Really, I can’t describe the time me and the PE crew had down under this year on our 51st tour. It was our fourth tour of Australia, 1990, 1992, 1998, and this past 12 days. First of all, getting not just a second (Brazil), but third chance at summer is fantastic. Personally, I don’t dig winter at all and snow I hate.

As I rolled outta Calgary Airport up in Canada after an engaging lecture at the University of Alberta at Edmonton I was dressing down as I was on the plane heading to meet my cats coming from NY and Atlanta to LAX. Not that I didn’t have a good time up in Canada, which to me is the twin country of OZ, both breaking the grip of Britain while still maintaining allegiances, maiming of indigenous people, gigantic unused landscapes with small populations etc. Still in all what I dig about these countries are the young innovative thinking minds and the thinking outside the American psyche, and what I don’t dig are the cut off limited immigration policies and the embracing of amerikkkan culture. Seriously I’ve said this before, these countries can seriously use 50 million more people each. The coastlines and the borders are where the people live, as for Canada it’s very livable and with global warming it may be a more comfortable land in the winter by future default. The US dollar still carries weight in both places and the foods are progressive. The University of Alberta was very much anti-Son Of a Bush and made me feel like I had escaped an asylum which increasingly amerikkka feels like on my mentals. It’s so close but the mentality is so different which makes you wonder how much of a grip that Hollywood and the media, culture-jack corps have Americans on some robot sh*t. Also, it makes me think how this planet has such poor distribution of people, food, water and resources. This is why human beings should assist each other. Those who have excess give to those who have not. Sometimes my passport still makes me feel like a slave, having to get permission from governments to see what god gave us all. Then again governments are the cancer of civilization.

Ok, after the CANADA freeze where I drove between the two snow-capped cities, I saw my cats in the airport and got on the QUANTAS flight on down to SYDNEY. The trip took about 14 hours, previously I remember it being no less than 17-18 hours. The planes are getting faster and the routes more routine. Arriving down in SYDNEY it was shorts and t-shirts again and I loved every bit of it. There we were met by the ENEMY BOARD’s own SCOTT READING aka JOHN BROWN 2000 who we had met back in 1998, in a few cities. Big ups to Scotty for coordinating ENEMY BOARDERS such as SAMir, Funky Drummer, LAUZ MC, Rebecca and others. Well Scott’s belief in the group is stenciled into his arm, with a signature I signed 5 years back. Coincidentally, I got my one and only tattoo in 1992 in SYDNEY, way before it was popular with black folk. My reason was that I considered myself and my guys world travelers. Which validates my sky-pirate self.

The first gig was in BRISBANE where we last played LIVID FESTIVAL in 1998, TERMINATOR X’s last tour with us. Since then DJ LORD has made the Australian trip on his own, participating in raves bringing his hip hop touch to it. The hotels here are big like the land and the city is a big resort town as well as college. There is always a good vibe here. We happened to be as central as we could be, next to a mall, book stores, electronic shops, eight clubs within walking distance, and the water. The ADVENTJAH fest was having us within a just school out rave and it was cool except that the venue wasn’t conducive to sound. It was a gigantic barrack and the place looked like it was only good for building g damn submarines. I was attacked by my own miked voice and PE beats the whole night. I didn’t wear earplugs and paid for it for a ringing two days. The nightlife was very cool and it seemed that the crowd was happy that summer was in effect.

After a couple of days in BRISBANE we tripped down to MELBOURNE where peeps are increasingly, next to SYDNEY, considering the more classic laidback international city. In the past I always dug SYDNEY more and now I think it’s a tie between the two. Also, in the past, cities like PERTH and AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND would be in our down under touring. This time a new crop of promoters, taking chances with hip hop names and new crowd mixes, brought us down as well as a swell of acts such as CYPRESS HILL, PETE ROCK, KOOL KEITH, NAUGHTY BY NATURE and, inside the newly built Olympic arenas from two years back, 50 CENT. I enjoyed the days spaced between the dates just like in BRAZIL, work and vacation at the same time, but seriously who calls doing music work? It was heard that the big promoters were not considering us a priority without a current sanctioned record/radio/video US hit. Thus the young promoters picked up the ball, had sold out crowds and resulted in 2-3 hours of what their patrons called “The Greatest Hip Hop Show on Earth.” Indeed the back to back MELBOURNE shows were smashed. The first one being recorded for next year’s MKLVFKWR DVD which the first footage was shot in MANCHESTER, UK two months back. Naturally from MELBOURNE to SYDNEY were indeed three powerful and expected performances. Everybody is at their peak right now and a world of tightness away from when we first rolled out in APRIL 2003. Alongside this the cultural visits to REDFERN, the basketball games, the city visits scattered across the crew made OZ a great capper. Mad thanks to SOFE and FELICIA MAPOSSA for such an inner cultural expose. As of now PE is gonna work out a theme song when she fights her next fight (we’re gonna make a better one than ‘Move Bitch Get Out The Way’ by LUDICRIS...OK? The GOLD COAST is Ozs’ Miami-Orlando rolled in one, great weather, (I’m so mad I broke my fukin shades) the club we played was thoroughly entertained, and the travel on the day off reminded me of driving through CALI around SACRAMENTO parts. From there I jetted to ADELAIDE on RICHARD BRANSON’S VIRGIN BLUE Airways. A new low fare alternative to the dominant QUANTAS. I think I’ve flown a company named ANSETT in the past which had gone under, down under. Anyway VIRGIN BLUE has shown such a following and has upwards stock there.

In ADELAIDE I thought it would be cooler weather-wise but it was baking there. The gig was tight, as for being the last show of the year we pulled out all the stops...3-4 hour show joined by CYPRESS HILL’S B-REAL, SENDOG, DJ MUGGS and BOBO at the end. CYPRESS hands down is one of the greatest acts of all time in hip hop with dire commitment to their thing and their fans. In this that’s all one can ask for. Stateside magazines like the SOURCE have really never acknowledged their power and impact. Well more on them later.

All in all going back to SYDNEY after the tour to hang a bit was very cool. These post Olympic cities SYDNEY 2000, ATLANTA 96, BARCELONA 92 have been real cool. Although the first time to Seoul 88 will be cool next year.

Each and every night it was great signing autographs in the back of the venue and meeting cats face to face - priceless.

I’ve been gone about two weeks and I don’t really give a damn about sports, in the USSA. I guess I’m busy and ain’t sittin around. Besides I hate the fact that I may like and be more loyal to a player’s team than the player himself.

Heading to the Bay area to do voiceovers on WATTSTAX film DVD.

Saw DANE WEBB down under, good cat who was doing a mighty thing for the URBAN NETWORK and breaking rap out the Westbox. As well as the work in RAPPAGES.

Scott Reading was playing KRS-0NE’s KRISTYLES and immediately its soooooo blazing. Underground is so amazing. As anything KRS touches. The number two ranked MC of all time by KOOL MOE DEE’s book ‘THERE’S A GOD ON THE MIC.’ Maybe I can get the fact of flying across to KRS, who is only prohibited by that fear.

At this point it’s confusing as to who calls the shots of who’s who and what’s what in this hip hop game. I’ve seen scavengers pillage, hustle and rape this thing like nothing wrong. Those that have the attitude of making a killing instead of making a living at this should get the tag of ‘poachers’. Scavengers digging their claws in the game with little or no replenishment to the well. The SOURCE is anti-EMINEM thus 50 CENT. Ok. But for some of the wrong damn reasons. While in SYDNEY we all rode out to the 50 Cent/OBIE TRICE concert in the new Olympic ARENA, the same one VINCE CARTER rolled his nuts across FREDRIC WEIS face while dunking OVER him, yeah same place. Filled to the rafters were 20,000 Australians, mainly youth who were following every stitch of corporate game hip hop. This in certain ways is an advancement for the rap game because here was a current rap star at the peak of his frenzy not being lazy in the states and taking his thing abroad. Fearless I’d say. The EMINEM camp gets props for seeking out of the box, it’s something that I’ve been waiting for cats to do since we did it unconditionally in the 80s. Backstage before the show we met with OBIE TRICE who really seemed appreciative yet in awe of it all so soon, and 50 who as I’ve said is a really brilliant, well mannered thought out cat. We shook hands, talked, took the customary pictures etc and I told him that I would like to see him do his thing for a very long time, none of this short term thinking. I don’t know if it penetrated the swirl but I feel it did.

This brings me to what I didn’t like. The show had mad energy, 50 has a great stage presence and timing, as well as the standard/best biggest production stage set going around. It was that the theme of gunshots were played upon, even that was what it was but the street chants of ‘Getting Niggas Got’ were a bit much especially when there were 20,000 screaming white kids yelling it. Beyond 50 Cent the business of Black Death has found a cinematic theme thru hip hop. This was a different generation of hip hop white-kid who although being told by a blackface to ‘smoke a nigger’ were integrating a familiar theme of black death inside their minds and souls while their bodies rode the rhythms of super amped arena-beats. As I looked stories and tiers full of kids knowing that this was IOWA, TEXAS, and JERSEY as well as 12,000 miles away, I couldn’t help to think about how some of these kids would think 15 years later, when some of them will be administrators, CEOs, law enforcers and possible politicians. Would this be another flying teenage fancy? If so then how good is that really for the music and culture itself? Then again 14 years prior another generation of white-kid amongst others found what society felt was highly offensive, to be quite essential to the cultural makeup of that same person. To this day people in their 30s come up to PE and KRS ONE and say thank you. We are also 15 years post NWA, which spun off DR DRE, which hatched SNOOP DOGG, thus launched DEATH ROW, which propelled and killed TUPAC, which legitimized EMINEM and led to 50. There’s a lot of blood on that money either way you count it. But besides that what disease/virus has permeated the rap stream? Is there the possibility that this self hate can reignite young white kids into thinking of black life as disrespectfully as their predecessors 100 years ago? Could this be some twice reversed psychology by the puppet masters of social order, to have corporations using the sake of making money as a front to have black faces steer black youth into accepting inferiority while ushering in the aura of white supremacy all over again?

Not trying to get deeper than analysis but it’s as alarming if these questions zoom above and past the head of headz, some who have open mindedly accepted ‘dumbassification.’ Thus peep it when the society gets numb to it all and doesn’t recognize the powers that be have sold and reduced the masses into them asses, then it’s time to question what’s being drank from the jug. The business as usual by any means necessary will lead black folk back into slavery first. This system of haves over have nots will try to caste-system lead have nots into first mental, soul and eventually willing physical slavery this ten year period, but the fear is black folks will follow the face of our packaged, marketed, pimped and endorsed by amerikkka culture down the drain of a new intangible holocaust with tangible one sided worldwide results. The advantage of all of this for culture bandits is that these answers and theories will be dismissed as crazy and too heavy to believe much less comprehend. Still I looked at 20,000 white kids unafraid to say ‘nigger’ because a blackface was giving it the go-ahead. Eventually a blackface won’t be necessary. Fifteen years from now a monster returns to a past with a blackface signature. The un-elevation of a so-called inner nation is creating twisted effect. The scale of anything goes, rivals alongside the thought that you can do almost anything to black folks past, present, future, women, children and community. And thus we must know from the bowels of amerikkkan capitalism where black physical & mental slavery was a driving engine, a Negro is formed and created to be a figure in it all. In blackface. Make the symbols seemingly rich to silence their forwardness and allow the stupid paid to be the loudest while remaining stupid in order to show everybody how much they are paid. Make those in the middle seemingly content to grapple slip, slide and climb to the illusionary status of the fat Negro, and have the poor at mind, body and soul fight amongst themselves while many get out trying to climbing the ladder of nigger to fat Negro status. Yes slavery had many a happy slave who thought they were the most paid and showed it off to where they formerly slept. It’s all relative.

This moves me to the last point answering to the EMINEM debacle. In this game ain’t nobody an angel, however in any situation the rites of passage or the trail that got you there must be of some public record. This is beyond anything personal and it could be fair to accept it as such. In the past I’ve accepted EMINEM for skating over the crutch of ‘nigga-ism’ that so many young black folks are given like dog food to fuel their bites. Niggism was EMINEM’S kryptonite and he’s smart enough to know it. Always knew it, and in his quest to make it on the mike sniffed and licked the dog food. He might’ve spit it out, but never admitted going to the bowl. Thus a trust was based, but within a whole entirely different generation of hip hop cat early to mid nineties. It’s the ‘try anything goes for profit mentality’ that pardons EMINEM in the present generation and amerikkkan time. It’s the chaotic collective powerlessness of black folk 2003 that pardons EMINEM at this time. Although, from afar, I have liked EMINEM meeting him once in ATLANTA my evaluation is reversed to many of these cats. I know better to say I like somebody based on their art, movie, TV show or record. Saying I like somebody doesn’t mean I respect them, and this is beyond their skill or how much money they’ve got. I can’t say I respect EMINEM at all, I like DRE I can’t say I’ve respected him as much. Same with SNOOP, MASTER P, LUDA, R KELLY,THE SOURCE and many others. I happen to like them more than respect them, whereas they may feel more respect than like for me or my beliefs on things. And that’s fine I guess but like and respect are two different things. Respect only comes with integrity, and that’s not necessary to exist in today’s amerikkkan cultural world. I’ve always liked RUSSELL SIMMONS but my respect has never been there really fully. You either stand up for something or fall for anything and too often he’s stood four foot on kneepads. Doesn’t mean he’s not a nice guy. So this ain’t a thing of losing respect for EMINEM because I never had much of it anyway, and I’m not into a witch hunt thing of burying him, this rather is a test for black people in amerikkka. Blackfaces have been at the gate in this climate. SIMMONS, THE SOURCE and others have endorsed this attitude like a house slave watches the field yet eats from the kitchen. Blackfaces of these Negroes endorsing ‘nigga-ism’ are responsible for having the world look at us black people in America inferior to everyone else here. Negroes like this have used culture to, in essence, sell us back into slavery. Now after drinking from the same jug of ‘selling the integrity out’ they wanna point their crooked ass fingers at a white boy they’ve tried to sell this attitude to in the first place. FOURTEEN YEARS ago white corporations stood behind the façade of figuring out was this rap thing legit across the board, but really felt uncomfortable with the black movement of it all. As a world traveling rap outfit that dealt beyond the candy level of hip hop saying things that black men/artists weren’t supposed to say we dealt head to head with an international press on worldwide issues. The alleged anti-Semitic comments that Griff made to David Mills grew out of a discussion with two journalist cats named the STUD BROTHERS in the music weekly MELODY MAKER. That discussion dealt with the unfairness of the one-sided, still a mess today, ISRAEL-PALESTINE situation. Parts of that interview were excerpted by Mills who was also partial to his Jewish girlfriend at the time to trigger the conversation into verbal jostling and confrontation. The un-sophistication in Griff’s answers perhaps reflected the un-sophistication, war, takeover and hypocrisy of the topic itself. Still society didn’t offer Griff a poetic license to stand on, and the audacity of a black entertainer to discuss such things. The IOVINES, AZOFFS, YETNIKOFFS and DAVISES breathed deeply at the spiraling faux-pas. The media had its blenders and mixers going to simply dwindle this down into a simple term called hate. Hate has two sides, you can hate if you’re hated on, and can maybe sense it thru the smiling faces especially if you never caused the reason or season for the effects. Protecting my guys meant to do what I had to do even if GRIFF had to be away for a while. Still I usher the same names, figures and forces that cried hate, said nothing and even profited when the artistic merit of a ‘nigga with an attitude who never hesitated to put another nigga on his back’ was injected into the then YO MTV Raps teenage psyche. Silence on the killing of black folk, somehow this was less hateful than the accused anti-Semitic statements, more subtle. Invent the dog food quality of ‘nigga-ism’. By 1993 I saw the term nigga used in endorsed major label marketing campaigns. And this wasn’t in the first person use as looked at by society. Something I used in ‘Anti-Nigga Machine’ or encouraged Ice Cube to do with ‘Amerikkas Most Wanted.’ It was embalmed in hate. At least I thought it was. I knew that somebody was happy the guns weren’t revolutionarily pointed at them any more and black rappers evolution into niggas were having themselves thug each other out. And throughout all of this VH1 does a BEHIND THE MUSIC on Public Enemy with the Anti-Semitic issue being the tragic event in all of this while spending few moments discussing PE’s struggle of black-human upliftment during the Terrordome aka ‘The Decade Of The Reemergence Of Nigger.’ How convenient for the amerikkkan viewing audience.

Now the SOURCE, primarily David Mays and Benzino, wants to be concerned when they’ve profited off the dog food factory, and RUSSELL now says EMINEM should be forgiven for his rap sins. This is the same guy who led the campaign to toss GRIFF because of it affecting his white friend’s/business alliance’s feelings. Seriously they’re all full of sh*t, and cannot be trusted worth a damn. They’ve both endorsed this atmosphere and sound crazy taking either a pro or con side. EMINEM makes the most sense because he admits he fucked up, licking the dog food in the first place. And that still shouldn’t let him off the hook, but the rest of these assholes sound like fools. On top of this, with the acceptance of black men and women into the same NIGGAS and BITCHISMS that ushered into their nodding heads ten years back on a beat, what fight do we expect from slave minded folks? R KELLY is still king thus black women can’t even begin to address this because the BLACKman has shrunken either into a Negro slave, a nigger with no cause, or a rebel with a lobotomy. So OPRAH, ESSENCE and SISTER TO SISTER are only as strong as the man aside, and it’s flaccid as fuk.

Yup I’m gonna keep spitting in the wind until it knocks a tree down in the woods. We’re gonna continue to align with like-minded people and not just fall for the blackface, because we don’t know who’s behind them. Black people need help all over the earth and that’s what we will continue to do. I’m not supporting nigga-ism or negro-ism slavery by-products. Now with African cats saying ‘what’s up nigger’ it gives us, PE, more missions to do, to clean up and one day eradicate to leakage of nigga-ism thru culture out of the USSA. Yeah the PE cultural rug cleaner got AFRICA, ASIA, more of EUROPE and the USSA during a serious election-Olympic year in 2004.

As a final note for 2003 I would like to say that my man REV. AL SHARPTON is the clearest speaker on the American political climate today. On the capture of SADDAM HUSSEIN he clearly put the hype and CNN in check with the most common sense I’ve heard yet. The man is clear on how America can rise from being amerikkka. He talked about the deals and oil contracts and the interview chick didn’t even go further. The man got my vote for sure. Prepare yourselves for 2004 - and by the way with all these things going on in the world, how the hell can rappers say they have no more to say?????? MKLVFKWR

Mistachuck@rapstation.com