D-Nice Presents: True Hip-Hop Stories

Derrick "D-Nice" Jones never ceases to amaze with his creative endeavors. In his latest project, he has gotten some of his peers, who just so happen to also be legendary hip-hop artists to speak candidly about the creative processes behind some of their hits. In the clip below, Masta Ace discusses how he arrived on "The Symphony". It is brilliantly done. lcf



http://blog.d-nice.com/

what was he thinking???

I know we’ve all been there but I’m sure we wouldn’t have gone as far as James Joseph Cialella, 29 of Philadelphia did on Christmas day. Frustrated by the family sitting in front of him in the movies, Cialella shot the father and dumped a tub of popcorn on the son. Why? Because they wouldn’t shut up! Now Joseph, I can’t condone that kind of behavior but I do…understand.
The good news is that the father was shot in the arm and will be ok.

Profile: The Dynasties

I finished my schooling at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. It was one of the best and most creative periods of my life. I was surrounded by such great talent, while being enriched with a flood of creative concepts ideas. I'm still trying to sort them out!! Almost 10 years later it makes one extremely proud to see many former classmates now established in their careers and having made names for themselves in NYC and around the world. My friend Rika is the most current that I would like to briefly profile.
Rika just launched her jewelry line called “The Dynasties”. The brand’s initial offerings are very contemporary and hip. The gold and sterling silver rope earrings show a “Nineties Hip-Hop” influence. My favorite is the gold “Trust Me” broach in graffiti script, another ode to 90's NYC.

If you’re interested, you can contact The Dynasties at Info@thedynasties.com or leave a comment here at lovettcanfly.blogspot.com

walk in his shoes...

No matter what you think of G.W. Bush, he has the most powerful job in the world right now. He, for better or worst represents the free world. So it was surprising to everyone when an Iraqi reporter got close enough this week. I thought the Secret Service would have reacted quicker than that but lets face it. This is the same administration that took 5 days to respond to a drowning city.
Now, for the actual shoe thrower, we are starting to get a clearer picture of who he is. Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who worked for Egyptian based Al-Baghdadia TV did stories on the widows, orphans and most affected by the war. If I were in his proverbial shoes, I may be tempted to throw mine off as well. Imagine your life under a dictator where your civil freedoms are minimal and you work as a journalist. Writing the wrong thing may not only get you killed but also get your entire family and everybody who owes you money murdered as well. Now, imagine your country is invaded. The invaders/liberators did get the dictator, however in the process over 500,000 civilians died (imagine 9/11 happening 100 times). 50 years from now, history may judge Bush favorably. It could possibly turn out that the new Iraq will be a prosperous society someday but right now with rampant crime and unemployment, I would hate to walk in the average Iraqi’s shoes. And judging by Saturday, so would he.

a word from General Grievance: Dudes in The Club

Yo Lovett,Why is it that every time I go to the club there is always those 3 dudes that want to be in the middle of the dance floor, just bouncing to the music? Do they want to lip-sync to every hip hop song that comes on? I mean, they don't dance. All they do is rock and lean with drinks in their hands. They’re too cheap to put their jackets in coat check. They never leave the dance floor and here's the worst… they always hate! If you snatch up a chick that they were eyeing because they didn't have the heart to talk to, they end up grilling you the whole night like you owe them money!! I don't go to clubs to fight. I'm just trying to get my rub on with a female and all these dudes that want to lean, rap, then throw the ice grill or they come up to the chick you cutting the rug with and sandwich the brawd...I'm saying “MONEY I DONT KNOW YOU, IM PUTTING WORK IN HERE!!! Leave me alone and find someone else to do that lame tactic to.” All these residual dudes need stop hating and get some real club gear. I never know how they get in with champion sweaters and some air-force ones acting like they are really doing it. And what's good with cats still rocking Versace button ups? Respect to the NOTORIOUS BIG, may God have Mercy on his soul but those shirts are out! Man, one of the 2steppin Trio had one ON! With some black Nike airs and shades. He kept yelling... "Can you smell what the rock is cooking" then looked around for what looked to me like...Approval. Then to top it off he would lift his shades when he was looking at a chick and raise one eyebrow like the rock use to do. That made him look like a rapist/pedophile. wtf man??...how played out can you be! I'm telling y'all, fix ya shape ups, get your gear right for the clubs, work on a two step. If ya got a bubble goose or one of them Woolrich joints put it in coat check, stop the cipher dancing all night ‘cuz y'all keep bumping into people or stepping on shoes. And stop hating if I scoop up that girl you were eyeing! ......Lovett, I ain’t mad, my dude. I'm just saying!

note: General Grievance is his own man and does not necessarily reflect the views of Lovettcanfly

Thundercut in Brooklyn

There’s nothing like tough times to inspire a spike in creativity. This (now official) recession should be no different. I expect us to reach new heights in music and in the visual and literary arts. My buddy Cesar Baez, a fellow artist whom I collaborate with from time to time, sent me this photo today. On his way to work, he came across this piece by the artist Thundercut. Notice what street it’s on…

Photos courtesy of Cesar Baez

Afrokinetic presents...

If you live in or near Park Slope and love to dance and sweat with no worries...this one is for you

New Show: Life and Times of Tim

Every so often, there comes a hero whom every man can relate to. This character embodies all of our talents and flaws. I’m talking Al Bundy, Everybody loves Raymond, Jokey Smurf, etc.
That being said, I could not believe when I brought up The Life and Times of Tim at work, no one had ever seen it! Tim is everyman between the ages of 28 and 38…just in 2D. The show is cleverly written. It puts Tim in everyday situations and pushes him off the cliff of common sense. This is very funny stuff.
Check him out on HBO.

Caught in the act: Carpe Diem the street artist

jury's duty

My first day at the Brooklyn Civil Court building started innocently enough. I sat through a short, entertaining, yet informative movie in the Jury room that chronicled the history of our system of justice. Soon afterwards my name was called and I was directed to the first interview room with 8 other prospective jurors. We sat through presentations by both attorneys until finally we were allowed an hour for lunch. It was raining pretty hard so all I could do was run over to the nearest Wendy’s for a #1 value meal, which left me with the taste of onions for the rest of the day.
After lunch, the counselors informed us who must stay and who could leave. I was the third name called. I was told that I was picked for trial and needed to be back Monday morning at 10am for its start.

I thought it would be a mini-vacation but it turned out to be, for lack of a better term, death by false testimony. For the next week, I struggled to stay awake while a parade of quacks took the stand posing as specialists. Later, I would come to find out that these doctors made a living by showing up at court a few times a week and testifying for about $5000 a pop. Usually they testified in support of the defendant, which often turned out to be an insurance company. In this case, the plaintiff hired a couple of experts to offer testimony on his behalf. Unfortunately, ‘he didn’t have a chance’ because his witnesses didn’t appear to be the most credible paired with the fact that he was suing for half a million dollars for a fender bender.

Deliberations left me with one lasting impression of the justice system. And I say to you, hope and pray that your fate is never left to a jury of your peers. I have learned that most people don’t care. Some people are too much in a hurry to eat lunch, watch a TV show or get home to take a nap to actually care about someone else’s life. I had upset a juror who wanted me to ‘make up my mind’. She was in a hurry to leave and I was in the way of a unanimous vote. I held out temporarily because I wanted to discuss the evidence objectively one more time. I just wanted to give the poor guy the same fair shot I would expect him to give me. Ultimately, my vote wasn’t needed to reach a verdict. They had enough “No’s”.

On my way out of the court room, I still wondered if we had arrived at the right decision. At that moment I looked up to find the plaintiff on the street corner about 5 feet away smoking a cigarette. He looked dejected. I just kept walking without saying a word.