Party With US...

December 4th 2010 “The Sample Hour”

So… A couple of weeks ago my man, Siks 9 aka Harold (US), came through to chill. I picked him up at the light rail. I had to make a store run for something to sip on. On the way to the store we began talking. I asked him if he had heard the new Roots cd. His reply was no and that he had only been listening to old school music. So I was like, no doubt, I had been getting my old school Hip Hop fix in also. He said to me no, real old school music. Old school as in our parents music. I said ok I feel you, play some so I can hear what you have been rocking to. He plugged his iPhone into the jack and this journey began.

He played song after song after song. I’m talking about James Brown, Bob James, George Clinton, Lynn Collins, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Roy Ayers, and so many others. Every song he played had one thing in common. Each song had been sampled, some heavily, by Hip Hop. It was just incredible to me! We got back to the house and I threw some food on the grill. We grabbed some drinks and sat out in the backyard for hours listening to these songs. We called P-Collino aka Preston (US) and had him on speakerphone because we knew he would love the music. He has been on is old school listening kick for a long time and his collection of old school music is so extensive. We listened not just for the great music, but for the sample. We listened for the piece of the song where Hip Hop producers got their inspiration to make a beat. Some call it stealing or borrowing or lack of originality. We in the Hip Hop world call it sampling. It is an art form that is far from “lack of originality.” In fact it’s just the opposite. For a producer to take a piece of a song, some pieces no longer than five seconds, and turn it into a completely different beat with a completely different feel is very original. At least it is to me.

As we sat back there listening to these songs I began thinking of how US this was. I said to Siks, we need to do something on a large scale to show how Union Specific this was. I said to him we should have an event/party to highlight how relevant these old school songs are to Hip Hop and US. Some of these songs I have never heard before, and I know you haven't either, but as soon as I heard the sampled part I knew which Hip Hop artist used it, the name of the song it was used on, which album it was used on and the year it came out. I decided then and there that this had to go down. Sik 9 and P-Collino was down. All that was left to do was put the rest of the puzzle together. If my life is a puzzle, where do you fit in?

I will have complete details for the party as we get a little closer to the date. Save the date and make travel plans. D.C., December 4th,"The Sample Hour" Thanks to my man Kee(US) for putting me in touch with the right people out there.

The Children in US...

A new school year, so many Specific Unions start here. There are Unions between students and teachers, parents and teachers and even between parents and parents. All of these Unions are Specific in their own way. I could go and get deep about any one of those Unions. I’m not going to go there though. I will leave that up to you guys. You can comment about that if you want. One bond however, is just so Union Specific that I had to write about it. It’s the bond these kids form with each other. Union Specific…

The Children in US...
My son’s first day of school was Wednesday, Sept 8th. The night before he was so restless. You should have seen him. I’m talking about he couldn't even sleep. The excitement was building. Just knowing that the next day he was going to see the friends he formed bonds with the year before. Not to mention the new friend he was going to make. He couldn't wait. He wakes up the next day before his alarm even goes off and is ready to go. He has his breakfast and is dressed about 45 minutes before it time to leave. He sits on his bed, so anxious, holding his book bag in his arms as he watches TV. You can tell he's not really watching TV though. He is really watching the clock and counting down the seconds before it is time to go. Finally it’s time to go and he is out the door in a flash. He is the first one in the car, seatbelt fastened and tray table in upright and locked position. We get to the school and there are kids everywhere! They are so happy to see each other. You can tell that they have all be waiting for this day for a while. The day they see their friends again. It’s crazy, these kids don’t even know it yet but the friends they make now can possibly be with them for the rest of their life. These same friends will affect the choices they make and how they will get along in the world. This is where US begins.

How exciting is the first day of school?! As we get older we forget we lose sight of the simple things. As I stood in the schoolyard that day, it all came back to me. I forgot what it was like to see a friend for the first time after a long hot summer. I forgot how significant these bonds are, and how long they can last. I still have friends now from kindergarten. You might think “Kindergarten?! How can you possibly still consider yourselves friends. You haven’t spoken in years!” My thing is that if you are friends, then days, weeks, months & even years can go by and you can pick up like you just spoke to them yesterday. I believe that’s how these kids felt. They feel they will be friends forever. I thought about it and that’s how I felt when I was their age. I thought about it some more and that’s still how I feel now. Once a friend, always a friend. That’s what makes US. I just hope that as these kids get older, they never lose sight of that. The friends that they make now is the purest form of what makes US…