...put a shirt on that kid!

...the white boy still got it...

...save a life...

...a t-shirt's life. donate your iron to the SDPWT foundation now!

...ain't nothin' like a brooklyn -- *wop!!!

i never use this acronym, but i must for this: LMFAO!



when i first saw this, i thought, "oh, cool, she's rocking the diamond 'dmnd' hoodie!" second, i realized it was the homies over at hoodnews who were doing the filming. lastly, after the punch, i thought, "damn, that's fucked up (giggle)!" it brought back a memory for me that i'd like to keep buried deep down there... when i was in junior high, this really tall and husky girl, who's name we'll leave out, bum-rushed me in the hallway. she just started throwing fists all over my dome... haha. instinctively, i wanted to scrap back, but, one, she was way bigger than me, and two, mama said to never hit a girl. so, i just sat there and got lumped up -- oh, and the reason she thumped me was because a rumor got started around school that i made out with her little sister... not true. anyway, after seeing this and laughing my ass off (sorry) i did some research on the drama. i found out that homegirl who socked charles hamilton's ass is actually mary j. blige's step-daughter! also, that charles hamilton and homegirl arere rumored to be pregnant or had been pregnant at one time -- which is why the "abortion" line in his freestyle set her off. there is such a thing as going too far... and sonic the hedgehog just found out where that line was. i mean, the sister's verse (the one she read off of her phone) was about their bad relationship, and this idiot approached it like he was battling at fight klub or something.

charles hamilton: owned. hahaha.

i got the lowdown on necole bitchie's blog regarding the incident. peep...

...beatrock x fatgums x park's finest x bambu...

big up the homie, tad nakamura -- i still got a shirt waiting at the crib for you, bruh!



other videos to look at:


i go on at 00:31:26

...malcolm...

from malcolm little, to detroit red, to malcolm x and finally el-hajj malik el-shabazz -- happy birthday. by myself, in the corner of the los padrinos juvenile detention center day room, i read your book and my life was forever changed. thank you.

...same star, different movie...

thanks daps!

...i got my quarter up there next...

here's a more interesting way to watch the pacquiao/hatton fight (if you got 7 minutes to spare)... hey, i'm just doing my job.


courtesy of my homeboy, omar

...2 of my favorites...

...catch me live -- today...

...no matter where you live! i'll be on at 7pm -- please watch and record!!!


click on picture to redirect to link

...what the?!

...my son is stealing my publicity...

this ad can be seen in the latest issue of ink'd magazine. can you spot the scene-stealer?

...yeah, i might run for mayor...

about 3 weeks ago, i did a show right on the steps of los angeles' city hall for the mayor's kick-off celebration of asian american history month. when kat, my manager and best friend, first presented the opportunity to me, we were both weary of the invitation. we put it on the back burner and took on other gigs... when the deadline came to making the final decision on the gig, we both thought it would be a great opportunity to grab this platform and address some of the issues plaguing our beautiful city -- so we said yes.

the day of the event was circus-like. we got there and got escorted into the mayor's office building. we were given almost vip treatment into a city hall council meeting (everyone in suits - while phat was in his trademark wrinkled t-shirt, dirty new balances and jeans from his freshman year in high school, and me in a t-shirt, jeans and respectable kicks -- we stood out) and we were ushered into our own little room with a clear view of city hall's front steps. we saw the mayor, the entire council, other pretty important people and, much to our delight, tia carrere. aaaaaanywaaaays, the time arrived for us to take the stage. with the taj mahal painted behind me as the backdrop and a group of shaolin fighting monks to my left, we started our set. the audience was more than i expected (i expected zero people to show up) and right up front, pressed up against the barricade were a group of 10-15 pre-school kids -- this is important to remember for later.



i got through the intro song of the set and started in on the mayor's "war on gangs," and the lausd budget cuts! i wasn't animated, i wasn't even aggressive during my rant, i just told it like it is... so, i said what i said, started into the next song, beach cruising. i got through the first verse, and started in on the second, "...it goes liquor store, church, liquor store, chicken shack..." i realized that phat didn't drop the beat when he was supposed to, so i just figured he fouled up and i kept going. about 4 bars in, my microphone went dead. i looked back at phat and said that they had cut us off. i looked to the stage manager, and she walked me off stage and told me that someone was going to "talk to me." i mean, i figured i got cut off because i went in on the mayor and my camp was ready for that. the woman who had made the decision to cut my mic off approached me with the swiftest of strides. "what happened?" i asked. "we're cutting you off because you used the 'n-word." i tried to explain to her that nowhere in my set do i use the word and if ever in my recent music (from barrel men to exact change) the word was used, it was to critique the word and challenge any word(s) of oppressive nature. she wasn't trying to hear me, ignored me and proceeded to tell the stage manager to bring on the next act. needless to say, once i realized that she was full of shit and wasn't going to listen to me, i began to raise my voice. i wall of people forced me behind the stage and phat and i walked off. pissed.

it's ironic that they would use THAT excuse to cut my set -- because cutting my set off for letting the mayor know how the majority of its citizen's feel is not good enough of a reason (not to mention unconstitutional) to shut me down, they chose to throw in a complete lie to justify it. what are you going to do?! i went to bat against the mayor's office, and he "walked" me. fine. we've been going back and forth with the organizers of the event about the incident, but the mayor's office refuses to chime in. so, kat wrote a letter on our camp's behalf (below). when given the opportunity to have a voice -- use it as though it were your last!

Dear Mayor’s Office,

We are writing this letter to address the censorship of Los Angeles-based artist and activist Bambu at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kickoff event which took place on the South Lawn of City Hall on Friday, April 24th 2009.

Bambu accepted an invitation by the planning committee to perform at this event, and donate his performance to celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month with the City of Los Angeles. After waiting in the wings for over two hours to perform, Bambu’s set was suddenly cut short, after two event committee members, who we were told are staffers of the Mayor’s office, incorrectly accused Bambu of using the “n-word” in his performance.

Through his music and community work Bambu has brought social issues affecting disenfranchised people in our city, and in our world, from the Filipino Veterans, gang violence, poverty, lack of educational resources, and more. Bambu is a youth community organizer who has taught youth writing workshops in Historic Filipinotown, and currently teaches after school writing workshops at Locke High School. One of his primary lessons to young people is to move beyond using “language of oppression” – such as using words like the ‘N-word’ - to empower themselves to utilize the vast lexicon of the English language to give voice to their experiences.

But the audience unfortunately was unable to experience what his fans and supporters have come to love about Bambu – his engaging performance, hip hop music with a positive community message – because two staffers made a terrible accusation.

Bambu did question the quality of education as well as the effectiveness of the Mayor’s gang solution program while onstage, just prior to starting his second song, which leaves us to wonder if this was the actual reason why he was censored. Everyone in this country is supposed to have the right to free speech and express their viewpoint. Bambu’s views may not have been that of the Mayor’s Office, but as a citizen of this Los Angeles, he has every right to express his views and not be censored.

We were told that the staffers believed they were trying to contain the event to be family-appropriate. We find this to be an excuse, as well as rather offensive to for the staffers to think that Bambu does not understand how to act appropriately. Bambu was well aware of the nature of the event, and has performed at numerous family events over the years. The young children at the front of the stage, who were not much older than Bambu’s own son, were enjoying his set. Bambu knows better than to use offensive language, especially in front of children.

It is very unfortunate that Bambu was unable to share his music at this event. It is also unfortunate that the Mayor is represented by these two staffers whose reactionary and short-sighted actions support censorship of a voice who speaks on behalf of Filipino and all inner city youth of Los Angeles.

Bambu will continue his work as a community organizer and hip hop artist. He will continue to raise his voice against injustice, and teach young people to raise their voices against injustice.

BAMBU
Artist

Katherine Carrido
Manager, BAMBU

...my homeboys from inglewood...

Episode #4 Music Video Shuffle from Kristina Thomas on Vimeo.

...rest in power, al...

al robles

on the morning of may 2nd, i spent my first waking hours doing the usual morning routine -- brushing my teeth, preparing my clothes for the day and reciting the lyrics that i would later perform at hip hop in the park (berkeley) and a show later on that evening for BRWN BFLO's album release in oakland. i got to a line in one of my newer verses that i was hoping to try out during one of my sets: "...al robles to the i-hotel, i don't budge..." that line was on repeat for no reason that entire morning. nothing prompted the 'rain-man' like repeating of that particular line, i just really liked it.

the day was wonderful. hip hop in the park produced a great turnout, despite mother nature deciding to take a shower, manny performed so well that we were left with plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the evening before our last show of the day and that show was a perfect cap to it all...

then, i woke up to my internet... i found out on may 3rd that al robles passed away the day before. this struck me in a very different way... a way that can only be described with a deep sigh. i met manong al at the beginning of my career as an artist, and my first conversation with him really changed the music i would make from that day on. i went to a workshop during a filipino-american national historical society (fahns) conference on the kearny street poets of san francisco. now, this came at the height of my journey exploring my heritage and trying to find my place as an artist -- this was the nitro-button that moved me into fast forward. al robles and his kearny street comrades spoke of their work in a community that had just begun to blossom right at the foot of the international hotel. after the workshop, i waited around to catch a moment with al and really just shake his hand and say, "thank you." instead, i got to sit down with al robles and just listen to his funny, sincere and sometimes sad stories about working as a cultural artist during such an explosive time in our history as asian americans. i would continue to see him when i traveled out to the bay area more and more, and everytime he'd see me, he'd make it a point to stop and chat -- and though we haven't seen each other in a good minute, i'm sure he knows that he's influenced me in my work beyond measure. he will be missed...

rest in power, al.
rest in power, bill.
rest in power, richard.

til' the wheels fall off... makibaka.