Raspire music president, Richie, and their #1 artist straight out of Jamaica to the Bay, Calico aka “Scaddy”, stopped the MMAP HQ / Esface offices Monday to discuss the next line of Raspire Logo wear that they will be offering to the public during their Summer bay area Tour beginning this Saturday. Before the meeting even started, I got the unique opportunity to be the first customer to cop the new Inna Di Dance album that just dropped hot off the press….been slappin the album for about 3 days now and let me tell you…the album has HEAT. Waste no time to purchase your copy either physical or digital from www.raspiremusic.com.

Esface stands behind the Raspire movement as they align with the positive culture we promote through the art form of hot music- a fusion of hip hop, dancehall and reggae. One luv

The Essence of Freaknik
by Ajani Husbands

You can’t be offended when the same rappers we promote and approve of start creating ignorance on another level. That’s my end thesis at the beginning of the article (for those just skimming). And now to the real article:

Have you seen Freaknik? And by Freaknik, I mean the animated 1-hour special on Cartoon Network, recently aired last week Sunday. Freaknik The Musical, is “the story of a party that turned into a ghost,” according to Cartoon Network. T-Pain featured as the voice of Freaknik. The movie also featured a dozen or so other notable rappers, including Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Kelis, Lil Jon, and many more. Overall, the cartoon undeniably featured an undesirable element in Black America, which provided ample fodder for Essence Magazine to produce a “10 Most Offensive Things” list. And perhaps contrary to Black intellectuals across the country, I enjoyed the cartoon. But I think I liked it for a far different reason than Essence Magazine hated it.

Essence decried Freaknik as an embarrassment to Black culture. For me, Freaknik was simply a culmination of the same rap and materialistic culture we’ve promoted over the last decade. That’s not to say it wasn’t offensive. But were the scenes of thong-clad strippers any more offensive than, say, Lil Wayne’s “Every Girl?” Did Freaknik The Musical glorify materialism anymore than, perhaps…. well, any song with the word(s) Pop, Bottles, Champagne, and/or Models? And the “10 Ghetto Commandments” all originated from classic rap songs: Though Shalt Only Pop Bottles On Models (see? What did I tell you about the proclivity of pop/bottles?)

What am I really saying here? I suppose it’s that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t be suddenly offended by something like Freaknik, and then go to your favorite club that weekend to get down on the latest songs which are all undoubtedly simply non-animated depictions of what you complained about earlier. The musical artists that lent their voices to the cartoon are the same ones we promote as a society. A good friend of mine pointed out that Black people aren’t necessarily the ones making them millionaires. No, we aren’t. At the same time, though, Black people legitimize the brand of entertainment and the entertainers therein. T-Pain is rich and famous because we made him popular. Lil Wayne is the same way. The music industry took these cues and ran with them. And now they’ve come out with a cartoon that pretty much just animates the type of things they rap/sing about it. And all of a sudden they are out of control?

Listen, I’m not telling you to NOT listen to this music. But it sure is hypocritical to like the music and criticize the cartoon.

Being that I recently attended my first Bar Mitzvah, when I came across this article it was especially intriguing.  Very interesting topic with some valuable historical information, relevant as we just exited our Black history month which always seems to fly by in a flash.

Article from the Huffington Post

“There is no question about the well-documented history where the Black and Jews have stood together in their fight for civil rights, equality and political power. But not so much is said about the creative alliances in business where Blacks and Jews are and have been forging new businesses and ideas that have helped enable Blacks and Jews to enter the mainstream in American business. These are the partnerships that have and will create goodwill and change the future.

There are many examples of how Blacks and Jews have come together to fight against hatred and bigotry. In fact, as my friend Rabbi Marc Schneier at The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, often states (and he even wrote a book about it called Shared Dreams), Dr. King was an ardent supporter of Israel and the Jewish people, including taking part in efforts to ease discrimination against Jews in the Soviet Union and the safety and security of the State of Israel. Dr. King also spoke out strongly against anti-Semitism in the United States. We all know that no segment of the American population provided as much and as consistent support to Dr. King and to African Americans as did the Jewish community.
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by Ajani Husbands

Let’s say you’re an artist. I need you to paint 1,000 paintings for me in one year. That’s about three paintings a day with thirty free days scattered in between. Can you do it?  Is it possible? Your answer to this might determine whether painting for you is a hobby of something you happen to be good at, or if you have the drive to be a definitive reference point in the art world.

Right now I’m in the middle of reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and the question persists: what does it take to be an outlier? Passion and drive? Perhaps it is one’s circumstances and upbringing? Pure luck? No matter the case, one thing has already one thing has been made clear: Outliers aren’t just talented. They WANT to be outliers.
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Join Esface in celebrating another Social Shopping situation presented by Urban Stitch.

Come support local designers with some good music, good people and live DJ’s spinning on the 1’s and 2’s.

Sunday, Feb. 21st. | 330 Ritch St., SF | 2 pm - 7 pm

By the time I got to work this morning (8 time zones ahead of DC), it had already been at least 6 hours since the earthquake struck Haiti.  By that time, I saw a few updates on facebook, and a few links on how people could assist the victims.  I joined my friends in posting links to helpful sites as my status update.  8 hours later, at the end of the workday, I donated money to the Red Cross.

Wyclef Jean left for Haiti that day and put out a call for donations for the earthquake relief via his foundation, Yele Haiti.

President Obama sent rescue teams less than 24 hours after the earthquake.

The United Kingdom sent 61 firefighters in roughly the same time frame.

What is your response time?

Right now the opportunities to be usefully involved are amazing.  There are several ways one can help in the immediate and in the long term.  There are also several ways one can NOT help.  You decide what type of impact you will have when the human cause arises:

How to have an immediate impact:

1) Send a text message.  Right now you can actually text to the Red Cross or to Yele Haiti (Wyclef Jean’s humanitarian foundation) and it will automatically send money to the organization.  You’ll get the charge via your cell phone bill.  This is probably the BEST and MOST EFFECTIVE way to be involved.  The money goes straight to humanitarian relief efforts and not to administrative expenses.  How do I know this?  It’s because emergency relief doesn’t have a line item for administrative costs.  That’s what makes it emergency.  But if you’re still concerned, you can go to www.charitynavigator.org to find out how much of an organization’s total budget go to administrative expenses (for the Red Cross, it’s 6%). 

You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.  You can text “YELE” to 501501 to send $5 to Wyclef’s Yele Haiti Foundation. 

2) Be MLK.  Monday we celebrate the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Most people I know, including myself, will use at least part of the extended weekend to party.  But how about BEGIN the weekend by having a fundraiser for one of the organizations listed above?  For years, we let this historic Monday pass us by without doing any service.  Now, in 2010, it’s easier than ever to positively impact someone’s life.  So let’s begin the weekend by reaching out to our friends and making sure each person donates before the weekend begins.

3) Social Networking.  If you find information on how others can donate, post it on facebook.  Tweet it.  That’s how I found out about the Red Cross and the Yele Foundation.  Maybe you’ve got friends that are unaware of what’s going on.  Change your status message AND let people know that you’ve done something by donating. 

Think about it… American Idol received 78 million text messages last year.  How many will you send to save a life?

4) Next Vacation? Rebuild.  The Port-au-Prince airport will reopen soon, and it’s not expensive to get to Haiti.  If you were looking for your next spring break service project, you’ve found it.  In the medium term, Haiti will need able bodies dedicated to heavy lifting.  Houses need to be rebuilt.  Meals need to be delivered.  Hospitals need willing volunteers.  Hit up Google and find out which organizations are doing what on the ground, and then organize 3-5 friends and get out there for a week. 

How NOT to Help Haiti

1) Change your facebook status.  A link by itself will not do it.  Lead by example.  If you are one of the ones who is simply changing a facebook status without any action behind it, it’s an empty gesture.  Haitians don’t need a facebook status. 

2) Watch TV.  If you’re watching tv and going “wow,” you’re not helping Haiti.  Changing from a spectator to an activist could be as easy as sending a text message WHILE watching television.  That’s 15 seconds of time I think everyone can afford.

3) Be Political.  Rallies, petitions, marches.  That’s not going to help Haiti right now.  Nuff said.

4) Take a shot of Patron.  When the weekend hits, I envision a group of friends at the club in half-drunken slurs “hey, we gotta keep it real.  This one’s for Haiti.”  Don’t let that group be you.

Though hardly Nastrodamus, Lil Wayne made an excellent point when he singled out celebrities who sang and made speeches for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  “You weren’t helping the people of New Orleans.”

Esface Endorsed music group Fear & Fancy collab with DJ D Sharp to bring you a holiday gift, “the Playlist”.

Click here to Download the new heat.

Fear & Fancy’s music is a jubilant proclamation of the dawn of an age governed by the power of love rather than the love of power. Its sound-scape blurs time and space, swirling sounds of the carnival with the powwow, ‘80s New Wave with ‘20s Pop Standards into a digital potluck of artistic ingenuity that bumps.

Perhaps the ability to move audiences to party and ponder is the mark of Fear & Fancy that distinguishes them beyond the marks of paint that adorn their faces during live performances. Fear & Fancy has already shared the stage with notable artists including Bad Boy Records’ Janelle Monae and Day 26, Konvict Records’ RIZ, platinum-selling French R&B/Soul recording artist Tété, and “Portland’s French troubadour” Eric John Kaiser. Currently producing their debut EP, Fear & Fancy will begin their first tour beginning Spring 2010. More info at MYSPACE, FACEBOOK.

The health care reform debate: Where do you stand?

 by Ajani Husbands

I initially was writing an article about the use of food stamps spilling over into non-Black America, but given the recent ABC blog article debating Precious versus The Blind-Side, I had to switch gears.  There seems to be a lot of animosity towards Precious and a lot of love to The Blind Side.  And who can blame the masses for that?  The Blind Side is heroic.  It is warm, encouraging, heroic, hopeful.  Precious is the opposite.  It’s dark, twisted, demeaning, depressing.  So why should we even cast a passing glance towards Precious?

For the same reason I purchased a book on lynchings. 
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Chillin’ is back again and Esface is in the building with Holiday Specials and new releases.

180 Painters/Photographers
80 fashion Designers
Video Installations

Live Painting by:
Steve Javiel ( www.stevejaviel.blogspot.com)
Daniel J. Valadez (www.danieljvaladez.com)
Rob Harris (www.cavecreation.com)

Music by:
DJ Deevice (Pirate Cat Radio, GridLock)
DJ Felina (www.djfelina.com)
Dirtyhertz (www.dirtyhertz.com)
Rondo Brothers (www.rondobrothers.com)
LARON (http://www.myspace.com/laronakaswan)
DJ Eddy Bauer (KALX, Go BANG!)
Irene Hernandez-Feiks (www.chillinproductions.com)
+ more

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