“Other People’s Property” is a very good book that is at its best when its author acts like a DJ. But don’t get it twisted: [Jason] Tanz sees hip-hop as text more than as sonic phenomenon or, for that matter, stone groove. “Other People’s Property” is made up of nine journalistic pieces, each a mix of reportage and personal reflection about race and the industry of hip-hop. It’s freaky, equally in love with Western philosophers such as Jean Baudrillard and the classic albums from hip-hop’s golden era. In a very hip-hop effort to get his shine on, the author mashes up his prose, cutting in and out of reportage and confessional styles.
This cutting edge documentary not only unmasks the faces of seven individuals addicted to graffiti, but it exposes their thoughts, feelings, faults and fears — an avenue unrivaled by any graff film to date[…]”Graffiti is like the United Nations. There is a representative from all corners of the earth. Black, white and the many shades in between, man or woman.”
This cutting edge documentary not only unmasks the faces of seven individuals addicted to graffiti, but it exposes their thoughts, feelings, faults and fears — an avenue unrivaled by any graff film to date[…]”Graffiti is like the United Nations. There is a representative from all corners of the earth. Black, white and the many shades in between, man or woman.”
Their music is infectious, spirited and uplifting, a unique fusion of West African rhythms, roots reggae and traditional folk music. Their personal stories as refugees from a brutal civil war are harrowing and inspirational. They are a symbol of hope, and today, prior to their debut performance at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars announced that they are committing themselves to helping the world’s nine million refugee youth.
As interstate traffic rumbled overhead, and people driving and walking by stared curiously, [Jeral] Tidwell’s aerosol cans hissed as they spat out hues of black, green and brown. Tidwell wasn’t arrested. He wasn’t hassled. In fact, the city is encouraging him and other artists to use the concrete walls in the East Market Arts District as their canvas.
“I will never stray away from my people,” raps native artist Hellnback. The theme of community finds yet another artery in the great circulatory system of contemporary hip hop culture. You may not be familiar with this particular community of native hip hop artists, or Res Rappers, but the scene is growing rapidly, from the urban epicentre of Edmonton to the rural plains of both Canada and the U.S.
For Brian Shafton, an RBC partner, jailhouse marketing makes obvious sense. “Prisons are great because you have an incredibly captive audience that has a lot of entertainment time on its hands,” Shafton said. “These people are definitely influential, and not just in the prisons,” he said. “A lot of these guys are still calling shots in the outside world. You look in some of these urban communities and you see some of these pimps and gangsters as the governors of the ghetto.”
