Well Said

A timely verse on the state of The Association.

Refreshingly the meter owes more to John Ashbery than to Shawn Carter.

boom blip

Been around the world, dwelled coast to coast

Met a few opponents, been a friend to most

Walk among the living, talk with ghosts

DJed radio shows and like an emcee toast

True dub survivor, tryna revive with flows

My inner sphere inscribed in this pithy pop post

We

My heart flows, gushing like an ocean from a cup

Tide’s always high, ‘cause your love fills me up

Awoke my third eye, when you found me

Broke down my fear, hear? You ground me

Ignite me, stoke the flame of my desire

I’d burn through salary like my calories to attest to the fire

Your passion ever lasts, my very best you inspire

And soothe these uptorn roots, boots made to walk

But I feel we in cahoots, it’s the truth when we talk

Your inner soul comes right through

Make me feel like a right fool

Tryna fake cool as you take me to school

Life’s lessons? Light blesses

Every stress with fresh reflections

Our paths joined, and point in one direction

Follow? I want to walk the earth with you

Or aim higher, I might even return with you

Eternally, when we learn our essence through and through

All the bards of legend pen their paeans to you

Hell, I wish I could bring everything to you

Thought I needed Lou Reed to come and plead on my behalf, understand

But this is PD’s deed to do, besides, Lou ain’t agreed with that plan

He said “I’ll say what you like

You know I’ll say what I can

I’ll say whatever you want

But Peter, you love Suzanne”

Indeed I do. Love chose us two, though the wind blows us too

Even when we oppose, we see it through ‘til it’s right

With time left over to get cozy and tight

I just knows I’ll doze divinely intertwined with thee every night

You rose like Lady Gwenyvere--well baby, I'm here to be your knight

And propose, you and me become we, and unite

(P.S., She said yes!)

Son of God's Son: "Made You Think"

A response to NaS' "Made You Look", cast in the original's lyrical flow

Let's shape this hook in a new direction
Take edification, a taste of correct sh--
You know I waited long to give this a retool
Slow, but still street, fool, y’all know how Pete do
Keep it clean, deep inside the beat, too
Maintain a vibe you imbibe, cool as ice cubes
Well paced, no stress
Dressed with finesse in pastel
Puff, puff, pass it to me, pal
My lady's luscious, plus she's like "...mmm, POW"
Put us on the F train—F’ cars, they insane now
If we could drive through the city, like de nada
You'd see us in a hybrid Prius en la esplanada
Petro-free style, it's Pedro's freestyle
Get up your hand, child, that ya fuel your coupe with
Slurp soup with, burp your little papoose with
Same hand that you hoop with
Raise a fist, we ain’t stupid
Streetballer? Yeah I be that
You know my steez
I be swishin’ the threes, "splash!"
Do the 'Smurf,' do the 'Wop,' 'Baseball Bat'
That Souljaboy, that super—-naw, buck that

I mean yooooou! – Aw made you dance
Moving to a groove, put you in a trance
Getting light-headed? Breathe like it's yr last chance
Where’s them gods at? Where the truth at?

He provin'! – Aw made you think
Got thirst for knowledge, take a long drink
Getting light-headed? Life sped up, don’t blink
Where’s them gods at? Where the truth at?

This is happening, this how Pete rock
Now get up off your ass, shake the whole block
My kush cousin, spark up the trees, sir
Funk in the trunk? Get krunk if it please, girl
Don’t start none, won’t be none
No reason for you kids be trippin
Just want to see you sway your hips and
Sip $8 drinks, holla, pounds up
That’s how you pop-a-collar in this house, what
Let the music diffuse all the tension
Divine intervention, death protection
Hustlers and players stay on the grind
Lady move in time, we can grind to the tune fine
All my outta-towners, count the hours
Spend mad paper, take a bath, let it shower
Make it rain? You people so crazy
Pull out my waist, sizzurp and purple hazey

They blazing! – Aw that's just smoke
Why you front? Nature gave us the blunt, toke
Getting light-headed? Chill, boy, don’t choke
Where’s them gods at? Where the truth at?

I seen dudes puzzling, yo my mood is dark-brewed
Wire you up just like the feds do
Heads don’t snitch, now they live by a street rule
Let a stool pigeon fly the coop? Nah, they turn cruel
NaS told kids, "learn more, change the globe"
Yet this honor code kill mode, keeps it real…tragic
Wankstas stunting, cash or plastic
Whatever you do, whatever you choose
Stay true to yourself, versatile too
Like a renaissance man is. Ask my friends
See they never understand this
How I manage my flow over QB standards
With just enough nastiness to top the class
Baby reach in your stash, pass the spliff
Ignite like Fela, rule the nation on a boom-bap tip
Rewrite slick, eclipse the edit like a lunatic

(Fela Kuti portrait,
courtesy of Discoid Terrorist)

It Ain't All About Me #3

summer's first sunset blessed
today's blacktop lesson beyond introspection


young bro' showed & proved
a few steps slow for our pace of competition
yet, due to unprecedented intermission
(hectic cell phone interruption)
down 5, we had a discussion.
he asked what we gotta do
i'm like "you just be you,
but talk to us on D, they ain't pickin' you
so we ain't switchin';
no help on yr man
unless you holler, unnerstand?"
glad we got a new plan,
i caught my breath


checked the evening's signs,
selected an inspiration in season
summoning jackie gleason
(in the hustler,
you know the reason)


lunacy or did it seem to me
the daydream made the tides sway
this-a-way, and when Big Ray
got off his call, 4-on-4 was recouped
I said "men, let's play some hoop."
we lost that game, then won a deuce
i considered the test's truth,
later on when i was mellow
centered on the young fellow
whose pride highs and lows flipped
the moment his man got past him, then damn
his head hang down to his hand.
Nah bring it again fam
recover quick
when you get crossed up or mixed
don't trip on top of it,
talk and claw your way back into it
that team D,
seems to me,
got a chip for the Big 3



photo: Hoopedia

VJs Give it Up for the DJ: Old-School Playlist

Oh my, have I been missing out? YouTube playlists are new to me, but right on time. If I ever find myself with computer but without my iPod, this could save a life.

In the meantime I'll let it serve to celebrate the first day of Summer, with some "out-of-print" material, seemingly circulating solely in video format--take for instance, CNN's "Invincible," not to be found anywhere in the iTunes Store, yet conveniently paired here with Yinka Dare's Michael Jordan highlights mix--plus a passel of joints that were missing from my own mp3 library. Ushering in the season with the sounds of DJ Premier, Pete Rock, J Dilla and more ... that's my idea of sonic sunshine. Enjoy--or, click here and pick your way through the "PlayThis" playlist of old-school and too cool jams:

If you last into the turntablist-tribute midsection of this mix, don't miss the vintage Invisibl Skratch Pikls vs. The X-Men (aka X-Ecutioners) showdown, which captures the inimitable glory that sounds when scratch maestros fully realize the symphonic potential of a 3-on-3 battle. The varied aesthetics the two teams display also crystallize their vast array of skills and deployment; when Roc Raida, Rob Swift and Mista Sinista finish their set, it seems impossible the NYC boys could get beat, but then, Qbert's crew take it to an utterly different level.

Bonus points (for your ears) if you're able to plug your laptop or hard drive into stereo speakers...

Hoop Haiku #2

Halfcourt? Slick streetball legend
(in my head). Fullcourt
I hang back on D instead.

[photo by Manabe]

Pencil Stash

I play chameleon with my style, but it's your smile I'm feeling
And eyes can't spy what the soul's really seeing
Maybe they don't know a lick about the deals I believe in
Or get the inside joke on the looks I'm thieving
Baby, if I could talk a mile a minute, no mystery--stands to reason
I'd just be breathing needless b.s. into the breeze
Yet if I slow my riff, will you follow my drift
Get uplifted by the myth, or just catch a whiff of what you missed
From those smoke signal designs we weave in

(image courtesy of Anna Fleshler)

Crossover Dream #1

Retraced repeatedly just at the surface of my subconscious
A mantra of moves visualized to a tee my handles is me

On the baseline, the rock in my right hand

Scooped forth in a sly spinning bounce from the back

But mix it up from the first step: my left foot attacks,

Swings across, slices an angle in my pivot, i'm with it

Facing away from the foul line i crouch and get mine, let

Long fingers sweep a dribble low behind my feet

I don't mind if he reach, that ball's mine i can tease

Then snap it back across my front, chest-high

In a quick, tight revolution not televised

Park prime time be gone in a flash so get wise

I'm at the rim just like that, finish nice, got that

April Pools

[photo by miniluxalex]

The prohibitive mist which slicked the Carroll Park courts when I got off the subway was countered by the buoyancy of a decidedly warming humid evening. Perfect weather to get loose.

An effective enough argument that I sized up the twenty minute gap of free time I had as ample opportunity to ask the lone figure shooting around if I could join him for a few shots. When the court's wet--particularly the painted part, which in this instance is everything inside the three-point arc--the body naturally wants to take baby steps, and consequently it's hard for one to get much of a workout, let alone build a rhythm, shooting hoops alone. So assuming Shooting Stranger here was interested in getting his money's worth in court time, I wasn't just asking to play, I was offering my rebounding services. At a tremendous value, I might add.

But the point, not just my point but the point, is to build that rhythm, isn't it? The spins, the tracings of footwork.

On this particular evening, the movements invoked included slower, hypergliding shifts in direction, balanced to let the ball go just gracefully enough to not cause the shooter or passer to keel over in a slick-sneakered squall. Finger-rolls off the glass, especially the Gervin-esque, english-laden variety I usually favored, were useless against this weather; no spin intended to guide a carom off the backboard would grip the wet surface. Flatter, more basic bank shots were found far more effective. After about fifteen minutes or so, the two of us had made other such adjustments, and were into a beautiful rhythm all its own.

So when I left the court after not much longer, my body and spirit had gotten a great deal of the benefits basketball provides. Forced to focus on correct form so as not to injure ourselves, while having to use our heads and physical intelligence to employ that form in accordance with our environment, just going through the motions of a shoot-around never felt better.