THE DO GOODER

Welcome to my 101st post! (I must be a slacker blogger if it has taken this long...)

Anyways, just wanted to share a new film I starred in called, THE DO GOODER, directed by my dear friends Emmy Pickett and Jimi Patterson. The film is very musical with keen attention to details, rhythm, timing and a core story. I have every song in it stuck in my head and the images (aside from me being a complete narcissist now) are also stuck in my head.

I hope you enjoy it, and tell Jimi and Emmy that you liked it by visiting their vimeo page and giving them loads of compliments.

Check it HERE.

CLICK IT. DO IT.

Love it. Also check out the trailer, which is equally entertaining HERE.

Social Media, The Music Industry and Global Good: Chats with Lupe Fiasco, Kenna and more!

"the ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times more than the blood of a martyr

we came through the storm nooses on our necks
and a smallpox blanket to keep us warm
on a 747 on the pentagon lawn
wake up the alarm clock is connected to a bomb
anthrax lab on a w. Virginia farm
shorty ain't learned to walk already heavily armed
civilians and little children is especially harmed
camouflaged Torahs, Bibles and glorious qurans
the books that take you to heaven and let you meet the Lord there
have become misinterpreted, reasons for warfare
we read 'em with blind eyes I guarantee you there's more there" --Lupe Fiasco's "American Terrorist"

These don't seem to be the typical lyrics of a Grammy award winning rapper and hip hop artist. Believe it or not, they are. He is an artist dedicated to use his fame, power, art form, and media to promote social justice and change. Lord knows we need it. In my meeting with Lupe Fiasco at the UN Digital Media Lounge, I got to personally talk to him as well as listen to other people in the industry, including Kenna, Musician & Founder of Summit on the Summit, Simon Isaacs, VP Sustainability Marketing, ignition Azita Ardakani, Founder & Chief Idea Officer, Lovesocial Laura Checkoway, Contributing writer for RollingStone.com and former senior editor, Vibe, and Elizabeth Gore, Executive Director of Global Partnerships, UN Foundation. All of them had some new things to say about how Digital Media was being used in an age of media, music, pop culture, and fame--as well as an age of social justice, development, and equality/health (hopefully!)

Basically, Lupe and Kenna are both musicians who focus on using their fan base to make a change. The crew all together did a "Summit on the Summit" of Mt. Kilimanjaro, climbing the mountain to raise awareness for the needs of clean water in developing countries. Kenna is ethiopian and as a child his father came down with a water borne illness. Clean water is the single most important factor and needs in a lot of communities. They used digital media, blogposts, movies, and music to publicize their climb, which was a symbol of solidarity, persistence, and Africa.

Lupe is a rather coy, unassuming, hip kind of guy who likes to surround himself with people who "Take action and do cool shit." He described the climb as "a crucible made in the pits of hell. But I've always been attracted to doing something, you know what I'm saying? That don't make sense? You know ac-tiv-ity. Being active. People who are doing very positive things, world changing things. I'm opposed to throwing eggs as the popi, I'm just not down with that. I don't organize much, I just follow along with my friends." That isn't true according to Kenna though. Lupe organizes a lot! After Haiti, Lupe was immediately calling friends, organizing a group of people in order to cut a benefit song for Haiti.

Sometimes the UN doesn't catch on so quickly to the efforts that celebrities put out. When 21 million people were impacted in Pakistan from the recent atrocities, a lot of musicians came out wanting to do something, but the UN didn't move quickly enough to take advantage of that, says Elizabeth Gore, from the UN Foundation.

Hand in hand with this organizing is a positive note from the press. Laura Checkoway writes for Rollingstone, focusing on rappers, RB singers and hiphop artists who she things are "poets from the streets, speaking about social justice issues otherwise being ignored." Instead of talking or provoking gossip, she tries to create a more productive portrait. For instance, she writes a story about Lil'Wayne doing a story about the poverty he grew up in in New Orleans. How he was a weirdo and a shortie (not like the women!) and using his uniqueness to become a superstar (though he did write the infamous lyric in "A Milli" that goes "I'm a venereal disease like a menstrual bleed..."). Of course, as a writer she claims, most people want the dirt and fluff out of her. She has faced a lot of "barriers, trying to deliver the real."

Azita Ardakani, from Love Social, does a lot with social media. Given 48 hours after a crisis, she builds strategies for social media campaigns to get people to learn about the issue, donate, and be inspired to take further action. Its hard though. She claims that as social media grows and there is just so much of it, you have to be super creative in trying to get support, as everyone has a cause. "I don't even bother putting 'Donate' in some of the twitters or texts. I just gloss over that word myself."

All of these people have something to offer. Lupe says its particularly important for America to reach out. He says, "Most people who live in America have ties to other countries." Activating a little part of your fan base wherever that is is enough to raise awareness to the "common man. Humans, excuse me. I just hate when I say stuff like that." (he is very particular with words!). Lupe is a Muslim from Chicago, otherwise born as Wasalu Mohammad Jaco. He offered then what he called an anecdote from Islam. As he says, "Human beings are compassionate. From the pope to the poor man to the rich man, humans have an innate sense of compassion." He claims "My brand is about Social justice. Any time there is a movement to mute or censor or block what I'm doing, people talk. Child soldiers, tolerance, family, religions. I'm sayin it in my music. I hit those walls, and then it goes to the editorials."

Kenna has been going to the editorials lately. He was marching on Washington to pass the "water for the world act" which makes a commitment to helping to supply clean water to developing and needy nations. To Kenna, water is his "issue" he is most passionate about. "It comes back down to purpose at the end of the day, if you don't have a purpose then you are wandering aimlessly." He tried to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro 5 years ago alone and couldn't do it. It "kicked my ass" as he said. With "my allies, I could. What I learned is we won't reach out life's mountain top, our fight for good or change, we won't reach it by ourselves. We won't get to the top without each other."

Towards the end, we asked Lupe if he could give us a concluding anecdote. Lupe is a Muslim from Chicago, otherwise born as Wasalu Mohammad Jaco. He offered then what he called an anecdote from Islam."I'm a Muslim, so I'll give you one of those foundations from Islam. Its Remembrance. Reminder. Human beings are innately forgetful. Constantly remind yourself of what you are doing. Remember there are people below and above you."

When I got to talk to Lupe one on one without the others later on, I asked him if he thought his social justice messages got in the way of his art--a common issue in explicitly political art works. He said, "Naw. Pablo Picasso painted Guernica and it is one of the greatest pieces of art of all time. It was POLITICAL. It was all about social justice. So I say Guernica the World!"

Guernica the world. Not a bad idea. I hope he comes to see my play "War in Times of Love," which is all about post-conflict Balkans--politics and art!

Snoop Dog and the Kanun

" No one in my clique fails
As females with the almighty Father lead
Succeedin' ta give my peep's just what they need
And it ain't no party like this kind,
Cause you can leave your worries behizzind " ---Snoop Dogg, "The Doggfather"

With lyrics like this, I could not help but think that Kosovo was the perfect place for an artist like Snoop Dogg to visit.

Yes. Y'all hear me. Snoop D double O G came to Prishtina on July 10th with Z mobile. After .50 cent made an appearance last summer, Kosovo has been bringing a lot of older generation rap artists to Kosovo.

Now, Kosovo, as you all know, and Albania for that matter has always been stereotyped as a place of corruption, the mafia, pretty women, and big parties that made The Boston Globe vote Prishtina the "ugliest and most fun capital in Europe." (March 21, 2010). Basically, there is a culture here of good drinks, good clubs, sexy women, horny men, and maybe even an admiration for the mafia culture (family, blood, money).

This family, blood culture (both mentioned above and in Snoop Dogg's gangsta lyrics) recalls to me the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, an ancient code of Albanian law dating back to the Bronze Age, whose four main "pillars" are

1) Honor

2) Hospitality

3) Right Conduct

4) Kin Loyalty.

The Kanun also permits a practice of Gjakmarrja, a blood feud or revenge where a family member can kill someone for some sort of dishonor or death of a relative even generations before. This creates (or comes from) a very close knit, almost mafia culture itself.

So Snoop Dog. Albanians here must be diggin his sounds. So, I go to the concert for 10 Euros. The place is hopping. A haze of cigarette smoke covers the crowd (a Ferrari with free Winston cigarettes was parked outside). Lots of boozin and lawlessness, though they did pat me down and search my purse quite seriously.

I stand in the crowd and listen to a ton of other Kosovar artists (one just holding a mic to do "O! O!" voice overs to Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg). After all of this and a bunch of call and response, an hour after the opening acts, Snoop comes on, singing a lot of his old 90s hits.

When the crowd gets a bit tired, he says, "I know what is goin make y'all jump around!" Cue the song, "Jump Around." Snoop Doggy Dog brings out an Albanian flag, making all of the ethnic Albanian Kosovars freak out in delight. A mosh pit erupts.

Later on, Kosovars give him a "Kosova" flag and shirt, making the lyric true,

I'm a gangsta, but y'all knew that
Da Big Bo$$ Dogg, yeah I had to do that
I keep a blue flag hanging out my backside
But only on the left side, yeah that's the Crip side
Ain't no other way to play the game the way I play
I cut so much you thought I was a DJ" ----Snoop Dog's "Drop it Like Its Hot"

A gangsta kid comes on stage and the delight trifecta is complete: Kids, Kosova, and Albania.

Snoop Dog ends up speaking about how "I Love Kosovo, its a beautiful country and whenever you Muthaf***ers want me back, I'm here yall. If all you hatas don't like it, you can just f**k off!"

I really think he is an Albanian Kosovar, or maybe this whole country just thinks that they are all Crips.

My Brain Feels like a Magnetic Zero....

When you have a fever, your brain somehow clings to every image, memory, TV show, or the back of your eyelids---definitely not anything you "should" be doing.

So I found my brain floating in its nostalgia today and came across a 10 person band, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Basically, its a band that is the brain child of a down and out Alex Ebert. After AA and sleeping on inflatable couches, he came up with the notion of a prophetic hero "Edward Sharpe" who travels around the West, preaching, though constantly distracted by the beautiful Jade, and other women, pleasures, and ideas.

In an age where everyone is looking for a hero or maybe just some comfort from a bygone era where we had faith, we were just distracted. Are we still distracted, or do we even have faith?

Anyways, enough with those pointless blurbs. Buy the CD, check it on Myspace. Here is an article that inspired me. Look 'em up on youtube or myspace or whatever. Listen to their song, "HOME." Basically... something about it reaffirms my sense of comfort, home, and love.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/edward-sharpe-and-the-magnetic-zeros-cmon-get-happ.html

I'm going to go nurse this fickle fever.