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thank you marv for once again joining the discussion
you know my thoughts on this already
since i once upon a time stepped in to help you out in a couple of lounges
that shall remain nameless
one spot where you used to play i was actually asked to come in play
i told them i played classics -- funk, soul, house, hip-hop
and they said that was cool
so why all night were folks asking me where was the reggae and hip-hop
i played dennis brown and bob marley
they still asked where was the reggae
i played run dmc and bucshot
they asked where was the hip hop
new york crowds are totally fed by their radio
especially the younger heads
if radio says it's cool, it is
no matter that they listen to this all day on hot 97, BLS, and now they have
even taken what was the classics station 105
i have learned from you marv, play what you believe in
educate the crowd
let them request all night long if they want
eventually, those who want to hear the real music
the interesting the stuff
the stuff that really kicks
will come through
and it will be a happening spot
this i have seen you do over and over again in nyc marv
again thanks for de-lurking
you make me want to go out and start djing again
:: info ::
Lynne d Johnson
c :: 347.693.9669
e :: lynne@lynnedjohnson.com
w :: http://www.lynnedjohnson.com
From: DJQoolMarv@aol.com
Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 15:24:29 EDT
To: jentelligent@yahoo.com, acid-jazz@ucsd.edu
Subject: Re: Negative music.../ Positive Solutions
In a message dated 05/29/2002 5:37:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
jentelligent@yahoo.com writes:
He then looked at me in
disgust like I expected he would. That's a common
reaction I get. He was shocked to see me as black man
listening something besides Mystikal or Camron. It's
frustrating how much mind control radio and TV has on
the masses. Has anyone had a similar experience?
-Chris Jentile
Sparked by my man Chris, this is a rant, by the way, good to see dialogue
flying again on this list.
That reaction is a result of many layers ranging from the blatant payola
between the deep pocket major labels and commercial radio to the
never-ending saga of the low self esteem of the poor and working class that
is hammered every second of everyday with misguided images of success being
related to perpetual promiscuous casual sex and drugs with many and the
ownership of everything that is pointless to really moving ahead in life
i.e., excessive jewelry and high-end automobiles with car notes the size of
some people's mortgages.
"Ghetto fabulous" is perhaps one of the most sickening terms that could have
ever come out of the stagnant Hip Hop & R&B scheme. I mean let's break it
down. Once upon a time, people who lived in ghettos had one main
objective...work to get out of the ghetto. You had to try and work harder
because you weren't making much to save but you had to save what you
could...if it took you 3 jobs to afford an apartment in a better
neighborhood, it was worth it. Better schools, quiet clean streets,
whatever, but the aim was to get there and out of the ghetto. Now, the
ghetto, as told through people who move out as soon as they are platinum, is
this great place full of these honorable men called thugs and women who have
the distinction of shaking their ass the fastest to be alluring enough to be
one of the thugs many bitches, who then will be subjected to countless bouts
of infidelity (thus many trips to the OB/GYN for STD or pregnancy tests),
smackd! owns, and marked with the scarlet G...for the goldigger at home
taking care of the thug's kids).
Stay with me please.
Hip Hop music was once the most authentic and sometimes painfully honest
forms of music ever. Hip Hop was truly the voice of the voiceless, Chuck D
coined it Black America's CNN. I know what your are thinking, now I'll go
off into a rant about P.E., BPD, Tribe, and conscious lyrics. It is not
just about that, it was about the diversity and the freedom to be exactly
who you are. When I mentioned painfully honest, I think about how I cringed
when I heard what N.W.A stood for, but eventually gave them a listen...and
no I didn't love them after listening to them because their experience
wasn't my experience...but it was their experience and how they lived life.
Young music fans do not the choice or opportunity to make that distinction
anymore. For to many reasons to write about, in the last 10 years, Hip Hop
has dulled into an homogenized product for mass consumption. Consider this,
Hip Hop (commercial) is the music of choice for 10 years olds now. The
worst forms of it the better. I recently DJed a Bar Mitzvah for a friend of
my wife's family and I believe that that's the 13th birthday celebration.
The music of choice as sent to me as a playlist...Nelly, Jay-Z, P Diddy,
J-Lo, Fabulous, Mystical, Ashanti (with her shameless obvious sample of
another obvious sample), and so on. These artists are regarded, going by
the request of these kids, with the likes of Shaggy, Little Bow Wow and the
Who Let The Dogs Out group. Gimmicky and silly enough for children is the
underlying theme, although these artist would never admit or even realize
that that is what their music has become.
Flip the scene to a New York City popular buppie (black urban professional
25-35 year-old crowd...aka the group that will symbolize what black people
have come to in this country since the civil rights movement - yes, we are
(I'm 32) the first generation born into life in America without segregation
and overt racism to contend with). You might imagine a group of
sophisticated well learned college graduates, might be bored with the
playlist of 10 year olds but in reality, it is the same playlist. I'm the
first of 2 DJs at a pretty nice party with an outdoor setting that faces the
sunset. My job as per the promoters is to play that "cool-out shit like
acid-jazz and all that different shit" to the corporate ghetto fabulous
crowd. I'm into because here is a chance to be part of the solution and
drop everything on them from 4 Hero to Mr. Scruff, from Jurassic 5 to Mos
Def, from Jill Scott to Spacek...you all know what I mean.
Now imagine people looking up to me with impatient rolling eyes, what are
you playing and can you pick it up shrugs, and worst of all people not even
nodding their heads or tapping their feet. For the context, I'm black, and
I know that my people once upon a time, danced to Jazz music, vigorously. I
watch my own people sit still to music that is truly an extension of our
entire musical experience...jazz, soul, blues, hip hop, disco, etc. I watch
my own people come at me one by one to ask me when am I going to play some
hip hop as De La Soul is cranking the system. I have to plead with
aggressive requesters who are so upset that they haven't heard Jay-Z's voice
for five minutes, that I'm a DJ with my own style, I have great records to
play for you...please let me play them for you because radio or your
friendly neighborhood regurgitating radio hits DJ will not play them. I ask
them to let me offer them a different experience, one that feels like ! New
York City 10 year's ago when the crowd hardly had a clue what the DJ was
playing, and that made the party exciting, different, and worth going to.
Please let me show you how different music is energizing and you'll leave
here feeling like you were somewhere special because the music took you to
unfamiliar but soulful funky places.
Now imagine the blank stare, and then the response of..."but you still going
to play some Hip Hop right?" I used to get all worked up but now I feel
like it is my duty to explain what I'm doing and to defend difference,
diversity, and my own individual approach. As the dumbfounded requester
walks back to tell their people's how much I suck, I'm tempted to say "no,
YOU suck, but what's the point of that? I'd rather keep smacking them in
the head with the best of all the different genres I play...I try not to
give them any room to blame the music, but blame me for not playing what
they are used to. I can take that heat because some people do come around.
I'll even take 2 or 3 out of 200, because those 2 or 3 have friends and they
will leave that night with something special in their heads that they will
want to share with their friends and family...it happens all the time. It
is rocky soil but you must still plant seeds.
Chris, keep offering up those headphones, people don't like different, but
that they surely know what's different and that stays in their head.
One of my funniest encounters was with a guy who truly calls himself Rugged,
a true thugged-out cat that worked Def Jam's Street teams in New York. He
came to a gig, and folks this does happen, he gave me a Ja Rule single, and
then stood next to me for a while. I thought that he was checking out the
party but he was actually waiting for me to play his record. So I told him
that Ja Rule doesn't really mix well with Eddie Kendricks and that I'd be
playing more soul classics stuff for the remainder of my set (of course the
commercial DJ was up next for the late crowd...which I also explained to
him). Now these are guys that strong-armed New York into it's homogenized
state by doing just what they do, intimidating you into playing their tune
by implying that you will not get anymore free vinyl if you don't. Much to
Rugged's dismay, I didn't care if I was dropped from Def Jam's list and I
was not going to drop the (uncredited) Stevie Wonder rip-off o! f Ja Rule's
"Living It Up" in the middle of my classics set...but, keeping in mind that
this shouldn't be a standoff, I gave Rugged a couple of my mixed CDs that
had stuff like, Roots Manuva, 23 Skidoo, LTJ Bukem, Attica Blues, and the
Silent Poets on it.
People, even Rugged was converted as he know wants every mixed CD that I do
and has even propositioned me about promoting them.
So that is my rant and positive solution. Pointing out the problem is
practically the ethos of American existence now so I shamelessly admit that
I'm on the "point out the solution" bandwagon. All of you listers out
there, please burn those CDs of you favorite joints, songs you feel that
deserve to be heard and give them to that Hot 97, Z-100, K-Rock 92 listening
coworker of yours. Chances are they will dig at least some of the tunes and
start your dialogue with them about what else they may be into. It's all
great to be part of the exclusive community that reads Straight No Chaser
religiously, but I feel greater when I can share the new music that I've
discovered with people who seem disinterested in anything that they haven't
heard on the radio. Enjoying something new is a natural human instinct so
you have hone in on that urge for newness and provide some nourishment.
If you made it here thanks for reading this and what do you think?
EZ
Qool DJ Marv
--MS_Mac_OE_3105562217_2068502_MIME_Part
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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Re: Negative music.../ Positive Solutions</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<BR>
thank you marv for once again joining the discussion<BR>
you know my thoughts on this already<BR>
since i once upon a time stepped in to help you out in a couple of lounges =
that shall remain nameless<BR>
<BR>
one spot where you used to play i was actually asked to come in play<BR>
i told them i played classics -- funk, soul, house, hip-hop<BR>
and they said that was cool<BR>
so why all night were folks asking me where was the reggae and hip-hop<BR>
i played dennis brown and bob marley<BR>
they still asked where was the reggae<BR>
i played run dmc and bucshot<BR>
they asked where was the hip hop<BR>
<BR>
new york crowds are totally fed by their radio<BR>
especially the younger heads<BR>
if radio says it's cool, it is<BR>
no matter that they listen to this all day on hot 97, BLS, and now they hav=
e even taken what was the classics station 105<BR>
<BR>
i have learned from you marv, play what you believe in<BR>
educate the crowd<BR>
let them request all night long if they want<BR>
eventually, those who want to hear the real music<BR>
the interesting the stuff<BR>
the stuff that really kicks<BR>
will come through<BR>
and it will be a happening spot<BR>
this i have seen you do over and over again in nyc marv<BR>
<BR>
again thanks for de-lurking<BR>
you make me want to go out and start djing again<BR>
<BR>
:: info ::<BR>
Lynne d Johnson<BR>
c :: 347.693.9669<BR>
e :: lynne@lynnedjohnson.com <BR>
w :: http://www.lynnedjohnson.com <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
<B>From: </B>DJQoolMarv@aol.com<BR>
<B>Date: </B>Wed, 29 May 2002 15:24:29 EDT<BR>
<B>To: </B>jentelligent@yahoo.com, acid-jazz@ucsd.edu<BR>
<B>Subject: </B>Re: Negative music.../ Positive Solutions<BR>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE><FONT COLOR=3D"#400040"><FONT SIZE=3D"2">In a message dated 05/29/2=
002 5:37:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time, jentelligent@yahoo.com writes:<BR>
<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"2"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><BR>
</FONT></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE=3D"2"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">He then looked =
at me in<BR>
disgust like I expected he would. That's a common<BR>
reaction I get. He was shocked to see me as black man<BR>
listening something besides Mystikal or Camron. It's<BR>
frustrating how much mind control radio and TV has on<BR>
the masses. Has anyone had a similar experience?<BR>
<BR>
-Chris Jentile<BR>
</FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE=3D"2"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><BR>
<FONT COLOR=3D"#400040"><BR>
Sparked by my man Chris, this is a rant, by the way, good to see dialogue f=
lying again on this list.<BR>
<BR>
That reaction is a result of many layers ranging from the blatant payola be=
tween the deep pocket major labels and commercial radio to the never-ending =
saga of the low self esteem of the poor and working class that is hammered e=
very second of everyday with misguided images of success being related to pe=
rpetual promiscuous casual sex and drugs with many and the ownership of ever=
ything that is pointless to really moving ahead in life i.e., excessive jewe=
lry and high-end automobiles with car notes the size of some people's mortga=
ges.<BR>
<BR>
"Ghetto fabulous" is perhaps one of the most sickening terms that=
could have ever come out of the stagnant Hip Hop & R&B scheme. &nbs=
p;I mean let's break it down. Once upon a time, people who lived in gh=
ettos had one main objective...work to get out of the ghetto. You had =
to try and work harder because you weren't making much to save but you had t=
o save what you could...if it took you 3 jobs to afford an apartment in a be=
tter neighborhood, it was worth it. Better schools, quiet clean street=
s, whatever, but the aim was to get there and out of the ghetto. Now, =
the ghetto, as told through people who move out as soon as they are platinum=
, is this great place full of these honorable men called thugs and women who=
have the distinction of shaking their ass the fastest to be alluring enough=
to be one of the thugs many bitches, who then will be subjected to countles=
s bouts of infidelity (thus many trips to the OB/GYN for STD or pregnancy te=
sts), smackd! owns, and marked with the scarlet G...for the goldigger at hom=
e taking care of the thug's kids).<BR>
<BR>
Stay with me please.<BR>
<BR>
Hip Hop music was once the most authentic and sometimes painfully honest fo=
rms of music ever. Hip Hop was truly the voice of the voiceless, Chuck=
D coined it Black America's CNN. I know what your are thinking, now I=
'll go off into a rant about P.E., BPD, Tribe, and conscious lyrics. I=
t is not just about that, it was about the diversity and the freedom to be e=
xactly who you are. When I mentioned painfully honest, I think about h=
ow I cringed when I heard what N.W.A stood for, but eventually gave them a l=
isten...and no I didn't love them after listening to them because their expe=
rience wasn't my experience...but it was their experience and how they lived=
life.<BR>
<BR>
Young music fans do not the choice or opportunity to make that distinction =
anymore. For to many reasons to write about, in the last 10 years, Hip=
Hop has dulled into an homogenized product for mass consumption. Cons=
ider this, Hip Hop (commercial) is the music of choice for 10 years olds now=
. The worst forms of it the better. I recently DJed a Bar Mitzva=
h for a friend of my wife's family and I believe that that's the 13th birthd=
ay celebration. The music of choice as sent to me as a playlist...Nell=
y, Jay-Z, P Diddy, J-Lo, Fabulous, Mystical, Ashanti (with her shameless obv=
ious sample of another obvious sample), and so on. These artists are r=
egarded, going by the request of these kids, with the likes of Shaggy, Littl=
e Bow Wow and the Who Let The Dogs Out group. Gimmicky and silly enough for =
children is the underlying theme, although these artist would never admit or=
even realize that that is what their music has become.<BR>
<BR>
Flip the scene to a New York City popular buppie (black urban professional =
25-35 year-old crowd...aka the group that will symbolize what black people h=
ave come to in this country since the civil rights movement - yes, we are (I=
'm 32) the first generation born into life in America without segregation an=
d overt racism to contend with). You might imagine a group of sophisti=
cated well learned college graduates, might be bored with the playlist of 10=
year olds but in reality, it is the same playlist. I'm the first of 2=
DJs at a pretty nice party with an outdoor setting that faces the sunset. &=
nbsp;My job as per the promoters is to play that "cool-out shit like ac=
id-jazz and all that different shit" to the corporate ghetto fabulous c=
rowd. I'm into because here is a chance to be part of the solution and=
drop everything on them from 4 Hero to Mr. Scruff, from Jurassic 5 to Mos D=
ef, from Jill Scott to Spacek...you all know what I mean.<BR>
<BR>
Now imagine people looking up to me with impatient rolling eyes, what are y=
ou playing and can you pick it up shrugs, and worst of all people not even n=
odding their heads or tapping their feet. For the context, I'm black, =
and I know that my people once upon a time, danced to Jazz music, vigorously=
. I watch my own people sit still to music that is truly an extension =
of our entire musical experience...jazz, soul, blues, hip hop, disco, etc. &=
nbsp;I watch my own people come at me one by one to ask me when am I going t=
o play some hip hop as De La Soul is cranking the system. I have to pl=
ead with aggressive requesters who are so upset that they haven't heard Jay-=
Z's voice for five minutes, that I'm a DJ with my own style, I have great re=
cords to play for you...please let me play them for you because radio or you=
r friendly neighborhood regurgitating radio hits DJ will not play them. &nbs=
p;I ask them to let me offer them a different experience, one that feels lik=
e ! New York City 10 year's ago when the crowd hardly had a clue what the DJ=
was playing, and that made the party exciting, different, and worth going t=
o. Please let me show you how different music is energizing and you'll=
leave here feeling like you were somewhere special because the music took y=
ou to unfamiliar but soulful funky places.<BR>
<BR>
Now imagine the blank stare, and then the response of..."but you still=
going to play some Hip Hop right?" I used to get all worked up b=
ut now I feel like it is my duty to explain what I'm doing and to defend dif=
ference, diversity, and my own individual approach. As the dumbfounded=
requester walks back to tell their people's how much I suck, I'm tempted to=
say "no, YOU suck, but what's the point of that? I'd rather keep=
smacking them in the head with the best of all the different genres I play.=
..I try not to give them any room to blame the music, but blame me for not p=
laying what they are used to. I can take that heat because some people=
do come around. I'll even take 2 or 3 out of 200, because those 2 or 3 have=
friends and they will leave that night with something special in their head=
s that they will want to share with their friends and family...it happens al=
l the time. It is rocky soil but you must still plant seeds. <BR=
>
<BR>
Chris, keep offering up those headphones, people don't like different, but =
that they surely know what's different and that stays in their head.<BR>
<BR>
One of my funniest encounters was with a guy who truly calls himself Rugged=
, a true thugged-out cat that worked Def Jam's Street teams in New York. &nb=
sp;He came to a gig, and folks this does happen, he gave me a Ja Rule single=
, and then stood next to me for a while. I thought that he was checkin=
g out the party but he was actually waiting for me to play his record.  =
;So I told him that Ja Rule doesn't really mix well with Eddie Kendricks and=
that I'd be playing more soul classics stuff for the remainder of my set (o=
f course the commercial DJ was up next for the late crowd...which I also exp=
lained to him). Now these are guys that strong-armed New York into it'=
s homogenized state by doing just what they do, intimidating you into playin=
g their tune by implying that you will not get anymore free vinyl if you don=
't. Much to Rugged's dismay, I didn't care if I was dropped from Def J=
am's list and I was not going to drop the (uncredited) Stevie Wonder rip-off=
o! f Ja Rule's "Living It Up" in the middle of my classics set...=
but, keeping in mind that this shouldn't be a standoff, I gave Rugged a coup=
le of my mixed CDs that had stuff like, Roots Manuva, 23 Skidoo, LTJ Bukem, =
Attica Blues, and the Silent Poets on it. <BR>
<BR>
People, even Rugged was converted as he know wants every mixed CD that I do=
and has even propositioned me about promoting them.<BR>
<BR>
So that is my rant and positive solution. Pointing out the problem is=
practically the ethos of American existence now so I shamelessly admit that=
I'm on the "point out the solution" bandwagon. All of you l=
isters out there, please burn those CDs of you favorite joints, songs you fe=
el that deserve to be heard and give them to that Hot 97, Z-100, K-Rock 92 l=
istening coworker of yours. Chances are they will dig at least some of=
the tunes and start your dialogue with them about what else they may be int=
o. It's all great to be part of the exclusive community that reads Str=
aight No Chaser religiously, but I feel greater when I can share the new mus=
ic that I've discovered with people who seem disinterested in anything that =
they haven't heard on the radio. Enjoying something new is a natural h=
uman instinct so you have hone in on that urge for newness and provide some =
nourishment.<BR>
<BR>
If you made it here thanks for reading this and what do you think?<BR>
<BR>
EZ<BR>
<BR>
Qool DJ Marv <BR>
</FONT></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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