Don't want to circumvent my forthcoming Intrepid Media article, but, in short, the film was well recieved and we had a ball.
Apparently, I can't escape bad traffic no matter where I go. But I'll still take Frisco's. Look at 'dem Warriors
Most of the people in this picture graduated from my high school in the mid 90s (or are married to someone who did so). I was grateful for the love and support. I hadn't seen some of these folks since '94.
Me and the one and only Greg Milk.
Then, we went to Richmond to worship at MacDonald Ave on Sunday morning. That's me with a very talented minister, Stacy Jones, and my travel buddy Tabitha Brown. And the orange GAP sweater strikes again.
Finally went to the famed Do Over, a weekly Hollywood event where eclectic types can meet and dance to some great music. It runs every Sunday from 2-10 at Crane's Hollywood Tavern. 9th Wonder was there, I had just missed his set, which I'm sure was fiyah. The DJs were killing it: a lot of disco type flow and he killed it when he went to an 80s mix with "Our House," Huey Lewis & the News, and of course, "Thriller." Guilty Simpson popped through, you'll see him in a few. And, as always, Aloe Blacc helped MC the event. It was fun. We'll be back. Here's some photos:
A picture our future children will laugh at one day. Ya boy J Breezie stay shooting photos and grindin on wifey with the simultaneousnessssssssss. Respect my hustle.
Homechick on the right had THE BIGGEST booty I've seen in a minute. I just had to get that off my chest. Sorry, no evidence. This is a family show.
I just had to get dude's fro. Oh, and that's Detroit rapper Guilty Simpson on the left.
Posters were supposed to be done, but because of a miscommunication, the earliest they'll be done is tomorrow (Friday.) Y'all better pray for me if it doesn't happen. It's funny how these companies be quick to take your loot, but slow to give you good customer service.
What have I been bumping? That new Carl Thomas is SOLID.
"Late Night Rendezvous" is serious. I'm probably more glad that he's finally off Bad Boy than he is. Finally, somebody making some real soulful R&B.
Otherwise: Marvin Gaye -- What's Going On (and really just Marvin in general, lately; I've been thinking about my script again) The Main Ingredient has been getting some burn. Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
Here's the type of random stuff be going through my mind at work:
1) What exactly is leukemia? 2) Why is it that I fully understood time signatures as a ten-year-old taking drum lessons, but don't get it now? 3) Doesn't everybody have some kind of phobia? Like leprophobia (the fear if leprosy). Don't we all have that?
I'm off the Bay. Will be back with pictures and stuff.
I didn't even have time to fully deal with my Pistons series ending defeat at the hands of LeBron and Co. before I learned that Tony Thompson, lead singer of Hi-Five, was found of an apparent drug overdose in his hometown of Waco, Texas. He was only 31.
If you were a black teen in the early 90s', Hi-Five was a REALLY BIG DEAL. Besides New Edition, they were the closest thing our generation had to a group like the Jackson 5. Hi-Five were a quintet of lanky, good-looking Texas boys with amazing voices, strong choreography and songs we could relate to. They had a nice string of hits in the early '90s: "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)," "Quality Time," "She's Playing Hard to Get," "Unconditional Love," and my all-time favorite, "I Just Can't Wait Another Minute."
They were pop ("I Like the Way" went number 1 on both pop and R&B charts in 1991) and soulful, a great combination in the hip-hop influenced R&B of the early 90s. (Before people figured out the formula and screwed it all up.) Still, they always seemed to be under a black cloud -- a nearly fatal car accident after their second album nearly ended the group. By the mid-90s, rap's fixation with thug culture had taken over, and there was nowhere for these smooth crooners to go.
I'm sure more details will come out as time passes, but I would like to offer condolences to the Thompson family, and thank God for allowing my life to be touched for a short, but pivotal time by a talented young man who, sadly, didn't know how much he meant to us.
I have nothing to say about Detroit, by the way. We lost. Flip got outcoached, our players got outplayed, and Joe Dizzle has some tough decisions to make this summer. I just hope Cleveland didn't use all their energy trying to beat us.
