Intro 2 Gallery: Tribute 2 Afeni's Son

Finally completed Phase 2 & 3 of the gallery which now houses about 175 images in different themes & categories. Feels like it's been in the works too long but this sincere tribute is one of the most recent that I put in the collection. Created this in the home-studio with the larger-than-life 'Pac pic I developed off an image I had on a T-shirt.
Just a few final touch ups in & around the e-gallery before doors swing open in mid spring.
**better resolution on clicking image**

My nite ender & day starter on 107.9

What better way to end an insomniac 'all niter' than with the very funny, informative & entertaining Russ Parr Morning Show? :)

Ofcourse Mr.Russ is the engine behind the show & having done it for so many years (remember back when he hosted it with Olivia as the Russ Parr & Olivia Foxx Show?) he's really at home with all the issues ranging from current affairs, improvs, call ins, artiste interviews, etc, etc. He can be rib-splitting funny, yet outrightly serious depending on the issues-great flexibilty I believe. As for his doing 'The Chuck D', I think it's damn funny & amazing, don't quit it Russ!

The whole crew is the real deal & with the entry of the ever-funny Alfredas, who started off interning on the show back in the day, the show's gotten new life. I love the gal's sense of humor & slight accent esp when she reads the horoscopes with the "..and now Ar-iiiiies..", lol!
Super Kin with his up-to-date ' straight from the street report', Shaqwana with her 'word of the day' & her alter-ego Mei Lin's Chinese hair stylist stunts & of course Dj 6th Sense who has spices up the morning with a superb selection of upbeat music.
I particularly love "Hook 'em Up Wednesdays", Thursday's "Song Improv", and Friday's "The Wrong Song". We catch it on 107.9FM Mon-Sat, 6am-10am. Russ & Alfredas can also be viewed weeknites on TV1's "Get The Hook Up"

Learned Parisian Slang from him...

Put together this photo canvass comprising a couple album covers & photo ops as a ...
...Tribute to MC SOLAAR, the artiste from whom I learned Parisian slang (l'argot) some 15 yrs ago. I've been a die-hard fan of his very unique, rhythmic 'mega-flow' French rap & I've been taken in by his immensly diverse lyrical content, poetic prowess & word-play since he came onto the scene in 1990 with his banging single 'Bouge de là'. And more so when his début album 'Qui sème le vent, récolte le tempo' dropped in 1991 & woke everybody up to the rise, and rise of the Maestro of French-language/European rap.
With six (6) solid multi-platinum albums to his credit & a new one in the works Solaar has without a doubt, single-handedly been the most influential rapper-artiste not only in France but in the whole of Europe. One cannot talk about the origins, evolution & increasing impact of rap & conscious music for that matter in the European continent without giving proper credit to MC Solaar. [...more in the comments section]

Jill makes me Chill:)

New York City
Originally uploaded by Barrybar.

Aaah, I just had to blog this from the flikcr.com album of my highly gifted photo-enthousiast friend Patrick in NYC.

Anyone close to me knows I would stop at nothing to catch a Jill Scott show. Like my gal Mary J. Blige, her gift of music gives greater meaning to life.
Psst...my ex-g/friend still teases me about me getting those "Mary moments" nearly 12 years after Mary came onto the scene.,lol! Jill Scott is pure magic & she just knows how to make me chill out & 'see clearly':)

Street's Disciple:an online review

I satisfy my humongous appetite for books & music via amazon.com & I just remembered that I recently wrote an online review for Nas' most recent release on the amazon online store. Thought I'd repost it here for my own records.
The Great are haunted by their greatness, and if greatness were a demon then with this double disc "Street's Disciple", Nas has lyrically tamed, excorcized and artistically put under control the greatness that would otherwise have haunted his increasing legendary status as the 2nd Greatest ever MC (after Tupac Amaru Shakur.)
It's been 2 yrs since "God's Son", the awe-inspiring street chronicle that left many a fan gasping for more. True to his form, Olu Dara's son does not short change his fans and anyone with a keen ear and a reflecting conscience to absorb the many `kilo-jewels' of knowledge that Nasir drops in this double CD. [my review continues in the comment section:)]