ERASE RACISM

This is one of the dopest records of all time, and one of my favorites at the mo.
Kool G Rap drops in with one of the most ridiculous verses, 'Don't be foolish if your Jewish or Hindu/The racial menu is the evil that men do!'
Then Big Daddy Kane comes pretty correct with a smooth, nonchalant verse.
And The Diabolical Biz Markie takes the chorus, he also produced the beat, which is mad laidback and actually very beautiful. Tracks just don't get made like this in 2009, that sound good and mean something. 1990 was a good year.
PCE

SELF DESTRUCTION

This track was made 20 years ago. Have things really changed? Not really, we still have young people killing each other.
It's strange to me because a lot of people nowadays, are dressing like Big Daddy Kane or Heavy D because they think it's cool and trendy. But do they really know what Kane and the Heavster stood for? Check it out...

YOU MUST LEARN!

KRS ONE, The Teacher, dropping serious knowledge. It's a shame rappers don't really get down like this nowadays. 50 cent only promotes guns, violence, and capitalism. His message is one of ignorance not enlightenment. It's almost nuts to me cos the things KRS is talking about still don't get taught in schools today, I had to listen to this record to find out!

Also check what KRS has to say about Obama. Very interesting...

FIGHT THE POWER!

PUBLIC ENEMY



Chuck D and Flava Flav get political long before the days of Flava of Love!
Directed by Spike Lee for the soundtrack of my favourite film, DO THE RIGHT THING.
Also check the high tops and the size of Flav's clock!



Check the moves!

NEXT LIFETIME

The past, the future, reincarnation, civil rights. Erykah is very deep!

FROM FLAMINGOS TO FUGEES

Sound familiar?



This is why...

OUTKAST-ATLiens

Watch this Outkast video for the track 'Elevators' very carefully, as I am about to break down the esoteric/occult/ hidden meanings and symbols within the video scene by scene.

0:00- The first shot of the video is one where the camera zooms into the earth and we see a group of people, mainly black making their way through a forest. This group of people represents the Israelites, a wandering tribe making their way through the forest of life. The forest setting is very significant because it demonstrates a link between man and nature which has arguably been lost in modern times. If you look carefully the group have an Alsatian with them. This is almost certainly a reference to the star Sirius B, which is the brighest star in the night sky and also known as the 'dog star' or 'wolf star'.

0:20-We see a boy reading a comic book called, 'ATLiens- An Outkast Encounter'. This is included in the video because comic books are a medium where many occult, esoteric and scientific principles are explored. Also the title of the comic contains the word 'encounter', which reminds me of Steven Spielberg's film, 'Close Encounters Of the Third Kind', in which music is used to communicate with extra terrestrials.

0:25 We see Andre Benjamin creeping through a classroom. This is because he is literally about to take you back to school and drop some serious knowledge on you, both visually and aurally.
Andre 3000 is also wearing a turban, probably to draw a link between modern-day African-Americans and Canaanites/Israelites who used to wear turbans in the Holy Land. Similar head gear was also rocked by Native Americans such as the Cherokee.
Also the school system in America is particuarly well known for leaving out a large chunk of History concerning peoples with a high concentration of melanin.

1:20 Andre throws his Mortar Board or square academic hat away in favour of his turban. He is dismissing western tradition in favour of a more ancient, esoteric tradition.

2:20 We observe what looks like personnel from the U.S army and two men dressed in plastic radiation suits hot on the heels of the wandering tribe. These suits remind me of the Men In Black movies, starring Will Smith. This is exactly what these people in the video are meant to represent; a government agency trying to keep something unknown or ALIEN under wraps.

3:10-3:43 Andre 3000 touches a tree, but when the government agent looks at the tree using his special eyewear the tree exudes some kind of alien residue. Also when the agents look at Oukast throught their binoculars they are cleary shown to be aliens. Why is this? There are two possible explanations: firstly, Outkast are saying that they are aliens, and they believe their ancestors came from outer space. Or they are saying that we are 'outcasts' or 'aliens' in the sense that we are so unique and don't follow the norm or tradition thus we remain outsiders, outcasts or aliens. Also this track comes from the album ATLiens, released in'96. There weren't many rap crews in those days from the ATL, this also represents their alien or outsider status.

3:55 The final scene of the video shows the wandering tribe reach their destination, a city containing many pyramids, an obelisk and only black people. This is meant to be the promised land. This scene is meant to remind us of Egypt, because of all the pyramids, but it is not necessarily so, because there are pyramids all over the world including modern day America, China and all over Africa.

Outkast and the director of the video have done a very good job alluding to many myths, esoterica and history in their video and interweaving it all so seamlessly. This video is absolutely teaming with clues to the thinking of the group if you just know where to look.

PEACE

SPACE IS THE PLACE

SUN RA is one of the dopest musicians to ever live. An incredible jazz pianist and arranger, he invented space jazz. He created a whole free-jazz, heliocentric, intergalactic movement in the New York Jazz scene which he has been at forefront for the last five decades.
SUN RA is a very high mined guy, he says that when he was at university he somehow went to Saturn and he performed music there, and the people on Saturn told him the Earth was in chaos and he needed to speak to the world through music. This was in 1937, a whole ten years before the concept of UFOS and aliens had entered the popuular consciousness! His name refers to Ra the Egyptian Sun deity, SUN RA's intergalactic philosophy and interest in Black History certainly manifests itself in his music, this seems to be a theme that has remained in Black music ever since.
His music has influenced Cali beatmaker Madlib and the great George Clinton. Above all SUN RA understood that music is not just a form of aural pleasure or entertainment but it was more than that. Music is a very powerful tool and SUN RA believed if used in the right way it could transform the planet, bring peace and understanding by altering people's conciousness. Sun Ra's music is about thinking beyond the perimeters of your daily existence and shifting your thinking to a more cosmic scale.





SUN RA 1914-1993

WAKE UP!

This 'record industry insider' breaks down the links between Hip-Hop and secret fraternal orders such as the Illuminati and the Freemasons.

MY PRESIDENT IS BLACK

So Obama made it through the inauguration. All I can say is I'm glad his security was so tight!
The fact that Obama is now the President of the USA represents a huge racial, cultural and political shift from George W. Bush.
A few people have been telling me that he's a puppet of the New World Order, or a distraction from some evil, corporate agenda. But if you actually listen to his speech, I don't think he sounds like a puppet, the bredda is deep and he had some inspiring things to say on the current state of the world. He talks about tackling global warming and the environment, peace and global responsibilty and leadership. Check it out...



Whilst I may think talking about politics and the colour of your car in the same sentence is ridiculous, I do think Jay-z has it spot on when it comes to my sentiments on Obama...

SPACE MUSIC

Anyone who knows me really well will know that I really like music that sounds like it should be in a sci-fi movie or a video game. I think the same reason I really like music that contains space-like sounds in it is the same reason that people are interested in space and many artists allude to the cosmos in their music. We are not alone.
For eons man has gazed at the sky and understood by the sheer volume of stars and the infinite nature of the galaxy that we are not alone. No musician better understood this than George Clinton, who pretty much invented Funk and headed the group Parliament Funkadelic. On his 1975 LP 'Mothership Connection', the album cover artwork depicts George looking pretty funky, chilling out the side of a spaceship amongst a cluster of star nebulae. This is one of the most overt references in popular music to the human races possible extraterrestrial origins and for those familiar with their history, many ancient cultures have recorded the presence of alien life in their myths and textures.
The Dogon people who live in the Homburi Mountains near Timbuktu have known about the existence of a star called Sirius B for hundreds of years, NASA only photographed it for the first time in 1970!George Clinton's Hit Song 'Atomic Dog' released in 1982, is a reference to Sirius B, which is also known as the Dogstar.

SOUTHERN CALI SPACE FUNK

I recently copped Dam-Funk's 'Rythym Trax' LP and 'Burgundy City' 12" both available on Stones Throw Records and released recently in 2008.
Dam-Funk is one of the illest producers to be doing it right now out in the West Coast. His relaxed, synthesized, cosmic, futuristic sounding funk beats bring a smile to my face whenever I put them on.

Dam is very forward thinking, he utilises old synthesizers and drum machines from the 70's and 80's to achieve a new sound.If you like daft-punk,dubstep, g-funk and/or west coast Dre beats, the chances are you'll probably like Dam-Funk.

Also in an interview on 1Xtra's Deviation with Benji B, Dam-Funk confessed to an intense interest in space, the stars and extraterrestrial life. But that's a next chapter...

LIVE AND LET DIE

I also bought the album Kool G. Rap & Dj Polo- Live and Let Die released in 1992 on Cold Chillin Records.
Kool G. Rap is one of the first eva breddas who had a masters degree in jacking people to get a record deal. But he actually raps very well, and his style has undoubtedly influenced many of the greats such as Nas and Ghostface.
He was a member of the legendary Juice Crew, whose members included Big Daddy Kane, Marley Marl and Biz Markie.
The album contains the classic cut, 'Ill Street Blues' where Kool G. expounds his great knowledge of street culture in Queens, New York.

FUNKY TECHNICIAN

I just bought the Lord Finesse & Mike Smooth- Funky Technician LP which was made in 1990 and released on Wild Pitch Recordings.
Lord Finesse is one of the dopest punchline rappers of all time. He's where Big L got his whole style from. Also the song 'Bad Mutha' is blatently where Nas got the idea to sample James Brown on his track 'Get Down'.
Lord Finesse is a member of the legendary D.I.T.C (Diggin In The Crates), whose members include Showbiz and A.G, Buckwild, Diamond D, Big L, Lord Finesse, O.C, and Fat Joe.
The only producers on the LP are Premier, Diamond D, Showbiz and Mike Smooth, who pretty much ensure every beat of funky boom bap comes correct.
D.I.T.C are one of the illest hiphop crews of all time.
Lord Finesse is the illest.
Don't Sleep.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GXEW9sxiagE

Higher Minded

Welcome to the Higher Minded blog. Where we will be bringing you everything from the ground up all the way to the upper echelons of the universe and back down again.
We will be dissecting all aspects of culture, politics, religion, and philosophy. But we will focus mainly on what we know best which is Hip Hop, Fashion, Film and London.
PEACE