Spec Boogie - Bed Stuy

This is a Spec Boogie banger right here. Directed and edited by Ali Santana. My beautiful home of Brooklyn. You gotta love it.

Enjoy.

Spec Boogie - Bed Stuy from Boombaye' on Vimeo.

The Gentrification Of Brooklyn : The Pink Elephant Speaks

I've been getting the word about this art show from a couple of friends in different circles. It's going to be at MOCADA so it should be really dope. I know my friend Ali Santana is contributing a video piece. If you've been following my writings at all you should know that I'm not a fan of the rapid change that's been happening in Brooklyn. While some things have been to the good, (healthier choices for eateries, more outlets for art) others have not been (displacement of people, higher rents, smug outsider inhabitants).

I'm looking forward to this exhibit providing a unique look into these issues and many more.
I'll see you there.


MOCADA

Opening "Set it Off" Reception
Thursday, February 4, 2010
6:00pm - 9:00pm Free to the public
MoCADA (80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY)

Mos Def - History Feat. Talib Kweli (Official Video)

Hip Hop Karaoke Championship 1st Round

Tonight at Brooklyn's South Paw it's going down. My man Josh Diggs fresh from the altar along with J New and DJ Wex are giving us another HHK Championship. This time there will be qualifying rounds leading up to the big night. Tonight is going to be a lot of fun and if you've never experienced HHK I weep for you.

The sign up starts at 9pm and show starts at 10.
It's 5 bucks with the flyer and 8 without.

See you there and if you need convincing...

Back In The Days w/ DJ Shark

Another night in Deity where folks were getting down to the sounds of my man DJ Shark. I was pretty battered from a sparring session earlier in the evening however I still made it over to the party. You see this was a makeshift birthday party for Shark San and his lovely wife Kazumi was leaving to go back to Japan in a few days so it a special occasion. The turnout was really good. I ran into my homegirl Cynthia in the place to be with a friend in town from the Bay Area. The music was tight as Shark moved smoothly through the mid 90s with uptempo grooves like Janet Jackson's "Alright" and Wrecks N Effect's "New Jack Swing". A lot of my Japanese friends were in the house.

It was good to see people like Toru and Harue having such a good time. I even ran into my friend Hiroko who I haven't seen in months. She seemed to be in good spirits and fit right into the fold of the evening. There was this one Japanese cat dressed in a Cross Colors jacket (you heard me right) and a flat top dancing mega hard. On the flip side was this older Black dude who kept dancing very weird with every woman in the place trying to corner them off for who knows what. You could see many women running from him throughout the night.

All and all it was a good time at Deity. It could always be better though, especially once they get better speakers with more bottom in the basement.

Check these photos provided by Ivan Lam.

Hands Off My Brooklyn Neighborhoods!

Recently I was in the market for a new apartment in Brooklyn. I'm finally taking the big step out of East New York (where the manic depressive psycho murderers stalk). As I looked through the different craigslist postings and real estate websites I got very upset.

First of all lets get something straight, I've been living in Brooklyn all 30 years of my life. I've spent time in Flatbush, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, you name it I've walked there. These real estate maps are trying to tell me that Flatbush doesn't start until after Church Ave. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Also the area known as Lefferts Gardens is within Flatbush just for your information. Flatbush starts at Empire Blvd. Prospect Heights while it's a neighborhood now was only a high school when I grew up. There was no such neighborhood to my knowledge. Clinton Hill...only within Clinton and Washington on THAT HILL going between Fulton and about Myrtle. Now I got people telling me that Franklin and Dekalb is Clinton Hill, WRONG it's Bed Stuy.

I know there are still some Brooklynites out there who know the deal. Don't let these outsiders come and tell you what your neighborhood is. Reclaim the streets and buy property. Lets dictate how we live and who we live with. If you don't yours could be the next Williamsburg (unless you're into that sort of thing *smh*).

Michael Jackson's Prospect Park Extravaganza

Photos by Shino Yanagawa

Rain? What rain? Thousands of people came out to Prospect Park on the 51st anniversary of the birth of The Man The Myth The Legend Michael Joseph Jackson. It felt like the whole park was in on the celebration. As I walked with Ms. Shino into the park we saw lines of people walking ahead. The workers of the parks department were very nice and seemed almost happy for us to be there. As we walked up through the path leading to the open area where the event was taking place I saw a group of little kids dressed like the Scarecrow and the Tin-man from The Wiz. You gotta love it.

We continued walking to hear the sounds of MJ blaring through the air. I looked out at a sea of people. Never before have I seen so many folks in Prospect Park in my life. There were barricades up separating sections of people so the parks dept. could keep order. A number of NYPD folks were on deck but no one seemed to be on edge. There was so much love in the park that day you could feel it. At first we were told we couldn't go into the main front area where I could see my friends from afar dancing it up. So feeling a little defeated we walked along side the gate figuring out what to do. After running into a few friends we were given the idea to have someone try to bring us in as if we were already there. Shino told a park worker and then a police officer a wonderful tale on the spot which was sort of true to get us in. That tale along with our friend Lorraine waving an armband in the air (which had nothing to do with the day's event) telling the cop to let us in sealed the deal. The officer escorted us into the coveted section and it was on like popcorn.

Through the day I saw plenty of friends and family come through. We danced til we couldn't dance any more in the heat and under the rain. DJ Spinna did an excellent job weaving in well known classic Michael records with under the radar Jackson gems. For those who decided not to go because of the rain...you really missed out. I was a part of two HUGE electric slides that day. Spike Lee, Rev. Al Sharpton , Ed Lover and Tracy Morgan took turns being the MCs for the event. Plenty of michael impersonators were on deck and the kids...I can't say enough about the kids. They had the most fun. The whole place even sang along in Karaoke to "The Way You Make Me Feel".

We miss you Michael but Brooklyn will always uphold your spirit. Here's the pics from Shino Yanagawa.

John Forte On Good Day New York (Video)

My brother John Forte, out of jail and active. This video interview of him on Good Day New York is a nice piece in the larger puzzle of his rise back on the scene. The song he performs "Play My Cards For Me" is signature Forte since the I John album to me. Take a look and cop the Style Free EP off of iTunes.

I'm happy to see him happy and doing what he loves free of bars and regret.

Chin Chin - That's Where I'll Be (Official Video)

One of my favorite bands repping Brooklyn has a new video. Chin Chin smooth it out with another record from The Flashing And The Fancing album. I love these guys. Come out to Brooklyn and see them this Tuesday Aug. 11th with TV on the Radio live in Prospect Park.

56 Miles and Riding

Photos by Shino Yanagawa
Words by Dashaun Simmons

This past weekend my man Dan sent out a text for a ride on Saturday. I haven't had a big ride in a while on the ole bike so I was down. The team consisted of Shino and myself, Dan, Hue, Keith and Divine. We met up at Prospect park and after some delay departed to head down Ocean pkwy towards Brighton Beach. However on the way we planned to get some Di Fara but when we saw the double long lines we decided to just get a banana, a water and keep it moving. By this time my other friends Richard and Kris were en route from Bed Stuy to meet us.

Back on the trail of Ocean Pkwy we encountered a group of riders who seemed to be enjoying the day just much as we were. The ride down Ocean Pkwy was scenic, filled with trees and beautiful homes. That's a stretch of Brooklyn that I feel is often missed by most. Once we reached Brighton Beach we made a left at the boardwalk and walked down to the Sheepshead Bay end. This is where Kris and Rich joined our party and we broke out in search of food.



We found a pizza shop under the B train in an area I'd never been in before. The pizza was good and after some sustenance we were off to reach the Belt Pkwy bike path headed towards Queens. This was my first time seeing the actual "Sheepshead Bay". It's a nice area with restaurants and nice homes. It didn't even seem like we were in NY let alone Brooklyn.



Once on the Belt we rode to Canarsie Pier and found a couple of cats flying kites along with a food truck to sell us water and Gatorade. We then continued along the water passing fishermen and small (dirty) beaches passing East New York and leaving the borough. Shino yelled out when she noticed the sign "Welcome To Queens". This was the first time we rode into Queens.

Queens led us to ride up Cross Bay Blvd and head across a bridge to reach Far Rockaway (this is where Kris and Rich got off our crazy ride). Once in Far Rockaway we reached the beach on the west side of the island. As we walked up to the boardwalk after my suggestion to look at their water compared to Coney Island Divine turned to me and said "I'll go in the water if someone goes with me". As we got to the sand I looked out and I couldn't believe that the water was CLEAN! Divine, Shino and all all got in the water and felt so relaxed after a long ride.

After relaxing and talking on a bench for a while we got back on the bikes and rode to the end of the island. Right before getting on the bride we spotted a food truck and got down on some knishes and hot dogs. At this point the sun was setting and you could see all of the riders hitting the bridge to head home. The ride home was sweet and I would do it all over again in a second.

Hardcore Gentlemen - Hardcore Gentlemen

The world is missing music like this. Show some love to these cats right here. This is the 15th anniversary of this groundbreaking record. (LOL)

Seriously though cop the album Brooklynatti by Tanya Morgan if you don't already have it. I love the feel of the album. Anyone who's looking for a well crafted hip hop album in these days in times should check these brothers out.

Check the joint.

Buckshot & KRS One - Robot

I can't even front, this is a dope record/video. The boys did their thing with this. See what happens when you let Ruck run the label (ha).

Peep Game

The BBQ to end all BBQs

The date was July 4th and the place to be was Brooklyn, NY. I woke up to see the sun shining bright and the sky as clear as the skin on a 1 year old. Today was the day that as a nation we celebrate the rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air. Somewhere in planet Brooklyn Dj Spinna was preparing for his 9th annual Rebel Music Cookout BBQ.

This is a BBQ that's so crazy there's security at the front gate. We are not talking about a party in the Hamptons here, we were in Clinton Hill Brooklyn people. I arrived with my invited guests and our contributions to the event (water, chips, beer etc.). We had to wait a little bit for the music to get set up but once we heard that first song it was on like popcorn.

With DJ Spinna and Kim Lightfoot on the 1's and 2's we did it up real nice going through sets of soul, disco, house, raggae and hip hop. The man of the moment was of course the no longer living legend Michael Joe Jackson. We danced the day and night away to some great tunes in between throwing down some bbq chicken, rice and peas, mac and cheese you know the basics. I ate well and danced even more. This was the destination for all the beautiful people from the babies to the grown ups. There was plenty of water and food for everyone.

After the Spinna BBQ my boy Danny put me up on a rooftop party downtown BK that he was spinning at. It seemed to become the unofficial after party for the Spinna Event. The music was eh but the view was beautiful. Nice way to end the night especially when you are on your bike.

Thanks to Keita and Spinna and the whole Keistar family for putting together one hell of an event. Here's a few flicks from Shino Yanagawa to see what you missed.