FanAddicts Sports

Well the past week we've witnessed some Highs and some Lows in the NYC Sports world. I'll start off talking about the Highs...Lets talk New York Football Giants. I really like what they did in this year's draft, they filled needs at wide reciever as well as sure up the future with picks like Virgina's Clint Sintim and Ucons William Beatty. Clint Sintim looks like a beast in the making, though i know he's years away from making it big, he'll fit perfectly when Pierce can go no more. Im a Huge Pierce fan, but watching him this year i did notice him losing a step or two. The pick i like the most is 6'6 WR Ramses Barden from Cal Poly. I think he went under the radar because of the school, but a lot of big time players WR's have gone to small schools...(Jerry Rice....nuff said) This guy can go and get it!! your not going to see a lot of 6'6 WR's out there. Like all picks, grooming needs to take place, but once he gets adjusted to his settings, i think this kid is going to shine. Hakeem Nicks is a great pick at 29. It was kind of a toss betweeen him and Kenny Britt, who I also like, but i never underestmate Jerry Reese's Drafting Skills.

Now the jets got Mark Sanchez that's all we need.

Birth of a Nation

If you teach a woman you teach a nation. It is the woman who is the caretaker of the family by nature. We've all seen how a man can become when he is ill. Women however have the built in drive to move past illness and get things done and keep a house/family in order.

Two weeks ago I traveled with my father and brother to meet up with my extended family for a special occasion. My Grandmother was celebrating another year of life on this planet. She started her family at a very young age and from that point has maintained the position of ROCK in our family. We made the pilgrimage down to South Carolina (my father's family roots) to be with her during this special time. (And eat some Chik Fil A)

When family gets together hugs and smiles are exchanged as well as family dirt and opinion. I got to spend some long overdue time with my aunt Laurie and gain some interesting perspective on what it's like to have my father as a brother and not a parent. You see how family traits and DNA flows through us all and we share similar ways of being. My sisters joined us down in SC on the third day of my trip as well as my younger cousins. There were four generations of Simmons family under one roof that day. The children of my Grandmother presented her with a commemorative plaque representing the family lines which flow from her. She is our root. She is the person who gave me important talks when I needed them to make sure I finished college. She provided the blueprint for what it meant to be family and provide for family.

It was great to watch my loved ones play and get to know each other on our family land. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to call something your own and commune with your own people in that space. Though this particular birthday was not a "milestone", I think it's very important to savor the time we have and make family holidays. Start a tradition amongst your own if there isn't one there. Create a day for the children. Create a day for the elders. Create the day in your image, thought and energy.

The 4th Annual DashaunWorld Freaky Deaky Fun Fest

I'm 30! However I'm still being told my 20s looks are in effect.
The place to be last Saturday was definitely White Rabbit over on E. Houston. The good people were very hospitable to my guests and I. With DJ Tahleim on the 1s and 2s tearing the place down, I was in store for an epic evening.

As I walked up Houston ready to cross Bowery I discovered my boys from HHK K-Dot and Murray. This put the evening in motion as last year the exact same thing happened. While walking the remaining blocks we talked about expectations for the evening and some goofball who kept pulling up in his Benz at the corner of each block to continuously blast "Pop Champagne" by Ron Browz.

When we got to the venue we were let in with no problem. There were about 4 guests waiting for me and the time was 10:40. I was told they were forced to listen to Soulja Boy while waiting for the party to start (sorry about that). As soon as we got situated, I gave my selected DVDs for the night (Wattstax and Big Trouble in Little China) to Tahleim and the party started. A little Rene & Angela started the night off on the right track (no pun intended).

As more people flowed into the space the music kept getting better. Shino arrived shortly after me with her work camera in tow. I had friends from all areas of my life show up. From my best friend in high school to folks I just met two weeks ago we all had a blast. Some serious dancers like Mecca and Saviour were up in the place. There was even a lil battle between Saviour and this asian cat who got hyped off some break beats.

The two highlights of the night for me was when a beautiful woman on Wattstax synced up with the music and got everyone in White Rabbit going crazy with her ill groove dance. And speaking of videos... check out the LOVE your boy gets from my friends out in Japan. Much love to the FUNNY? crew.


The second highlight was when I got hit with the surprise DELUXE cheesecake (and cheesecake minis) made by the beautiful Shino and delightful Lorraine (thank you both very much). I felt a great sense of love and togetherness in White Rabbit that night. Shame my mother had to babysit and thus couldn't make it. My father overslept and missed the party (OLD MAN!!!!)

So to those who missed out...you missed out (still love yall though). Those who were there, we did the kid n play, candy rain video dance, uprock battled and closed the place down. Thank you all for making a kid turning 30 feel like he just turned 13. I appreciate the love.

We are already live on another blog by the young lady Yumi. Peep game yall (lol in Japanese) Yumi's Blog

The pictures below were all taken by Shino Yanagawa (the great)















For the rest of the photo's check the link below.
HOT PHOTOS

The Man The Myth The MAXWELL is BACK!!!

I went to ran into Maxwell last year around August at a Prince Vs MJ party (which was off the hook) and got to speak with him. He told me his long awaited album was really coming soon and that he was on tour. He told me I should make sure the check him out when he hit NYC. I did just that a few months later in November when he tore the house down way uptown. One of the best concerts I've ever had the pleasure of attending. With a beautiful lady on my arm (and tears in her eyes...Maxwell does it what can I say?!?) I saw this man run though his three studio album bangers along with some new material. The new material just seemed ok. They didn't resonate with me when I saw them performed. However now I have the pleasure of presenting to you all one of those records. This is the first single/video off Maxwell's new long anticipated album BLACKSummers Night entitled Pretty Wings. ENJOY!

You Be The Judge...*smh*

There was a special on Popeye's chicken last week. I saw all the buzz about it on Twitter and Okayplayer.com. However I don't eat Popeye's because they use Lard to fry their food and overall it's just not healthy eating. As I saw folks on twitter going crazy about the deal I also saw reports and worries that the chain would run out of food with the huge demand this deal would bring. I read about stores being out of wings, thighs, hell all parts (can you believe that?). Now below I have two videos of newscasts documenting this very phenomenon. I hope we can all agree that chicken is a delicious food. People of all races creeds and colors enjoy a nice piece of the bird (if you eat chicken that is). I've been in a Popeye's in New Orleans and the place was flooded with people who do NOT share my hue. Now you look at these news clips and you be the judge. What's the agenda here? And from me to you my people... it's just chicken, go home and cook yall. PLEASE!

400 Club

I wasn't too sure what the outcome was going to be when I hooked up with Sye to pull off this recent mini production. Oas hooked us up and we just set out on a journey. It's been a minute since I got the chance to paint so I've been losing my mind slowly but surely waiting for the chance to bust off. BLAKA BLAKA BLAKA BLAOW

Sketches laid out so time to start going in.

Sye working on 1 of the 2 characters he did. I worked on the one in the middle.

Slowly starting to come together.

Slowly

Sye close to completion.

Almost there

Finished product SYE x VINS

We were supposed to do a BBoy theme and there are only 2 dudes that rock them the best with no contest, Doze and Dontay. So needless to say the fruit don't fall far from the tree and since it was Big Homey's BDAY we decided to pay homage to a great influence to us all. With his okay we rocked a few of his doodles because when Tay puts the pen to paper.....man look out cause its barbeque season and dudes are gettin flame broiled.

So on that note a Happy Physical to two very divine brothers, Dontay TC5 and the young blood of the MG Fam who just joined the 3hundo club, Dashaun. Also to my nephew Supreme Being who just turned 10. Peace and all praises due my brothers & nephew, SALUTE!!!

FanAddicts Sports

Welcome to the Fanaddicts portion of Mothergreen. Where we discuss everything in sports and give you our insight of the weeks past. With Baseball underway, the NFL draft, Basketball finals, & the Rangers in search of a Stanley Cup. Fanaddicts will introduce a format called vloging where your hosts Fun Boy Lasalle & O dogs Paulino will come live. Weekly Q&A's, fantasy links, stats on the current games, players & open opinions on whatever is on your mind. You'll be able to email us your comments at Fanaddicts@mothergreen.com.

Here some pictures of your hosts @ the Mets Game on Saturday vs the Brewers.







The Lasalle Family are True Blue Mets Fans.

Creator of Worlds

Since the age of about 8 or 9 I've had a love for Comic Books. It really was one of the things that helped develope my mind as a young artist. Occasionally I still go and buy some especially when I've hit a block creatively.

Recently I have found a new love for Pen & Ink drawings and the simplicity of black and white art. Even though comic books aren't all black and white you still learn a lot from how the initial sketches are first laid out which leads me to this post. I am sure a lot of you (especially those into comic books) have heard the name Jack Kirby, a New York City native who helped to create some of the names we love when it comes to sci-fi/action movies. If you haven't then let me say this, his name should be said in the same breath as Stan Lee of Marvel Comics. Not only was he at Marvel but he also was at DC Comics as well.


I'm sure many people will have different opinions on their favorite artists and who created or was the best contributor to what but hands down Jack Kirby changed the game for sure. Just look at some of his works and peep the video clips.

Old School Mondays

Happy Monday to all.. I hope the weekend was good to everyone as it was for me, the weather was great! Let me jump start the week with some goodies, I'm gonna take a little trip to the Queens side...


Now this was one of the athem's for the summer of 92. I use to kill this in my Vdub, beach parties..Things yall kids can't do no more lol..



Corona Queens babyyyyy. Now you tell me what's real...



I gotta give my people's from the Waste Landz props for puttin the hood on the map.



Now the reason why this goes in cause I said so...LOL this is my family from another side of my life.. Lord Ezec, Hoya, Jere, MQ, Vinz, Eli, Noid, DMS Queens NYC...many more WW.



Had to put the ladies on...

Power of a Dollar (minus a penny)

So after reading about how dope the 99 cent jammy was you wish you were there right? Right. So I can't transport you back in time (yet), but I can take you to the super dope video that was shot of the event by the homie Ali. His camera work is exceptional. This way you get to feel the energy of the event and peep some of the dope music being performed. Also make note of how dope that Billboard shirt looks in the limelight. Stop playing with it and go cop yours in the MotherGreen store mang!

Che Grand's 2nd Annual 99 cent jammy from Boombaye' on Vimeo.

More Bang for Your Buck (well 99 cents actually)

So the other night I went out to support the homie Che Grand and his 2nd Annual 99 Cent Party. It was held at this cool performance Annex down in the LES. I got an IM from the brother Che inquiring about some MG gear to rock at the show. We missed an opportunity to support one another in the past and this was the time to get that right. When I arrived with Shino we ran right into Che who was visibly nervous/crazy with the pressure of the nights event. You gotta respect the man's hustle to get his music out and build his fanbase by doing events like this. Other than Che other "Lessondary" acts were on the bill to perform like Tanya Morgan and Spec Boogie. My man Darrin was the host of the evening. The first act was a young woman named Tiara Wiles. Her set was pretty cool with a lot of energy. The crowd was cool and the numbers were very decent.

Next up was Che Grand who quickly grabbed the mic and jumped right into a few jams. One noticeable song was the title track off his upcoming album "Everything's Good Ugly" coming out... someday. This song featured the lead singer from the band Heavy, Nicky (who's quite easy on the eyes) and it was a well rounded song. Che's performance was mixed in with assistance from the guys Von Pea and Donwill providing additional stage presence and vocal power. Spec Boogie did his thing for sure. His song sampling the We Love Radio jingle from Do The Right Thing is official tissue. Another Lessondary artist Elucid came with some really strong grimey songs. I appreciated his energy.

My energy went up 10 fold when the Bol Che re-emerged from backstage during the Lessondary medley rocking that good MG Billboard shirt (go to the store section to cop that). The MotherGreen movement is moving slowly but surely. You want to check out the store portion  of www.mothergreen.com and purchase some of that good good to show out this Spring/Summer.

The evening was topped off with a premier of Che Grand's video featuring my boy Darrin from Sankofa. The name of the song is Girl Talk. I'm digging the momentum yall are generating for real guys.

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to support Che Grizzly and thanks to Che for supporting MotherGreen. Also special thanks to Shino for helping with taking pictures for the night. Enjoy her contribution below.

Tiara Wiles


Ali and Stephanie

Von Pea and Spec Boogie

Che and Nicky Guiland

Mother Green Fam 

Che doing it up with Tanya Morgan's Von Pea hyping the crowd.

We On Fire!

Darrin from Sankofa and friend

Che and Donwill from Tanya Morgan. Nicky in the background.

Brooklyn's own Dee Phunk and your's truly reppin that MG

Party People (c) Afrika Bambatta

Old School Mondays

A happy Monday to you all. This edition of Old School Mondays is sponsered in part by the good dancers of the late 80s early 90s. We salute you.

Gettin' Funky


This is my favorite Kid N Play Song of all time. If you are at my bday party in two weeks this WILL be played.



What yall know about Bed Stuy's own Chubb Rock. Shouts out to Hot Dog.



CONEY ISLAND!!!! Man this was such a precious time for me. Do the Biz Mark!



Juice Crew running ish! This song is pure bang our material. You hear that piano and it's over.

MICHAEL JACKSON - DON'T STOP TIL YOU GET ENOUGH
Uploaded by hushhush112

The King of this with the left hook. I know yall didn't see this one coming.

Old School Mondays

Here we are again at the top of the week. I'm starting to look forward to Mondays now even more. Almost how O looks forward to it during football season. I dug up some goodies but you know how it goes when you're looking for a specific thing you end up coming across everything else.

Another favorite from Positive K and MC Lyte. "I'm cool and calm, my tone is mild you don't see me snatching chains and acting all wild"

"Radio, TV and even the press wanna the know meaning of this word...V-A-P-O-R-S". Very true till this day. The Diabolical Biz Markie.

Philly has been reppin for a long time. Gotta give it up to E.S.T the "Overlord of Fresh"....3xD (Three Times Dope)

Now Bringing it over to the West Coast and still keeping it Funky for ya!!! The D.O.C.

DOC Feat Dr Dre & Eazy E - It's Funky Enough
Uploaded by giorgioard

Still Keeping it Funky and hitting you with another shot of Cosmic Slop - Parliament Funkadelic like no other.

Okay Last one cause I got carried away. The Funkiest Man Alive Rufus Thomas. Bluster passed me the Documentary a while back and man it was so high powered. It captured LA during the 70's like crazy. If you ever get a chance do yourself a favor and look up Wattstax.

Obama Fried Chicken. Where Do You Stand?

So when I first saw a picture of a chicken spot in Harlem being renamed Obama Fried Chicken I thought nothing of it. Maybe it was a joke or you know... maybe it was real. I honestly couldn't care less. Today I am on Okayplayer (my home away from home) and I read that there is more than one "Obama" restaurant AND there is one in my old neighborhood of Brownsville.

As one could imagine there are differing opinions regarding the renaming of this hood eatery. After reading the swipe posted on the Okayplayer boards it appears that my city council representative Charles Barron (who I'm a strong supporter of... though I'm still registered in Brownsville and can't vote for him because of it) is against the new name. He finds calling a fried chicken "restaurant" Obama Fried Chicken offensive as it reminds folks of some ugly stereotypes placed upon my community. While I see what he's saying, I can't stand with him on this one. Before this situation became a reality myself and many other Hood USA residents enjoyed many an unhealthy meal from Kennedy Fried Chicken, Crown Fried Chicken and Royal Fried Chicken (which this particular restaurant used to be called). I would get down on an Italian Cheeseburger(don't ask) from Kennedy Fried back in my teenage years.

A president is a president to me. Sure for the neighborhood this particular chicken spot is in they can relate to the president whose name graces this awning in Brooklyn. The owner seemed proud to have his restaurant named after the 1st African American President. I'm proud that it's in my neighborhood. I don't think it's offensive at all. This is no bullet through a monkey situation. This is a good business idea and something the people can smile about in Brownsville. Now if we can just get them to stop eating the terrible food that's cooked in there the real victory will be won (Pick up some veggies yall PLEASE). However in the mean time the Obama Snack Box will have to do.

Photo taken from
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0331092chicken1.html

Super Soaker

At first I wasn't going to post this just because I didn't want it to sound like a fluff piece. After a beautiful day outside the other day I thought to myself summer is right around the corner and it's time for us to start planning things to do with our families and getting the crew together. So here's a little thing on a recent trip to PA.

We visited Great Wolf Lodge, if you haven't heard of it and have children between the ages of 5-12 then this would be the place to go. Don't get me wrong, its good for all ages but I think it's ideal for kids that age. We all went and the prices were moderate. Something I would think people nowadays are concerned about.

The first view is always like....like...WOOOOooooowwww

Very Serious People!!!

1,000 gallons being dumped on us..oh for fun

The boys relaxing for a moment before attacking all the rides over and over and over and over and over .......you get the point.

Something that kept them busy, Magiquest Game. Literally all the kids were running around the lodge playing this game almost till midnight.

Here they are being inducted to the Magiquest game and are apprentice Magi

The Trees help you choose your next adventure or task searching for all kinds of treasures and clues.

Checking to see what items have been collect so far.

Aside from the indoor park we noticed when we drove up the outside pools they had which were huge! When we walked in and all I thought about is a game my nephew used to play some time back which allows you to build your own water/amusement park. It just seemed crazy but the rides...the rides are fun for all kids (even big kids at heart)!! Take some time and go but I wouldn't spend more than 3 days there. I am sure the kids won't be disappointed.