Binkis Weblog

Well tonight was a crazy, fun, exhilarating and accomplished night. Feb27 @ Smiths Old Bar I was blessed to dj Collective Efforts Album Release party.. Too make a long story short the joint was ill to def..I rocked the ones and twos… Dillon Opened up the can of worms with his multimedia interactive hip hop show.. Then J-Live the legendary J-Live rocked the spot on the MIC, some of the BEATs, and then he said “move over Maf” and rocked the turntables while rapping at the same time..& that was just the warm up for CE who rocked it literally with the band and proved once again why they cant be fucked with. ATL Originals!!. They created they own lane and now they swervin up in that bitch… Im sure pics and vids will come soon but i just wanted to document my immediate feelings as I am just now landing back in the nest.. I was blessed tonight cause fridays I usually dj a okie dokie korny spot but they shutdown out of the blue and out of the blue Bobby Def AKA Bambu of CE calls me up to dj tonight cause my man Andy Synthesis couldnt make it.. Wild.. In appreciation I leave yall with some gems.. Diggers Delight..

You gotta know what went on!!!

Bio(Courtesy of NWALegacy.com):

ALTHOUGH NOT THE CREATORS OF GANGSTA RAP, N.W.A WAS ITS MOST PROLIFIC PIONEER, PUTTING IT ON THE MAP OF AMERICAN MUSIC WITHOUT THE HELP OF RADIO OR MTV.

THE GROUP WAS FORMED IN COMPTON, CALIFORNIA IN 1986 BY EAZY-E, DR. DRE, AND ICE CUBE. SHORTLY AFTER COMPOSING “BOYS N THE HOOD,” THEY ADDED DJ YELLA, THE D.O.C. AND ARABIAN PRINCE TO THE LINEUP.

N.W.A’S FIRST ALBUM, N.W.A AND THE POSSE, WAS RELEASED IN 1987. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE GROUP ADDED THE EDGY VOCALS OF MC REN. ALL OF THE PIECES WERE IN PLACE TO DELIVER THE NOW CLASSIC STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON IN 1988.

INTERNAL TENSION RESULTED IN ICE CUBE’S DEPARTURE FROM THE GROUP IN 1989. THE GROUP THEN RELEASED THE 100 MILES AND RUNNIN’ EP IN 1990 BEFORE FOLLOWING IT UP WITHEFIL4ZAGGIN.

DR. DRE LEFT TO BEGIN HIS SOLO CAREER IN 1992, ESSENTIALLY MARKING THE END OF N.W.A. IN ADDITION TO THE SOLO PRESENCE OF ICE CUBE, SOON DR. DRE, EAZY-E, MC REN, AND YELLA WOULD ALL RELEASE SOLO ALBUMS. THE TRAGIC AIDS-RELATED DEATH OF EAZY-E IN 1995 WAS SOMEWHAT OF A CATALYST FOR RECONCILIATION WITHIN THE GROUP; INDEED DR. DRE AND ICE CUBE HAD BOTH MADE AMENDS WITH EAZY BEFORE HE PASSED ON.

THESE DAYS, THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF N.W.A ARE FOR THE MOST PART STILL PURSUING SOLO CAREERS, ALTHOUGH AT TIMES THEY HAVE REGROUPED TO PERFORM LIVE WITH THE HELP OF NEXT-GENERATION ACTS SNOOP DOGG AND EMINEM.

THEIR GROUNDBREAKING WORK IN THE FIELD OF HIP-HOP IS FIRMLY ESTABLISHED. THEIR INFLUENCE ON OTHER ARTISTS IS REMARKABLE. N.W.A AND ITS MEMBERS HAVE LEFT US A SUBSTANTIAL BODY OF WORK, A TIMELESS LEGACY TO BE ENJOYED THROUGH THE GENERATIONS.

– This from Wikipedia –

N.W.A (‘Niggaz Wit Attitudes, a.k.a. “Niggaz With Attitude”) was a Compton, California-based hip hop group widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre. Active from 1986 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned from many mainstream U.S. radio stations and even at times prevented fromtouring – yet the group has still sold over 9 million units in the U.S. alone. Their first album, Straight Outta Compton, marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as the production and the social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre. Rolling Stone ranked N.W.A 83rd on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. Although largely unknown at the group’s inception, rappers Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E and MC Ren would all go on to be platinum-selling stars as solo artists.

History:

The group was founded by Compton-based former drug dealer Eazy-E who began Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller. Ruthless released N.W.A. and the Posse in 1987 with Macola Records. N.W.A was still in its developing stages, and only credited on four of the eleven tracks, notably the uncharacteristic electro hop record “Panic Zone”, “8Ball”, and “Dopeman”, which first brought together (on wax) Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. Also included was Eazy-E’s solo record “Boyz-n-the Hood”. In 1987, rapper MC Ren joined the group.

Parental Advisory:

N.W.A released Straight Outta Compton in 1988. With its famous opening salvo of three songs, the group reflected the rising anger of the urban youth. “Straight Outta Compton” introduced the group; “Fuck tha Police” protested police brutality and racial profiling, and “Gangsta Gangsta” painted the worldview of the inner-city youth. While the group was later credited with pioneering the burgeoning sub genre of gangsta rap, N.W.A referred to their music as “reality rap”.

Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, as HighPowered Productions, composed the beats for each song, with Dre making occasional rapping appearances. Ice Cube and MC Ren wrote most of the group’s the lyrics, including “Fuck tha Police”, perhaps the group’s most notorious song, which brought them into conflict with various law enforcement agencies. Under pressure from Focus on the Family, Milt Ahlerich, an assistant director of the FBI, sent a letter to Ruthless and its parent company Priority Recordsadvising the rappers that “advocating violence and assault is wrong and we in the law enforcement community take exception to such action”. This letter can still be seen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Policemen refused to provide security for the group’s concerts, hurting their plans to tour. Nonetheless, the FBI’s letter only served to draw more publicity to the group. Straight Outta Compton was also one of the first albums to adhere to the new Parental Advisory label scheme, then in its early stages: the label then only consisted of “WARNING: Moderate impact coarse language and/or themes”. However, the taboo nature of N.W.A’s music was the greatest part of its mass appeal. The media coverage compensated for N.W.A’s virtual lack of airplay and their album eventually went double platinum.

One month after Straight Outta Compton, Eazy-E’s solo debut was released. Eazy-Duz-It was dominated by Eazy’s persona – MC Ren, appearing on two songs, was the only guest rapper – but behind the scenes it was a group effort. Music was handled by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, and the lyrics were largely written by Ren, with contributions from Ice Cube and The D.O.C. The album was another platinum success for Ruthless (in addition to girl group J.J. Fad in 1988 and singer Michel’le in 1989), also going double. 1989 saw the re-issue of Straight Outta Compton on compact disc, and the release of The D.O.C.’s No One Can Do It Better. The album was essentially a collaboration between “The D.O.C. and The Doctor” and notably free of “gangsta rap content”, but culminated in the N.W.A posse cut “The Grand Finalé”. It would be another number one album for the group.

Post Ice Cube:

Ice Cube left in early 1990 over royalty disputes; having written 45% of Straight Outta Compton himself, he felt he was not getting a fair share of the money and profits. He wasted little time putting together his solo debut, 1990’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, but avoided mentioning his former label mates.

N.W.A’s next release was some five months later, the EP 100 Miles and Runnin’, but would not be equally diplomatic. They alluded to Ice Cube’s departure in its eponymous single, with Dre rapping:

We started with five, but yo, one couldn’t take it. So now it’s four, cuz the fifth couldn’t make it.

The video for the song depicted the remaining members of N.W.A. together in a jail cell, while an Ice Cube look-alike is released. Also heard on the EP (which found its way on Efil4zaggin) was “Real Niggaz”, a full-blown diss on Cube where the remaining members accuse him of cowardice, and question his authenticity, longevity and originality:

How the fuck you think a rapper lasts/With your ass sayin shit, that was said in the past/Yo, be original, your shit is sloppy/Get off the dick, you motherfucking carbon-copy.” and “we started out with too much cargo/so I’m glad we got ridda Benedict Arnold.

The song “100 Miles and Runnin'” is also notable for being Dr. Dre‘s final uptempo record, which had been a common feature of late-80s hip hop.

N.W.A is referenced on Cube’s 1990 EP, Kill at Will, where he name-checks his former group (likely in a mocking manner) on the song “Jackin’ For Beats”. On “I Gotta Say What Up!!!”, Cube gives shout-outs to his rap peers at the time, among themPublic Enemy, the Geto Boys, Sir Jinx, et cetera. At the end of the track, in what appears to be an on-the-phone interview, Ice Cube is asked, “Since you went solo, whatever happened to your crew?” and the interviewer is abruptly hung up on.

The group’s second full-length release, 1991’s Efil4zaggin (“Niggaz4Life” spelled backwards), re-established the group in the face of Ice Cube’s continued solo success. The album is considered by many Dr. Dre‘s finest production work, and heralded the beginning of the “G-Funk era”. It also showed a clear animosity towards their former member, and derogatory references to Ice Cube are found in several songs. The interlude “A Message to B.A.” echoes the beginning of his song “Turn Off the Radio” from AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted: in it, Ice Cube is first addressed by the name “Benedict Arnold” (after the infamous traitor of the American Revolution) but then named outright in a torrent of abuse from both the group and its fans: “When we see yo’ ass, we gon’ cut yo’ hair off and fuck you with a broomstick“, promised MC Ren.

The N.W.A-Ice Cube feud eventually escalated. AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted had avoided direct attacks on N.W.A, but on Death Certificate, Ice Cube’s second full-length, he fired back. He sampled and mocked the “Message to B.A.” skit before embarking on a full-blown tirade, the infamous “No Vaseline“. In a series of verses, Ice Cube addressed the group: ” You lookin’ like straight bozos, I saw it commin’, that’s why I went solo … You got jealous when I got my own company, but I’m a man, and ain’t nobody helpin’ me.” He also responded to “100 Miles and Runnin'”, explaining “I started off with too much cargo, dropped four Niggaz now I’m makin’ all the dough“, and then MC Ren, Dr. Dre and especially Eazy-E individually, using homosexual metaphors to describe their unequal business relationship with Jerry Heller, who becomes the target of very harsh criticism: “Get rid of that devil real simple, put a bullet in his temple … cuz you can’t be the “Niggaz 4 Life” crew, with a white Jew tellin’ you what to do.” The song attracted controversy for its perceived anti-Semitism (the beginning of such allegations involving Ice Cube) for referencing Heller’s religion; the track was omitted from the U.K. release, and later pressings have had the words edited.

The increasingly violent content was reflected in real life —on January 27, 1991, Dr. Dre assaulted Dee Barnes, host of the hip hop show Pump It Up, after its coverage of the N.W.A/Ice Cube beef.

According to Rolling Stone reporter Alan Light:

” He picked her up and “began slamming her face and the right side of her body repeatedly against a wall near the stairway” as his bodyguard held off the crowd. After Dre tried to throw her down the stairs and failed, he began kicking her in the ribs and hands. She escaped and ran into the women’s rest room. Dre followed her and “grabbed her from behind by the hair and proceeded to punch her in the back of the head. “

Despite a lawsuit, the group was unrepentant. MC Ren later stated, “bitch deserved it”—Eazy-E, “yeah, bitch had it coming.” As Dre described it: “People talk all this shit, but you know, somebody fuck with me, I’m gonna fuck with them. I just did it, you know. Ain’t nothing you can do now by talking about it. Besides, it ain’t no big thing—I just threw her through a door.”

In this time as well the demographic which were interested in the group also began to change. Although they still rapped about similar themes of the “gangster life” in Compton and South Central Los Angeles, without Ice Cube they were not as serious and hardly political at all, as they were on Straight Outta Compton.

The End Of N.W.A.:

1991’s Niggaz4Life would be the group’s final album. After Dr. Dre, The D.O.C. and Michel’le’s departure from Ruthless for Death Row Records, in which Eazy-E was allegedly coerced into signing away their contracts (while however retaining a portion of their publishing rights), a bitter rivalry ensued. Dr. Dre began the exchange with Death Row’s first release, 1992’s “Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’)“, and its accompanying video featured a character named Sleazy-E who ran around desperately trying to get money. The insults continued on The Chronic with “Bitches Ain’t Shit“. Eazy-E responded in 1993 with the EP It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa and the tracks “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” and “It’s On”. Eazy-E accused Dr. Dre of homosexual tendencies, calling him a “she thang”, and the music video for “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” shows promo pictures of him wearing make-up and a sequined jumpsuit. The photos were from Dr. Dre’s World Class Wreckin’ Cru days, when such fashions were the style of West Coast Electro hop prior to N.W.A’s popularizing of gangsta rap.

After Eazy-E’s AIDS-related death on March 26, 1995, all bad blood between the group ceased. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube would later express their re-evaluated feelings to their old friend on 1999’s “What’s The Difference” and “Chin Check”, 2000’s “Hello”, and 2006’s “Growin’ Up”.

its been posted up b4 but its worth anotha go round….mafi dont drive a benz or an infinity,,,

Bio(Courtesy of vh1.com):

An outlandish, in-your-face stage presence, a strange sense of humor, and a hard-driving funk sound that criss-crossed a few musical boundaries earned Cameo countless comparisons to Parliament/Funkadelic in their early days. However, Cameo eventually wore off accusations of being derivative by transcending their influences and outlasting almost every single one of them. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, the group remained up with the times and occasionally crept ahead of them, such that they became influences themselves upon younger generations of R&B and hip-hop acts. By the time the group’s popularity started to fizzle in the late ’80s, a series of R&B chart hits — ranging from greasy funk workouts to synthesized funk swingers to dripping ballads was left in their wake. Further separating Cameo from their forebears, they didn’t have a diaper-clad guitarist. Instead, they had a codpiece-wearing lead vocalist.

That vocalist was Larry Blackmon. In 1974, the ex-Juilliard student and New York City club-goer instigated a funk band with a membership of 13 called the New York City Players. Blackmon, Tomi Jenkins, and Nathan Leftenant formed the group’s nucleus. The Casablanca label signed the group to their Chocolate City offshoot, and shortly after that, the group changed its name to Cameo. Their excellent debut album, 1977’s Cardiac Arrest, was highlighted by four singles. Three of those hit the Billboard R&B chart: “Rigor Mortis” (number 33), “Funk Funk” (number 20), and “Post Mortem” (number 70). Although the group was clearly inspired by elder funk groups like Parliament, Funkadelic, and the Ohio Players, Cardiac Arrest made Cameo’s case for belonging in the same division an open-and-shut one.

In an attempt to keep the ball rolling, 1978 saw the release of Cameo’s second and third albums. Neither We All Know Who We Are nor Ugly Ego were as solid as the debut, but the group’s singular characteristics were becoming increasingly evident. The winding, horn-punctuated “It’s Serious” (from We All Know Who We Are) narrowly missed the Top 20 of the R&B chart, while “Insane” (from Ugly Ego) dipped just inside it, peaking at number 17. The best halves of these two albums would’ve made a fine sophomore LP.

1979’s Secret Omen, featuring a disco-fied re-visiting of Cardiac Arrest’s “Find My Way” and the magnificently funky and slightly loony “I Just Want to Be” (a number-three R&B chart hit), was stacked with fine album cuts and brought Cameo back as a group that excelled in the LP format. “Sparkle” was one of their best ballads, a sinewy number that hit the Top Ten. Five albums released between 1980 and 1983 (Cameosis, Feel Me, Knights of the Sound Table, Alligator Woman, Style) brought about a slight dip in quality on the album front. Despite an abundance of filler on each record, none of those albums were strict disappointments, delivering hot Top 20 R&B singles like “Shake Your Pants,” “We’re Goin’ Out Tonight,” “Keep It Hot,” “Freaky Dancin'” “Just Be Yourself,” “Flirt,” and “Style.”

One of the most significant ripples in Cameo’s time line came during that period, in 1982, when they packed up and set up shop in Atlanta. Pared down to a quintet and located in a less hectic city, the group became bigger fish in a smaller pond. Blackmon even started his own label, Atlanta Artist. The label’s first LP, Style, also marked a significant shift in sound, with synthesizers taking on a pronounced role. Paydirt was struck with 1984’s She’s Strange; the title cut, a late-night slithery smolder, topped the R&B chart and eclipsed the Top 50 of the pop chart, kicking off a remarkable three-album run that made Cameo one of the most popular groups of the ’80s. Single Life and Word Up!, released respectively in 1985 and 1986, continued the hot streak. The singles from those two albums — “Attack Me With Your Love,” “Single Life,” “Word Up,” “Candy,” and “Back and Forth” — held down the Top Five plateau of the R&B chart. “Word Up” even went to number six on the pop chart, giving them their biggest bite of the mainstream. The song was everywhere.

What goes up must come down, and that’s exactly what happened to Cameo. Despite the fact that two more singles — “Skin I’m In” and “I Want It Now” — scaled up to number five on the R&B chart, neither Machismo nor Real Men Wear Black performed well as albums. After 1991’s Emotional Violence, the group’s profile was lowered significantly, but they did tour sporadically to the delight of hardcore fans as well as plenty of misguided people who thought Cameo was all about “Word Up” and nothing more. Notably, Blackmon spent a few years of the ’90s at Warner Bros., as the vice president of A&R.

Cameo’s presence continued to be felt throughout the early 2000s, not only through extensive sample use and less tangible influences upon younger artists and producers. Several retrospectives have kept the group’s music alive: Casablanca’s 1993 compilation The Best of Cameo is an excellent point of entry. Mercury’s 12″ Collection & More, released in 1999, covers the group’s best dancefloor moments. 2002’s spectacular Anthology, a double-disc set also released by Mercury, covers a lot of ground and does the group justice as a total package. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

– Courtesy of Wikipedia –

Alexander Miles was an African-American inventor who was best known for being awarded a patent for an automatically opening and closing elevator door design in 1887.(U.S. Patent 371,207) Contrary to many sources, Miles was not the original inventor of this device. In 1874, 13 years before Miles’ patent was awarded, John W. Meaker was awarded U.S. Patent 147,853 for the invention of the first automatic elevator door system.

Biography:

Alexander Miles was born in Ohio in January 1837. He moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin where he earned a living as a barber in the 1860s. After a move to Winona, Minnesota in 1870, he met his wife, Candace J. Dunlap, a white woman born in New York City in 1834. Together they had a daughter named Grace who was born in April 1879. Shortly after her birth, the family relocated to Duluth, Minnesota.

While in Duluth, Alexander operated a barbershop in the four-story St. Louis Hotel and purchased a real estate office. His wife found work as a dress maker. Miles became the first black member of the Duluth Chamber of Commerce. In 1884, Miles built a three-story brownstone building at 19 West Superior Street in Duluth. This area became known as the Miles Block. It was at this time that Miles was inspired to work on elevator door mechanisms.

The 1880s brought taller buildings to Duluth including the six-story Duluth National Bank. Having a young daughter, Miles took notice to the obvious dangers associated with an elevator shaft door carelessly left ajar. This led him to draft his design for automatically opening and closing elevator doors and apply for a patent. Miles began building a model for his automatic elevator-door mechanism in Duluth in about February 1887, and a United States Patent was issued on October 11, 1887. Miles’ design came 13 years after John W. Meaker’s initial 1873 invention of modern automatic elevator doors. See Elevator#History

In 1890, Miles was referred to as a “well known capitalist” and was quoted as saying, “The two greatest flour centers of the future will be Buffalo [NY] and Duluth”.

In 1896, Alexander was serving as president of the Colored Republican Club of Duluth. At that time, almost all blacks in Duluth and around the country were Republican. Miles was a supporter of the newly formed United Brotherhood Fraternity in 1899.

By 1900, Alexander, Candace, and Grace had moved to Chicago. In Chicago, Alexander created an insurance agency with the goal of eliminating discriminatory treatment of blacks. In his own words, Miles stated that insurance companies “persist in holding out discriminative rates to these colored people…”. In 1900, it was believed that Alexander Miles was the “wealthiest colored man in the Northwest.”

Miles sold his Duluth building in 1901 for $28,000 and it sold again in 1907 for $50,000.

Alexander Miles died sometime after 1905 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007.

– image: inventors.about.com –

– The Organizer –

Bio(Courtesy of Wiki’pedia):

Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying^[2], and is respectfully known as the “Grandfather” and “Godfather” and The Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture as well as The Father of The Electro Funk Sound. Through his co-opting of the street gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Universal Zulu Nation, he is responsible for spreading hip hop culture throughout the world.^[3] On September 27, 2007, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

History:

Afrika Bambaataa grew up as Kevin Donovan in the Bronx River Projects, with an activist mother and uncle. As a child, he was exposed to the black liberation movements of the era, and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies of the movements. He was exposed to his mother’s extensive and eclectic record collection. Gangs in the area became the law in the absence of law, clearing their turf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf.Bambaataa was a founding member of the Bronx River Projects-area street gang The Savage Seven. Due to the explosive growth of the gang, it later became known as the Black Spades, and Bambaataa quickly rose to the position of warlord. It was his job as warlord to build ranks and expand the turf of the Black Spades. Bambaataa was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gang members, and with other gangs. As a result, the Spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of both membership and turf.

After Bambaataa won an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa, his worldview shifted. He had seen the movie Zulu and was impressed with the solidarity exhibited by the Zulu in that film. During his trip to Africa, the communities he visited inspired him to stop the violence and create a community in his own neighborhood. He changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, adopting the name of the Zulu chief Bhambatha, who led an armed rebellion against unfair economic practices in early 20th century South Africa that can be seen as a precursor to the anti-apartheid movement. He told people that his name was Zulu for “affectionate leader”. A young Afrika Bambaataa began to think about how he could turn his turf-building skills to peacemaking. He formed the “Bronx River Organization” as an alternative to the Black Spades.

Inspired by DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Dee, he too began hosting hip hop parties. He vowed to use hip hop to draw angry kids out of gangs and formed the Universal Zulu Nation Bambaataa is credited with naming hip-hop. “Hip hop” was a common phrase used by MCs as part of a scat-inspired style of rhyming, and Bambaataa appropriated it for use in describing the emerging culture, which included the four elements: the music of DJs, the lyricism and poetry of emcees, the dancing of b-boys and b-girls, and graffiti art.

In 1982, Bambaataa and his followers, a group of dancers, artists and DJs, went outside the United States on the first hip hop tour. Bambataa saw that the hip hop tours would be the key to help expand hip hop and his Universal Zulu Nation. In addition it would help promote the values of hip hop that he believed are based on peace, unity, love, and having fun. Bambaataa brought peace to the gangs as many artists and gang members say that “hip hop saved a lot of lives”. His influence inspired many overseas artists like the French rapper MC Solaar. He was a popular DJ in South Bronx rap scene and became known not only as Afrika Bambaataa but also as the “Master of Records”. He established two rap crews: the Jazzy 5 including MCs Master Ice, Mr. Freeze, Master Bee, Master D.E.E, and AJ Les, and the second crew referred to as Soulsonic Force including Mr. Biggs, Pow Wow and Emcee G.L.O.B.E.

In that same year Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force dropped the live band to go high-tech. He borrowed an eerie keyboard hook from German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk and was provided an electronic “beat-box” by producer Arthur Baker and synthesizer player John Robie. That resulted in a pop hit “Planet Rock“, which went to gold status and generated an entire school of “electro-boogie” rap and dance music. Bambaataa formed his own label to release the Time Zone Compilation. He created “turntablism” as its own sub-genre and the ratification of “electronica” as an industry-certified trend in the late 1990s.

Birth Of The Zulu Nation:

Bambaataa decided to use his leadership skills to turn those involved in the gang life into something more positive to the community. This decision began the development of what later became known as the Universal Zulu Nation, a group of socially and politically aware rappers, B-boys, graffiti artists and other people involved in hip hop culture. By 1977, inspired by DJ Kool Herc and DJ Dee, and after Disco King Mario loaned him his first equipment, Bambaataa began organizing block parties all around the South Bronx. He even faced his long time friend, Disco King Mario in a DJ battle. He then began performing at Stevenson High School and formed the Bronx River Organization, then later simply “The Organization”. Bambaataa had deejayed with his own sound system at the Bronx River Community Center, with Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, and Cowboy, who accompanied him in performances in the community. Because of his prior status in the Black Spades, he already had an established Army party crowd drawn from former members of the gang. Hip hop culture was spreading through the streets via house parties, block parties, gym dances and mix tapes.

About a year later Bambaataa reformed the group, calling it the Zulu Nation (inspired by his wide studies on African history at the time). Five b-boys (break dancers) joined him, whom he called the Zulu Kings, and later formed the Zulu Queens, and the Shaka Zulu Kings and Queens. As he continued deejaying, more DJs, rappers, b-boys, b-girls, graffiti writers, and artists followed him, and he took them under his wing and made them all members of his Zulu Nation. He was also the founder of the Soulsonic Force, which originally consisted of approximately twenty Zulu Nation members: Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, DJ Cowboy Soulsonic Force (#2), Pow Wow, G.L.0.B.E. (creator of the “MC popping” rap style), DJ Jazzy Jay, Cosmic Force, Queen Lisa Lee, Prince Ikey C, Ice Ice (#1), Chubby Chub; Jazzy Five-DJ Jazzy Jay, Mr. Freeze, Master D.E.E., Kool DJ Red Alert, Sundance, Ice Ice (#2), Charlie Choo, Master Bee, Busy Bee Starski, Akbar (Lil Starski), and Raheim. The personnel for the Soulsonic Force were groups within groups with whom he would perform and make records.

In 1980, Bambaataa’s groups made their first recording with Paul Winley Records titled, “Death Mix”. According to Bambaata, this was an unauthorized release. Winley recorded two versions of Soulsonic Force’s landmark single, “Zulu Nation Throwdown”, with authorization from the musicians. Disappointed with the results of the single, Bambaataa left the company.

The Zulu Nation was the first hip-hop organization, with an official birth date of November 12, 1973. Bambaataa’s plan with the Universal Zulu Nation was to build a youth movement out of the creativity of a new generation of outcast youths with an authentic, liberating worldview.

Recognition:

In 1982, hip hop artist Fab Five Freddy was putting together music packages in the largely white downtown Manhattan New Wave clubs, and invited Bambaataa to perform at one of them, the Mudd Club. It was the first time Bam had performed before a predominantly white crowd. Attendance for Bambaataa’s parties downtown became so large that he had to move to larger venues, first to the Ritz, with Malcolm McLaren‘s group “Bow Wow Wow“, then to thePeppermint Lounge, The Jefferson, Negril, Danceteria and the Roxy. “Planet Rock“, a popular single, came out that June under the name Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force. The song borrowed musical motifs from Germanelectro-pop, funk, and rock. Different elements and musical styles were used together. The song became an immediate hit and stormed the music charts worldwide. The song melded the main melody from Kraftwerk‘s “Trans-Europe Express” with electronic beats based on their track “Numbers” as well as portions from records by Babe Ruth and Captain Sky, thus creating a new style of music altogether, electro funk.

Bambaataa organized the very first European hip hop tour. Along with himself were rapper and graffiti artist Rammellzee, Zulu Nation DJ Grand Mixer DXT (formerly Grand Mixer D.St), B-boy and B-girl crews the Rock Steady Crew, and the Double Dutch Girls, as well as legendary graffiti artists Fab 5 Freddy, PHASE 2, Futura 2000, and Dondi.

Bambaataa’s second release around 1983 was “Looking for the Perfect Beat“, then later, “Renegades of Funk,” both with the same Soulsonic Force. He began working with producer Bill Laswell at Jean Karakos’s Celluloid Records, where he developed and placed two groups on the label: “Time Zone” and “Shango”. He recorded “Wildstyle” with Time Zone, and he recorded a collaboration with punk-rocker John Lydon and Time Zone in 1984, titled “World Destruction”. Shango’s album, “Shango Funk Theology”, was released by the label in 1984. That same year, Bambaataa and other hip hop celebrities appeared in the movie Beat Street. He also made a landmark recording with James Brown, titled “Unity“. It was billed in music industry circles as “the Godfather of Soul meets the Godfather of Hip Hop”.

Around October 1985, Bambaataa and other music stars worked on the anti-apartheid album Sun City with Little Steven Van Zandt, Joey Ramone, Run-D.M.C., Lou Reed, U2, and others. During 1988, he recorded another landmark piece, “Afrika Bambaataa and Family”, for Capitol Records, titled The Light, featuring Nona Hendryx, UB40, Boy George, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Yellowman. Bambaataa had recorded a few other works with Family three years earlier, one titled “Funk You” in 1985, and the other titled “Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere)” in 1986. Bambaataa was involved in the Stop the Violence Movement, and with other hip hop artists recorded a 12″ single titled “Self Destruction”, which hit number one on the Hot Rap Singles Chart in March 1989. The single went gold and raised $400,000 for the National Urban League to be used for community anti-violence education programs.

In 1990, Bambaataa made Life magazine’s “Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” issue. He was also involved in the anti-apartheid work “Hip Hop Artists Against Apartheid” for Warlock Records. He teamed with the Jungle Brothers to record the album “Return to Planet Rock (The Second Coming)“.

Gee Street Records, John Baker, and Bambaataa organized a concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1990 for the African National Congress (ANC), in honor of Nelson Mandela‘s release from prison. The concert brought together performances by British and American rappers, and also introduced both Nelson and Winnie Mandela and the ANC to hip hop audiences. In relation to the event, the recording Ndodemnyama (Free South Africa) helped raise approximately $30,000 for the ANC. Bambaataa also helped to raise funds for the organization in Italy.

From the mid-1990s, Bambaataa returned to his electro roots, collaborating with WestBam (who was named after him) which culminated in the 2004 album Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light which featured Gary Numan and many others. In 2000, Rage Against the Machine covered Afrika’s song “Renegades of Funk” for their album, Renegades. The same year, Bambaataa collaborated with Leftfield on the song “Afrika Shox“, the first single fromLeftfield‘s Rhythm and Stealth. “Afrika Shox” is also popularly known from the soundtrack to Vanilla Sky. In 2006, he was featured on the British singer Jamelia‘s album Walk With Me on a song called “Do Me Right”, and on Mekon‘s album Some Thing Came Up, on the track “D-Funktional”. Bambaataa performed the lyrics on the track “Is There Anybody Out There” by The Bassheads. As an actor, he has played a variety of voice-over character roles on Kung Faux.

Bambaataa was a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists’ careers. On September 27, 2007, it was announced that Afrika Bambaataa was one of the nine nominees for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions. On December 22, 2007, he made a surprise appearance performing at the First Annual Tribute Fit For the King of King Records, Mr. Dynamite James Brown in Covington, Kentucky.

– For More Info On Afrika Bam, Check www.Zulunation.com –

MAMA FEELGOOD!! It’s finally here peoples. Jungle 45 got it poppin live in the concrete jungle. This Saturday we shot “The Dopest Baby Mama” Taj Jackson for a day in The Life(Steadymobbbin). Constently on her grizzly. Children, Husband, work, a catering co… A lot of things going on here. Not to mention a photo shoot for Jungle 45 shot by one of Charlottes finest photographers… Jasiatic(www.Jasiatic.com). This was also documented by Elisha Covington(Homegirls&HandGrenades) and Jungle 45’s own Goldi Gold(Junglejem45). Knocked it out and Walah… it’s here for you to get put on to! HAAAAA!!! Shout to everybody involved as well as all the mamas out there doing their thing. FANGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

… And of course

– Hip-Hop Night tonight! FANGGGGGGGGGG!!! –

– This is an article from www.bellaonline.com –

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

by Aurora Mae

Understanding how to push yourself beyond your fears and outside of the comfortable security of your everyday life is as necessary as it is difficult. In all aspects of our lives there are things we fear and feel uncomfortable doing because we don’t like stepping out of our comfort zone. The goal of this article is to aid you in thinking about how to push yourself beyond your own edge. When I say edge, I signify the point at which you metaphorically gasp with fear. Your edge is that moment when fear rises in your chest, your heart pounds and your breathing quickens. When you get to that point, take a deep breath, focus, and plunge ahead, whether it’s that last step off the plane while skydiving, telling someone how you feel, or letting loose on the dance floor.

Following this advice is hard, and sometimes painful. More often, it’s incredibly rewarding. A friend of mine who has asthma, a hip problem, and thought she wasn’t very athletic just ran her first marathon and finished. I surfed on and off for years before getting the guts to catch a ten-foot wave, and my fears of the ocean have diminished since. I lost thirty pounds through hard work, and learned that my body is capable of far more than I thought possible. There are stories like this every day from people who have confronted their fears and perceived limitations, and stepped past their edge.

Identifying your fears, personal limits, and boundaries is the first step towards conquering them. Take a piece of paper and write down everything you have been afraid of doing in your life, everything you have envied other people for doing, and everything you fear or everything that limits you from having the life you want. List the physical things you fear, but more importantly, list the mental and emotional. Be honest. If you cheat, you’ll only hurt yourself. After you make the list, group them into mental, emotional, and physical fears. Then group them from largest to smallest. Start small and work up to the more challenging things. Whether it’s standing up to a person who treats you badly or bungee jumping off a cliff, you push yourself that much further past your ‘edge.’

As you work your way up the list, always be careful. Before you do anything dangerous, get to know your body and how far it can be pushed, and use common sense. If you are at risk for a heart attack, think about another way to push yourself past your edge besides skydiving. If you are afraid of water, start off with a pool or small stream, not the ocean. Remember, the goal is not to traumatize yourself. It is to step past your edge enough that you can embrace new ideas and adventures without the same fears and limitations.

This site is dedicated to helping people live adventurously in all aspects of their daily life. But in order to live adventurously, you have to do more than go through the motions, the programs and the events. You have to progress towards an attitude of ‘I can do this. I may be afraid, but I know I am capable of pushing myself beyond my boundaries’ instead of ‘oh, god, can I do this?’ It is about facing your fear, owning it, and stepping past. Only then will you truly begin to live adventurously.

For more about Aurora Mae, please check out my professional writing services website and blog