Shock G of Digital Underground Remembers Tupac Shakur - by Davey D

Shock G of Digital Underground speaks on his time with 2Pac photo credit: ani yapundzhyan

As we look back on the life and times of Tupac Amaru Shakur we decided to dig in the crates and pull out an old interview we did with Shock G of Digital Underground. Here Shock G says his proudest moment was hearing 2 Pac talk about how his fondest years were spent being a part of the DU camp.

In this interview Shock G talks about the importance of 2Pac in Hip Hop culture and why he and his band mates would drop everything to accommodate 2Pac’s needs.

“There’s a time for comedy and being funny and there’s a time to be serious. When it came to 2Pac his message was too important to play around” , Shock G noted “He got the best we had.”

In this interview Shock G loans some keen insight into who 2Pac really was and they complimented each other. It’s a fitting tribute for someone who meant so much for so many.

Remembering 2Pac pt1

Shock G of Digital Underground speaks about the first time him and 2Pac met up. He explains why Pac became a member of the group and who was the person most responsible for putting him on..

Remembering 2Pac pt2

Shock G talks about the influence Digital Underground had on 2Pac and the influence Pac had on DU. In particular they focus on the way both had multiple personas i.e. Humpty Hump & Makavelli that they build their albums around.

Remembering 2Pac pt3

Here Shock G goes in and talks about the influence of the Black Panthers. What many people don’t realize is that DU started out being a militant, Public Enemy type group that was an off shoot of the Black Panthers. The only reason, why they didn’t continue in that vein was because Public Enemy hit the scene first. Shock talks about the ways the Black Panthers shaped 2Pac as both a freedom fighter and a rapper.

Remembering 2Pac pt4

We conclude our interview with Shock Gtalking about why Digital Undergroundsaved their best tracks and hardest efforts for 2Pac. Shock said Pac’s message was too serious to be playing around and so whenever he needed top shelf material he got it.. We talked about 2Pac and political prisoners and what he would be doing to help out his ‘aunt’ exiled political prisoner Assataa Shakur. Shock also goes in and explains what it means to be a revolutionary.

written by Davey D

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Monday Night Football Recipes: Layered Mexican Dip

This dip can be made during the day or even the night before, so you can come home, sit down and eat during the game.

8 oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz sour cream
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 c shredded cheese
chopped lettuce
diced onion
diced tomato
sliced olives


Mix all ingredients together and spread over a shallow dish. Layer with chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, olives and onions.

Serve with nacho chips.

Fall Recipes: Microwave Caramel Popcorn by Tina

This is a great snack for any fall night, during the football game or for work.


16 cups of popped popcorn
1 stick of butter
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c white corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Spray the paper bag with spray butter until coated. Measure 16 cups of popped corn - microwave or air popped - and place inside bag. In a separate microwaveable bowl, add butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.

Mix and put in the microwave for two minutes. Stir and place in microwave for one more minute. Remove and pour in baking soda. Stir quickly and pour over popcorn. Close bag and shake well.

Place bag in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove and shake well. Cook for another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove, shake and place on cookie sheets or waxed paper to dry. When dry, place in an air tight storage container.

If you want more chewy corn, only cook in microwave for the first minute and a half, then place on waxed paper.

Chocolate Pudding Shots Recipe by Tina

Chocolate pudding shots - a sweet adult treat great for anytime of the year.

Recipe Ingredients:
•1 small box of INSTANT chocolate pudding
•¾ c milk (2% tastes best, but any kind will work)
•¼ c vodka
•½ c Irish cream
•8 oz extra creamy whipped topping, thawed until soft.

1.In a large bowl, combine milk and box of chocolate pudding. Slowly stir in the vodka and the Irish cream, mixing thoroughly. Fold in the whipped topping until it is slightly mixed. Whip it until smooth.

2.Pour in to 2 oz cups immediately and snap lids. Stack on the cookie sheet or in the 9 x 13 pan for easy transport in to the freezer.

3. Shots require at least six hours to become firm. Allow for longer if you will be transporting them to an event using a cooler.

Chocolate pudding shots can be stored in the freezer for up to three months, but they will probably never last that long once you get a taste of them.

Davey D : Oakland Hip Hop Journalist and Blogger now at Zennie62

Zennie62.com is proud to officially announce that the legendary Hip Hop Journalist and Oaklander, Davey D (Dave Cook), has joined Zennie62.com as a featured blogger. Davey D has his own area called "Hip Hop News with Davey D."

Frankly, for the number of people Davey D knows and has known in the Hip Hop community, from Mos Def to Oakland's Too Short, and Tupac Shakur, it's almost tragic that Davey D's work and voice has not been promoted and celebrated.

That's coming to an end.  Davey D is a living legend in Oakand.

Check out Davey D at Zennie62.com

Zennie62 At 3D Entertainment Summit, Universal City, CA

Jeffrey Katzenberg

Starting Wednesday, this blogger's taking a special trip to something called The 3D Entertainment Summit, in Universal City, California.

With the proliferation of 3D in our entertainment lives, this event, only in its third year, has become the must-attend function for anyone involved in or covering the tech aspect of culture.

As mentioned in a previous post, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will be the keynote speaker, and film producer and Director M. Night Shyamalan will be the featured speaker.

But beyond those two heavyweights are the many discussions, some of a very technical nature, that make up what our entertainment future, from movies to games and even video-blogs, will look like.

For the event, I will post videos daily, so follow this space and subscribe to Zennie62 at YouTube.com, or this: http://www.youtube.com/zennie62.

VMAs, Tupac Shakur, Kanye West - Who Speaks For The 'Have Nots'? by Davey D

Every year around this time many of us within Hip Hop take some time out and reflect on the life and times of Tupac Amaru Shakur as commemorate the anniversary of his tragic death Sept 13 1996.

With each passing year its interesting to note that as a younger generation grows older, icons like 2Pac don’t seem to mean as much. For example, I’m not sure I heard anyone shout Tupac out during the MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards).

Not sure if people took time to acknowledge him during the VMAs red carpet interviews or if anyone bothered to ask their thoughts. Did anyone ask ‘What do you think 2Pac would be doing if he was here?’ ’What do you think 2Pac would say about our current economic situation?’ ”What would Tupac Shakur have said about that preacher wanting to burn Qu’rans or all the hoopla made at Ground Zero about that Mosque/ Community center? What would Tupac Shakur have said about the looming sentencing trial for the cop who killed Oscar Grant or the riots that have taken place in LA after cops shot an immigrant?

What would Pac have said about all those homes being destroyed and people killed during the tragic fire in San Bruno which we are now finding was because of negligence by PG&E? Considering that’s an area where a lot of people of color live, do you think Pac would’ve been screaming on that? Such speculative question gets asked because it’s all but absent from those who are privileged to have access to a mic.

Pac like so much of our history has been made disposable and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. Is it our fault as elders for not bringing him up enough and keeping his and the memory of other past icons alive? Have we grown so that we now see him through a different lens and maybe don’t hold him up as high anymore? Did we put too much on him?

In looking back I think what folks admired so much about 2Pac was that he gave voice to an underclass of people. He gave voice to the those who we call the ‘Have Nots‘. What’s ironic is that in 2010 we have more ‘Have Nots then ever before, but instead of kicking up dust and challenging those in power about the injustice of such conditions, we now have folks looking for answers in corporate lackeys masquerading as rap stars or corporate backed pundits who know of Pac but would never dare embrace his fearlessness and boldness in seeking change. Still others look for the Glenn Beck, theTea Party Movement and maybe Congressman Ron Paul to give them voice.

When Pac died at age 25 he was just beginning to find his voice and there’s no telling where he would be in 2010. There’s no telling how he would’ve ultimately have used his platforms and popularity and how things would be different as a result.

The young Black male who he claimed to have spoken for would be older now and we would hope that he would be speaking and doing things to change the wretched conditions so many find themselves in.. Alas we can only speculate, but we should not underestimate the differences one man or woman can make.

Moving forward we understand that every generation has their heroes and sheros.

 I’m from the public Enemy era, the folks who were my interns back in the days came up under Pac.

Many of them have maintained that fiery spirit 13 years later..My question today is who inspires that in today’s generation? Who is speaking truth to power and kicking up dust? Or have we retired that as a viable method to get things done?

As I was watching what appeared to be a very lack luster VMAs last night I kept asking myself where are the fire-works? Who’s the person that’s gonna leave us with something to talk about for years to come?

The closet we came was when Drake yelled out Free Lil Wayne. Many were hoping we’d have that moment with Kanye West who came out wearing a red suit that drew comparisons to late comedian Richard Pryor on Sunset Strip. He’s always one to be counted on to say something provocative. Pryor's performance was mesmerizing. 

But we didn’t get much from Kanye at the Video Music Awards other than him rapping about what a jerk he was .  Instead it was singer Taylor Swift who was famously interrupted by Kanye during last years awards, kicking up dust by doing a song where she took aim at him.

As Kanye closed the Video Music Awards show I kept wondering if this generation of Have Nots had someone speaking for them on these national stages.

Written by Davey D

Brenda’s Got a Baby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl54ABY8VgY

Trapped

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCEmTaWSPTk

Interview w/ Arsenio Hall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gtFtYNDzY0&feature=related

Interview w/ Vibe magazine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQexa5GFlw4

Interview w/ Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pylx2HLzrwY

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Boise State Football: Virginia Tech Preparation Reveals Broncos Approach

Add caption

If you're wondering how Virginia Tech could come so close to beating Boise State, 33 to 30 ten days ago, but stunningly lose at home, 21 to 16 against James Madison, you simply must read the blog post by Mike Kuchar, The Defensive Coordinator at North Brunswick Township High School in New Jersey, as prepared for and presented at Chris Brown's excellent Smart Football Blog.

To give the Clift Notes version of what Coach Kuchar wrote before the link to it, Virginia Tech broke down Boise State Offense on film in detail and a full five months before their September 6th opener. Coach Kuchar was given the opportunity to be a part of the analysis process.

What was learned was that, first, Head Coach Chris Peterson's approach is to have not an offensive system, but a collection of plays for given situations. Second, Boise State uses leverage, numbers, and grass to "gash the opposition." That is, "leverage" is using shifts and motion to gain a "numbers" advantage at the point of attack, to run a running play that gashes the defense, at times for big gains. What the Broncos do is use a tight-end plus a wingback to add an extra hole for the defense to worry about.

If the defense overloads and overruns this set, their running backs are coached to cut back to the weakside.

(If you paid attention to the Colts vs. Texans game, this is almost exactly how the Texans ran against the Colts. The Colts answer would have been to adjust by putting "eight in the box," then blitz the weakside linebacker to force the running back to make a quick decision before he's ready, or be downed for a loss, or both.)

In the passing game, Boise State also uses the overload concept, employing a 3 x 1 formation, but then motioning the back to the strongside so we have a 4 x 1 set: if the safeties go to the "4" side, Boise throws to the Split End, or the "1," on the weakside.

Finally, Boise State's not afraid to take bold offensive actions, like the famous hook-and-ladder play against Oklahoma, the Wildcat pass, or the fake wide receiver screen draw play, all used in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl:



There's a lot more in Coach Kuchar's account, which you can read with a click here. But Virginia Tech's preparation was the reason they almost beat Boise State and arguably the reason they lost to James Madision, thus contributing to Boise State's drop in the polls this week.

VMA's : Chelsea Handler, Lindsay Lohan, and MTV's Annoying VMA Website

Did Chelsea Handler kill it, or did she suck? That provocative range of choice best shows how viewers feel about her performance as host of The Video Music Awards, or The VMAs, and what they tweeted on Twitter. But for this blogger, Chelsea killed it because she was, well, Chelsea.

She did what she was expected to do: be sassy, valley-girlish, and black-male / ethnic focused in her humor. The bottom line is Chelsea Handler made money from of coming off like the chick who has fantasies of sex with black men every second of every day, yet is too afraid to do anything about it.

And when black men aren't on her mind - and that does happen (and yes, she has a white boyfriend, we all know that, so re-ready the paragraph above if you didn't get it) - Chelsea's getting into play fights with Kim Kardashian or getting Lindsay Lohan to spank her ass.

See:

2010 MTV Video Music Awards - More VMA Video

(You have to wait a bit for it...)

In other words, Chelsea's being just what the producers paid for. And that's got to be a lot of money.

MTV's Screwed Up VMA Website

What the Video Music Awards producers didn't spend a lot of money on was the VMA website. Boy, it's annoying. It is to because instead of segmenting the videos for individual play, they strung all of them together to play as one unit.

That's bad in a lot of ways and hurts them. If I'm looking for the video about Chelsea's opening, I have to wait for the damn part to play. MTV loses valuable click traffic from such a design and harms the bang for Toshiba's buck that could have been generated.

Oh. Toshiba's the sponsor of the site. Which brings me to another point: the video ad for Toshiba talks over the VMA videos on the site.

What the heck they were thinking is beyond this blogger, but it's like nails against a blackboard to have this ad video on auto-play.

Next year, MTV should just partner with YouTube.

VMA's: Eminem and Rianna Sing "Not Afraid/Love the Way You Lie (Live)"

2010 MTV Video Music Awards - More VMA Video

Eminem and Rianna memorably sing "Not Afraid/Love the Way You Lie (Live) at the Video Music Awards. It's a song about an abusive relationship.

Since I've known one too many women who seemed addicted to such relationships (not with me because I'm good at running away from them), it's a hard song for me to listen to because it, to a degree, seems to romanticize such pairings.

While their song is moving, the only annoying aspect of the entire video is really that it's an MTV series of them all smushed together so they run as one long go without a break. MTV is not kind to its online viewers.

I'll get to that via another example, down the blog roll.

Lady Gaga VMA 2010 - Lady Gaga Wins 8 Awards (So Far)

The Amazing Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta), for whom it could be said dominated 2010 pop-culture including an amazing visit with KISS, dominated the Video Music Awards, with 8 VMA award wins as of this writing, including VMA Best Female Video Of The Year.

Lady Gaga came out in her signature high heels with a flowing layered dress, and did not disappoint. Here she is accepting the VMA for Bad Romance (video by willtado on YouTube):



Lady Gaga's combination of punk, soul, politic, and provocation are a winner for a cynical 21st Century. Love her or hate her - and many more love her than hate her - Lady Gaga is an American Cultural Force.

Lady Gaga wins two awards at VMA pre-show By: Nikky Raney

Sway is currently on the television screen interviewing Lady Gaga - who was nominated 13 times.

She has already won the first two awards of the nice for Best Dance (Bad Romance) & Best Collaboration (Beyonce).

There are many predictions that Lady Gaga might just win every award she is nominated for. Gaga is basically taking over the world, and her fans "Little Monsters" are definitely loyal and persistent. Those fans are unstoppable, and they must have all voted.

It may be a bit predictable if Gaga wins every award, but maybe there will be surprises. Of course, the surprises that can be anticipated are what other outfits she will wear tonight.

To keep up with Nikky Raney during the VMAs read her Twitter - she will be live tweeting during the VMAs & blog posts to follow afterwards.