From SFist.com: grainy camera-phone shot of Dave Chappelle, on Market Street in San Francisco a couple of days ago.
Dave Chappelle. He pretty much held the title belt for funniest man on the planet for a cool couple of years. And then he dropped into an epic, self-imposed exile that few if any could comprehend, much less understand. But this week he showed up in the Bay Area. And last night he dropped an epic four and a half hour set in Oakland. FTB was there. I was there.
The Dalai Lama was in Berkeley on the same day. I watched as his motorcade sped up University Avenue with all of the ironic security posturing any visiting royal would command. Meanwhile, some hours later in downtown Oakland, Dave Chappelle announced that he had taken BART to the gig. And in some circles his arrival probably carries at least as much weight as the arrival of a religious leader, so great is his gravitational pull. Yet, I can believe him when he said he took BART to his own show. Because of what else he had to say. And to whom he was talking.
When he left that epic $40 million dollars on the table in his negotiations with Comedy Central and decided to go underground, I always had my own suspicions as to why. Last night, he offered a rare glimpse into this decision.
First, he was performing at a venue that was opening for the first time in its renewed form. Formerly called “Sweet Jimmie’s,” the spot was known for its pure Oaklandish-ness and pimptastic improbability. Now, it is reborn as Oakland Town Hall, a perfect forum for a public hearing and confessional. But why were tickets only available through Twitter and then passed out in a bizarre, circuitous ritual? Why an unknown, unopened venue? Because. This is how Dave Chappelle plans to reclaim himself with his core constituency. To hell with the Eddie Murphy plan and the blockbuster films. He took his ten milly from Comedy Central and that’s enough. From here on out it’s about reclaiming his authenticity. And that starts at root level. On the bare, close-cropped stage of the old Sweet Jimmie’s. Starting at eleven thirty and ending at four. Telling stories to his disciples. Revealing just as much as this particular audience deserved. Bridging the gap from Saturday night to Sunday morning. When the dawn broke as I got home, I realized where I had been.
An unlikely tip to come from Snoop’s Twitter feed. Who would have thought Snoop was into some Cali underground-type ish. But then again, this is right up his alley - a feel good West Side-and-ride with the top down-all around-slapper. In the spirit of Living Legends, this new Grouch and Eligh collab featuring Gift of Gab and Pidgeon John is another fine example of when the best of The Bay meets the best of LA. Trust me here, the hook on this joint will be Gorilla Glued to the inside of your cranium for the next week. Be prepared to be whistlin’ this on your way down the hall to the water cooler at work - the cool, cool, water cooler. And just in time for this here pre-summer madness heatwave we got goin’ on. I’m ready to put this on the iPizzle, put a Corona in a Koozie and take my Float Lounge 4000 out on Lake Anza.
I would have posted this last night, but after watching The Warriors lose another meaningless game at the end of a meaningless season, I was stricken with complete existential paralysis. I’m surprised I was even able to pour milk in my cereal this morning. That’s the nice thing about the internet though. It’s a nice way to distract yourself from facing your own irrelevant existence. And so it is that I have finally returned to post this little interview with The Lonely Island courtesy of Pitchfork. Just in time for Friday - the weekday where this blog probably sees the least amount of traffic, woo hoo!
Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live is doing the interviewing. The Lonely Island guys don’t say much but they do let us know they’re from Louisiana and grew up listening to Zydeco. That’s funny because all this time I thought they were from Berkeley, CA. I knew I couldn’t trust those people I’ve met who said they “went to school with Andy Samberg.” People love to lie about celebrities they say they know. In fact, someone just the other day told me that they used to hang with Baron Davis when he played for The Warriors. Hahaha. That’s a good one. Baron Davis on The Warriors - like that ever happened.
Today Rickey Henderson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played professional baseball for 25 seasons – all of them with mad swagger (and loads of quirks).
Among those seasons I’ll never forget ‘82. I was an awkward 12 year old, and along with my first BMX bike, I had a bad case of Billyball fever.
I also had a stroke of luck that year. A good friend of my father, Sam Olson, was awarded a lucrative contract producing all of the A’s marketing materials. Sam was a big, loud and charming boozer, that, by the start of the season had made friends with half of the A’s organization. I got to attend a heap of games that year and even got to sit in the dug out once. Hella awesome man!
It was also a year that Rickey stole over 100 bases (130 in fact). He was just blazing fast. And when he got rolling, there wasn’t a pitcher that could stop him. This dude knew how to get on base too. Hit, walk, bunt, the Floo Network, you name it. His on base percentage was furious – usually hovering around .400.
I’ll spare you the litany of stats, you can read them here or here.
After Clint Eastwood (who at that time I only knew as Dirty Harry) Rickey Henderson was the most famous cat that ever went to Oakland Tech. And back in those bleak days, we needed some North Oakland pride. But, what I’ll never forget was his “unique” use (and misuse) language and the crazy stories, like this one:
Teammates reported seeing him standing naked in front of a mirror before a game, practicing his swing, and declaring, “Rickey’s the best! Rickey’s the best!”
Look, if racking up more then 1,400 career stolen bases doesn’t get you into the Hall, then I think that probably should.
Gd.
Oh, and did I mention that “I am the greatest of all time?” Read More »
In the light of recent events in Oakland, this gripe is going to seem trivial, but it’s just one more small example of how out of touch our city officials are. As recently reported in the SF Chronicle and other local news sources, certain elected leaders, including Mayor Dellums and City Council member Ignacio De La Fuente, are refusing to issue a filming permit to a planned HBO drama set in Oakland. Why? Because the new series, titled “Gentlemen of Leisure,” is about a pimp trying to retire from pimpin’ (I’m assuming this is because pimpin’ ain’t easy, but that’s just a guess), and our mayor feels that the show’s theme would not fit into his vision of what “a model image of a city would be” (I’m sure a city where a young unarmed black man is killed by a police officer setting off civic unrest is not a part of his vision either, but that’s just a guess too).
The film is being produced by The Hughes Brothers (Menace II Society and Dead Presidents). They were also the producers of “American Pimp,” a feature-length documentary about “pimp culture and the exploitation of women.” In response to the concerns from city officials, who haven’t seen a treatment or a pilot of the show yet, Alan Hughes said:
“It’s not just about pimps and prostitutes, but also about the history of a city that never got its due. Much in the same way the producers of ‘The Wire’ dealt with Baltimore or (New) Jersey with the ‘Sopranos.’ Like Oakland, they are both little cities in the shadow of a big city.”
I think it’s safe to say that this film will deal with the subject of prostitution in quite a different way than, say, if Too $hort and Luke Campbell were the producers (which is probably what the film’s opponents are imagining).
But really, the point is moot because… well, make the jump to find out why… Read More »
The history of Hip Hop is littered with bad merchandising ideas. Anyone remember such classics as The Master P Doll, Ruff Ryder’s Fitness Videos, DMX’s clothing line for dogs, and the infamous Wu Cologne (because all the ladies want they man smellin’ like Ol’ Dirty Bastard, right)? Then you have examples of bad merchandise that stems from good merchandising ideas (well sensible at least) like Luke Campbell’s porn videos, Paul Wall’s Grills, and the never-ending parade of “Juices” that keep showing up at my corner liquor store. It’s rare when a good idea gives way to some good merchandise. And that’s why we can thank the good people over at Quannum Projects for never considering “Blackalicious Barbecue Sauce” as a vertical integration strategy.
Instead, Quannum Projects has teamed up with Shoe Biz in San Francisco and Reebok to create four sneakers inspired by Blackalicious, Latyrx (Lateef & Lyrics Born) and DJ Shadow. These limited editions go on sale the end of this month, and they actually look like something that you might want to wear (vs. some shoe/collector’s item that would just sit on a shelf next to 499 robots and crates of rare import Japanese vinyl) The official release event is Dec. 26th at 4pm at Shoe Biz on Haight Street. So for all y’all who got coal in your stocking this year, you might want to make up for it by heading down to Shoe Biz and copping a pair of fresh kicks, listening to some quality music, and snacking on some wine and cheese. Do they serve wine and cheese at shoe release events? Okay, maybe some “Shadow Water” instead.
The tagline for Stash Magazine online is “Hip Hop Music, Business, Swagger.” Sometimes I visit the site for the Hip Hop Music. Rarely I go there for anything business-related. Mostly I go for the Swagger. See, if you’re like me (or many of the current players on The Golden State Warriors), then it’s very possible that some days you find your swagger just isn’t swaggin’ like it used to. So, you might just have to go elsewhere to find some, maybe even online.
However, if you’re fellow FTB-er Mike Marshall aka Mike Meezy, you don’t really have to worry about that - because you have something called Perma-Swagger. Perma-Swagger is not a new alcoholic energy beverage. It is not a side effect of Cialis. It can’t be bottled and therefore can’t be sprayed, rubbed, dabbed, or daubed. If Perma-Swagger were The Force, then Jay-Z is Luke Skywalker and Rick Rubin is Yoda.
Perma-Swagger is the rare ability to go hard without trying at all, and even when nobody notices just how hard you might be going. That’s Mike Marshall. I feel this happens a lot with Meezy. Like just last week when I was watching The Dubs game, and blam, Mike pops up on the screen in a Warriors promo music video for his song “Who Is He.” And then today, when I’m mindin’ my business, readin’ Stash, trying to get a little swagger before bed, and there’s Marshall again featured on this track being promoted on the site. I don’t know who this dude “E” is but the track also features Messy Marv and San Quinn who I do know, and are both Swaggadelic in their own ways. Anyway, let me submit the following comments on this cut as further evidence of which I speak:
“this some smooth shit for my bitch too.. rollin up a nice thick one with this”
and this
“slap, slap, slap, slap, slap”
Sasha Frere Jones it is not, but in terms of music reviews, that’s unadulterated “real talk.” Count ‘em, that’s five slaps. If you’ve been doing this as long as Meezy has, and that’s how people are still responding to your vocal stylings, then that, my friends, is the definition of Perma-Swagger.
This video is so wrong on so many levels, not the least of which is the fact that it was an actual training video for hapless Wendy’s employees back in the 1980s. Dave Thomas and company, no doubt seeing the need to speak to his rapidly urbanizing workforce in language that would “resonate” with them, presumably commisioned this training video with good intentions. Personally, I can’t help but wonder how many young brothers and sisters immediately slammed their Wendy’s visors to the kitchen floor and stormed off the job immediately after Opie Taylor starts rapping about his learnings in the second half of the vid. And since when are burgers done when they turn gray?
Let me begin by saying that I will only go to The Berkeley Bowl if I am the last survivor of a bacterial pandemic apocalypse and all my other shopping options have been overrun by flesh-eating zombies. This is by choice. However, for my friend Raphael Breines, he’s been eighty-sixed from The Bowl for life, so if he does want a Zululand Queen Pineapple in the future, he’s going to have to wait for The End Times to get it. More about Raphael in a minute.
The above quote was a suggested bumper sticker slogan from a Berkeley resident interviewed in a recent LA Times article about The Berkeley Bowl (yes, shocking that the LA Times would highlight one of the most annoying aspects of our precious Northern California culture). The article was more specifically about The Berkeley Bowl’s new policy to hand out lifetime bans to people who are caught “tasting” food before buying it - especially the produce. Which is an interesting shopping predicament, given that nearly 50% of the produce is of the “?” variety. Don’t know what a Chocolate Persimmon tastes like? Too bad, and if you nibble, you will be dealt with.
And that’s pretty much what happened to my friend (well, more a friend-of-a-friend, just so you don’t think I fraternize with criminals). Yes, The Berkeley Bowl has made my bearded friend, Raphael Breines, the Winona Ryder of pears. But I got to give it up to my man here for putting himself on Front Street to expose the absurdity of this whole thing. He’s quoted in most of these stories, including going on-camera for this CBS 5 interview. Raphie’s an upstanding, family-type guy. He designs public parks for Chrissakes, and The Bowl is going to make an example of him - a produce pariah?
Such is the dilemma of living in Berkeley in the 21st Century. It’s filled with self-righteous yoga mat huggers, and baby boomer ex-hippies who act, in their own way, just as entitled as retirees at a Palms Springs country club. So, I feel for the employees and managers of Berkeley Bowl who got to put up with these a@#holes, but then to respond with some Procrustean Law (Raphie wrote a letter of apology to be reinstated, but was declined) is so, well, so un-Berkeley. And if you watch the CBS5 Video, you’ll find out about a dude who got banned for putting too much milk and sugar in his coffee. Really? How much f-ing milk and sugar could he possibly be putting in his cup of coffee for it to be considered theft? Seriously people. That’s weak sauce - extra weak sauce. You can find it on Aisle 3 next to the Haterade and don’t even think about trying it before buying it. I await the comments of my Berkeley-residing colleagues.
