Tuesday, January 28, 2014

We Come in Peace




Last night I watched a documentary on PBS called Independent Lens:State of Arizona.. It was about the immigration issues that are plaguing the southwestern corner of the country. Now before I jump right in I ought to let you know that on some level I felt for all parties involved. Even the those furthest right of the issue; regardless of how skewed or myopic their solutions and approach to the issues at hand. I think it's important to preface this article with human rights involved. Because this is the corner of the spectrum I approach this issue from. I'll begin by confessing that before I saw this documentary about the
plight of Latino Americans who are here under legal or illegal terms I had very aloof feelings and opinions about these issues. Mostly because I live in a region of the country that doesn't live with it on a daily basis. But the moving images and pictures of the struggle that exists in the state of Arizona stifled me, not only that it existed but that it was willfully being carried out and orchestrated by a legislative branch of state government against hard working Latino Americans.



A major character in this documentary is a statute called SB1070; enacted in April of 2010,  essentially in it's original form it gave police the right to criminally profile mexican americans in their own cities and towns within the state or Arizona. If you remember civics from grade school you'll remember that states have the rights to run themselves as they see fit in matter where the federal government doesn't or where the constitution does not necessarily cover the role of the federal government (all subject to interpretation of the law of course). But as the elder brother to the states the federal government has the right to intervene if they feel the constitution is being violated. Well you guessed it, the state department intervened and took the State of Arizona to court putting a temporary injunction on SB1070 until it could be sorted out by the higher courts. In the end some of the most egregious parts of the statutes were struck down by a federal judge such as the parts that required immigrants to carry their papers and making it unlawful for undocumented immigrants to work or apply for work in the U.S.


The legal bits of this piece are tedious but once you understand the 'conditions' the government were trying to create for people trying to earn an honest living in the U.S. it almost makes you angry and ashamed to call yourself a citizen of a country that holds itself up to such a high standard on the world stage. The term 'attrition' was thrown around a lot in the film which is the means by which the state tried to get the 'aliens' to leave. I believe the slogan touted in the major media outlets is 'self deportation.' Which basically amounts to making living conditions so horrid for immigrant communities that they'll want to leave. Like all hate the DNA of SB1070 is made up mostly of fear and ignorance fueled by a xenophobia that has been spreading since this nation's inception. Lingering in the wings until the generations that nourished it dies off we are left with the good fight.

 One of the major cases being made by advocates of the legislation was that the immigrants were taking jobs, and taking less money to do it. Two advocates of SB1070 who were contractors said that they were economically affected because those who SB1070 sought to exclude from the community and workforce out
bid them on work projects by thousands, because they could afford to; and that they could not compete with the low rates that these workers offered when bidding on work.The anecdote offered by the two men frightened me more because it reminded me of a Jim Crow south; and the days of reconstruction. For a moment I thought if the American Zeitgeist had been where it was then in America, and it were acceptable would these men don hoods and/or masks and terrorize these worker who presented a economic obstacle for them. The thought sent chills up my spine. And although they didn't wear the expressions on their faces, or carry it in their voices. The most homeopathic doses of hate transmitted through my television set.To paraphrase Malcolm X: the can paint the picture they want us to see, not what is there. So watch with critical eyes unless it's public television or some publication with loose or no ties to corporate or subversive cultural interest. Usually your soul know right from wrong it's that little nudge in the back of your mind that you ignore instead choosing old patterns that have gotten you this far. This is as far as I can go with you on this subject. I hope you'll make a little time to educate yourself. Especially in light of tonight's broadcast from the capitol. Make it a point to bring it to the executive and legislative branch's attention via email, snail mail or better yet social media. Word on the street is that #SOTU + #SOTUis are the hot #hashtags tonight and all day so do it. They're human too, we're all connected.

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease,


-Bikim B.



Monday, January 27, 2014

Accolades and Bardos





As I read through my twitter feed reading dozens of burnt hip hip fans over the lost of 7 Grammys by hip hop new comer Kendrick Lamar. To be honest I'd never heard of the guy before my last AmeriCorps Term working with HS kids in a hip hop concentration class here in Pittsburgh. Mostly in the form of swooning, or something like that. I spent the better part of the weekend listening to his debut studio album Good Kid M.A.A.D City. I have to admit he definitely stands out from his contemporaries he rifts about such themes as his dreams perseverance over adversities broadcasting an energy that those in his generation can receive. There are a few tracks but those that stick out to me are namely one titled 'Bitch don't kill my vibe.' The hook reminds me of a Heatwave joint called 'Star of a Story' in the Kendrick joint goes "I can feel your energy from 2 planets away, bitch don't kill my vibe."


 When African American artist express themselves this way it validates every facet of my universe and the way I can see it.  Or at least the way I struggle to see it regardless of the obstacles that enter my airspace. It's hard you know to see the universe the way you cognitively and intuitively know it to exist. This Kendrick Lamar kid is not only on to something he has obviously has found a sweet spot in his soul. I pray and hope that this doesn't discourage his artistic journey. Because after all this is his first joint I want to see more. i mean don't get me wrong kats like Andre 3000 are more than a precursor to Lamar's galactic lyricism, and of course George Clinton is the captain to our U.S.S. Enterprise. And while I haven't heard his mixtapes in their entirety (usually more raw than studio joints, more free in a sense). His Studio work seems authentic, and I like it. I have a pretty good knack for this. His themes are different, and a juxtaposed to his contemporaries; much like the artist he lost to in the 'Best Rap Album' category-Macklemore. Whose story I also find inspiring, and is, in his own right as much an asset to the culture and genre. And if you didn't know or live under a rock, Macklemore is white and Kenrick black, which is the crux of alot of the turmoil on my twitter feed more than 12 hours Grammy ceremonies were concluded. I personally think critics who would draw lines in the sand along racial lines are not  or may not be qualified to do their job (as professionals within the genre and public life) and should find a new line of work. Art knows no bounds, and when those sound vibrations hit that small bone in your ear drum and tap nerves in your brain your skin and even culture has a tendency to melt into a slurry of love goo. A concentrate flavor of love that can only be tasted by the heart and soul. But anyway that's a blog for another day.

Through all of this I think all of us who considers ourselves hip hop fans, should all calkm down, and not take the Grammys as seriously as the Grammys take themselves. So lets all close our eyes inhale, expanding our diaphragms and slowly exhale. Press play. Smile. Love you all.



"Dream those dreams, because a life w/o dreams is black + white, and the universe flows in technicolor and surround sound."

-Reggie Ossie (aka Combat Jack)

Monday, January 20, 2014



Hello folks and Happy New year to you all. I apologize for my horrible discipline and my lack of attention to the this publication. Having a busy life is not at all an excuse to not blog as often as I can or should. This to me is a public journal, and my conversation with the world. I see all of my fellow bloggers out there pontificating about the vast wide universe and everything in it, and I feel worthless for slacking all of this time. Well the good news is that I have gotten better or at least more motivated to write on here ans provide more content from my life and the stuffs going ons in my life.

Since the last time I touched you all with my words a lot has changed. And if I am reading this right I haven't posted in over a year (21NOV12..Jeezus). Well I won't let that happen again. And I need you to help me make sure that doesn't happen. i promise I am gonna stop being so stingy with the treasures I had been hoarding over the years. the kind of treasures that make year long droughts like that.

Anyway since I last posted I have started a new job at a 4 star hotel in Pittsburgh that is making a pretty major transformation possible in my life. One that is sorely needed. for internal and external reasons (more on this later). Also I have been taking law classes, and have since received a certificate in paralegal studies. I have also been in a beautiful relationship for over a year now too which is pretty cool if I must say so myself.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way I'd like introduce to you a streaming line of thought that I had on the bus coming home from work one day (19JAN14 to be exact). I wrote this on a second hand iPod.





For the past 34 years I been trying to find my shine. After 34 revolutions round the sun. No such luck yet. I hope I don't leave this earth without having made a worthwhile contribution. If not i'll have alot to answer for when I get where i am going. Maybe god can explain to me where i went wrong. Where in rested when I should have pressed on. Where I licked my wounds when i should have pressed on through the pain. Like gov say " don't run from the pain run upwards it." that was a really fucked situation. I was a whole 'nother dude back then. Uber sensitive, poisoning myself to fuel a false self. A stranger to my soul. Feeding the vector feeding on the Source that sustains me. Submitting bullshit prayers to the Almighty. Praying on top my prayers that the Big Santey Clause grants my wishes.


oh and p.s. if I only have one reader in all of this I LOVE YOU for listening to me, and tell your friends about me if you think I am any good. If any of this makes sense to you pass it along. I'll get really uncomfortable if my stuff would on some parallel universe gets more than 20 views and people starts contributing but i need to get out of my comfort zone so push me :)