We are past half-time in 2004, a critical year in the brand new millennium. There is great confusion amidst , in fact desperation seems to be on the horizon. The state of the world is detached from the programmed heads of the land. I spend massive time living in the middle of the so-called 'hood' and what i see is that the illusion like fog is dissipating into the broad stroke of reality itself. I'd rather talk about positive artistry but this time across i have to address this 'state of hip hop' rant as a holla and call out. Im gonna address points, not my points but points period. Yeah, as America has finally found hip hop to be palatable for the young masses the mega- information age has confused the 40 and under into being willing 'sheeple'. DMX called it out, he called this the Great Depression and i'm gonna break it down from this perspective i see.

This is a clear short rant. With the democratic convention on the horizon perhaps its the last action that can save the blackman in america. I say that specifically. A couple months ago i did a commencement speech for 1162 2 year graduates of a school many of you never heard of. TCI aka Technical Career Institute of NYC has been around since 1909, in fact started by Marconi the so-called inventor of radio. Businessman David Sarnoff took over and renamed it RCA Institute having a fondness for the school having gone the himself. The point is that i shook 1162 hands and at the most it seemed no more than 30 black US bred males were among them. If they were blackmales they were most likely of carribean and african decent. There were many hispanic based males and many women graduates of all make and ages. Meanwhile on the streets outside the radio of homeless blackmen kept its steady characteristic . All this to say is that the illusion must be interrupted with reality. Bling-bling my ass-ets... A brother still cant catch a cab right in NYC. I dont care how many videos you peep thats becoming far from reality if you really look that way. Im seeing more and more

Either we together or we aint.

We are heading into the great millenium depression , this especially if George W Bush gets another 4 years. For real. Those that dont have menial skills (fixing,building,lawncare,car repair) or just dont have a 8 year degree(doctor,lawyer or engineering) degree behind them will find much difficulty with the united states collapsed system. The music business will continue to dry like the sahara. The hustle will be much,much harder.

Anti-Lectualism and dumbassification in our society has leaked into the concept of having unstealable items in your crib. For example 30 years ago cats would rob your house and take a tv or stereo equipment and sell them on the street to get good money when the dollar was longer. 20 years ago DJ and stereo equipment, Tv , and the new invent the VCR would be a thiefs theme. 10 years back a DVD player along with those others would be items. Now everything is within the brain of a computer, at the same time none of the afore mentioned items can get jack on the streets. You can get a BRAND new TV,STEREO, VCR,DVD from your nearest Wal-Mart for under a $100.At the same time, you can leave 10 crisp $100. bills under any computer keyboard and it may be safer than a vault. This in the way is a social embarrassment, knowing that if a 4 stack of SPINNING RIMS were in a corner that along with some shiny CUBIC ZIRCONIA jewelry would distract todays crook to lumber them out the backdoor even if they didnt have a vehicle. Again if you're not on top of technology its on top of you. Its a last call to a chance of true education, proper heathcare, community business and job growth, prison reform, and the opportunity to engage and interact with the rest of the entire planet. Especially for my constituency looking down a narrowing tunnel of depressed souls, incomes, and spirits.

Its been a minute and more than a few seconds since the last t-dome and its seems like a lifetime indeed. Much apologies go out for the total re-tooling of our supersites. 20 days is a lifetime in the webworld but were gearing up for the next 5 years. We are smackdab in the middle of 2004, and whereas i originally planned a six-month stage of preparation has spread to a year of 'get ready' for 2005. It doesn't mean being dormant At all instead it may mean less or no international visits until november. My run at Airamerica has been fantastic and quite a learning experience. My first 100 days from March-June was to establish a radio relationship with the station and my formidable co- hosts Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow. Lizzs' comedic timing and wit makes a great foil along with her faith in making this place less of corrupt ego-drunken leadership, while Rachel is a budding broadcasting superstar,knee deep fighting the power against those who oppose the freedom of gay-lesbian rights. Taking her activism deeper shes been fighting against the greasy conditions of the prison industry in the USA. I go to war against war with them everyday whether im present or not.

This doesn't mean im not at airamerica , now throughout the month Chuck On The Road will cover myself calling in on monday and friday,with a commentary tuesday through thursday. My laptop, MBOX,protools,Spark and Cleaner6 have and will have made a secretary/studio rolled in one. Yeah, necessary since i am hiphops Charles Kuralt. If you dont know the name start googling ,now. The chuck d affilated websites were down for the firsttime an unprecedented 20 days. Www.Publicenemy.com, www.slamjamz.com,www.rapstation.com all down as well as their boards/forums. The massive promoted relaunching is slated at the end of august, but again im reminding everyone that www.remixuniverse.com is the place that producers, beatmakers, vocalists alike can get me and the world their music. Go head go there sign up and send me a link.

Since we've been here, gone and black again the past month,another radioshow has been added to yours trulys madsked. Chuck ds Worldwide Hip Hop Countdown Show has debuted at AOL and radio@netscape Every friday night. A true top 20, that we're working to change the rapgame and its programming. I simply believe the programming and jockeying of the genre is garbage, not so much the music. I grew up listening to legends like Hotep Gary Byrd and Hank Spann from classic legendary WWRLsuper 1600am in NYC, as well as the skillful Mr Magic in rap, so i know whats missing in the rapgame. Some damn good jockin.

Speaking of Hotep Gary Byrd,theres no better voice and refreshing mind on the air. Over at 107.5 WBLS he does a throwback show from 4-7pm on sundays as well as his GBE (GARY BYRD EXPERIENCE ) on wednesdays on pacifica station WBAI in NYC. Yours truly had 2 interviews that one thing or another led to me not appearing nor calling in. Obviously im still beating myself up over it, and look to make it up in august. Its like missing an appointment with the president as far as the radiocraft is concerned.

Well my phone couldnt stop ringing on 3 high profile incidents. BET wanted to pay homage to the old school by presenting a medley during their awards. Although its still the booty en thug nitwork for much of its unbalanced viacom-led time,Stepen Hill wanted this show to have more meaning. Plus since ol head Mel Kamarzin stepped down , and Tom Freston moves up the chain , there at least is a person i know, for at times we appeared on panels together. So let everthing get a new day so to speak. So i agreed to appear with Flav a little over 2 weeks since performing with Alicia Keys at HOT 97s Summer Jam at Jerseys GIANTS Stadium. Alicia personally asked PE, Doug E Fresh, Treach fron Naughty By Nature,and Dres from BLACK SHEEP and that itself was a great experience and much thanks to ALICIA because i dont think it really mattered to HOT97 one way or another. It was great seeing FUNKMASTER FLEX and RALPH MCDANIELS.

Thirdly in PHILLY last week we played a OLD SCHOOL ALL STAR SHOW for Charlie Macks Celebrity WEEKEND. The weekend was a calling to protecting the streets of PHILLY wheres Charlie Mack whos such a great person lost his little brother to street violence. On the show were BIG DADDY KANE, MC LYTE, THE TRECHEROUS 3, and TITO from the FEARLESS FOUR and KANGOL from UTFO fame. It was a great time, and plans are being mapped out for a short 10-15 national tour in SEPT-OCT this year , it makes sense since PE will come out on SEPT 21st with our POWER TO THE PEOPLE AND THE BEATS greatest hits package alongside the POWER TO THE PEOPLE AND THE VIDEOS dvd. Both out on the same day its smack dab in the middle of that period.

Speaking of CHARLIE MACK, his man WILL SMITH was phenomenal in the film I ROBOT ..its great sci-fi. Paralyzing one liners like 'allergic to bullsht' and when the robot is asked can he play a symphony or paint a great portrait, and retorts back ...'can you'?

In LA it was cool doing a one on one interview at UCLA with pretty Ms Margaret Cho. It was a very animated packed gathering. Women comediennes are like dynamite, being that they have so much wit and artillery based on the stupidity of men. The Bush administration is fertile soil for growing such funny-smartfolk.

I was in LA at the same time of POST-SHAQ the day the daddy was traded. Most of the people out there seemed to be weary of a 3 year party. I had flew into LONG BEACH airport and yes its a great alternative to LAX but the one baggage strip is a bit bananas. Plus i swer all the smokers in California state must flock to the LB baggage claim.

Somehow i think with my conspiracy theory ridden azz that Skillz career is secretly being endorsed and financed by Shaq. Shaq can make the presses hummm so why not,eh? I aint crazy ,maybe stupid in this case but not cuckoo.....

In the house that Mark Cuban built American Airlines arena in Dallas, PE played the ZEN Festival a very eclectic gathering of independent musical tribes. A cool experience in a gigantic building. Afterward myself Professor Griff, Hardgroove, JAMES BOMB, Pop Diesel ventured to the WEST END sat at a FRIDAYS and watched the JURAISSIC 5 from afar..DALLAS's westend is a great partyzone especially since they were hosting the TASTE which gathers all the restaurants, music, and eaterys in one area for 3 days. I was just in DALLAS two weeks prior for CHERYL SMITHs 'DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE' celebrity bowl-a- thon fundraiser. Malik Farrakhan and I represented PE as we were again bonded with THE GREAT DICK GREGORY, and soul singer MILES JAYE. Dick Gregory is still the funniest- deepest hero of all time to me, the one that flipped my wig when he spoke at my college Adelphi in 1983. Miles is such a great person and singer who i've sold on the necessity of webology and supersites. You can check his music at www.milesjaye.com we are gonna do some things.

In my travels across i ran into a record rep that said she just came from the spanish party island of Ibiza where she grooved to the deejay sounds of Grandmaster Flash. Also she said that Flash had just left the UK, and for me im thrilled about the world of rapmusic, hip hop and musicology where the Grandmaster can troop across the planet and give the people what they need. Now Grandmaster Flash is a brand ..sort of our Les Paul so to speak. The world is available for such names all he , Bam and Herc gotta do is get on a plane and go.

Thanks to everybody for tuning in to TRIO where i hosted 10 days of my choices of film. My two favorite flicks of all time TRIO could not acquire because of cable rights elsewhere, Soldiers Story and the Hughes Bros' Dead Presidents. Still it was a cool thing and i have yet another idea for them in 2005, my wraparounds took the span of only a few hours of one day. As in the PE news i had to take some flicks in front of a giant billboard of the N Word with yours truly at the bottom of it on Sunset Blvd LA. Well i gotta do things like that for my moms sometimes, although i got some weird ego-staredowns while my man Sil Money was taking pictures of me. Speaking of the N word documentary i myself thought some of the logic of those interviewed was bullsht. Quite simply the word is like a pebble at first being thrown at you. You let that this happen it turns into a rock, then eventually a brick. And now not only are you crashing each other in a brickfight but outside patys are also hurling bricks into the fray. It only a matter of time before the whole situation gets a bolder rolled on it.

The agenda of getting everybody to vote in November 2004 is a necessary one , but now as when i interviewed Rev AL SHARPTON we together agreed that December 2004 is as important. My work is also telling folks that since 18% of all americans have passports , shouldnt this be an issue to challenge the HOMELANDS SECURITY and PATRIOT ACT. Its against human rights when they have ex felons not being able to vote, be rehabbed and still not able to leave.

Americans get your passports now, not saying you gotta leave or will, instead its the beginning to the introduction of having an open world mind. Again i repeat American opinion is becoming a smaller part of the planet, thanks to the son of a bush administration. Thus the BEST americans are those that consider themselves 'citizens of the world'. In just coming back from 48 hours in London playing in a rally-concert with ROOTS MANUVA and the ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION as well as full all out promotion for the MOBY-PE olympic record MKLVFKWR. It simply says all about my theme of these times. Catch yall on the other side of August again ..... MKLVFKWR mistachuck@rapstation.com