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addendum to the philly/dc discussion from 4/21 below. check this philly city paper article on their burgeoning scene- sounds good; not at all dissimilar from what's goin' on in the strict-dis (district). big ups to steph renee, tonya evans (my fellow esquiricist), bernard collins, rich medina, black ice, dewey, twin poets, poetica, ryva, jilligan, rucker, and all the others i am spacin' on (falseheimers)

easy,
dp

naturalaw-dp - 11:02 AM
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4.24.2001

it ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you...

-i use this particular type of shampoo. i go to the store a few months ago and supplies were low. i go to the store now and supplies are nil/nada/zilch/zip- gone. nothing left but the sale tags- clearance sale tags.

-i use a particular type of face wash bar. i go to the store a few months ago, it's not in stock. i go to several different stores recently and it is nowhere to be found. just for kicks, i check for my shampoo (might as well, right?) - no luck; only an empty space on the shelf.

-i use a particular type of toothpaste. lately i've noticed that they've added sparkles to it. it's still on the market, but some genius decided that chemical sparkles would enhance the product. however, i can no longer get the particular type i want WITHOUT the sparkles. and ya know what? when i brush my teeth, the damn sparkles don't do shit but shine at me off the bristles of my toothbrush.

-i use a particular type of deodorant. a long-standing brand name deodorant (no, i'm not one of them cats who bought the hype on that deodorizing crystal scam. y'all seen that? where you roll this rock around on your armpit and it's supposed to keep everything 'so fresh and so clean, clean? but you wind up walking around with your arms nailed to your sides 'cause your caves are BANGIN...oh you bought that? BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA). in the past, the makers of my deodorant have switched up the name- 'tropical sun' becomes 'morning fresh' or something like that- but they kept the flavor the same. recently, i was in the store and needed deodorant but this particular place was out of my brand. further inspection revealed that EVERYONE was out of my brand, so i bought this arm & hammer boolshat. yeah that's right, i named the product- as a public service to y'all, cuz that pasty, crumbly-ass, fake-me-out 'odorant' WAS NOT HOLDIN' ME DOWN!!! yeah, it looked good in the mirror going on, but by the time lunch came around i had the super-humid, rainforest, malaria pits- complete with the ticklish trickles down the sides of my torso. upon closer inspection at home, my joints had been defiled- i mean, this shit had turned my normally impeccable underarm hygiene into a sickly, sour mash- it looked like i had gone jogging in july with an ice cream scoop's worth of coleslaw clenched tightly in each pit. whooweeeeee...and these bastards have the nerve to market it as their 'invisible formula'? caveat emptor...OF COURSE, i got that madness under control- but i've had to research and catch referrals for like 6 other deodorant brands.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY ULTIMATE POINT- all my personal products are going the way of the dinosaur. pretty soon they won't make oster or wahl clippers, lotion will be recalled, and the lip balm industry will be monopolized by the crystal stink-stone people. somebody, somewhere is trying to make me into a dandruff-ridden, ashy, velcro-lipped, sparkly-toothed freak- and just in time for the summer push ("steely brothers..." soon come).

i am NOT paranoid.

and even if i was,
i'd still need a serviceable deodorant
(not industrial strength- just serviceable...so fresh and so clean, clean)

easy,
dp

ps. next time: "what?! you don't sell condoms anymore?!?!? oh well..."
(don't forget to say 'hello' in the guestbook...)

naturalaw-dp - 7:02 PM
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4.21.2001

what is the difference between dc and philly?
i mean, when it comes to music, particularly hip hop and the latest incarnations of soul music- what is the diff?
philly has talent.
dc has talent.
neither of the two cities is nyc, with gotham-like record conglomerates headquartered there...
2 hrs apart, yet about 20 years apart when it comes to national props for their artists- why?

because of go-go?
-man, i am tired of that old argument. sure, dc youth tend to support go-go artists when they latch onto local cats, but you can't tell me that they STILL don't listen to ANY hip hop- i see kids hollerin' some ol' ja rule/jay z/mystikal lyrics all the time... plus i refuse to believe that the music industry has a go-go hangover that is STILL preventing them from pushing dc artists cuz 'they're too regional'. if it can make money, the industry is down with it. nah, it definitely ain't just the go-go factor

because of the transient nature of the city?
-more plausible, since folks tend to either 'pop in and pop out' of dc while tightening their game up (school/internship/first job), or they bounce to the suburbs and leave the nightlife/music scene alone. still, there are enough people here that keep up with the scene that the info should be passed onto the newcomers right about the time the old heads are bouncin' to a different city. nah, the transient city argument ain't it either.

because no one from dc who makes it big is representin' dc?
-a little more on point: after all, we see what happened in philly once the roots hit. they passed the love right on down the line, and the list of their progeny/crew is straight big time: jazzyfatnastees, jill scott, eve, beanie sigel, bilal, jaguar, etc. however, i can't think of too many folks from dc who made it to the upper echelon of the music industry who were in a position to do something that could be considered an alternative dc sound- that is, alternative to go go. braxton was reppin' for atlanta/laface, questionmark asylum and nonchalant seemed to get very little push, section 8 mob and black indian didn't quite get over the hump sales-wise, and so on so forth.

by themselves, none of these arguments completely explains why dc is not there yet. put it all together though, and you can see the recipe for blowing the dc scene off da emmer effin' map:
-target the youth: cats focus on the club heads here in dc, which is cool & necessary yada yada but who the freak got time to be obsessed with hip hop/soul groups when they're busy trying to make ends meet?!?! i put in the personal effort to check out as many shows as possible, but that's my damn job now- gotta keep up with the scene. the average adult isn't gonna be out flexin' 4-5 nights a week following their favorite local artists. nah, that's a job for the kids- and by kids i mean 13-20. gotta focus on the cats that have the time to download all your joints, 28.8 modem be damned!!! all ages shows, block parties, park shows- there's a reason why cat's stay so close to go go- it's cuz go go stays close to them!
-do not compromise your sound: you can switch up for the flavor of the moment if you want (a la mike geronimo), but you will probaly end up in the cut-out bin of the moment ( a la mike geronimo). the only way greatness can be achieved is by doing your thang according to the unique set of circumstances that make you YOU. otherwise, you're doing virtual cover songs- joints that 'sound like' whoever the freak you're following. zealously guard and treasure the fact that you possess a unique voice and perspective (and if you don't- damn yo, keep searchin')
-if and when you make it, pass the baton to those worthy of carrying it: see, what happens to a lot of scenes is that the dope cat makes it and then passes the baton to his low-talent crew 'cuz they family'. i have no problem with that, as it makes sense and is honorable to try and take care of those closest to you; but you owe it to the overall welfare of the scene to try and point the hounds in the direction of the next dopest cats. at the very least, try not to play it like you're the only game in town- if someone asks you about other artists in your area and you refer 'em to your cousin stankstank instead of fertile ground, realize that you are part of the reason your scene will crumble from within. don't get it twisted- i'm not saying that there won't be rivalries and local cats that shanked you in the past who you would NEVER recommend for anything other than dog shit pick-up at the park. there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping it in the family if the family is QUALIFIED- but if you really think you are doing justice to your craft, there is nothing to fear in bigging up other people on your scene who you may not have a personal stake in. OF COURSE ALL OF THAT PRESUMES THAT YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN SEEINGYOUR CITY BLOW UP, AS OPPOSED TO JUST YOURSELF. IF YOU ARE ROLLIN' FULLY FOR SELF AND ITS ALL YOU/ALL THE TIME, COOL- see you on the way back down.

so, dc: that is where we gotta pick it up- it's gotta be, cuz plexus, 3LG, infinite loop, unspoken heard, raheim de vaughn, team demolition, k'alyn, octoberworld, alternate root, miscellaneous flux, hue-man prophets, w.ellington, remainz, lazy k, anita trush, fertile ground, mello-d, afi, psalmayene 24, khemystery, defined print, poem-cees, monique miller, will smith, GKAM, ayannah gregory, moonshine, moya, rhyme deferred crew and many others i am forgetting or don't know about definitely ain't lackin' in talent.

keep on keepin' on y'all

dp

(yeah, i skipped the whole issue of havin' to bust your ass to be prepared, and sweatin' blood to be in the right place at the right time and keepin' a tight promotional ship as an independent artist, but if YOU skip that issue, enjoy your art- but don't count on making your art your profession...)

ps. comments? respond in the guestbook...

naturalaw-dp - 2:24 AM
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4.7.2001

aaah, yes- it is a wonderful world people...

welcome to INTELLIGENT DISCOURSE, the digital home of the POEM-CEES.

of course, don't let the name fool ya- we remain willing and able proponents of the ODB (odd/dumb/bizarre), but with this being our first chance to spit the mental vapors into the digital atmos, we figured we should at least claim some higher cause...

as you know, the group consists of black picasso, dj stylus, naturalaw-dp, reggie lumpkin and an all-star cast of killin' ass musicians. our musical equation is hip hop- even if you don't believe that steelyzepplindef + marleyrushmcferrinwithers = hip hop

what you may not know is that this site was created and incubated by the loving hands of the lovely leslye james, aka ms. phatalspin/poetry ho #1*. thanks to ms. james, we now have the opportunity to expose ourselves to more people- after all, that trenchcoat flasher thing seemed so dated...

what you will find here, first and foremost, are the things that one encounters, discusses, loves and dis-loves (no hate- too much effort) in the course of POEM-CEE'n your way through this world- for example, click here for an in-depth guide to a unique and stylish subculture (start under 'classifications'). this may not be the key to avoiding future conflict with china, but it's sure to be a blower for somebody...

what you will also find here are the musings, communications and commentary of the crew- check out the archive at the bottom of this page, where you will find picasso's marvelous 2/1/01 bash-back on his boys, stylus's true renditions of actual intelligent discourse, and dp's 1/31/01 post-9:30 club show drama...

to get the most out of this site, here is the quick 'n dirty breakdown of all the big words and funky script that you can't decipher:

cognition: "the act or process of knowing" -here you will find intelligent discourse, press articles and show/tour information

vocalization: clips from our first record "I.O.U. Street". special live downloads and previews of the new joints soon come...

iconography: "subject matter in the visual arts". ooooooooh look at the pictures!!! click on 'em!!! wow, they got bigger!!!

supplement: POEM-CEES contact info, guestbook, mailling list sign up, purchase info and links to... check for ya self

-and always remember, whenever you see colored text like this, CLICK ON IT!!!

so there you have it- www.poemcees.com, INTELLIGENT DISCOURSE

as stated before, it is indeed a wonderful world- once you get past the bills, parking tickets, creditors, junk mail, and hapless tourists clogging up the metro for some damn cherry blossoms. POEM-CEES just wanna ride this big ol' organic ball of fire called planet earth like it needs to get rode... and y'all voyeuristic emmer effers are welcome to watch (just make sure you wipe your mindstate on the guestbook before you leave!)

easy,

POEM-CEES
naturalaw-dp/darrell perry
black picasso/patrick washington
dj stylus/rhome anderson
psycebox/reggie lumpkin

*"poetry ho"- a person, male or female, willing to do ANYTHING for the sake of good verse. the original poetry ho? ernesto mercer, aka the unofficial sensai/obi wan kenobi of the POEM-CEES. other notable poetry hoes: nakeesha johnson, samuel jefferson, brandon johnson, toni asante lightfoot, POEM-CEES, and maybe...just maybe even YOU

naturalaw-dp - 7:10 PM
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...Can't remember all the witticisms, advice, info and foolishness? Peep the archives...