A rant about one of my pet peeves, people who say "oh I never pay attention to politics because I know it doesn't matter, the whole system is rigged, every politician is the same, yadda yadda yadda."

Back during the 2004 election I interviewed Chuck D and this topic came up, see his answer below. Note how he applies it both to those who don't vote and those who do:

Organizations are encouraging young people to vote, which to me I think is like, yes, it's so necessary. It's like washing up in the morning. But I'd say there's a bigger picture to even that. That, okay, in December 2004, how are the issues gonna be met? And who's keeping score? My thing if you're voting and you ain't keeping score, what the f**k are you voting for?

That's why when people are like "yeah you know, Kerry, you
know straight up, that nigga the devil, you know? So, Bush, Kerry, they
the same niggas" -it's like, you're not keeping score though! And if you're not keeping score, don't even pass a comment.

(NOTE: Before you even comment on it, yes. Yes, I know. I was trying maintain continuity and not shave until I was done but my face got too itchy.)

Posted by jsmooth995 at 8:43 AM | Comments (0)

DJ Chela on the Railroad (Full DJ Set on MP3 + Video)

April 12, 2010

This weekend DJ Chela sat in in our radio show on WBAI, the Underground Railroad, and spun an excellent set of hip-hop/electro/dance classics, with a few new joints sprinkled in (including the new Nas/Gil Scott-Heron team-up). I've uploaded her full set on MP3, right here for your listening pleasure:

DJ Chela on the Underground Railroad, 4/10/10 - 48 minutes, 44 megs

And here's a little raw footage of Chela on the mix, that I grabbed with my laptop's webcam. For most of the mix she stayed low key and let the music breathe, but when saw me taping she couldn't resist showing off the skills a little bit:

Posted by jsmooth995 at 5:31 PM | Comments (0)

How TiVo Tricked Me Into Watching Sarah Palin

April 12, 2010

Just a little addendum to my last video. Apologies for the thoughtless reference to having a seizure, I shouldn't joke around about that so casually since I've never actually gone through it.

Posted by jsmooth995 at 1:43 PM | Comments (0)

Why I'm Rooting For Sarah Palin

April 7, 2010

Some thoughts about Sarah Palin's debut as a Fox news host.

Posted by jsmooth995 at 1:06 PM | Comments (0)

Guest Doctrine: Health Care and the Lost Art of Compromise

April 5, 2010

I've been meaning to address the passage of the health care bill but wasn't feeling fully qualified to break it down, so I got the noted health care expert and standup comic Hari Kondabolu to give his thoughts on Obama's health care plan, and what he thinks we could have done to fight harder for truly progressive reform.

You can see Hari live on Thursday night here in NY, when he headlines at Comix with another great comic, Baron Vaughn.

Posted by jsmooth995 at 4:45 PM | Comments (0)

More on Skills vs. Money

April 4, 2010

A little follow up with Immortal Technique & Diabolic on the Waka Flocka/Lyricism debate, after they dropped by my radio show to promote Diabolic's new album "Liar & a Thief." BTW when I say to Immortal Tech "maybe they built an orphanage" that's a reference to the actual orphanage he helped to build in Afghanistan last year.

Also here's a little bonus footage from their freestyle session:

Posted by jsmooth995 at 4:59 PM | Comments (0)

Lyricism and Capitalism

March 2, 2010

Why having lyrics matters, even if you're only in it for the money. I held this back a couple of days to stay focused on Guru pulling through. My thoughts are with him and the Elam fam.

Also up on Nil Doctrine this week:

"I Forgot He Was Black"

Eternia Live on the Railroad

Posted by jsmooth995 at 8:16 PM | Comments (0)

Station Announcement

February 18, 2010

Neither rain nor sleet nor rapping choir will keep us from our appointed vlogging rounds. We're just moving our base of operations to Nil Doctrine for the time being.

Posted by jsmooth995 at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

This Is The End of Dog Racing

February 14, 2010

It is with a heavy heart I must report that on the evening of February 12th, 2010, Rap Music died once and for all. After battling a long illness, our beloved Rap was too weak to withstand the overpowering shame of that We Are The World remake.

And so, out of respect for this tragic passing, I am joining rappersiknow.com in shutting down my website forever. I simply cannot go on in a world where that rapping choir happened.

Please consider giving to the people of Haiti in memory of Rap Music, 1974-2010:

Doctors Without Borders

Partners In Health

Mercy Corps

Shelterbox

And join us in the grieving process at our new blog, Nil Doctrine

Posted by jsmooth995 at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)