In 1973, the San Francisco based R&B group Tower of Power had a hit song that posed the question “What is Hip”(?) Right off, the hippest thing about the song was the lead singer of the group at the time, Lenny Williams, you know, dude that sung “Cause I Love You” … okay, okay… Kanye used the sample for “Overnight Celebrity”. So now i just “hipped” you to some new stuff and that’s what blogs are suppose to do, I guess.
The second “hippest” thing about it was that they chose to analyze or define “hip”, for those that don’t relate to the possibly jaded lingo: “What is style?” or “What is cool?”, or for that matter, “what is dope”? I’m all about style, and in my world, if you have to think too much about it, you probably don’t have any. Style can’t be too contrived. Cool, if you have to try too hard, you’re probably not that cool. Cool people are just cool. Last year Ebony Magazine published who they thought was the “25 Coolest Brothers of All Time”. They had brothers like Marvin Gaye, Muhammed Ali, Barak Obama, Billy D. Williams and Jay Z. Yo, Jay, I’m really envying you on this one… I mean, a Grammy would be nice, but to be considered of the “25 Coolest of All Time”, well damn!
My purpose for donning the “Blogger hat” at this time (as a Brother that should be considered for the “Coolest….” list the next time it is published) is to set the record straight about “What is hip?”, “What is cool?”, “What is style?”, “What is good?”, “What is sexy?”, etc., etc. Let’s go back to the song, a classic by the way and if you’re not hip, go to itunes and cop it NOW!!! This is the stuff that was very influential in my musical style. Let’s break it down verse by verse:
VERSE I
SO YA WANNA DUMP OUT YO’ TRICK BAG EASE ON IN A HIP THANG
BUT YOU AINT SURE EXACTLY WHAT IS HIP
SO YOU STARTED TO LET YOUR HAIR GROW
SPENT BIG BUCKS ON YOUR WARDROBE
SOMEHOW YOU KNOW THERE’S MUCH MORE TO THE TRIP
You don’t have to have “hit a lick” to be in style…….
Levis "snapped" for these 511 skinny "Tron Plaid" joints. Under $70.
Continue reading ‘WHAT IS HIP!’
People that know me know i have issues with “skulls”. A problem with skull anything, skull print, skull jewelry. Personally i just don’t dig what skulls represent to me. That’s why Kanye thought it ironic that i would wear a piece of jewelry made from a bullet on a chain, “You don’t like skulls ’cause they symbolize death, but you’ll wear the thing that causes that condition”. That’s definately some Kanye logic, right? These aren’t ordinary bullets though, these are Bullets 4 Peace . A contemporary jewelry line with a statement!! Bullets 4 Peace takes used bullet casings which are meant to be recycled in streets and battlefields, and turns them into beautiful jewelry pieces that promote peace and compassion. Proceeds from sales help support various charitable organizations through they’re program: “Every Bullet has a Target”
