in mine, it's currently a battle for jay headphone space between a medley of wu tang clan, early 90's new york hip hop, the california bay area hip hop scene and a gang of instrumentals -- spanning from progressive rock of the 70s to funk to some serious downtempo jazz (where my horns at?).

if ya'll were wondering, there are a couple wu tang clan compilations out there, but they just didnt get my juices flowing (juices flowing = my latest catch-phrase). what does a man with no juices flowing do, you might ask? well i made my own compilation of course. my very own wu tang clan compilation..burned..and complete with my own hand-drawn wu tang logo right on my pirated cd.
this is a rare special edition, folks.
it's never easy narrowing down your favourite sounds to a mere 80min cd.
enjoy.

times is rough and tough like leather~!

c.r.e.a.m. - wu tang clan

liquid swords - gza/genius

motherless child - ghostface killer

milk this cow - cappadonna

da mystery of chessboxin' - wu tang clan

criminology - raekwon

cold world - genius/gza

daytona 500

bring the pain - method man

brooklyn zoo - ol' dirty bastard

slang editorial - cappadonna

incarcerated scarfaces - raekwon

shimmy shimmy ya' - ol' dirty bastard

ice cream - raekwon

wu wear - wu tang clan

gravel pit - wu tang clan

it's yourz - wu tang clan

triumph - wu tang clan



ahh yesssss.
very few things are as nostalgic as listening to those crazy kids from statin island.
listening to triumph on your way home from work is the way to go. and don't refrain from snapping your neck back and forth while listening to this. and hey, who cares if other snotty people in their fancy cars are around watching?...you recite those lyrics!..and i mean right now, dammit!

as i type this, i am brought back to that whole grade 9 & 10 era when tommy hilfiger & helly hansen sailing jackets were in. you would rock those, with some clark's wallabies or grant hill filas (you know what im talkin' about, the kind that method man wore in the "all i need" video as he jumped off the roof). if it was summer, you'd be wise to rock the shorts with nike cortez kicks and a striped polo golf short. you feeling me yet? you know this man!

shaolin, where you at?!!!

_________

speaking of hip hop...
(and i promise you, this whole 'ghetto talk' stuff will end shortly) the mos def concert was off the chain (or off the hook, if you prefer that)!

the mos def concert that i was building up a week or two ago, was the ish in other words, that's ghetto talk for it being 'the shit'. his opening act was his old group medina green (brooklyn stand up) which was ok...really, mediocre at best. but i guess the crowd couldnt get into them. this is true not because theyre wack, but because theyre unknown. it's hard to rock a show for a crowd that doesnt know your lyrics, let alone one that doesn't even know your name. so after they rocked the stage for a good hour with various songs that most people, i, included, havent heard of, there was an hour intermission.

during this hour, rj and i cracked jokes...took our respective leaks and gawked at the beautiful honey babies in the crowd.

a word or two about the crowd at the mos def concert: this is my kinda hip hop crowd! it was basically my peoples cloned. where do all these people hang out? do they ask that same question as me?

you had all kinds of people warming those seats with their asses. no, it wasn't just black folks..and no it wasn't just white folk. yes there were a handful of east asians (how dare you ask that i degrade you and use the word "orientals"..i will not have it!), east indians, old & young alike..but mostly old. when i say old, i mean my age, but mainly 25 and up (and y'all thought hip hop can't grow up. dont give me that!). this crowd is my kinda crowd because one, theyre not rowdy, two, they can really appreciate good music, and three theyre all so fucking hip..in the most hip hop sorta way. there was no simple doo-rag & throw back jersey with matching two-tone nike air force one looks here. at this show, im talking girls in camouflage baby tees with thick frames; im talking dudes with blazers and beads; im talking paperboy caps and pumas; and im definitely talking rare old skool adidas track jackets and stilletos. it was a cornucopia of sights, sounds, and intellect.



as for the atmosphere: we were at toronto's harbourfront, stage side, 3 rows from the front, open air and stars above. there was a cool, calming breeze coming off lake ontario, ice cold beers, and the delicious tastes and smells coming from the international cafe that was serving up food for the crowd. i tell you, if youre ever in the toronto area, and you can catch a show at harbourfront during the summer, DO IT! 'nuff said.

common at kool haus on july 26th
who's down?


[i listen to hip hop and you think im trying to be black. you listen to rock...am i supposed to think you wanna be white? cut that polarized thinking crap out. the last time i checked there were no filipinos on the radio or in mainstream media playing their gongs and bamboo reeds, let alone some japanese guy playing a gong nor some chinese chick playing a chinese harp]

"when i say chinese, you say harp...chinese! (harp!) chinese (harp!)"

________

speaking of asian-"ness"...
im currently planning my trip for next year after i graduate.
if all goes well *fingers crossed & bills paid*, im going on "the trip of my life".

i recently emailed colin & his ol'lady about what their plans were for next year after they graduated. sure enough, as i recalled, theyre heading to the philippines for what she calls "the trip of her life".

i've been thinking about that and hey, this has been mentioned to myself in my head for the last 2 to 3 years. although philippines deserves her very own vaction, i will not call next year's trip of my life the "philippines trip of my life". rather, my targets will be a large chunk of the rest of south east asia (central asia, even).

considering this will be more of a backpacking adventure for myself and 1 or 2 of my friends max, im trying to pinpoint where i wanna start. one place is thailand. now should i start in india and head towards thailand?...or should i scrap india, start in thailand and head east?






probably the latter, but i'd really like to fit india in there somehow. if so, that would mean a route consisting of something along the lines of india to bangladesh to burma to thailand. maybe im just too ambitious.

for now, my four adjectives are:
thailand, cambodia and vietnam [possibly malaysia (that's a faint possibility)].
but wait..that's only 3, isnt it?

oh that's right...going back to colin and mary anne, since im in the neighbourhood, i might as well rendezvous with them somewhere right? oh yea, and jp mentioned that he might be in the philippines next summer too...that only leaves one final conclusion; one final piece to the puzzle..im talkin grand finale rendezvous with my friends on the beach in boracay in the motherland - the philippines.

sadly, if that falls through, that'll only be for a day or two..a week at most.
one day, and hold me to this, i will backpack the motherland. this final pinpoint on my planned journey next year is strictly to finish off my trip and just party.

as for east asia, dont think i forgot you.
if this goes well, i got you in my sights in the future. china, korea and japan. but that's after south america but before europe. for now, that's just a dream.

where's my thai, khmer and viet peoples at?
no, i dont plan on staying in those posh hotels, it's all about the hostels. and no, im not just gonna chill in the tourist-ridden cities...the villages and countryside are targets too.

with a student's budget, 2 months, 1 or 2 close friends, and an open mind, any suggestions?


[soon, baby, soon]
__________

speaking of terror...
actually, nobody was talking about terror. anyhow, around here, ontario was part of the live 8 concert, karla homolka was released last week, and over there across the atlantic, the uk had terrorists strike their transportation system. i havent had a chill run through my body while watching the news since i watched the 9-11 attacks during freshmen year. it's all fucked up but we just gotta live. keep on keepin' on as i always say.

dare i mention that this happened in broad daylight, at the mall where i worked at, during a big sidewalk sale. thank God i was off..cause if those theives came my way brandishing guns, well we all know i'd do the honourable thing and run away like a big ol' sissy. that or either get into the fetal position while crying under a big protective pile of clothes.

you can't let them win by allowing them to dictate your life.
if we all thought like that, g.i. joe would never be able to defeat cobra - the ruthless terrorist organization bent of ruling the world.



it makes me wonder, do these terrorists just sit around their dinner table, living room or in the jacuzzi just scheming up shit to happen?

they need to go get laid...a nice warm bowl of chicken noodle soup...playstation 2 or something!


_________

speaking of...???...
camping is in a few days, yall!!!

read about last summer's camping here...

...and here...

...and here.

bounce.

it's yourz!