Believe in Philadelphia

The Plot Against Hip Hop

2011-10-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

A novel reading and question and answer talk with Nelson George at Robbin's aka Moonstone Arts Center in Center City.

Author - Nelson George

Occupy Philly - continued...

2011-10-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

This man was killing it something lovely while we were having our little subcommittee meeting.

word.

Sukkah.

Quaker action.

Engagement Par-tay!

2011-10-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Occupy Philly

2011-10-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

Excellent.

Union support.

Philly in Fall

2011-10-13T20:42:00.001-07:00

1970's city street?

Occupy Philly - Day 7

2011-10-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

They're all around us!

You might be one of them!

South Philly Scout

2011-10-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Occupy Philly - Day 5

2011-10-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

The insurmountable Aaron.

Occupy Philly - Day 4

2011-10-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

Too much TV makes Jack a dull boy.

Sustainable movement.

It's gonna be a while.

Occupy Philly - Day 3

2011-10-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

First meeting of many.

Occupy the hood.

Good friend, great organizer.

Another (hand)stand for solidarity.

Organized chaos.

"Listen to the children." - Paul Mooney

Indeed.

Occupy Philly - Day 2

2011-10-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Another great day battling the forces of "evil".

Amazing organizers abound.

Solidarity at every turn.

Circling city hall.

Facilitator training meeting.

Occupy Philly - Day 1

2011-10-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

The most wonderful spirits awoke Philadelphia this morning as the first day of Occupy Philly began. Cheers to a peaceful, purposeful, participatory demonstration.

Wonderful truth.

Democratic proceedings.

Shout out to MOVE and the Africa family. A recent performance at the Painted Bride tackled the issue of the 1985 bombing and might be of interest - - olive Dance Theater

For the people.

Amazing artwork!

Solidarity.

New(old) Work(play) - get it!

2011-09-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Vitamin Water Uncapped 2 on 2 Bboy Event

2011-09-13T10:26:00.000-07:00

From 10th to 21st

2011-08-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Universal

2011-08-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Mezcal x NYC x Mike

2011-08-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Citywide

2011-08-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Tim

2011-08-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Rainy Day

2011-08-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

The Greatest Place on Earth

2011-07-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

From skinless cats to rooftops

2011-07-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

The Gathering June 30th

2011-07-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Banana Thief

2011-06-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

Street Shots

2011-06-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Profowon Workshop

2011-06-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

ProfoWon Floorgangz Worldwide

2011-06-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Profowon came through last weekend for his first trip to Philadelphia. The timing was perfect. He got to see The Gathering on Thursday night, a footwork battle on Saturday and all the night life Philly has to offer every other night. He also had two workshops while he was out here where he dropped copious amounts of knowledge. Respect and props to my homie from the West Coast, thanks for blessing us.

@ Alfa

Ill-literate on Sat. night @ Alfa

Footwork Battle @ Rittenhouse Square

@ Max's

First Philly cheesesteak

@ Matt's rooftop

Center City

Nara @ my crib

Metal @ Alfa

Lance @ my crib

Clark Sole

2011-05-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

May 28th

2011-05-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Corzo Center

2011-04-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last night’s luck found me attending a lecture by the superbly skilled DJ RJD2. He spoke alongside the supreme Tayyib, Philadelphia native and all around do-gooder. The events focus was on The Future of Music & Technology, given at the Arts Bank Theater located on South and Broad (Gourmet To Go Vegetarian is across the street and they can be relied on for good soups). Below are a few notes and pictures from the event (I'm sure if I had stayed for the whole event I would have gotten more, regardless though what I took away from it was more than enough for ponderance).

Dangers and Benefits of Technology

The Good

RJ “Having a device you know so well that you’ve gone past being conscious of how you interface with it.” He gave a parallel example saying that when Jazz musicians improvised that weren’t thinking of notes they were just playing.” And that is how, perhaps why, it flowed out naturally.

RJ “Using the MPC 7 - 8 hours a day led to me thinking only about the structure of songs, not how the actual machine worked, (i.e. the button pushing).” Having used the machine for so long it became second nature to him. This allowed him to think within the confines of the machine and to push the limits of those confines.

The Bad

RJ Indecision from too many choices. Time spent thinking about which tool works best could be spent working. And someone, somewhere already made the decision you’re trying to make right now, months ago, and that is how much ahead of you they are.

The Other

RJ “10,000 hours of practice creates masters.” People like Bill Gates, Bruce Lee, The Beatles. Attaining that point is (or should be) the goal for a lot of people. For sure it can be applied in breakin'. Some bboys use this as a philosophy for training pulling directly from the teaching of Bruce Lee.

Tayyib “Hip Hop was created partly because music was taken out of schools, people couldn’t be stopped from making it.” What does this say about the current education system in America? The creation of Hip Hop owes a great deal to the ingenuity, strength and endurance of people working outside this very system. I think it's interesting that in a weird way Reganomics pushed people to create.

RJ “There used to be a higher level for entry into the realm of players like Thelonius Monk.” It feels like the bar for good music has been lowered in recent years. Not just with musicans, singers, bands, and DJ's but also with the people who help with artistic development.

RJ“The Blueprint/rulebook for success has been torched. You can’t make an album and be a star, you have to tour and create albums.” People don't want to make albums anymore. The dynamics of the business have changed. People can become youtube sensations over night now, marketing yourself is easier and cheaper, plus a large band costs so much more than just one person. What else are we sacrificing when we eliminate the group dynamic?

Tayyib: Music used to be created by 3-5 people whereas now it is more of an individual process. He spoke about how he used to watch his grandfather play music with at least three other people. How when he walked around the city, went to parties, funerals, weddings, what have you, people were playing music together. Now it's different. People create by themselves, play for themselves, and there isn't that sense of a shared community.

RJ “Be aware and utilize technology.” True dat!

The Streets is Talkin'

2011-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Emiko's Bday...at the KIMMEL CENTER

2011-04-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Strollin'

2011-04-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Back in Philly

2011-04-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

Muneki - King of Bboy Lifestyle

2011-04-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

California Cuisine

2011-04-13T16:38:00.001-07:00

Cali Graff

2011-04-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Family

2011-04-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Cali Scenery/Greenery

2011-04-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Kid Enzoe aka Prince of The Bear Republic

2011-04-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Kotee aka Cali Curt

2011-04-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

The illest

2011-04-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Livin'

2011-04-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ralph Lemon

2011-03-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the honor of filming noted conceptualist, visual artist, dancer, writer, choreographer, and all-around awesome guy Ralph Lemon in action. It was incredibly uplifting and fulfilling to see this man teach and learn (there seemed to be no separation between the two for him). His ability to convey emotion was incredible. He is truly gifted and deserves all the attention he demands. If you get the chance to see him work, perform, speak, what-have-you, I highly recommend not missing the opportunity.

Make It Count Jam

2011-03-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

Lance's 27th

2011-02-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Spread

2011-02-27T14:26:00.000-08:00

New Spread

Da Streets

2011-02-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

PSA

2011-02-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

It's Gotta Be The Shoes

2011-01-31T11:02:00.000-08:00

Philly Saturday Night Jam Session

2011-01-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

Fluffy Snowy Snow

2011-01-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

The Sun sets on us all

2011-01-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

KAS

2011-01-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

Photogary

2011-01-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

Kanye East aka Walt

2011-01-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

NYE part A

2011-01-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

Home/Memories

2010-12-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

Holiday Classic

2010-12-28T18:56:00.001-08:00

In Performance: 48 Hours

2010-12-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

Turner and Scoops

2010-12-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

On the set of Turner & Scoops.

Ethan

Brian

Mike

Ted

Ted, Mike, Brian

Crew - minus me

Christian

George

Fuji Apple

2010-12-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

Squizzle Squirts Ohio Pad

2010-12-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Steak n' Shake!

2010-12-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving w/ The Fam

2010-11-28T15:35:00.000-08:00

Medley

2010-11-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

Textures!!!!

2010-11-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

Election Day

2010-11-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we voted.

Scenic-ery

2010-11-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear

2010-11-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

This first shot is picture of the line for the Metro around 10:30 a.m.

Estimates put the crowd size around 250,000.

Rock Climbing

2010-11-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

Tunnel Vision

2010-10-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Fall is Upon Us

2010-10-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

North Mountain Woods

2010-10-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

American Exceptionalism

2010-10-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Muneki and Preparation

2010-10-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Melrose Diner

2010-10-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

Blowing Smoke

2010-10-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Cafe

2010-10-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Divine Lorraine

2010-10-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

City Wide Friday

2010-10-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

City Musings

2010-10-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

A Nice Morning

2010-10-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Dog, Fog, and a 45 Magnum

2010-09-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

July Skyline Revisited and Unedited

2010-09-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

My 28th Bday!

2010-09-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Skill Methodz 15 Year Anniversary

2010-09-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Squirt Revisits

2010-09-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

Arvind

2010-09-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

La Familia Land

2010-09-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

HPB BRKLYN

2010-09-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Pete Nasty

2010-08-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

Kids Jam

2010-08-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

FMW x Repstyles Bboy Jam

2010-08-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Infestation

2010-08-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

If rodents have infiltrated your household that is understandable, commonplace, and easily solved with a handy mouse trap. However, flying rodents is a more cumbersome problem. Luckily I was raised in the wild and developed a kinship with all animals. I put the bat in a bag and out onto our porch. Hopefully he doesn't find a way to get back in, although he honestly didn't seem to happy to be inside in the first place.

Knuckles Bday

2010-08-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Rickketts

2010-08-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Curt's Bday

2010-08-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Jenny's Bday

2010-08-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

RSC 33rd Anniversary

2010-08-02T11:02:00.000-07:00