When violins vibrantly verbalize a versute vigilante's voice.

Dilla. Nuff said. Pardon the absence, got great news I can't drop till tomorrow. Shout out to Marcus for the link. Chea!

Big weekend

As I embark upon both the Fall Excelano Show and the day when I potentially find out whether or not I will be studying in England next year, I have to decided to take this moment to officially stop stressing out. Paul Dateh is helping with this.

Peep the intersectionality, homie. This man sound's like classical and hip-hop having a boxing match where no one loses. Simply beautiful. Well, I'm off. Stay tuned, should be an interesting set of weeks.

My oldhead

This piece is friggin incredible. I'm def trying to get my persona poem game up.

Throwback for Pop dukes

My dad mentioned Bill Withers in our ride home together last week, and as half this blog's name is a direct reference to him, I figured I would let my man get some shine.


As a side note: I find the fact that Bill Withers was a stutterer until he was about 28 years old truly fascinating. Never let the mind limit the body.

Illest boy band ever

1. Talk about challenging restrictive norms around gender performance.

2. No boy band is touching the Jackson 5 (The Temptations don't count, they were a man band). Lol, man-band.

3. This video irrefutably proves that Michael Jackson invented pop-locking. OK, I'm being a tad bit tongue-in-cheek here, but I would love to see footage taken before this where somebody breaks it down the way he does during "Dancing Machine."

4. I need to finish these grad school applications. Now.

5. I may also need to get an afro, MJ's jawn is looking super-fresh in this clip.

Gorillaz x Marvin Gaye.

Pure dopeness. I'm not even that much of a gamer (outside of NBA Live and Kingdom Hearts, of course) but DJ Hero looks like a must-cop. Shout out to Cassius Q for the link. Listen close, the way these tracks are interwoven is nothing short of masterful.

Gotta love the 80's

Pardon the paucity of posts. Got a scholarship interview this weekend, it's not a game. In the mean time, enjoy what is arguably one of the illest live performances of all time. Been watching copious amounts of Michael as of late. Sequined jackets, Superman curl, white sock/patent leather shoe combo? This was the king at his peak. Prepare for an intense fit of nostalgia as well as a brief spell of wonderment when you look really closely at Tito's outfit. Oh, the 80's....

Wow. Been waiting so long for this video.

So, as I found out via Facebook (what else?) yesterday, the White House apparently posted the video of myself and several other (much more seasoned and thoroughly accomplished) artists performing in the East Room for the First Family and a number of cultural luminaries last May. Peep vids of homegirl, Esperanza Spalding (whom I proposed to that evening and got a response of "we can make that happen"), the unflappable creator of the Tony-Award winning musical "In The Heights," Lin-Manuel Miranda, and because I've only posted a vid of myself on here once, yours truly.

Seeing so many people of color in the White House is moving beyond words. The ancestors would be proud.

A first for me

For those of you who regularly read Bruce and Carrie's Son (brilliant scholars, artists and lovers that you are) you know that I never post videos of tracks. Avid hip-hop fan though I may be, you will rarely if ever find me putting a song up on here that doesn't have a live-action video choc-full of dancing, poor acting, etc.

Simply put, I had to make an exception for Jay Electronica's "Exhibit C". This verse is up there in my top 10, all-time. Yeah, I said it. For me, that puts it right alongside Lupe's "Theme Music To A Drive-By," Andre's 16 on "Humble Mumble" (listen again if you don't think that verse is absolutely bananas-straight-off-the-tree-fresh) and Jay-Z's classic, yet sadly under-researched, "Breathe Easy."

Just wait for the part where my man says, call me Jay ElecHanukkah. Absolutely ridiculous.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this ludicrously lyrical Louisiana MC, I've included an interview for introduction purposes. Two videos in one day?! Where else but over here at B&C. Keep it locked. I'm on a creative kick right now and the blog is about to pop. Word is bond.

Shout out to my boy Hayling for sending me a transcript of the "Exhibit C" lyrics last night. Always good to know that us hip-hop nerds have a network we can tap for such necessary resources. Anybody else with the inside scoop on such unadulterated dopeness, feel free to drop a line. Deuces!