Wonder Why They Call You Bitch?

Money,
lots of money.
Status.
Prestige.
You know, that feeling when you walk in the club late and EVERYBODY notices your presence? Or when you meet somebody new, you tell them your name and they make that face like the just came out of a daze, “Oh! You’re [insert (in)famous name here]”.
Well the answer is NO.
No, of course not everybody knows this feeling; because if everyone knew this feeling then it wouldn’t be cool to walk in late to the party anymore.
(Unless, of course, you’re going to a party fulla black people where everybody walks late, then it just doesn’t matter).

If you’re not this person, then chances are you might be that person that wants to get close to that person. Now, if you’re a guy, let me rephrase that; if you’re a man, then your pride and/or logic is going to influence your actions when trying to be a part of the “in” crowd or being around the “in” person.

However, if you’re a female; or in many cases, a non-man male, then your desire influences your actions. You are willing to do anything to get noticed, to obtain that type of recognition where people want to be around you. However, a common oversight is that, although, this lapse in behavioral inhibition may temporarily produce the desired result, it often yields an unwanted judgmental conclusion. For many women, this behavioral inhibition is within the sexual realm. It’s common knowledge that, appearance has much to do with one’s status. If most of us are aware of this then how can it be appropriate for a woman to feel wronged if she is judged negatively for barely covering herself in clothing? We also know that status is deemed through one’s actions, so if you act like a ho’, what other recourse could someone have but to call it how they see it?

What about the females that call themselves bitches? Or ho's? Is it still a derogatory term if a woman uses this word to describe herself? If a gay called himself a "faggot" or a black man calls himself a "nigga/er", do this open the portal for the remainder of society to emulate this behavior toward that black man or that gay man? Or should it only be reserved for the user? (Maybe this is an entirely new blog post)


I’ve never been a proponent of using the word “bitch” as a general term of reference for women, however, a bitch is a female dog, correct? Are dogs not emotionally impulsive, only concerned about the present and continuously yapping about nothing? Well, if this is the case, then what other recourse could someone have but to call it how they see it?

-“If you act like a ho’, I’ma call you a ho’. Too many bitches is shady” – Jay-Z (Reasonable Doubt, 22 Two’s)

I’m just posing a couple of questions and looking for insight. I’m interested to know what you think. How do you define a bitch or a ho’? Also, are the terms bitch and ho’ gender exclusive? What do you think?

The Seeds of Black People have spawned... "The Black Seeds"

Reggae: Music genre that was established out of Jamaica that emphasizes the 2nd and 4th quarter notes on a measure.


Dub: A subgenre of Reggae, basically an instrumental remix of existing songs and may be accompanied by vocalizing.


Funk: A blend of soul music, jazz and R&B established in America.


All of these genres emerged out of the late 1960's and have continued to develop. We now see a culmination of these genres through the melodic swank of The Black Seeds. The Black Seeds began in Wellington, New Zealand in 1998. They didn't publish their first album until 2001 (Keep On Pushing LP).


They are an 8 piece band that utilizes vocals, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, bass, drums, bongos, keyboard and woodblock in the creation and performance process, the combination of all of these instruments sound AMAZING!!!


Some interesting information about the band, well, sort of about the band; it's actually about a former band member named Bret McKenzie. He broke off from The Black Seeds, teamed up with Jemaine Clement in New Zealand and formed a Grammy winning acoustic-comedy duo known as, "The Flight of The Conchords" . Check this out:

I'm getting ready to head to the station to present The Black Seeds on the The International Hustle. Please tune in!



101.3 on Korean Radio

or
http://tbsefm.seoul.kr, click on "On Air!" (upper right corner)


2:30PM Seoul, Korea time

12:30AM US Eastern Standard Time


Here's the title song from The Black Seeds latest CD Solid Ground (2008), "Slingshot". (Listen to the instrumentation in the song!) Peace ya'll!





~ Pinnacle, The International Hustler

"My Hip Hop is Better Than Your Hip Hop" says Great Britain to the US.

When is it ever acceptable for the pupil to outshine the master? How dare the British broadcast exceptional emcees as if they should even be mentioned in the same breath as American Hip Hop artists? I mean, Hip Hop was created as a representative manifestation for people of color to express themselves through their culture in the midst of blatant, oppressive conditions. To my understanding, the roots of America stem from the evasion of oppression from Great Britain. So when I hear of emcees like Scorzayzee, I can't help but wonder, what kind of oppression could he possibly face being a white male in Great Britain? Ironically, he thoroughly answers this question in his 2004 song, Great Britain. Scorzayzee is an amazing emcee, in the song, Great Britain, he gets right to it: "police brutality... slavery made the riches of Great Britain... you're politics are corrupt". This is Hip Hop, the definition of it, the reason that it has touched the hearts of millions because of relevant powerful emcees like Scorzayzee. Scorzayzee retired after the release of this song and has recently resurfaced with tunes that use masterful production to compliment his dynamic mic skills. This is the reason I've chosen Scorzayzee as my featured artist for tomorrow's International Hustle segment. Please tune in to 101.3 on your radio dials (in Korea) or http://tbsefm.seoul.kr and click the "ON AIR" button (The Steve Hatherly Show should be playing). The International Hustle begins at 2:30pm Seoul, Korea time or 12:30am US Eastern Standard Time. Here's a little preview of what you'll hear tomorrow...



~ Pinnacle, The International Hustler

Pinnacle & The Antidote - The New Era of Hip Hop? The New Era of Rock? ... Or... Both?

 We (Pinnacle & The Antidote) had a show last night. And it was phenomenal, the band was hyped up, the crowd's energy was amazing, which gave our entire band more to feed off of and give back to the crowd; which in turn gave the crowd more to feed from and give back to us... it was like an orgy smörgåsbord last night, everybody was feeding off of everybody else. Sounds sick huh? Well, I am sick a sick emcee; and the band is my antidote, so it's fitting. (And yes, sick, in many different uses of the word). So after the show, we encountered a barrage of compliments, comments and praise; and in the midst of the hugs, handshakes and hi-fives, there was one particular comment that stood out like a male at a fun-party. This middle aged white man walks up to me and daps me up; no, he did not give me a firm hand shake, he dapped me up! And he said, "I hate hip hop... but you were awesome!!!" The conversation progressed from there, but that comment really got me thinking. This is really not the first time that I've heard a similar comment, but I usually hear it from females or non-black males between 20 and 30. Why do so many people dislike Hip Hop? Is it because of the overuse of the materialism? Or the prevalence of misogyny? Is it because money + cars + clothes + hoes = successful? I suppose; but if art imitates reality then I have no business emphasizing that I need any of these material possessions to attain "success" because these are not where my values lie. Either way, I think it's powerful to be able to say Pinnacle & The Antidote has effectively converted non-Hip Hop lovers to the other side! MMWWAAHAHAHAHAHAA!!! However, the question still remains, what kind of band are we? Are we more of a Hip Hop band because we have a flashy, slick tongued emcee? Or are we more of a rock band because we boast a quartet of instruments used in a traditional rock band and our guitarist is a BEAST and exudes greatest through his searing guitar solos  Either way, Pinnacle & The Antidote is on the road to being, well, successful in our own right and we intend to continue to convert non-believers on our path. I just want to be... successful.



~ Pinnacle, The International Hustler

Neeraj Shridhar - The Indian Pop Music Sensation

The Indian Pop Sensation Neeraj Shridhar has been around since 1994 when he started the group Bombay Vikings. Bombay Vikings originated with Mats Nordenbord, Oscar Soderberg and, of course, Neeraj Shridhar as the group leader. The group was started in 1994, however, they didn't drop their first album until 1999, Kya Soorat Hai.

Currently, Bombay Vikings (with Neeraj Shridhar is the only remaining member) has been gaining substantial notoriety in the Indian Pop genre with the recent release of the song "Aai Paapi" for the Soundtrack of the Bollywood Film, Kismat Konnection.

On my radio show tomorrow, The International Hustle (2:30pm Seoul, South Korea time; 12:30 US Eastern Standard Time), I will be focusing on Neeraj Shridhar. I'll certainly play "Aai Paapi", his most recent song, Love Mera Hit Hit and I have one more song in the vault that I'll unveil live on the show!

Tune in by turning your radio dials to 101.3FM (if you're in South Korea) or directing your web browser to http://tbsefm.seoul.kr and click on the "Play Now" button in the upper left hand part of the screen.

Talk to you soon Hustlers! Peace!



~ Pinnacle, The International Hustler

The Fat Def Lady in The Sex Store

So, I heard about a hilarious story regarding my friend, uh, we'll call him Adam and the lady that he's currently sexually involved with; we'll call her Linda. So the dyad decided to press the envelope of their sexual relationship through S&M experimentation. Where can they find the essential equipment? A specialty sex store of course! These two travel for about an hour under the blanket of the stars to find the kinky establishment that they researched on the internet. Upon entering the parking lot they both bud with excitement at the sight of the gray dimly lit building that looks more like a big trailer than a store, but the lure of a new experience would require more than an shady looking building to deter them.


As they both climb out of the car, neither of them are speaking but are silently answering "yes" to the question that their eyes are asking, "are you sure about this?"

Upon entering the building, the scene was typical of what one would expect; in the front, an army of magazines whose subjects are devoid of clothing. Towards the middle of the store they found rows upon rows of DVDs brandishing similar subject matter as the magazines. Their gaze retreat from the DVDs and advanced upon the rear of store - to the toys. They casually stroll to the back of store glancing at the magazines, waving at the two workers behind the desk that they did not seem to notice as they entered the store, laughing at some of the titles of the DVDs and finally arriving in the play area. As they browsed through the selection they saw nipple pinchers, vibrating penis rings, clitoral stimulators, double ended dildos, double ended strap ons, sex swings and some devices that neither of them had ever seen or heard of. Fascinated by the variety of hardware Adam and Linda didn't notice the sales clerk approaching them. She was a white lady about 5 feet 8 inches tall, not necessarily obese, but very over weight with blonde hair and blue eyes; there really wasn't anything that stood out about her at all, until she opened her mouth. "Hano", she said, "ip dere anee ding ah can hehp ooh wih, pea neh mee no." Translation: Hello, if there's anything I can help you with, please let me know.

Simultaneously avoiding eye contact with each other and suppressing their insensitive giggles, they both politely declined. However, as soon as they returned to the car they looked at each other and exploded with laughter. Linda looks at Adam and says, "did we just get assisted in a sex store by a fat woman with a speech impediment?" Adam responds, "yes, yes we did; and now we must tell the world..."
 
~ Pinnacle, The International Hustler

Stepping Outside Of My Box and Into Yours

All of my life, I've played it safe... for the most part. However, even if I do play it safe, I've always strived to excel; I guess I'm a walking oxymoron, but who isn't? I've excelled at things that I was supposed to excel in: winning spelling bees, running for president/executive positions/founding various organizations, joining a fraternity, graduating from college. All of these may be worthy of merit, but they are still - safe. Safe endeavors seem to be sufficient for so many people. Go to school, get good grades, get a good job, marry and have kids then give them the same advice.

Well, I stopped playing it so safely about a year and a half ago when I was offered the opportunity to go to South Korea. At first I was a bit apprehensive about it, I mean, the thought of leaving my country (literally) had never crossed my mind. Leaving the city, sure - the state? Probably. The Country? Nah. And not only that, but to a country that I didn't even know anything about. Almost everybody in my family didn't like the idea of me going so far away; but I looked at it like this: If I stay in Cincinnati for the next year, I pretty much know what I'll be doing, working and kickin' it with the same people that I've been kicking it with all or most of my life, but if I do go to Korea, well, I'll have NO idea what's going to happen... And that's when playing it safe became a distant memory.

While in Korea I stepped my life up, I started obtaining more opportunities in the entertainment industry; I featured in a mainstream Korean movie called 이태원살인 (Itaewon Murder), I was on tv a couple of times, did a short film, started a band, obtained a plethura of performances, started The International Hustle Blog and now I have a regular spot on the radio! But all in all, my biggest accomplishment was becoming a better person. I've done and seen so many things in my past that I just shake my head at now and having the opportunity to leave everyone behind for over a year gave me so much time to think and gain clarity on myself, my relationships and my future. Well, I'm here now (here meaning my current position) I'm quite a distance from the starting line but even further from the finish, I have more bleeding, sweating and crying to do...

~ Pinnacle, The International Hustler