The Kaos Blac Lifestyle

Clouds in a BLUE sky

2013-08-20T18:22:00.002-04:00

BLUEfiveone has a new video out for the single CLOUDS. The video seems like an abstract piece taken from a larger piece of work, ala a new age musical where exposition of story takes place via a musical device. I would love to see if this video can be wrapped into a larger work as BLUE is working on releasing a ep, BLUE County EP. Catch the video below for yourself.

www.BLUEfiveone.com

www.reverbnation.com/BLUEfiveone

www.soundcloud.com/BLUEfiveone

www.facebook.com/BLUEfiveone

w ww.twitter.com/BLUEfiveone

www.youtube.com/BLUEfiveone

Dem Boys Real Rockers, an' Mash up de Place!

2013-03-25T12:53:00.001-04:00

It's been a loooooong time since I made my way back to you via this outlet, I'm shouldn't of left you with out a dope beat to step to :) Well I'm back and re-energized. I been hitting the streets with my ears to the pavement for some new tunes and I'm liking what I'm hearing.

So you must be wondering, "why heavens, why does he speak in such a manner, I haven't the foggiest what the title of this post says" well this post goes out to all my brothers and sisters out in the Caribbean and it's diaspora who are mixing up their island heritage and rock'n'roll. There have been a few great examples of this mixture in the past most notably Bad Brains,

The Washington, D.C., natives formed the group in 1977 mixed what was the early formation of "Hardcore" punk rock, a fast, jarring and angler sound filled with riffs and attitude; with dub reggae taken up after seeing performers such as Bob Marley.

Well so have UK band Skindred who formed in the late '90's they have a dancehall/metal approach as to the brains are more ragga/dub/punk.

There are a who host of other great bands out there who rep it up island style but I wan to get to the focus of this piece. This new crop of bands as they rip-pit tup! Lets start with this band from my home town Khasha Macka.

A great outfit carrying on the tradition from Brooklyn NY. Very heavy stuff and full of heart and soul.

Learn how to get your music heard at ReverbNation.com

Next up is Philly's Blayer PointDuJour and the Rockers Galore.

Blayer and his rockers galore do something unique out of the previous groups I mentioned. They mix Haitian Kompa music. They style of music is indicative of Haiti and much of the Caribbean. It's hard for me to explain it to someone who isn't of Caribbean background, when you hear it you have an idea what it. Until hearing this band I had no idea what the word for the "sound" was, I just thought oh that's Haitian music. It's very interviewed, from my perspective, with the culture.

Next is a band smack dab in the Caribbean, TnT's (that's Trinidad and Tobago) 5 Miles to Midnight.

Founded in the mid 2000's this Trini sextet does straight up post punk. Hey just because they're from the Caribbean doesn't mean they have to be ragga ragga, calypso and soca all the time (although they can do that too). In their time as a band they have opened for the likes of Marcel Mantano, Stephan Marley and Maroon 5. Their have infectious bopping tunes have also catapulted them to being featured MTV Iggy. Vote for them to be artist of the week.

Those poor Africans

2013-02-04T00:30:00.002-05:00

The following is a video from PEPFAR. (The Presidents Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief)

I agree we should end the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS...but video's like the one seen on the PEPFAR website don't tell the full truth about elminating HIV/AIDS. It makes the issue as a "oh those poor African's" Who comes up with the discourse of the issue. The virus is more then just a "poor African" issue. People here in our own country are still being affected in great numbers. Although the highest rising group of new infections in the USA is between MSM's there is still a great number of hetero infections. We need to change the face of the epidemic, because it affects us all.

The myth making and magic of John the Conqueror

2012-10-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

photo by Jonifin Marvin

Down N' dirty blues blues man Pierre Moore of John the Conqueror is a man of luck and he's here to bring you his magical bag of tricks n' licks. I interviewed the voice behind the band about his path towards creating the band, life and of course music.

Kaos Blac: So Pierre your originally from Jackson, MI when I first met you you where in another band, the now defunct Slack Republic, based in Atlanta, Ga and now your doing John the Conqueror based on your travels I can assume your ascribe to the rolling stone gathers no moss lifestyle in regards to your music. Would that be a clear assumption?

Young country boy Pierre and that fat farm mascot
Ronald McDonald

Pierre Moore: Yea I do....when I was growing up, my mama always told me that she was raising me so that when I turned 18, I'd get the hell out of her house....so I got about a thousand miles away!

Kaos Blac: Well that is a jump and a leap from home. Also it sounds like a as if you were set upon a path to a down homespun blues man from the get go, although that wasn't what you were playing with your previous band. What lead you to from the break up of that last project to what your doing now with John the Conqueror.

Pierre Moore: It was 4 years since the breakup of the last band till I hopped on stage again.....I'd given up playing music because I'd missed a couple opportunities to sign with small indie lables (going back to my college days) due mostly to my own stupidity ....basically I was broken! But it turns out that no matter how I felt when I put down the guitar, I felt even worse the longer I didn't play!

I don't really know if that answered your question but doesn't it feel good to share! hahah

Kaos Blac: No good answer, good answer! LOL.

Pierre during his Slack Republic days circa 2007,
photo by Kaos Blac

So eventually you got back up off your ass picked up your guitar and poof instant music or what? I want to know how you got from the post-punk/alt that was The Slack Republic as the lead guitarist to being the Blues tinged front man of your current project it's a drastically different approach to musical story telling.

Pierre Moore: Probably the most anticlimactic part of my whole life: December 2010 I decided to start a band. I couldn't find a singer that I liked in the WHOLEEE MONTHHH I tried (you can tell I tried soooo hard) so I said I'd give it a go.

Last week of december we got a bassist (Merry Christmas!). 3 months later we played our first show at a ROCKERS event (I know you're familiar with those folks and that scene)...1 month later we recorded a 6 song EP. 5 months later we recorded another EP.

Click the jug to listen to and download the EP
designed by Katrina Tapper

4 days before our 1 year anniversary of finding our bassist and officially becoming a band, Alive NaturalSound Records contacted us about signing (Merry Christmas again!)....

That was December 21st ...but in true Pierre fashion, I fucked shit up (sorta) ...I didn't see the fuckin email somehow! So I didn't respond till New Years day! I damn near pissed my pants when I realized that I'd (almost) fucked up an indie label offer AGAIN!

Apparently Patrick, the head of the label, thought he should get back at me for being so bad at emailing because it took him two weeks to get back to me...

John the Conqueror/Robert Johnson tat
design courtesy of Katrina Tapper

Anyway, fastforwarding ...we signed, recorded an album...

comes out october 16th...the whole band got John the Conqueror tattoos (mike, the drummer and I are cousins and he was the bassist in slack.....when we started this band, it was for fun, but we jokingly said if we got signed this time, we'd get band tattoos)

Kaos Blac: Well thankfully you answered that email and didn't fuck up. One thing I been dying to know is why the name John the Conqueror?

Pierre Moore: Mannyyy reasons ....

1) The John the Conqueror root is a staple in the lyrical tradition of blues and if we're gonna try to honor our roots then.... (bad pun!)

2) High john the conqueror root is traditionally used in a mojo hand and can be applied for many purposes but usually its for a gambling type of luck ...the first year of this band, I carried my mojo hand almost everyday cause lord knows I needed some luck.

3) The character of John the Conqueror is as old as our peoples in America.... He was an african prince, stolen from his kingdom and brought here to be a slave. But he was smart....he constantly was outwitting his master at every turn ....thats how I feel about the proverbial hand I've been dealt in life.... Thats also why I have a highway 61 north tattoo on my shoulder. Thats known as the blues highway....thats the road all the great blues musicians had to take to leave the mississippi plantations and find a happier life....It took em to memphis, chicago and (if i recall) detroit ...and from the 30's till the 50's, these were like the promise land to black folk! I need a constant reminder that I love my home and I miss it ...but I had to leave to actually DO something! And hopefully I'll do something!

Kaos Blac: Which you are as seen below.

JOHN THE CONQUEROR - Time To Go by Alive Naturalsound

You have the self titled album coming out October 16th, are you and the band amped about it's debut?

Pierre Moore: lol yea.

Kaos Blac: No big pressures eh or pre-jitters?

Pierre Moore: We were told that we should already be writing our next album so I suppose thats a little pressure. The album isn't even out yet, we haven't started touring yet and im already writing MORE songs!

Kaos Blac: lol. Hey your in the big times now, now is the time of John the Conqueror. From what I heard of the current album I think you have something with legs especially with acts like Alabama Shakes. Speaking of touring what are your plans to travel out with the album.

Pierre Moore: In november we're doing some dates on the east coast. We'll be full fledged touring at the beginning of the new year.

Kaos Blac: Well folks will have something to look forward to coming up in the new year. Any closing words about the band?

Pierre Moore: Umm..nope

Kaos Blac: LOL. Well Blac-out!

You ca get the self title debut John the Conqueror, out October 16th via Alive NaturalSound Records , and on tour this fall starting tonight at Milk boy Philly.

Friday Oct 5
Milkboy Philly
Philadelphia, PA | 9:30PM

Saturday Nov 3
The Legendary Dobbs
Philadelphia, PA | 7:00PM

Thursday Nov 8
Broadway's
Asheville, NC | 8:00PM

Friday Nov 9
Jack of Hearts
Weaverville, NC | 8:00PM

Friday Nov 16
Joe Squared Station North
Baltimore, MD | 10:00PM

Saturday Nov 17
Clementine
Harrisonburg, VA | 8:00PM

Monday Nov 9
Slim's Downtown
Raleigh, NC | 8:00PM

Melody Nelson takes NYC, pubs and all.

2012-08-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

First night of the tour off to a great start,
After meeting up with the mates at a local rehearsal spot.

As we transverse the city we end up at where else a pub for a few brews to take the edge off of a long arduous flight and flight mishaps. After a bit to eat and a cool down they finally got to make they're NYC/US debut at the Trash Bar Brooklyn.

Aiden

Rich

Peter

It was a brilliant night one of many more to come. So if your in NYC for the next couple of days check them out click on the link below for tour info.

Damen Samuel - Heartache

2012-08-22T10:24:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite tunes from Damen. It's a lullaby for the broken hearted called "Heartache", I glad that there is a video out for it so I want to share it with you. Take a view. If your feeling the song get his album, A Gypsy's Lullaby.

WEREBEARS

2012-08-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

You always wondered what happened after Yogi and Boo-boo became tired of going after picnic baskets? Well they went after picnickers. Cute and cuddly my ass. From the bloodlust dense brush of Jolly stone park to the wilds of Jersey came WEREBEARS. Well that's how it plays out in my mind anyway I asked Daryl Shelton aka WEREBEARS about how he came about.

Kaos Blac: So well me about Werebears? where Do they come from I can see Yogi and Boo-boo going on a rampage and biting people. How did Werebears come about?

WEREBEARS: This motherfucker was a werewolf with a dirty habit, feel me?

Kaos Blac: LOL, So then you started to pick up a guitar and rock the forest huh?

WEREBEARS: Exactly. I got the moss game on lock down.

Kaos Blac: You have a new video out entitled Locals, it's off of the Roar Album. Tell me whats it about.

WEREBEARS: The album is like a vignette of what WEREBEARS is doing. Literally plays on the dichotomy of hard digital and warm analog music. That play goes further into the sort of vocals between really honest and harsh lyrics sung but a really sweet dude voice. And that voice comes out of my heinous mug. All themes associated with WEREBEARS are contrary to each other and Roar is the first exhibit of that with the band.

So there you have it, WEREBEARS a mixture of cute and cuddly with tough as nails. Click the link below to pre-order the WEREBEARS album Roar.

Finally take a look at the latest WEREBEARS video, LOCALS

Wassup ROCKERS

2012-07-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

Start of August with a bang in Philly the the city of brotherly love and a kick ass music scene with the second annual ROCKERS BBQ WEEKEND. Created as a platform for women and people of color the ROCKERS events started small and just blew up much like how Afro-Punk use to be but ROCKERS has maintained its relative communal atmosphere while still catering to a growth. Founder of the event Camae Dennis, member of The Mighty Paradocs puts it best by this statement:

Dear Rockers Family
I thank you from the top and bottom of my heart for all ur support this year. When I started ROCKERS! I just wanted a place to play. I wanted to play and hear music by women and people of color. Now that is a reality and I am thankful for another year. This weekend is for you! This year we bring you ROCKERS CLOSET, THE LAST WORD, COMPULSION, PHILLY PRINTWORKS AND LIBERATION ART AND CULTURE WORKS!!!

It all gets kicked off by The Last Word event on Thursday August 2nd featuring the premiere of the first of many short films about The Last Word party. Why would there be films made about a party you ask well because well I'll let them explain it better:

The LAST WORD is the performance art fiasco of PHILLY legend that people have snickered, whispered, exclaimed, written and raved about. Its performance art with out the uppity, spoken turd bigotry and plain fun, creative, unique and sensational open mic goodness! brought to you by the folks that your elders always warned you about...! We know it sounds like fun, but it may NOT be for everyone... We're okay with that, so bring a friend to cuddle up next to!!!

We're encouraging everyone to come out dressed in their best [by that we mean COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED!!!!]
Torrent Collective 938 S 8th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

Friday August 3rd is the Rockers Closet Pop Up Shop at Rockers Closet 818 S. 4TH ST. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147 and later in the night is the Punky Reggae Party at the Torrent Collective 938 S 8th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147.

COME THROUGH THE SHOP TO ENJOY MUSIC, FOOD AND LIVE SILK SCREEN PRINTING. WE'LL BE MAKING LIMITED EDITION ROCKERS PRINTS TO COMMEMORATE THE 2ND ANNUAL ROCKERS BBQ WEEKEND. BYOTEE!
MUSIC BY LILLIE RUTH BUSSEY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE ILLUSTRIOUS ABBIE SUE
ROCKERS CLOSET 818 S. 4TH ST. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19147
PUNKY REGGAE AFTER PARTY @ THE TORRENT COLLECTIVE!!

Saturday August 4th is [obSeSSive]COMPULSION.7: 'High-Contrast'. The party is two fold in that its a audio-visual party. The Compulsion aspect is the visuals featuring a wall sized canvases that revelers could paint, draw and bomb on with Black, white an florescent paint. The Obsessive aspect is the music component featuring a Actual Records triple headlining set: WILLY JOY [Chicago, TandB]; PROPER VILLAINS [NYC, Play Me]; PLS DNT STP [Philly, Sex Cult] along with local faves: Speaker For The Dead, Deadman, Jack Deezl, Aaron Ruxbin.
9PM-4AM $10 before 12am/$15 after
[WARE]HOUSE RULES: *NO OUTSIDE ALCOHOL*
*NO CAMERAS*
*NO WEAPONS*
*BRING ID, Venue will card!*
18+ to enter, 21+ to drink at our fully stocked bar

Finally Sunday August 5th is the finally featuring a Kickball game and BBQ, and later the Sunday Night Rockers Concert at the Torrent Collective featuring:
STARWOOD
GDAG
UPHOSTRY
CHARMAINE's NAMES
BAPTIST PREACHERS
ALEXIS GOLDENLOVER
JOE JORDAN
and more!

We Can End AIDS Mobilization

2012-07-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

I hit the ground running yesterday as I awoke from my bed, after two hours of sleep, and dragged worn and tired carcass towards the shower then out the door. I was running late and where I live I have to walk a few blocks to the nearest train station if there is no bus en route. Being that it was just a bit after 3 am I knew I had to hit the pavement. The thing about MTA service around that time of the night is it's hit or miss, hit if you reach your station and the train is minutes away or miss and you just missed the train and you'll have to wait 20 to 30 minutes for the next arriving train that time frame is exasperated by trying to make a connecting train. As I made my way through the transit system to my destination of LGBT center in the west village I kept thinking about why I was going to join up with others in Washington DC to march through a foreign city to a uncertain faith...in my mind it was all because of faith.

Faith in our numbers en mass we can accomplish a movement to push law makers to see the cost; symbolically; of how much it could to supply generic drugs;

to see that taxation with out representation as in the case with DC natives is wrong;

to see that Wall Street shouldn't be the ones in charge of policies;

to see we as a now global community will not stand idle as war is raged upon women, sex workers, the LGBTQ community.

As I arrived in Washington I was let off my bus at the convention center. I didn't know what was going on in the halls of the convention center where the International AIDS 2012 speeches where given, who was there, the ideas bantered being about from ear to mouth but I knew what was going on in the streets.

Feet were marching, butts were sitting in the street, at times ringing bells, because yes WE NEED MORE COW BELL.

Getting my photo taken was great, who wouldn't want to show off something great to put up on your facebook wall or that your in the local or national paper but it's more than my own superficial vanity in posturing and nourishing my psyche it's about showing support for myself, friends, family. Its about doing something anything to ease the pain of those dealing with so much. We are greater than this crisis. The end of multiple groups marches throughout the city of DC ended up at the gates of the White House and tied red ribbons to the gates along with times that symbolically are tied to the ends of the epidemic: money, drugs, condoms, policies.

International AIDS Conference 2012

2012-07-21T12:00:00.000-04:00

Next week in Washington, DC will be the International Aids Conference, July 22-27. Throughout the week there will be events sharing information regarding new scientific research, committees on sharing harm reduction. The WE CAN END AIDS campaign will be doing a march on July 24th. If you didn't know I was recently a part of a lead up action sponsored by Housing Works.

We hoisted a banner on public space in front of the capitol building,

The protest went for sometime before any authorities made any indication of physical action. I feel that this action was a good start to get out in-front of the conference and get people to pay attention to some of the issues that need to be addressed in relation to HIV/AIDS and civil rights. A list of demands are being put forth by WE CAN END AIDS,

So remember if your in the DMV area, come to the March.

No Puedo Ganar!!!

2012-07-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

Attention all platypus's,

Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), - wikipediea

Why platypus's you ask because they are unique and don't try to be like other animal's much like the beast that is known as El Malito. Revving up for a summer full of shows El Malito is releasing a video's, self produced and directed, for his tracks weekly. The following video is for the latest "I Can't Win(No Puedo Ganar)"

What does Frank Ocean's admission really mean?

2012-07-04T11:26:00.001-04:00

The inter-webs have be blowing a fuse not just because of the record breaking heat but also because of R&B artist Frank Ocean's reviling aspects of his personal life,

Four summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old; he was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. It was no escaping, no negotiating with the feelings. No choice. It was my first love. It changed my life.

Ocean's letter comes at a almost serendipitous time for me. Recently Anderson Cooper of CNN stated that is sexuality matter of factually for those who didn't already know. As the non-news of Coopers "coming out" washed over the shores of twitter and media outlets far and wide I wondered just what would happen if a major Black figure did the same, not to belittle fellow CNN anchor Don Lemon who came out a year ago. As a part of the collective, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Then All whose antics are notoriously punk inspired yet also homophobic (although on of their legion Syd The Kid is a Lesbian), the two idea's are mutually exclusive based on punk history, Ocean builds another layer towards changing idea's about the groups homophobia as well as building new concepts of who are the faces of the next generation of African Americas.

This era of the 2000's has been and will be looked back on as a radical shift in American society. War came to America's front door on 911, a change from us dropping bombs like Pauly Shore in the 90's; to electing America's first president of color, POC snicker; Obamacre, if he gets reelected it will fully go into effect; and now to equality of rights and representation of people of diverse backgrounds in the media. If Obama's support of marriage equality didn't tip the boat over for African America's to talk openly about sexuality one a member of america's favorite pastime celebrity will. This is just another signpost of the discussions we should be happening in our communities. Weather or not Ocean's musical career takes a hit from this is still up the air, his latest album Channel Orange is seeing a release July 17th, but Ocean doesn't seem to mind,

"I don’t know what happens now, and that’s alright. I don’t have any secrets I need kept anymore." " I feel like a free man. If I listen closely, I can hear the sky falling too."

Hierophants

2012-05-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

Writer/Creator Ra'Chaun Rogers is on a mission to share a piece of his mind with the world. In order to do so he's taken his words and scripted the first issue of his comic Hierophants. The world of the book is not unlike our own, there is tension with in Black and Brown communities and the role that the pomice hold in them, the difference is that this world has The Geist as a hero of the people. I spoke with Ra'Chaun about the comic.

Kaos Blac: So what lead you to write this comic?

Ra'Chaun Rogers: I'd been trying to write comics since really elementary school. I've been effectivly scripting comics since Junior year of highschool but my push for this was summer of 2008 where I interned at marvel and saw a mural on a wall with hundreds of characters if not thousands and only 10 of them were black. Most of them I'd never really seen, So I decided that we need some stories about us and we (meaning black people) were the only ones who were going to effectivly tell them.

Kaos Blac: How did you come up with the name behind the book and the concepts?

Art By Kurtis Hamilton

Ra'Chaun Rogers: The name has changed several times it was originally called the Geist but that name was owned by DC comics then it was called Vilgilance but there was another indie comic with that name. So I had been reading Sandman and Clive Barker's Hellbound heart and the word Hierophants kept coming up so I looked up the meaning and it fit. It's essential a being that guides others to something deemed holy or sacred. The concepts were drived from ancinet African spirtiualism, books that my older brother had recommended to me that I'd read and become enamorued by the info I gained from those books were what gave me the imeptus to make this a more supernatual story.

Kaos Blac: Not to let to much of the story slip but this story resonates with the current case of Treyvon Martain, as well as NYC's own stop and frisk policies. Its seems to me that these things always seem to happen in the black community, would you like to share your views on the relationship between Black and Brown communities and the authoritative mishandling of people of these communities in dealing with crime.

Ra'Chaun Rogers: I can yes, I feel we live in an age where "Walking while black/brown" is a crime. There seems to be a lot of "Hey you boy, you must be up to no good" especially in New York city. What gets me is that the people who are the most aggressive when it comes to this are black/brown cops. There is a consensus whether it be unspoken or spoken that Black and Brown Communities have a fear or apprehension toward Authority because of the behavior of said figures in black and brown neighborhoods. We can name the numbers of killings that are public and for everyone there are others that aren't public I had a conversation with my older brother and he said "What if the police are really afraid of us?" to paraphase. So that got me thinking too. My character of Roger Drake is a perfect example of one of the above points. He's torn between where he comes from (Harlem) and where he is (The police force) so his growth and development will show what I think of things related to that.

Kaos Blac: So how many issues are planned to spin your tail of Hierophants? Ra'Chaun Rogers: Right now there a 8 issue scripted. there will be about 3 or 4 seasons each containing 8 issues so about 32 give or take that's if money is coming in to produceand if people support. Heh. Kaos Blac: So you have a long road ahead of you filled with more stories. Cool beans. Well do you have anything else to say about your work in closing?

Ra'Chaun Rogers: Yes, not so much my work but the industry i'm in. I'd like to put out a call to all creators of color, keep doing what your doing and to people of color who want to see people with their faces wearing capes and flying around the city. Remember to support, I love to create but no one can do anything without support.

For more info on Ra'Chaun's work check out: Nelomaxwell.blogspot.com

Leon Grey

2012-05-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

I'm so blessed to have grown up in a place where I have made connections that are more than the people on "da block". Take my former roommate Leon Grey, native of Chesapeake, Virginia; I met him what seems like ages ago in 2005, I think, well it was at a Tv On The Radio concert at prospect park. Even back then he had an energy to him. He was up here for a bit to hang out with his lady and I got him to come out to an Afro-Punk concert I was helping to promote. We became friends even with the distance between us. It wasn't until 2009 when, he and another friend of his at them time moved into a place up in Washington Height that I got to see a deeper side to his character. He's an artist, activist, writer and now emcee. Times have'd changed we're no longer roommates, but I follow his on going's from time to time as he checks in on me. I so proud of my bro and what he's doing and I want to share some of it with you. Check it out and be on the watch for more.

Y-love...isn't that the question?

2012-05-15T19:46:00.001-04:00

I've always had a thing...musically, :), for the orthodox Jewish rapper Y-Love and I'm so glad that he's found a way to express how he feels to world, and give them a deeper undersatnding of who he is,

"I'm ready to find a husband," "I'm ready to live without fear of being outed or the stress of keeping my whole self from people. And I've waited too long to do that.”

His latest video "Focus on the Flair" has recently dropped and focuses on the aspects that make him the man who he is.

Making Newark Better

2012-05-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Video piece about Newark, New Jersey community organizations who are serving to make the LGBTQ youth and making them feel that they have a presence. This is a positive video about small changes in local communities, we need more of this from our homes and more safe spaces.

The Inspired Vegan

2012-05-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

Do you love soul food but can't condone animal cruelty or use. Well the work of chef Bryant Terry is right up your alley. Bryant Terry's latest cook book The Inspired Vegan is a continuation of the presentation of vegan soul food he began to do with his previous book Vegan Soul Food. This book is a perfect combination of African American soul food, and culture. Thanks to the folks over at Greenlight Book store Bryant Terry will be showcasing a live cooking demonstration at their store on Thursday May 10th, 7:30pm. I'll be there taking it in.

Arjun The Warrior Prince

2012-05-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Disney may be wholly evil, buying up company after company to bolster their own brand, but their acquisition of Indian media company UTV have bore fruit it this animated tail of India greates hero Arjun. Watch the trailer below. It may not get play outside of Indian but one can hope.

Juan of the Dead

2012-05-02T12:07:00.001-04:00

I'm a fan of the zombie genre, I can't count how many times I sit around with friends talking about our plans for the zombie apocalypse. Up until now most films that depict the hordes of the undead lurching onward in thir never ending thirst for brains and guts have been from mostly an anglo point of view, director, locations, main hero. That changes with Juan Of The Dead. This movie looks like a blast featuring characters such as trans person, La China, (I hope they don't over play his transition and sexuality to much); the prerequisite best friend Lazaro played is Jorge Molina, who just happens to also be a director of film and at Professor at Havana’s Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television. I can't wait till I get a chance to see it. I missed it while it was playing at the Havava Film Festival , hopefully it come around again in some form.

Horror Boobs and Lethal Lips

2012-04-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

Art By Meat Girl Megh
www.artbymegh.com

There is a whole subculture devoted to VHS popping all over the place, especially when it involves the horror genre. One of the best people and purveyors of this movement has been Matt D of Horror Boobs. Some may say it's tasteless and vile but Matt D see this medium as a art form. Horror has always had a titticular objectiveness, a fetishistic view of women, grotesque it has stood the test of time and people of both sexes enjoy it. It's not just a jerky boy circle jerk, women have to be involved. That's why I love this new video from The Objex it's fetish, it's gore, its VHS to the core.

The Atomic TanLines

2012-04-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Photo By Ess Beckett

Punks not dead, Queer is still core, and Black still has power. What am I talking about you ask I talking about the intensity behind The Atomic TanLines.

Kaos Blac: So lets get to the nitty gritty who are the members of the band?

Atomic TanLines: The Atomic TanLines are made up of a a bunch of damn dirty reject kids. You have Dick Male on the Guitar as well as Pablo Trill, Dromingo on the drums and Bobby Hill on the bass and last but not least Ally PlayNice on the voice box.

Kaos Blac: (how) Do you describe your music output as...?

Atomic TanLines: We describe our music as Maladjusted punk rock because we aren't punk enough for the "punks" and aren't fashionable enough for everyone else in the rocknroll scene. We're basically a ball of varied musical influences packed into a cannonball hurtling through your eardrum.. that also may just be me during one of our concerts, but look out for both.

Kaos Blac: Queers and POC have been apart of the scene for ages and I know thats what you guys rep, tell me more about why its important to have queercore and poc alliances on display in music, especially punk stuff.

Atomic TanLines: Well I for one have it on display because I'm not ashamed who I am and gender issues and sexual identity are very evident in the lyrics I write because they are very important issues to me. I come from Texas, predominately the Austin area and have been listening to queer posi bands like The Dicks and MDC for quite awhile now and coming from a small conservative homophobic town bands like these where a inspiration. It sucks not identifying with anyone. I felt that way with music for a long time until I found punk rock and even then I was dissatisfied with the lack of African Americans in the scene. Its important to rep who you are and what you stand for to find or build a community of people you identify with, to eventually change the world and challenge peoples prior judgments about the issue at hand.

There has been a lack of queer posi punk bands in the scene for quite sometime now and I find it disheartening. Now days women's rights are being threatened queers still arent aloud to marry and I can turn on my radio and hear a rape joke in a song as if it completely acceptable. Its mind boggling to me that even though we live in the most technically advanced age people are still so oppressed by a select fews narrow minded ideologies, and aren't you mad? Punk is about the people, it voice of the youth and its up to us that all voices are heard. I do this for the kids in the small towns who feel left out so that maybe somehow they can come across our music and feel alittle less different from everyone else. Because I know if I didnt happen on the bands I found then I would a completely different person.

Kaos Blac: I'm glad I came across your band, and you are putting your music and self out there as a signpost, a marker for those to find. It matters that you are conscious of whats going around you and aren't just fluff pluff flash pan theatrics, not saying that we don't need those sort of acts no one can be on the front lines of the negation wave forever, and you are doing it on your own terms. Thank you, all of you. Any thing else to say in parting for the piece?

Atomic TanLines: Yeah we would like to say Fuck Rick Perry. - We are The Atomic TanLines and we have lost our damn minds.

I am an African man

2012-04-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

Lets hope this doesn't go the way of KONY 2012. I'm wary but I like the idea behind the video, to break down the social construct of the western worlds view of African men.

Taking a stroll through modern days at MODERN AND VINTAGE SHOP

2012-04-25T11:12:00.003-04:00

Taking a stroll down the rejuvenated stretch of Franklin ave, north of Eastern Parkway heading towards Fulton st - I won't get into the reason for the upswing wink nod but know it's there, I find that the area is really in blossom if you will. There are boutiques, and cafes, and bars opening up on either side of the street. The street is seeing life the likes of which haven't been seen in the area for some time. As I pass over park pl on my journey a glimmer of green catches my eye. A terrarium!

Let me catch you up dear reader on why this was so profound to you see I have been bitten by the green thumb of micro environments. Just before my walk I was taking a walk through Brooklyn's Botanical gardens on the search for live moss. SHHHH. I know you aren't suppose to touch the plants much less take them but hey they were of the beaten path and growing wildly with out a tag, go fig. Any way terrarium building is some thing I been finding as soothing relief in my life. I may not be the best green thumb on the planet but I life that I can help life grow.

Back to the what the item that lays before me this handsomely made half sand and soil terrarium, ooooh what a concept. I as I look around the surrounding items I find some pretty nice statement pieces, tables, chairs, shelving. Okay the lure is in my mouth and I'm hooked. I enter into the quaint store front and see some of the most fun and funky pieces this side of Williamsburg, most of the stuff out there is junk, not only that this store is a Black owned business, egad! I walk around for a bit and as the avid busy body I just have to poke my nose in their affairs and ask a few questions about the store.

Kaos Blac: So how long have you, the store, been here?

Modern and Vintage: Four months.

Kaos Blac: So tell me about your store.

Modern and Vintage: Its a modern store we do carry a lot of nick-nacks, little trinkets for home, and I also carry large furniture - because of space we're creating a website that one can go on and you know look at any sofa's or dresser's we may carry.

Kaos Blac: Whats your biggest area of sales items, I see you have a lot of glassware.

Modern and Vintage: Yeah a lot of glassware - it seems like the neighborhood, I'm always buying new glassware items for the store.

Kaos Blac: I see you have a lot of greenery in your store.

Modern and Vintage: We try to incorporate a bit of every thing, everything to help in home decor plants, painting, furniture, we aren't your typical antique store.

Kaos Blac: So is you website live now.

Modern and Vintage: Not yet but we're working on it.

Kaos Blac: Cool so we'll be checking for it, but in the meantime come into the store which is located at...

Modern and Vintage: 708 Franklin Ave.Brooklyn, NY, 11238 bet Park and Prospect. (the google maps is old trust me it's there!)

I invite you all to stop in and check out their wares.

This Is Black Love

2012-04-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

A simple video of two souls interwoven in love. Its naked, emotional, and full of soul.
Timothy Bloom - 'Til The End Of Time ft. V

String Theory Loop of Life.

2012-04-24T11:05:00.000-04:00

Universal mind field of infinite probabilities.
We stretch out with fibrous vines of brain matter looking for a sign from up above...
I prefer something more close and grounded in the soil, from dust to dust.
Us.

I, we, us, them, he, she, Me.
Who ever you are going to be.
Here, there, anywhere, the web of life is...
I, we, us, them, he, she, Me.

It's not a higher power, no need for trees or other greens
We all have leaves - that grow, absorb
Tangled in growth we reach for the stars
Did you know we are made of star dust?

Kaos Blac, April 22, 2012