A Whirled Takeover: 03.11

Friday, March 25, 2011

2Racks Brooklyn: A Synopsis

Last night I was in Brooklyn, NY for the 2Racks Rap Contest. It was a... worthwhile experience. Some observations:

1. Totally disorganized. Didn't start until 10, when the ticket and contract said 8. I suppose that's to be expected, though. Oh, and by start, I mean the host went on and did a 3-song set of his own a little after 10. What I found ironic was that the contest stressed performing completely original songs, yet he rapped over 2 different 2Pac beats.

2. This thing lasted entirely too long. This was a 32-artist tournament, with each musician performing 1:30 of a song. Judges pick the better song, that artist moves on. Nice concept, but when you spend 4 minutes bullshitting between each performance, it takes FOREVER.

I don't know how it finished, because I didn't perform my 2nd round song until 1:30 AM. Brooklyn law says they were going to have to shut the place down at 2 AM. So, from 10:30 PM to 1:30 AM, there were fewer than 48 songs performed. That breaks down to an average of 3:45 real time elapsed per song performed. At that rate, they would have finished at roughly 3 in the morning.

The place was full at the start, 70% when I did my first song, and at about 30% when I did my second song. That line graph trends downward for the championship round.

Also, the host REALLY liked to talk about all the great things he was doing for us by putting this together. If you're profiting off of something you're organizing, your self-proclaimed benevolence kind of loses steam.

Also, one judge was visibly drunk when I did my first song. That number climbed to 2 when I did my second one. Maybe that's why I "lost" to a dude wearing some kind of forest animal. Watch the video to understand:

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The crowd and DJ's responses to me throughout the night though tells me I'm doing something right. I sold a handful of CD's and was on stage for the first time in a while.

That, and a chubby white kid from suburban Houston performed at a rap show in Brooklyn. Which is a lot in itself.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Never and Write This Down

Never by Justin Ray

Write This Down by Justin Ray

Thursday, March 10, 2011

A Word I Never Said

I wanted to talk about a word that permeates the music I love, that I'll never personally say.

A Word I Never Said by Justin Ray

#MarchMadness

Lyrics (forgive typos - I write these fast and without concern for most diction)

I never said the word because I didn't deserve to
like they didn't deserve what that word referred to
rap altered the meaning yeah I know, I heard you
but I still refuse to say it to the dudes in my circle

in the South people said it out of anger and hate
historic weight of that word you could never debate
you think it then you aren't thinking or you'll never relate
so this message lost essence just turn off the tape
slur word originated from the Spanish for black
roots in Latin, as it happens roots can grow back
blanket term for a people never tells the whole tale
same word can invoke 400 years of hell
Dick Gregory told me that censoring it is wrong
Cornel West said the rhythm of it put it in songs
Richard Pryor went to Africa, came back and stopped
wouldn't say it on stage, whether for laughs or not
nobody thought I'd fight em when they said it 'round me
like no Vietcong said it to Muhammad Ali
please read up on Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige
had to dominate before Jackie Robinson's days
attitude was Ren, E, Cube, Doctor Dre
Nas tried to call his album that, the label made him change
Mark Twain made a point to put it inside books
so 100 years later we'd get inside looks
Texas legislature all intellectual crooks
re-shaping America, changing history books
The United States past, impossible to defend
so Republicans will try to take it out of Huck Finn, uh

Nah I never said it, that's a word I never said
I heard it and I read it, won't repeat the word again
Nah I never said it, that's a word I never said
I heard it and I read it, won't repeat the word again

even if it isn't obvious, it reaches beyond
you see hate throughout politics, the people respond
racism isn't dead, it's renamed and spawned
it live on Fox News whenever Glenn Beck comes on
it's embedded in the messages of much of the right
"take back our country" guess who they wanna fight
your life insignificant if you ain't wealthy or white
and they call you something different when you aint in their sight
that's unless you want to give your MasterCard a swipe
make a purchase they turn from nervous to helping you right
everybody in the tea party holding a gripe
and colored or enlightened then prepare for a fight
a Muslim in an airport and everyone panic
protect borders is code for keep out the Hispanics
I was handed a gift, and I can't use it for wrong
that's why you're never gonna hear me say that word in a song

Nah I never said it, that's a word I never said
I heard it and I read it, won't repeat the word again
Nah I never said it, that's a word I never said
I heard it and I read it, won't repeat the word again

I never said the word because I didn't deserve to
like they didn't deserve what that word referred to
rap altered the meaning yeah I know, I heard you
but I still refuse to say it to the dudes in my circle
if that makes me archaic or makes me outdated
I choose to show my age, I refuse to say it
cause history will tell you why that word so strong
and for me to ever say it would just be so wrong