For all those lives you've ruined...

It's the Revenge of the Nice Guy! you know you've listened to some crap rap, some trap rap, some rap about cars, booty and dope slanging...you thought you did it in secret, until you accidentally burst out with the chorus at the wrong place, the wrong time and in the wrong crowd...Um hmm, it's ok, we've all done it.

However, no "deed" goes unpunished, and for that, we're now subject to Revenge...

Fortunately for us mere humans, art, like god, teaches lessons through education, not punishment. Fathom 9, a steady presence on the hip hop scene in Memphis who has taken his work across the Northeast, from Chicago to New York and back in various incarnations such as the Genesis Experiment and IMC or Iron Mic Coalition serves his revenge with fervor serving not to decimate (although lesser emcees would argue that point) but to explicate. To provide for the neophyte and hip hop aficionado alike a return to (or example of) a musical form that is simultaneously a critique, a cry and the language of an entire culture.

With the theme of "revenge", Fathom9 modeled his show and album release after the film/comic V for Vendetta, releasing the work on the fifth of November and the cameo appearance of a legion of masked V's in the audience. Primed for a revolution through terrorizing lesser emcee's, the city of Memphis and visitors from the tri-state area were served with quite the COLD dish!

Deneka Lottalox started the set with a couple of smooth songs before she really opened up and gave us the live version of Black Girls Rock. Her voice, emotion, and lyricism were all showcased in her performance of original work that the world desperately needs.

By the time Fathom9 graced the stage, the audience had been treated to work from both The Genesis Experiment and the Iron Mic Coalition, a nice lead up to the main event. When Fathom9 appeared there was a palpable sense that he was not alone; the crowd was with him. A literal huddle formed, as supporters and fans alike formed a protective circle along the periphery of the stage to indulge themselves in the historic moment. The official ass kicking and name taking that was Revenge!!!! As a fan and supporter, after months of hearing snippets, sneak peaks, sample tracks and verses, I still was not prepared for the full force of Fathom's voice, music and presence in the same place and at the same time. The emcee's energy level was incredible. Fathom delivers spitfire verses with a power and force that can only be described as a dominating passion.

Revenge is the perfect title as Fathom broke down the problems of the music industry, so called artists, his community and society in general. Through his lyricism alone, he demands and dares other "rappers" to step their game up. His self- produced music, which he explained were generated from the inability to find beats intense enough for his material yet sophisticated enough for his sensibilities, are a cultured mix. In the concert space, familiar sounds from the past juxtaposed themselves against the imagery of the present, the energy of the crowd and the emotional release we all felt, finally absolving us of our sins. Dipped in the waters of true hip hop, our musical vices were no more...

Fathom9's music is intense enough to rattle your bones and complex enough to unravel your mind. Revenge has been exacted.If you need to get your musical soul washed, start here, buy the album, then let us know how YOU live, the LoveJonesLifestyle.

Poetry Jam!!!

Well, LJL family...we all know one of the staples of our favorite film/lifestyle is the Poetry Slam, or Poetry Jam as I like to call them. Indeed the initial meeting, flirtation and seduction between Darius and Nina take place in, around and through poems and music.

For this reason, we can only see it as fitting to grace you with the musical and poetic stylings of one of our favorite poet/producer/lover/creators....
Fathom9 aka Doc Anon aka the Anti-Life Equation. He describes himself as, "a reservoir of limitless potential...(the mic is an instrument/I am the Conduit/Conveying the intimate/sentiments/of the Infinite...)

He, his music, and his writings can be found at http://fathom9.tumblr.com. And, now, without further ado, I present, Fathom9 in words and sounds.

Sounds::

Soul Heart Sessions: Winter-Leaves

Words::

This Night; my thoughts…(Fathom 9) A.L.E.

This night…my thoughts—take me to a place I had since abandoned—for sadly our world is comprised of

souls who would curse dreamers—but this night…my thoughts dwell in the shadow of a memory…


There once existed a girl whom I would await in my dreams. We had a special place-I called it our Sacred Garden,

Where we could be free to explore our desires outside the confines of Space, Time, and callous reality.

How wonderful our adventures were.

But one evening beneath crimson twilight I appeared, called out to

Her, and naught answered me but silent echoes. I repeated every night for what seemed an eternity,

To no avail. Ragged—bereft of the light of Passion I screamed into the night: My LOVE! My LOVE—

you would dare FORSAKE me? Why, My LOVE? Why??? I who go thirsty in the desert a thousand

Seasons, and with one breath from your lips-my thirst would be quenched…I would shatter my feeble

flesh

before the glory of your feet, and through my bleeding exposed heart-a garden of my love’s testimonial

Would spring forth replenishing a barren Earth…why would you abandon I—your wanton servant…?

She never answered me…


and since have I wandered this land of desolation—weeping.

Let us know what you think LJL Family...We'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts about Fathom's work. Do you want more???

Baby Makin’ Music

 

These days, it seems as though the concept of baby making music has become like those microwave versions of dinner entrees that you can find in your grocer’s freezer section.  Same great taste, maybe, but the preparation has been drastically reduced for the sake of convenience.  While that’s laudable, some of the blessing comes from the fact that someone took their time to pick the best ingredients and spent their most valuable commodity, which is time, to prepare the meal. 

If you’re a ‘70s baby like me, then there’s a strong possibility that you were conceived under the auspices of baby makin’ music. I’m not exactly sure what’s supposed to be passing itself off as the melodic magic filling the air when it’s time to get down to some serious lovin’ these days,  but for me, I dig to find my own as this is the way of the Love Jones Lifestyle.  It could be joints from a couple of decades ago that still has the hypnotic effect to get the juices flowing (pun intended) or it could be something that rides the underground.

This new joint from the spoken word half of the former London-based duo, Floetry, has the same kind of feel as the Mellosmooth version of Maxwell’s ‘Sumthin’, Sumthin’ from the original soundtrack of  Love Jones. Indeed, I like the direction of the Floacist’s solo effort much more than the  whole vindictive vibe of Marsha’s first single.  The addition of Musiq Soulchild’s crooning is like having the cherries with the whip cream.  Anyway, enough of me.  It’s late as I write this and I am yet nursing another unfulfilled jones. 

Enjoy this delightful morsel of visual bliss and sonic sensuality.

Forever

Nicki Minaj: Modern Day Hottentot....

Nicki Minaj on Regis and Kelly



Love Jones Lifestyle is all about artistry....so imagine our shock when emcee/performance artist Nicki Minaj appeared on the Regis and Kelly show and was transformed from artist into modern day Hottentot Venus.



While everyone else is focused on what is being called "Bootygate" due to Regis' tapping of Nicki's ass, We were more concerned with the comprehensive objectification of Nicki...Both Regis AND Kelly participate in transforming Nicki into a modern day Sara "Saartjie" Baartman aka the Hottentot Venus. While Regis examines the construction of Nicki's dress, a veiled lead into his groping/slapping/grasping of her posterior, Kelly asks what happens, then leads into a discussion of Nicki's waist measurements. In its entirety, Nicki becomes a museum like display of physical wonder. She is no longer an artist, emcee, singer or performer, but a body.

Regis and Kelly's reaction serves to perpetuate an assault on Black Women's bodies. To see this objectification from both male and female genders of the White race shows that there has been little progress in terms of white males outlooks on Black women's bodies, and also white women.

As opposed to taking a genuine interest in Minaj's art, the bulk of the attention of the interview is focused upon her physical attributes. Even the established artist and business man Lil' Wayne is given short shrift when Regis refers to him as Nicki's "friend"...Wayne is Nicki's boss, he is her CEO, he has groomed her and allowed for her entrance into the industry from the "underground"...but he is still referred to, in a disrespectful, nearly inconsequential way by Regis.

Overall, the power of a national forum, granted by their show allows these two personalities to enact dominant white racialized fantasy by neither acknowledging Minaj's talent nor Wayne's business saavy. Both despite their success, professionalism and talent are reduced to mere slivers of themselves...

In this case we clearly see the devaluation of the Black Artist. In this climate...where the artist is not seen as a serious entity...how do you produce? How do artists maintain their respect as artists when they are still seen as a spectacle?

LifeSounds...

The Love Jones Lifestyle sounds like....The Charlie Parker Beat Tape*. Why, you ask? because it's a mixture of Harlem Renaissance era cultural creation, and hip hop era sensibilities. Both carry the voice of our people while simultaneously engaging in conversation with each other, creating a polyphonic conversation that takes us back to our roots. The Love Jones Lifestyle team is made up of "real", "regular folks"...we hail from the country, are first generation urban, or not urban identified at all. We live on the coast, mountains, near rancheros and simultaneously amongst urban blight and gentrification, some of us live in multiple spaces and places geographically, and always occupy multiple spaces socially.

Yes, we promote a lifestyle, but, really what we promote is much deeper than that. I am a Libra on the Zodiac, and one of the Libra qualities is that one's love of beauty and nature would can cause one to be seen as superficial. I don't want this blog space to be taken as such. Indeed the Love Jones Lifestyle is about beauty, love, art, creativity, politics and community. All of these require intense commitment, focus, understanding, maturity and a critical mind/eye. Therefore, do not mistake the lifestyle for one in which "reality" is forsaken. No...it is a communal space, just like the friends at the table, calling forth truth. It is a space of creation, like the jazz lounge. It is a space where we think, speak, and do.

We urge one another forth in seeking solutions to our community's problems...we push one another into fulfilling our dreams...we define success on our own terms...we believe that healthy spaces between black families, friends, and lovers do exist, and we revel in those spaces. Love Jones, the film simply provides a template for one slice of life...Enjoy the gifts.

 *shout out to the folks at bamalovesoul.com and HEXSAGON