My man Ben and I have known each other since he came to Sidwell in 3rd grade, and years later, we’re still cool. So cool, in fact, that he hollered at me to join him in a conversation about consent.

Yeah, you heard me. CONSENT. He’s started an AWESOME organization called The Consensual Project that teams up with schools and universities to talk to the young folks about consent in hookups, relationships, and I guess anywhere its present in their daily lives. It’s a pretty interesting concept, and once he told me about it, I was excited for him. Now, when he asked me to get on camera and talk about consent in hookup culture, I was a little reluctant. I didn’t wanna put myself out there like that, because…well, if you know about the infamous Roster post…no, but really, I just wasn’t really 100% ready to talk about it. After some persuading, we ended up talking on camera for about 45 minutes. Ben whittled all of that down to  this five minute clip you’re about to see. Check it out, and then scroll down to see what I have to say about things you didn’t catch due to editing.

Okay, so that was me being pretty damn honest about hookups and such. Now, a few things you didn’t see that I spoke about.

One of the big things we talked about was how black culture and white culture differ. For instance, partying and communication between the two, generally speaking, is lightyears apart in terms of similarity. I frequent all sorts of parties, but let’s talk about the black ones real quick. Since I’m from DC, I know how the party culture/climate is. When you hit a party around these parts, girls get grabbed up  and that’s just kinda how it goes, they know what it is. It’s not a real grab, it’s that light grab. You know, the joint that’s like our mating call. The girls know what’s up, the guys know what’s up. It’s not aggressive, it’s just what we do. Our culture kinda embraced that and that’s just how it’s done these days. Can we change it? Probably. But I proposed to Ben in our convo that maybe a combination of body language and consent is how change can be achieved.

I also quickly touched on how sometimes, the element of surprise is cooler than consent. Let’s just be real for a second: you don’t wanna know it all. Asking to kiss somebody is cool, but that rush of getting kissed or kissing somebody is almost unmatched! Ben and I have differing views here, but I think that in the end, like I said before, body language and consent combined can communicate pretty much everything that needs to be communicated in these scenarios.

I had a great time working with Ben, and I’m excited to see what The Consensual Project has up its sleeves in the near future. Schools, BOOK THE MAN! He’s literally getting gigs all over the country, and I’m proud of his progress. Check the site out here, it’s probably one of the smoothest, most easily navigable sites online. Whoever designed that should win some kind of award.

I don’t blog much anymore, but when the people who made me the people I am do something big, I gotta support.

Hip Hop Update was like the first big stamp I had in the blog world, no joke. They respected my site for what it was. Not even just the music, either. The writing, too! They appreciated that, and even allowed me to collabo on a project with them. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. Even triller, I know J.D. (its founder) in real life, and we take New York over when I come back into town. Ask him, don’t take my word.

That’s neither here nor there. This is probably the best interview they’ve done, and it’s with Childish Gambino, otherwise known as comedian/director/artist/everything else creative in the world Donald Glover. If you’re familiar with my site, you already know how I feel about the guy. I think his mixtape Culdesac was one of the biggest surprises as far as the stuff I listen to. I’ve been a fan since his earlier tapes, but this joint was full of original production and even showcased some awesome vocal ability. All from a guy who you never knew could make music like that. My man Taylor, a HHU correspondent, went in on this video interview, so I figured I’d share with my readers and supporters who appreciate this guy’s musical talent. Enjoy.

If you need a starter’s guide, check my posts here and here.

I’d like to give a thorough shout out to my man Marcus Dowling, the most prolific music journalist in the DC area, as well as the most slept-on talent in this region by a long shot.

If music tastes were compared to guns (and granted, the only guns I’m familiar with are from video games, particularly Goldeneye on N64. Oddjob, baby!), Marcus’ would be a akin to sniper rifle; there’s nothing too far out of his range, and he’ll listen to it all with the utmost care and attention. Talk about eclectic, dude. I don’t even want to know what his iTunes/record/tape/CD collection looks like, because I’m sure he has a room in his living space devoted to it, whereas all I have is my Macbook. The man can talk to you as eloquently about Teena Marie as he can about Fat Trel, and I’m not even exaggerating. You name somebody, he’s interviewed them. (Check his site if you don’t believe me.) Speaking of Trel, Marcus even hosted The Board Administration’s showcase at UHall two days ago. Trel, Black Cobain, and Wale were performing there because of this guy!

Enough cise. Let’s get down to why he got that grand introduction. Marcus invited me to chat with him on True Genius Requires Insanity Radio this past Wednesday, and although reluctant to get on the air and sound foolish in front of God knows how many listeners, I accepted the opportunity. I called in from my location and we chopped it up for a half-hour or so. The convo revolved around where the music industry is headed in the near future, but it was far from boring. We weren’t talking about the same old stuff that they do at conferences across America. It was basically me saying “F*** all record labels” and giving great examples of people who have done great work without label support.

After listening to myself on the radio show (which is just absurd. I hate my voice and I sound foolish about 70-75% of the time!), I learned that I know a lot more than I thought I did about that stuff. I don’t wanna keep on typing, so I’d prefer if you just checked it out! Thanks again to Marcus and TGRI for this! Enjoy, and make sure to check other TGRI radio interviews, as well as everything on their site! Thanks. Listen below on the player, or open it up in a new browser while you do other stuff on this site/your computer by clicking here. I make it so damn user friendly!

(It’s the joint that’s highlighted blue; the first thing. Just press play. Let me know if you have any problems. Thanks again guys!)

A couple months ago, I went to New York City with my boys Mike Lights and Daniel, as well as the DC to BC regime (Marcel and Quinn) to help with this Chip Tha Ripper/KiD CuDi concert that you probably saw us publicizing heavy a while back.

Shortly before the event began, I met up with Jack Sommer, founder of Imagination Detonation, for an interview. This 17-year-old Bronx native has always reached out and been supportive of the DC to BC movement from early on, so when he asked to interview me, I was all for it. I’ve never been interviewed, but it was a pretty awesome experience to see things progress from a radio show to throwing a show in New York with Chip Tha Ripper and KiD CuDi. Check it out if you get a moment. I appreciate your support!

I think that if me and Shine traded places and I did this interview instead of him, we would have had the same exact answers. I can honestly say that this is something that everybody who works behind the scenes in this music industry strictly for the love of the the art needs to watch. This man is speaking what you’ve been trying to tell people for your entire life!

Interview conducted by TONE, who may or may not have my favorite site on the internet. Also, make sure you get familiar with Crack Distributors Radio (CDR), because they’re pretty much always on point as far as spotting the up and coming hip-hop talent. Their Youtube channel can be found here. Shout out to Holly, too.

in this classic DCtoBC article by the one and only modiman asked all the fellas (and technically the ladies) could you “wife a rolla?” ghostface killah stopped by the morning after with angela yee to discuss a similar topic and hilarity/sexism/foolishness ensued.

the clipse sat down with the one and only @northwestnick recently at the youresopop facilities in the big apple. listen to what the 2 halves of the clipse and half of the re-up gang had to say about their upcoming lp and their play clothes line that’s rippin up the streets.

the homey interviewQ of fab5ent caught up with big sean at the midwest invasion tour in the steel city (pittsburgh…shout out to beaver falls and the whole metro area. and my dad, he’s a native).  sean gives us all kind of info on his upcoming video and album, as well as some info on the alleged beef with kid cudi. listen to what the man has to say.

props to fab5ent and leak jones

the left coast isn’t dormant, but it’s not live like my coast. i mean, let’s be real for a second. dre is taking forever to release detox, and snoop on chill mode as of recent. game is bipolar and slightly schizo (read: the man is insane, most definitely.), and i’m starting to believe his rise to stardom was a huge fluke.

in my eyes, nipsey hussle is the only guy who can bring the west coast’s mainstream / gangsta rap game back to where it was at back in the days of tupac and them. is the statement bold? hell yeah – i may even have OG’s berating me in the comment section in a little bit. no matter. i haven’t heard tenacity like this in a west coast rapper since old ice cube. i don’t even get down with that hood stuff for the most part, but i make a few exceptions, and this is one. plus, he looks like he is snoop’s little brother. and his family’s east african (ethiopia or eritirean. i’ll bet anything.), so he just is gaining all sorts of points over here. enjoy this west coast vibe track, and spread the good word.

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DOWNLOAD: Nipsey Hussle – Strapped

shout out to 2dopeboyz for this joint. yeah, i get my music from other blogs too. and i’m not done with the nipsey coverage, either. my man DCGB from EF lifestyle interviewed nipsey last week out at the BET awards. footage below.

who knows. probably stocking his fridge or perfecting the next trill YouTube video. i recently tweeted about how he’s fallen off, but in reality, i’m just anxious for the next episode. a few google searches later, i came across this incredible interview from april ’09 with my boys over at MetalLungies. check out this excerpt below.

MetalLungies: Has anyone ever not taken kindly to being videotaped?

Chi City: Maybe the one dude at McDonald’s, after the fact though. At first, you could see him in the video he was all excited to be on camera, but after he saw how it turned out, like he hates my guts to this day and shit.

ML: Really?

C-C: Yeah, he doesn’t like me at all, matter of fact. And actually, I had to stop going to that McDonald’s because every time I would go in there, I was really concerned like he would spit in my food or do some crazy shit,  so I was just like, ‘Fuck it, I don’t even have to go up there.’  He would be the only dude I could think of. Everybody else man, nobody really cares.  I just go in there and be myself and just act cool and they just don’t care.

ML: So Rick from McDonald’s has beef with Mr. Chi-City?

C-C: Nah, I wouldn’t even really call it beef, but he felt like when I made that comment — “damn, that motherfucker a little too happy to be here,” — he ain’t like that. But the reality was, he was too happy to be there!

i cried laughing after that. read the rest here.