Intl_Baba Day is Here…Summer Will Soon Be Gone.

Business first…the latest column entry is on Prince, and I had a piece run last week on Allen Iverson for ESPN. Being the Prince junkie I am, I couldn’t go more than one entry without putting him in the column. The over/under was probably zero, though.
But really, was summer ever really here? I’ve finally reached the point where summer is just like the rest of the months…just hotter. No rest for the weary or the wicked. That’s double bad for me.
This week…teaching, radio, MJ, and this week’s playlist.
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Teaching…well, I haven’t done it yet. First class for me isn’t until next week, actually. I did attend the main session for the course I’m TAing. Afterwards, I was hit on by a student. Already.
And I only control ten percent of the grade.
Also got an e-mail today for a student wanting to get into my class referring to me as “Mr. Jones.” At least I think she was talking about me. But really, I have no idea who Mr. Jones is. Still debating on whether I want the jokers calling me by my first name or not, but I still can’t imagine being Mr. Jones. I still can’t even get a good deal on car insurance.
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Big ups to all the folks that left comments last week and sent me notes about the last entry. I’m glad folks took something from it. I was really apprehensive about putting so much up there, but if it worked for some folks, it was worth that feeling of undeniable nudity.
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Well, now that your boy’s got this column, I’ve had to start listening to the radio again and watching videos. Radio…wow, radio. Sounds a lot like it did when I left it a while ago. Wack, man. Wack. There’s a great paper begging to be written about the collision of media conglomeration and the conglomeration that took place long ago in the music industry. I ain’t qualified to write it yet, but any economists that find themselves capable need to get at me. We can be famous…to the thirty-seven people that read economic journals.
But that’s a bad thirty-seven, jack.
But the other day, I turned on the afternoon airing of 106 and Park, and guess who was on?
Silkk The Shocker!!!
Best quote on that was from the Flat Rock, Jr…”I thought he was dead.”
Me, too. Or maybe he’s just been at the house cleaning Lil’ Romeo’s whitewalls. I have no idea.
Or, he’s been defying the effects of aging in a cryogenic chamber. He looks no different than he did in 1997. That’s a feat, I suppose. Silkk and I are the same age, but I look like Frederick Douglass compared to him.
But then it dawned on me…did the kids on 106 and Park know who he was? Do they remember the No Limit Era? I wish I didn’t, but it’s getting pretty foggy to me. But what I do remember about No Limit was this absolute rule…every song took a dip when Silkk got on the mic. Songs on his own albums? Better hope Mystikal was there. Songs on other people’s albums? They wished Silkk hadn’t shown up. But if the video I saw, “We Like Dem Girls” was any indication, he did learn something during his hiatus…yes, Vyshon, it’s okay to rhyme on beat. I promise.
Moral of the story–life is good when your big brother owns the company for which you work. If Mumba J owned Big, Black, and Bald Records, best believe I’d be all over that.
Actually, no. The one thing that can break the Jones family structure is wackness. The Millers must be the strongest unit alive.
Pretty soon, though, I’m going to start taking suggestions on the Video of the Week. It doesn’t have to be new, but it’s gotta be something worthy if severe ridicule. I saw so much that fell into said category, but I wanna see what you guys can come up with. If it moves you, hit me up.
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Somehow, I never got around to talking about the VH1 Michael Jackson movie. Wow, man…wow. Flex didn’t do a bad job, but it was such an abysmal flick. The problem was this…
Okay, one of the problems…
But the problem was that they tried to cover too much in two hours. MJ has done enough weird stuff to do a miniseries. Everything felt so incomplete because there wasn’t enough time for most of what they tried to discuss. There was time, though, for the following mistakes…
1. A cat playing James DeBarge that was my complexion. Granted, I ain’t Tyrese, but I make James DeBarge look like the windows on a limousine.
2. Not enough music. It’s Michael Jackson, man. I didn’t mind there not being a lot of music after 1987, but something more, please?
3. Too much to keep itemizing…it was a really dreadful production.
However, the funniest thing I’ve seen in years…there’s a scene where Papa Joe Jackson is talking to Mike about business while assembling a machine gun. I couldn’t make that up if I tried.
And not once is that presented as though something strange was going on…not once.
Only one kind of business need be conducted with machine guns…and in that kind of business, if you’re putting your gun together at the board room table, it’s a wrap for you already. I guarantee the other cat brought his heat pre-assembled.
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This week’s list is short…been jammin’ entire albums, so there’s no need for individual songs.
Scarface – The Fix
Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Nas – Illmatic
Roots – The Tipping Point
Juvenile – 400 Degreez
Prince – Dirty Mind
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Next up…who knows? Classes have started, so I have no idea how regular these updates are going to be. But invariably, something will come up that forces me to the keyboard. It always does.