing, you know that consumers will go with the BRAND name they are most familiar with....and even though we're less than a month away from the start of our American PASSION (football) we've never stopped talking about football since the last whistle was blown in the Super Bowl. At least twice a day during the off season you will see a tweet or two about the NFL.

That's cool and all but there's a point during the summer where we, American sports fans, are reaching pretty hard to find things "sports-wise" to talk about or enjoy. It happens EVERY July when the NBA season ends and we have to wait for the first preseason NFL game, and its called "The Dead Zone" when we find ourselves trapped without any "major" sports to watch (we'll get to MLB in a second). We "thirst" for sports so bad that we watch ANYTHING with just a "tinge" of athletic competition to it (don't front you are watching "American Ninja Warrior" and Olympic Gymnastics Trials). Our days are spent debating trades, POSSIBLE trades, offer sheets, franchise tenders, who's showing up to camp and who ain't, all fun but mostly useless jibber jabber that has nothing to do with us as fans.

We spend our Sundays like lost children in the wilderness BEGGING for the water that is the NFL kickoff and you will likely hear for the next couple of Sundays the "countdown" to kickoff. My friends, I ask this question: "When did it come to this?" You could blame ESPN but that's their job to keep us distracted with this "talk" all day. Blame the leagues? Nope, the same rule applies. The person to blame is your reflection in the mirror.

This is not a bad thing, I'm not knocking you for wanting to keep up with the day to day operations of your favorite franchise but you have to say to yourself "Why am I caring about this so much?" Colin Cowherd is one my favorite voices in sports talk radio, He will tell you that every July is when he takes his vacation because he has NOTHING to talk about, instead of boring us with talk of an EXCRUCIATINGLY LONG baseball season which plays ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO games with no REAL excitement until October, he rather take that time to spend with the family.

 MLB is like "background noise" to us on Sportscenter. It takes damn near 8 months to complete the season when usually by the All Star break we know who the top 4 teams are but we have to WAIT ANOTHER 3 months for the playoffs to start. Add on its extremely slow pace & its reluctance to adopt new technology and you'll quickly understand why more and more, less and less of us care about baseball.

My appeal to you American sports fan is this: Use this time wisely. Spend time with your kids, take the wife out on a date or two, start that business or side hustle you've been talking about, go OUTSIDE. Sports are meant to be a distraction and entertainment from our mundane existence on Earth, that's one of the reasons why we love it. This was not meant to be a "there's more important things in life" write-up....not in the least. But I'll put it to you in terms you can understand then I will end this...

NCAA just dropped and pretty soon a new Madden. If you use this "dead zone" to take your girl out to dinner or a movie a couple of times you could have a "nag-free" football season free to enjoy with no problems, no interruptions, because you're "paying it forward" now. The LAST thing you want to have happen in Week 10 is your girl complaining that all you do is watch sports and never take her anywhere.... Trust me....
DON'T STAY THIRSTY MY FRIENDS...

The Twins: Remember Thoreau

Just some thoughts I had while I was on my commute home from work.


I pulled up the gas station with my last five dollars which these days is just enough for a CUP of gas, when I spotted these twins I've seen in my slumber before. It was weird, as they stood on the side of the building leaning against the wall chilling like thugs, that I recognized them.I've been looking for these two for years and yet here they stood before me, really not noticing me. 'Maybe they don't remember me', I hoped, but they spotted me and damn sure knew who I was. I couldn't avoid talking to them so I made the first move.

"Man what's up with yall two dudes man?" I said with obvious frustration in my voice. "I've been trying to chase you two down for years and I feel like yall been ducking me for some reason. What did I do to yall to not wanna deal with me anymore?"

The first twin, the older of the two yet he seems like the younger of the two, took a sip of his Icee then started snickering.

"You're kidding me right?" he said. "You really don't have a clue do you? You letting that bullshit them people feed you get into your head, that or YOU just forgot about what we talked about the last time we saw you."

I was really confused now. "Nah I don't remember what we talked about last time. Refresh my memory" I responded angrily.

Both twins are laughing at me now. "This dude silly bruh" the older twin said. "Tell me about it" said the other one who LOOKS older but was birthed AFTER the other twin.

The oldest twin stated: "The last time we talked fam you said you wanted to keep things simple. You didn't want to complicate things, so you took the path of least resistance and for a long time you were content with it. But YOU started getting caught up with the everyday struggle and lost contact with US. See me I was cool with it because you had the things you asked for, a beautiful wife, handsome and well-behaved children, a roof of your own over your head, that was we talked about! But you felt like that wasn't good enough so you made crazy decisions, impulsive mistakes and now you wanna blame ME?? Nah my dude, I can't let you do that to me!"

I was shocked.....and saddened because he spoke the truth. That's when the other twin spoke up before I could say anything.

Younger twin: "I told you YEARS ago that I wasn't talking to you until you were ready. You kept THINKING you was ready to meet with me but you wasn't so I kept myself away from you. All the things you did in the past and up until now keeps you believing that I'm supposed to come running TO YOU but I'm telling you this AGAIN just so that we're clear. STOP CHASING ME! If you do what you're supposed to do and keep preparing a place for me I promise you, like I did then, that I will see you and you won't be looking for me, I'll find you myself."

"Cmon man let's go" the younger twin said as they walked away from me. "Remember Thoreau" was the last thing the younger twin said I stood there and didn't move until they were just blurs in my distant vision.

I climbed back in my car and began to drive. I wanted to cry but I didn't. The truth hurts but I respect it more than anything. That conversation was eye-opening in so many ways and has since changed my outlook on things. I arrived home and kissed my wife and hugged all of my kids. My wife asked me how my day went and I told her about the talk I had with the twins. When asked if I recalled their names, It dawned on me that I didn't catch their names but..... I knew exactly who they were.

The oldest twin was Dreams and the younger twin was Success.

A.P.E. - Rep My City

We started shooting this video close to a month ago but after consecutive weeks of bad weather and SXSW we were able to get it done. It was alot of fun working with these young men who are focused and got a good dude leading the way for them. Thanks again to DVZN Media for the assist and a massive shoutout and thanks to DJ Poncho! You can hear more of A.P.E. (After Party Entertainment) at http://www.hotbox254.com

BRB: Crew54 "Back At It Again" Reunion Show

Thanks to everybody that came out last night! It was a dope night of hip hop and here is the recap over "BRB" from the EP of the same name available at http://www.slaprapz.com Video shot and edited by Jamien Green for Hot Box 254 Productions, Produced by Eric Morgan for DVZN Media.

"MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE"

In today's hip-hop landscape, its sort of a weird place. On the one side there's the extravagant pop stars of rap, the rich dope boys, the underground then there's everybody else trying to make it. It can get confusing the images we see daily about our culture and the direction its headed, mainly, because we have adults still trying to steer the direction of a youthful culture that doesn't take direction well.

There comes a time when you have to ask or wonder to yourself as a fan: Where do I fit in? Where is the music that speaks to me? Sure, there are some good joints out there but sometimes you feel out of place because the culture (the music, the dance, the slang) seems to have gone on "some other shit" and you don't feel apart of it nor do you have time to worry about it because REAL LIFE is staring at you in the face. Its cool to sing along to the radio anthems but really you're too (dare I say it) old for all that....

That's where Organized Rebels come in. The duo has been putting out dope, simple tracks for the last few years and "Men Of A Certain Age" is a project born out of that same formula. Soulful samples and a rhyme & vocal style that's unorthodox never blended so wonderfully. The subject matter is one not of "dreams and chasing" its about being appreciative of the blessings of NOW for those of us who still aspire to do more with our lives but can't ignore the urgency of current struggles. The struggles we ALL face as adults. From the "honest" letter to the ladies about "do-nothing" men on "Don't Do Much" to the "inquisitive" "It All Changed" (with real spit being lent by the legendary Craig G) questioning what happened to hip hop, this is what I like to the call the beginning of a new genre and category:

Adult Contemporary Hip Hop

Smoothed out. Lyrical. Music you can sit down after a long day of work and sip a brew or chilled beverage to, and know that you are not alone in the everyday struggle. At least somebody knows its real.

-Melz

CREW54 "BACK AT IT AGAIN" FEB. 18TH

Of course you know by now that Crew54 is notorious for rocking shows all over the ATX! On Feb. 18th after spending a year overseas G-Christ is back home and its time to celebrate! Flamingo Cantina is the place and a great show is lined up including CientifiQ & A Better Tomorrow, Clemits, Poise & 20/20, BoomBaptist with DJ Charlie spinning all night...for 5 DOLLARS!! Its gonna be a fun night so don't leave your fun at home!

Been Busy Lately....

I don't have too many folks that follow this, its my fault, but anywho...Been working with the fam Crew54 & CientifiQ on upcoming campaigns and we've been putting in WORK...Let's see where do we start..

First the brother M.O.S. of Crew54 sneaks a peek at VICTORY!



On the night before Martin Luther King's Birthday we celebrated a great night of hip hop and paid homage to a great man. The big homey Bavu Blakes stopped for a quick second and blessed The HotBox254 with an interview.



And next up The homey CientifiQ and Virt B, Organized Rebels respectively, will be dropping their project "Men Of A Certain Age" on 2/7/12. Sat in on the listening session of this a few days back and its an excellent piece of work. Its hip hop music that doesn't try to sound fake or contrived but for all the grown adults that live real life. Go and cop that at http://www.cientifiq.com or http://www.slaprapz.com



Been shooting alot of joints lately with the brother M.O.S. and this is one of them from R.G. Money feat. Essence "Ball N Parlay" if you need video work, holla at us: jamien@hotbox254.com or dvznmedia@gmail.com




Last but definitely not least gotta show this off. My man went in on this Dubb Sicks joint called "Heart & Soul". The song BANGS but mainly my man went INNN on the visuals. Awesome work...