Flavploitation?

Thanks to my man Mark Skillz this piece was re-edited because of some glaring grammatical errors, thanks ..the past few have been done on my palm pilot while on the run moving through Cannes , the MIDEM conference and a blizzard recording in Vienna Austria. funkruze1@hotmail.com has also offered and I will take them up on it...thanks again guys...had to get it out of my damn pocket though....

Flavploitation is the systematic one-sidedness of the production companies that are chosen by these big corporate entities. There hasn't been any change in Flavor at all, he's always been the same crazy cat from day one. No offense to his friend Bridgitte, but his TV potential has been there long before that pairing. Vh-1's choosing of this show "Strange Love", is a smack in the face of all else Flavor has done.

 The reality dragging of his personal life excesses and children is uncalled for. The meshing of his performance life with PE probably doesn't bode well with what the group stands for with its fam and followers. I hear that, but at the same time as the adults and gentlemen that we are, respect is gonna be there for ones personal space.

Choices are left up to the individual, and within reason anything said and done at this stage is pended upon this. P.E. is not a boys club. Years ago, with the Griff thing, there was a whole organizational dynamic that was a personal thing within the group that led to myself making decisions. From that point afterwards, I definitely spaced the situation out. But now with this situation I must at least comment because I see some trouble zones.

I stepped up to look at this as another test on the way things are. More than a few shows with Flavor were proposed with more of a stable upstanding profile, these ideas came from people of color with production companies. Those ideas were rejected with the premise that, Flav, didn't have what it took to star in a show by his damn self. Typical corp-whiteboy reaction as they actually thought it was Flav AND Bridgette that made that "Surreal Life" click. I'm bias, but on the real...Bridgette could've been anyone.

Now the trouble on this "Strange Love" show, (which they shot in a 10-14 day period, only to have myself to answer 6 months later about a re-run to some clueless tv soul about what they thought was current.) is that, there's a scene that I saw, of a short clip of  Flav in conflict with 3 of his kids and ex back in the hometown. Lord, I hope not. This has been a topic in barbershops and hair salons across Black America, which, is twice as sad, because that and topics launched by BET,UPN,and urban radio are fed to black people. Bread and circus shit that the masses of black folks flock to for news  while world events, politics, and issues of community concern are catagorized as either too deep, boring, or non- black if such a stupid thing exists.

All of this was a test, as I spent the greater part of last year trying to get "Son Of A Bush" out of office on national tv and radio, while black folk asked what I was up to, they were being pied-pipered into white male-boarded- corporate owned-urban media. All that, and as expected, it was the "Surreal Life" that got their attention, like Fruit Loops compared to Wheaties.

Still, it doesn't bode well if Flav is yelling at his kids and his ex. Already, black women are mixed on what they see, next they'll be pissed off. Also, during the recent year-end PE old school show in Chicago during a break, Flav made commentary about he and Bridgette and graphically made some inappropriate statements about what they did in bed. It was totally jarring and disrespectful especially to the large majority of black women in the audience that expected a breath of relief from PE after a prior 50 minute b*tch barrage from Too Short.

Now here's the clicker, there were black women who had came there, in some cases with their sons, some single mothers who paved thru the struggle of raising them. Peeps will let the Bridgette thing perhaps slide, but not the wild statements and what seems like a disrespect conflict on camera with his children and their mother. Last week, it was that same part of his family who went on Wendy Williams' program and launched the worst on- air diatribe ever directed at a father by his children.

It is here that I have to intervene and say and do something about this. I have spent many years maintaining the integrity and demanding the respect for our people. This, to me has and will never be measured by mere record sales or concert gates. In my prior conversation about this with Flav, he's still enamored with platinum sales and packed stadiums, and thinks that his tv profile will 'bring PE back' to that material status. I remind him that traveling to 53 countries whenever he wants to play music, and being 'free' to make and produce recordings that are heard with respect across the world transcend that simple commercial status. In his own words: "Being blind to the fact", has crippled his understanding of what's at stake. We have never fallen off, ..you cannot fall off of a capsizing society. A lotta cats benefit off flowing with the avalanche , so it appears they are in the mainstream of a river heading south. It's the perfect storm, and like a captain I've been taught to hold the course.

This is where a short term sugar high causes long term cancer. PE was nearly derailed by a Jewish incident in 1989, and the media blew it up as being wrong without tallying black people. Now in this "Strange Love" case the rewards are derogatorily swung as bait while never coming close to the measuring of the feeling of black people and other minority. It seems that the powers that be, and in this case, specifically television,the film industry,radio, the print industry and the humans that hover over the buttons of control have isolated the dna of racism, wove it into the amerikkkan drug of celebrity to wind up exploiting our characteristic instead of our character.

These pied pipers have used high science with low tools and it's a trip for the people who've been led into the river. I know for pure fact that there are more Black women in America than Jews, Christian Right and quiet as kept, some are one in the same,so this should be revered and respected equally. I cannot tell Flavor, a grown man what to do in this case, other than to warn him to guard himself against the long term effects that may be on the horizon ....

Welcome to the first terrordome of 2005 ...as I mentioned earlier its a very hectic year regarding releases, touring, label, appearance, and activism..worldwide ..to keep this t- dome from being 20,000 words I'll save it for the next one at the top of Feb

Spoke to Charlie( first out the limo) Mack and PE will play during All Star Weekend in Denver..at this time we are close to an agreement on being a part of the Charlie Mack Hip Hop Legend Show Tour ..the tour would like to run in May ..3 weeks about 20 shows featuring Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick and integrating other acts as well.

The show in Chicago was not a Mack signature but the crowd came out in full support. From my standpoint I screwed up by changing up the lineup and thats a taboo when doing a one-nighter which we usually dont do. Old-school show rules are simple, as in 1. Do your hits, 2. Keep it movin, 3. Keep new ideas down to 15% of your show...I personally violated those principles, and being that we always play last, we faced an older, tired, worked earlier in the day crowd as left gaps so Flav could say what he said...my badd ,usually the show moves so quick he doesn't have the breath left for such jarring statements.

College lectures got me in 2005 talking loud sayin something ...got Appalachain State in Boone NC for a MLK speech ..then my second return to Slippery Rock college in PA on Feb 7th...rap, race,reality and technology and how to cope with son of a bush 2

My upcoming keynote during MIDEM will actually be for MIDEMnet ..a separate entity regarding downloadable music and the new technology used to get it....

Getting close to hashing the details on my new "Bring The Noise Air America Show" on Sunday nights...it will try to be similar to PTI on ESPN a rapid fire show dealing with culture, society , and philosophy ..sundays between 11 and midnight.

Shut em down....i know of few teams that get that title..but the New England Patriots..need i say more?

Much thanks to peeps who sent me reponses to my last t-dome, Too Many Dollars and No Damn Sense...it shows that everyone doesn't love this new whirl odor...

Ok now wheres the el Hajj Malik El Shabazz holiday ?

Spoke to Imam Jamil Al AMIN aka H Rap Brown...it was indeed a very refreshing conversation ..we discussed some society building ideas and he was very proud and supportive of my efforts...planning on doing a soundtrack to his 1969 book "Die Nigger Die".

Again, in context, that "nigger" is not a love term by any means; I was on a phone call to Nelly who I think is a cool young cat. He's playing in the remake of the football movie The Longest Yard as a running back I hear. The title of the song we're collaborating on is 'Runnin Out Of Days' and after discussion of the context where it uses the word "nigger" in the chorus...I've given the green on it. So you heard it here first.

Answering some critisism on my involvement in the San Andreas video game. My voiceover was as a dj Forthright MC ,a cat that gave positive music and communication within a section of the game. I, for one do not play video games, thus, because the games are not like a song on the everyday airwaves I'm not affected by its stereotypes and violent depiction because: 1.I'm speaking against it in the game 2.If it's part of the worlds dangers, then we should inform these games are not for kids, crazy as this sounds...iodine is available at any pharmaceutical counter , but its not for drinking. A video game is something one has to go out and purchase as well as the player. It's influence? I'll have to do more research before I go blast, but my biggest peeve is that cats get addicted, become seemingly unmotivated with various factions of their real life and use it as 'escapism' games should be a privilege and put in context, and may seem toxic for underdeveloped Minds...I in fact would like to see a video game where one black character avenges the slavemaster in america,and moves through time 1555-present up to the white house and gets the crooked funky prez...now thats what i call balancing the stereotype...

I've been picking up books like crazy both through bookstores and order through Amazon. 1. Dennis Coffey ,Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars... 2. Fellow Funk Brother Jack Ashfords ; The View From The Bottom 3. Ray Charles .. man and music....biography by Michael Lydon 4. Jerry Butler Only THe Strong Survive

I wanna carry all 3 of these books with me but i can't with my bags...

Speaking of music right now after written 3 albums its time to record some other important collabs upon myself using the road to write. 1. Blues Explosions album Damage is out now and yours truly had co-written and performed a video On the song Hot Gossip. I also interviewed then on airamerica during Unfiltereds Party Machine. Dont know the lyrics by heart and dont know if the band is feelin weird about me not playing on TV when asked. Its simply because i dont know the words exactly ... 2. Bo Diddley 3. The Second Fine Arts Militia record. 5 songs 4. Rebirth of A Nation PE special edition with Paris 5. Collabs on my SLAMjamz label with Dirty North, Most Hi-Fi and affiliated projects with the HEET MOB outta Kansas City, my man jdee fom New Zealand and some recording with Hank Shocklee for 2006-

Also ran into Spike Lee at Air America and for the 100th time he's offered myself tickets. This year I'm gonna take him up on it, told him that the term ' Spikeleetickets' means courtside....

Finally caught up and did Imhotep Gary Byrds sunday 8-10am morning program on 107.5 WBLS in New York,after strangely missing 3 other appointed interviews. I simply cannot explain how i could miss 3 with one of my heroes other than its as inexplicable as Doug Briens NY JET field goals..but ,...weird circumstances forced me to miss.

Much apology to all PE fam about our board. The craziest virus stopped all the motion in our sites...glad to be at full blast.

Dont forget checking out more news on www.publicenemy.com, www.rapstation.com, and www.SLAMjamz.com where yours truly actually helps load it up...

Remembering Dr Martin Luther King Jr As an activist whose 1967-68 speeches on the war in Vietnam can eeringly play right now, this day in America...