The History of Joe Blacula

....So I'm in my Intro to Interactive Media class, and my teacher John Owens informs us that we have to do a video on someone influential in the community. I went out and shot some footage on my guy named Emmanuel Muhammed, that owns a silk screening shop in Chatham Village called Never Quit Apparel. Whenever you see me with a shirt that has my name, or one of my branded companies; he made it. I edited the footage and it just wasn't really saying enough. It was good....but it wasn't great! I wondered if it was the subject matter, or was it how I cut it together. Then all of the sudden it came to me....why didn't I do the subject on me?!?

I mean, i've sold a gang of records, met and worked with some of the best in the music business, I have my own music network; www.ChicagoCrook.com, I have an online radio show called CHICAGO AUDIO that is backed and promoted by Russell Simmons' GlobalGrind.com that averages One Hundred and Fourteen thousand listeners on a daily basis, and one of the best producers representing the past, the present and the future of Chicago music and multimedia. And dig this! I'm ALSO currently a student at Kennedy King College! I'm amongst the people, because i'm ONE of the people! Plus NO ONE works as hard as I do towards perfecting my craft, furthering my ultimate goal of world domination, and to continue down the path of UNLIMITED POWER!! Here is just a MERE example of what i've learned to do. So with all of that being said, I hope you enjoy, but i'd rather that you just listen.....

Movie Review - (A MUST SEE!!) - The Art of Rap

2 of my passions are watching documentaries and the culture of Hip Hop. Fortunately for myself, there have been several movies that have combined both elements and (Something from nothing)The Art of Rap is the most recent. Veteran rapper/actor/former pimp/Original Gangster/Ice T, executive produced this Sundance Film Festival favorite, and is responsible for bringing this creation to life as well as the big screen. I missed the original release of the movie when it made it's theatre debut in May of 2012, but I was able to catch it when it aired in September of 2012.

It seems as if the concept of actual "lyrical content" has gone completely out of the window with todays youth. Or maybe the content that they're putting out IS what they consider lyrical content. Who really knows WHAT they're thinking. But what I DO know is that Ice T talks with some of the best lyricists of the game from the late 70's to current. Some of the featured artists are Grandmaster Caz, Lord Jamar, Melle Mel, Kool DJ Red Alert, Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Salt, (from Salt N Pepa) Nas, Dr Dre, Ice Cube, Common, and Kanye West.

I found everything that the featured artists had to contribute to the documentary very insightful. Especially listening to Rakim speak on how he actually formulates his songs, Eminems influences, and watching Grandmaster Caz, actually have to write a freestyle verse during the duration of the movie.

The culture of Hip Hop doesn't actually have many documentary styled movies that we can claim for our own. Only 4 come to my mind at this point. The Show, Rhyme & Reason, Wild Style, and The Art of Rap. I'm honestly hoping that the current youth can actually watch this movie, and come away from it with a sense that they need to step up their lyrical content. The culture and the music needs to continue to push forward, or else it will remain stagnant and all creativity will be lost. But i'm guessing that is a matter of opinion. Maybe the current generation considers that they ARE being progressive. Who knows? Maybe I need to actually ask THEM!! Maybe they think what I grew up on is garbage! (They'd be wrong!!) Maybe I should have a forum so the generational gap can come together a little bit closer than what it is. Would that really work? I'm doubtful because both sides would feel that they are correct. I'm gettin a lil bit too personal because i'm very concerned about the music and the culture that i've grown up in, and have contributed SOOOO much of my life to.

Bottom line, this is a great movie!! If you love Rap music, or even LIKE rap music, then this is an absolute must see!

Warning! The new IPhone 5 may get you killed!! (Or possibly assaulted on a CTA bus....)

Sept 12, 2012. It was a Wednesday and I was on the bus. The 29 State bus heading home from school. Well actually I decided to go to the bank on 20th & State street. I had a lil extra money in my pocket, and I decided to do the responsible thing and deposit it into my joint account with my wife. I've lived in Chicago my entire life, which makes me suspicious at all times, of everyone that I don't know. And if I don't know you, that makes you a potential threat to me and my safety. Even more so if I'm on the damn bus!!

So I'm sittin on the bus with my body positioned in a spot where I can see everyone that's getting on or getting off. I make sure to get a look at eveyone that's on the bus with me, so I can see if they fit my mental description of someone that may possibly try to do something stupid. ANYTHING STUPID!!! Stupid like what? Stupid like trying to snatch my damn Beats By Dr Dre headphones that I've paid a lot of money for! I've looked over the bus, no potential suspects. The bus pulls up at about 43rd and State; not a bad area because my wife gets her dreadlocks done at Locology. I notice a pack of 10 kids getting on the bus, and they all walk past me and proceed to the back of the bus. Its 2 little girls, roughly 7 to 8 years of age, 5 more males between the ages of 10 and 13, and 3 more that were roughly between 14 and 17. I perform a quick mental scan of each and my mental alarm immediately goes off. Not so much at the younger ones, but the 14 to 17 year olds most definitely have my Spider Senses tingling. Why? Because they fit the current Chief Keef visual. Skinny, sagging skinny jeans, mop top locks, and oh yeah; Black!! So at this point, I am silently watching every move that they're making.

2 blocks later, a young Hispanic girl gets on the bus. I notice her because I rarely see Hispanic girls riding on the 29. I'm not judging her, but I'm wondering where she's going. She sits and starts playing with her phone; and of course its an IPhone. I'm thinking to myself that she shoulf be more aware of her surrounding and put the phone away. Carlito Brigante once said it best that the "Streets are always watching". At this point, one of the 10 to 13 year old males gets up from the rear and sits next to me in an empty seat next to me, which just so happens to be directly across from the Hispanic girl. He looks her over, glances at me, and at that point he sees that I'm looking directly at him. He gets up, and returns to the back of the bus. He mentions something to the 2 older mop topped males. I turn my music off, take off my headphones and place them inside of my bag because I'm on point and braced for whatever. The bus gets to 28th and State. The bell has been rang, and all 10 of these kids make their way to the exit. But before they do, one of the mop tops decides that he wants to snatch the IPhone from the hands of the Mexican girl. The pack of kids quickly jump off the bus. I'm surprised! Not at the fact that they snatched the IPhone, but how quick all 10 of em jumped out the back door. Its as if all 10 of the kids were in on the job! Without a thought, the Hispanic girl jumps off of the bus and grabs one of the mop tops hands. Mop top number 1 turns around and snatches his hand back. He screams something inaudible to the girl. She screams back. At this point Mop top 2, grabs the Hispanic gir from behind in a choke hold, while Mop top number one punches her in the face. At this point I'm still not surprised. But what did surprise me was watching the Hispanic girl fall to the ground, and seeing the remaining 8 (including the two 8 year old girls) stomp and kick the Hispanic girl, while the 2 mop tops run across the street thru traffic, almost gettin hit by cars, and disappear into the enclave of remaining Chicago Housing Projects. All are shocked on the bus, but no one moved.... Of course I'm thinking I should've done something, but I didn't. What if they had a gun. So now I'm shot, defending a girl that should've known better. My bus arrives at 20th. I get off, go into my Chase branch, get back on the 29 State heading back in the direction that I just came from. We get to the area where the robbery had taken place, and I was glad to see that the Police were on the scene. Once again I'm thinking that I could at least get off of the bus and tell the Police something......NOPE!! I opted out. What am I gonna tell em that she hasn’t?

I've wanted an IPhone ever since the 1st one was released back in 07. I'm a huge fan of Apple, and I most definitely tow the company line. I've owned 4 Apple computers and 2 IPods. If it wasn't for the fact that I refuse to get under a 2 year contract with a carrier, I may have actually had an IPhone by now. But this is where my conflict kicks in. If you have the money, you should be able to buy whatever you want to have. But at the same time, Chicago isn't designed to let you "keep" what you "want", just because you've "earned" it, or because you can "afford" it. Be it if you can or can't afford it, or even live in a city where 80 something year old white women are assaulted on train platforms for their IPhones. With me knowing how thirsty these Chicago streets are, it makes me hesitant to make such a purchase. I'm already out here slightly paranoid with my Beats headphones on. People assume that they know how much they cost, but they're always wrong. Let's also add to the fact that I'm out here riding on these Chicago buses and trains which are absolutely not the safest mode of transportation. Gas is expensive in my Ford Escape, and I'm a full time College student with a UPass. I try to ride the bus anywhere and evrywhere that I can go. But at the same time, I am very aware that the CTA will get you where you need to go, but that doesn't mean that you'll be getting there safely. The moral to the story is this; if you own an IPhone.....damn that.....if you own ANY PHONE, Cricket, Boost, Virgin Mobile, Trac Phone, land line, whatever kinda phone, please be sure to always be aware of your surroundings. Just because you have it, doesn't mean that they're going to let you keep it.

Steve Sabol, visionary & president of NFL Films, dies

The football world says goodbye to a legend of the sport on Tuesday September 18, 2012. Steve Sabol, president of NFL Films, has died at the age of 69 after an 18-month battle with brain cancer. Sabol took over the mantle as president of NFL Films in 1985 from his father Ed, who founded the company. Steve learned in March of 2011 that he had a brain tumor that could not be removed. He introduced his father during Ed's emotional enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August 2011. Steve Sabol won over 40 Emmy awards and oversaw 107 Emmys for NFL Films. He was the Sporting News' 2002 "Sports Executive of the Year. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. The company broke ground as the first to wire players and coaches for sound. It revolutionized how music was used with sports films. It was the first to use ground-level slow motion and montage editing in sports. So much of what we see in sports television came directly from the Sabols. He straddled the line between artist and executive.Generations of NFL fans learned to love the game of football through the lens of Ed and Steve Sabol. Steve started out as a cameraman for the company before eventually running it.

"My dad has a great expression," Sabol said when his father's induction was announced. "Tell me a fact, and I'll learn. Tell me a truth, and I'll believe. But tell me a story, and it will live in my heart forever. And now my Dad's story will be in Canton and hopefully that will live forever too." I didn't know Steve personally, but I feel as if I do. I grew up watching "NFL Films Presents" film montages whenever I could find them. And even the lamest of the lame has at least heard the booming voice of John Facenda as he read, "From the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field". They may not have known about John Facenda, or the definition of "Tundra", (I most definitely had NO idea what my mans was talkin about!!) but one thing that I do know is that NFL Films made me a dedicated fan of the sport that I now love.

As I was coming of age in the 80's, HBO aired a weekly sports series called "Inside The NFL". The core hosts of the show were Nick Buoniconti and Len Dawson. I can recall that every week I would yell at the TV screen for them to get done yammering about stats that I was already aware of, and get to running the highlights.....courtesy of Ed & Steve Sabol of NFL Films. Narrator John Facenda's voice on the highlight reels was before me in the 60's, but the narrator that I grew to rely on in the 80's was Harry Kalas. It was the PERFECT combination of shot selection, slow motion, and sound effects......courtesy of Ed & Steve Sabol of NFL Films. This is the way that I REALLY got to see and HEAR what was happening on the sidelines of the Sunday games. The Sunday night footage of what happened in all of the games, were short 10 second clips that wouldn't tell me too much of anything. "George Michaels Sports Machine" was the cream of the crop for network TV sports highlights, but nothing compared with actually HEARING Mike Ditka getting bleeped on the Soldier Field sidelines during a 4 minute segment on Inside The NFL.....courtesy of Ed & Steve Sabol of NFL Films.

The story of the NFL can't be told without Steve Sabol. May he rest in peace.

These roots run deep.....

Once again, this is another assignment for my Intro To Interactive Media class at Kennedy King College. This time, I traveled around the south east side of Chicago, and took pics of all of the places that played a role in me becoming the man that I am today. My grid stretched from Jeffrey ave to the east, Halsted ave to the West, 55th street to the north, and 95th to the south. I rarely ventured out any further than those confines.

I noticed something strange while attempting to complete this task....Not too many black people like it when you drive up in a Black Ford Escape, jump out, and start taking pictures. I got a gang of angry faces, inaudible mumbling, and one lady even came out and flat out asked me "Why you takin pictures of my damn house?!?" I had to explain to her that my Great Aunt & my Grandmother lived there for my entire childhood, and that I was conducting a documentary about where I lived. Thank GAWD one of the neighbors from down the street heard our convo, remembered me, and came to my defense. My moves after that incident were a lot more covert. Enjoy the photo's, and enjoy the music. Kanye West - Homecoming (The ORIGINAL version) Common ft Kanye West - South Side (BORN & RAISED!!)

Total Chaos & Complete Mass Media Confusion

I'm just sittin here thinkin about all of the recent killings in Chicago that have been so called "gang related". But seeing that the killings are associated with the current crop of Chicago rappers, the attention from the media has been a tad bit heavier than the norm. Dr. Dre once said in the movie Rhyme & Reason that there was "no such thing as bad publicity". Well this is some publicity that we could go without having. Honestly, this shit that's going on in Chicago is embarrassing!! First the rappers are kicking up YouTube beef, then they're killing each other and posting tweets about it!! How stupid is that?!? Now the teachers are on strike, which is pretty much giving the youth another outlet to be outside waiting for something stupid to happen!! My mind runs through a lot of music from moment to moment. "My baby ain't never shot nobody, but he still got smoked at BeBe's party!" Who said that?? That was Eazy E!! What song was that?? That was "We're all in the same gang" from the West Coast All Stars. But my thought is thinking of a time when rappers used to come together and do songs that would speak on the ignorance going on in the black community, the Hip Hop community and BOTH. I'm wondering, why has it been since 1989 or 1990 since we had a song where everyone came together to tell the youth to get there shit together?! Take a look what these cats are doin in Chicago! Don't ya think that this would be a good time to make another one of those kinda songs?? There's enough established Chicago rappers to create our own 2013 "Self Destruction", cause these young dudes are most definitely headed for self destruction.

Here's your lineup.....Kanye West, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Mikkey Halsted, Cayex Illah, Bennie Franks, Shawnna, throw R. Kelly on the hook, and have No ID or Joe Blacula produce the song. (Shameless plug) That's all the star power that I feel that we need to get a strong point across. "Well how come JB ain't put such and such on there?" Because it's my list and such and such ain't drawing enough star power!! Plus I ain't ever really been big on the hot new flavor of the moment. You have to put in dues for me to acknowledge whatever the hell you're doing. So what you have a hot new single! Hot singles cool off! Holla at me when you've been around for damn near a decade, THEN you'll get my attention. Other than that...enjoy your 15 minutes because the clock is ticking. Other than that, let's get to crackin on it. How many more rappers, or civilians even, are gonna have to get killed before someone decides to move on this idea....I'm ready when y'all are. Lemme know.

A woman's point of view about Stevie J.

I aint ashamed to say that i'm a fan of VH1's contribution to reality TV. One of my favorites is Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, which is the spinoff of Love & Hip Hop. I'm pretty sure that every damn city that they take the franchise to, that I will be watching. But as far as Love & Hip Hop Atlanta is concerned, one of its breakout stars has to be Stevie J. Stevie J earned his claim to fame from his string of hits from his time period with Bad Boy Records in the 1990's. A few years ago, I was watching an episode of Behind The Music on the female rapper EVE. And I remember her talking about an abusive relationship with a New York producer, where she was constantly cheated on. Guess who THAT was?!? Take a wild guess...Stevie J DUMMY!! Fast forward to 2012, his claim to current fame is being a rat faced manipulator for VH1. As much as I despise watching this dude, I make it a priority that I tune in and see what the hell he's gonna do each week. I find this idiot very amusing, but at the same time, I feel like one of these women are gonna physically beat the snot out of him when the cameras aint running. But that's just my point of view. My wife Janeen hates Stevie J, and more than likely hates the show as well, but she's drawn into the madness because I watch it all of the time. I decided to ask her what she thinks about Stevie. Here's her thoughts on this rat faced, rat bastard.

Watching Love & Hip Hop Atlanta is a trip because with every episode, I realize how pitiful Stevie J is. He thinks that he can control two women. He thinks that the world revolves around him & he's in control. But in my opinion, he's an idiot! The women in his life are controlling him, actually. I feel that Mimi is too good for him. She still loves him, but she would be better off without him & I'm glad that she decided to move on. Joceline wants to be with Stevie but she wants to control every move he makes. She knows she can't, so she portrays this harsh exterior like she doesn't care what he does; as long as she's getting money. Stevie J has dumb ideas, he really doesn't know what it means to be a man, and he definitely doesn't care about women's feelings. It seems to me that all he cares about is himself. And to me, that's pitiful.