Origin of the Hiero Symbol

I got this of Teemoney's fifth blog (haha). Check out the new one though, it's tight.
http://watchthebay.blogspot.com/

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T$: Who came up with the Hieroglyphics logo?

A-Plus: Del made up that symbol. But, as it turns out, it is actually an ancient Mayan hieroglyph for the number eight, the concept of infinity and the concept of harmonic resonance. And Del didn't even know that! Like, one day some chick came to my house and had a book on Mayan hieroglyphs and was like, 'Dude, did you know this?' And I'm like, wow, and I was there when Del made up the shit.

Is it possible that he somehow knew?

Nah, not at all. I've known him since the first grade--we've been best buddies. He was shocked when I told him. Yeah, that's some Twilight Zone shit, you feel me? That's crazy.

Article by Eric Arnold about KRS' nonsense.

From the East Bay Express. eastbayexpress.com
*********
You Must Learn to Shaddap
KRS-One sullies his rep with a bizarre, violent outburst.
By Eric K. Arnold
Article Published Mar 22, 2006

Beef. There's no end of it in hip-hop. The latest slab of charbroiled cow — quickly overcooked to briquette-like crispiness in cyberspace — is the ongoing conflict between famed rap writer Adisa Banjoko and legendary emcee KRS-One.

The drama started about two years ago, when Banjoko challenged KRS to a debate over the rapper's bold statement "I Am Hip-Hop" — also the slogan of KRS' organization, the Temple of Hip-Hop — claiming that such identification shouldn't supersede religious, cultural, or ethnic affiliations. From there, the two could've debated their ideas, made their respective points, and agreed to disagree. But instead, the feud simmered until it fully boiled over "Know the Ledge," a March 4 conference for Stanford University's Hip Hop Archives. The stage was set for a showdown when KRS walked in, accompanied by Busy Bee (best known for his appearance in Wild Style back in, like, the Paleolithic era) for a panel discussion entitled, interestingly enough, "I Am Hip-Hop." To make a long story short, KRS completely flipped out when he saw Banjoko on the panel. The emcee proceeded to launch into a contradictory diatribe that made him seem like an ignorant egotist in front of intellectual hip-hop's best and brightest, and may have caused considerable harm to his reputation in the process.

As Dave Chappelle might say, KRS' outburst was a classic case of When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong. Not only did he claim Banjoko was an "enemy of the culture" and an "FBI agent," but even more egregiously, he dissed Too $hort, perhaps forgetting he was in the Bay Area at the time. He also insisted that "You can't go to college and say you're hip-hop," perhaps forgetting how much money he's made on the college lecture tour circuit, or his 1989 song "You Must Learn." He claimed he represented the epitome of hip-hop because he was from the South Bronx, before being informed that several panelists, including Davey D, Joan Morgan, and Mark Anthony Neal, also hailed from the Boogie-Down.

Astonishingly, KRS threatened to jump over the table and beat Banjoko's ass, which seemed at odds with his role as founder of the Stop the Violence Movement. The only thing missing, it seemed, was for KRS to put his foot on the table and say, "I am hip-hop, beeyatch!"

Banjoko, to his credit, remained mostly silent during KRS' outburst.

Word of the bizarre incident quickly spread though blogs and chatrooms (audio is available at AllHipHop.com and ProHipHop.com). Some thought KRS was justified; others thought he acted like an idiot. As an eyewitness, I'd have to go with the latter point of view — KRS did more damage to himself with his own words than Banjoko could ever have done, and came off not like a teacher, but like an intellectually challenged bully.

The situation then took a strange turn: KRS' zealous disciples, the Hip Hop Templars, continued to threaten the writer, incurring the wrath of Banjoko's fellow Muslims, particularly the brothers of the Compton mosque, who came this close to declaring a jihad against the Los Angeles-based organization.

The beef has since been squashed (visit DaveyD.com for info), but not without the intervention of hip-hop's Godfather, Afrika Bambaataa, who reportedly held a two-hour mediation and told KRS and Banjoko to make peace because the incident was "bigger than hip-hop." And even keeping it real has its limits.

Did you get your freak on at the middle school dance?

Good story from the SF Chronicle website by Simone Sebastian.
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Hip-hop trends spread to suburbia
Lyrics, dance moves too explicit for some parents
by, Simone Sebastian

Don't let 7-year-old Nicholas Johnstone's blond hair, green eyes and middle-class upbringing fool you. This Berkeleyite may be from the 'burbs, but shorty can bust a rhyme and knows a hot track when he hears one.

Raised near the base of the Berkeley hills, Nicholas' favorite artist is rapper 50 Cent. The first-grader makes up his own lyrics, raps along with hip-hop radio and even mimics the limp walk fashioned by early rappers.

His parents introduced him to classical and jazz music as a toddler. But from his first day of kindergarten, Nicholas started using slang that his parents knew he didn't learn at home.

"I personally am having a problem with things my first-grader is coming home with. Things I can't relate to," said Nicholas' mother, Gail Martin, who has started listening to and reading articles about hip hop to better understand her son's tastes. "He always wants to listen to rap and no other type of music."

From X-rated lyrics on the playground to freak dancing at the prom, hip-hop culture has infiltrated schools at every grade and in every neighborhood.

Northern California suburban schools are increasingly clamping down on the most controversial elements of the trend, drawing a mixture of applause and resistance from students and parents.

Some school administrators have added grills -- metal caps worn over the teeth that rappers popularized as a symbol of wealth -- to their lists of illicit preteen and adolescent attire. Since September, more than a half-dozen suburban Bay Area schools have adopted or started drafting policies that ban freak dancing -- grinding in sexually explicit positions, typically with the girl's back to the boy's front -- from school-sponsored events.

Administrators say the trend is not an assault on hip-hop, but an effort to traverse the thin line between students' freedom of expression and their parents' standards of appropriateness.

"It's a bigger deal because it's happening at the schools where you don't expect to see it," Miguel Fonseca, known as DJ Hightop on the Bay Area school dance circuit.

Fonseca, 36, said he's seen schools take increasingly strict stances on explicit hip-hop dancing styles. At a recent school dance in rural Amador County, he said, administrators eliminated from his playlist most songs that included the word "back" -- slang for a woman's buttocks -- in the title, from Sir Mix-A-Lot's decade-and-half-old "Baby Got Back" to the modern club hit "Lean Back" by the Terror Squad.

"That one killed me," Fonseca said, noting that those songs are frequent requests by pre-adolescents and teenagers. "Hip-hop is becoming their culture."

Last month, Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa began requiring students and their parents to sign a form prohibiting "intimate touching, sexual squatting or sexual bending" during school dances.

At the first dance under the new policy, student attendance dropped by half, said Principal Bill Stirnus. Students at Montgomery, as well as some other schools where freak dancing has been banned, say the style is the only dancing they know.

"It's unfortunate that kids don't have a wider variety. In my day, slow songs were more sexual," said Stirnus, 58. "Today, the hip-hop is more sexual and during the slow songs, students walk off the dance floor."

In the interest of intergenerational solidarity, some schools have formed hip-hop clubs in which members perform choreographed dances or freestyle rap under adult supervision.

One such school is Carlmont High in Belmont, which five years ago became one of the first campuses in the Bay Area to ban freak dancing. Andrea Jenoff, the school's principal, said she still suspends about three couples every dance for doing hip-hop bump-and-grinds.

Carlmont has an all-girl hip-hop dance squad, a club that performs at school assemblies. But it's tame stuff and "very cute," Jenoff said.

Meanwhile, students as young as 6 are showing off their hip-hop moves on the playground at Cragmont Elementary School in Berkeley, which offers an after-school dance class.

Coordinator Angela Gilder said that the class has become so popular that parents from other schools have asked to enroll their children. She doesn't know the names of the artists whose music the students dance to, but she closely monitors their lyrics to make sure it's age-appropriate.

"I want to make sure the students aren't exposed to a negative type of attitude," she said. The class "was brought in to provide a positive form of expression. It's a type of exercise, and the kids have a lot of fun doing it."

The hip-hop club at Berkeley's Alternative High School, where students learn how to DJ and freestyle rap, provides entertainment during lunchtime.

Principal Victor Diaz stressed that the club members study "old-school hip hop," heavy on the culture and light on the profanity.

"They don't use it as a tool to degrade women, (promote) materialism, or repp'ing a terhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifritory," he said. "The true essence (of hip-hop) is about cultural pride, self-respect and coming together."

Peter Johnstone, 7-year-old Nicholas' father, said he hopes he can draw his son into that positive side of hip-hop before he becomes too influenced by the more objectionable version popular right now.

For the past two summers, Nicholas has taken hip-hop dance classes at the Jewish Community Center, and sometimes, to broaden his horizons from 50 Cent, his father will play 1980s and 1990s albums from such hip-hoppers as Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash.

"Saying no (to hip hop) completely is a mistake," Peter Johnstone said. "The suburban kids like the sound of it, but they also like that it makes their parents nervous."

***
There are

Good Times on Saint Pat's Day

Source: AP, retrieved from BBC. See link on sidebar.

Happy Saint Patrick's day to you all.

Tracks and Trax and TraXX...

He's got the beats
HOT TRAXXAMILLION CRAFTS `HYPHY' HITS AT S.J. STUDIO
By Marian LiuMercury News

peep the interview with Traxamillion
streamload.com/mercury_ne...illion.mp3

Bay Area hip-hop is on the rise, and much of its backbone -- its beats -- was born in San Jose.

Producer Traxxamillion is slowly putting his hometown on the map by bringing in artists from the better-known hip-hop hot spots of Oakland and San Francisco, and even as far as Richmond and Vallejo, to record at his San Jose studio.

``Lots of people here say that we have the curse of San Jose,'' says Traxxamillion. But, clubs like the now-closed Ambassador's Lounge, co-owned by rapper E-40, brought in hip-hop followers from all corners of the Bay Area and artists from all over the country, networking and meeting each other, he says. And, his work is continuing that trend for San Jose.
The 24-year-old, who wouldn't reveal his real name, is responsible for four of the hits that the Bay Area is dishing out for mainstream radio: ``Super Hyphy,'' ``Grown Man,'' ``Jus Go'' and ``Grown Man on Remix.''

``That's why his name is Traxxamillion. He's got some tracks,'' says Scoot Dogg, one of the rappers of East Palo Alto's Dem Hoodstarz that Traxxamillion worked with on ``Grown Man'' and ``Grown Man on Remix.'' ``He pretty much set the tone for that movement.''

The movement he's talking about is known as ``hyphy'' (pronounced hi-fee) -- the sound most associated with the Bay Area. ``Hyphy,'' slang for ``hyperactive,'' has been bubbling up to the mainstream music surface, says MTV News correspondent and Oakland native Sway Calloway. On Thursday, Calloway will document the community's rise on MTV on ``My Block'' at 7 p.m.

``Hyphy is a way of life; it's basically a culture,'' Traxxamillion says. ``Our slang, the way we walk, the way we talk, the cars we drive, just the way of life, period.''

A few years ago, Traxxamillion was just a wannabe hip-hop producer and rapper, creating beats in the closet of his house in San Jose. That is, until he handed a track to the man who first came up with the name ``hyphy,'' Keak Da Sneak, and the song turned up on the radio three weeks later.

``I was basically set up in my closet,'' Traxxamillion explains, ``pulled the closet back, pulled my clothes back, hung a mike over the hanger and let it dangle. . . . And one day I got some real equipment and got better and better.''

Before hyphy, Traxxamillion was part of the Bay Area's other popular hip-hop style, known as ``backpack,'' rapping with socially conscious lyrics, reminiscent of the Berkeley crew Hieroglyphics. As a student at Willow Glen Middle School (then called Markham) in San Jose, he used to visit Santa Clara University's radio station (KSCU, 103.3 FM) every time it had a hip-hop show -- watching, learning and eventually freestyling on the mike.

But then, on top of not attracting girls with his music, he grew less attracted to the beats of the underground conscious sound, feeling as if its music didn't make the waves he was looking for.

So Traxxamillion bought a $100 Casio keyboard from Radio Shack. He imagined himself making beats for Mariah Carey, ``big-sounding, big-production music,'' he says.

``For me, everything is club,'' Traxxamillion says. ``If you can't dance to it, then I'm not trying to do it. If it's a slow song, then I want it to be a slow song you can play in a club. If it's a fast song, then I want it to be a fast song you play in a club. If it's a sad song, I want it to be a sad song you can dance to and play in a club.''

More than a year ago, when his cousins came over, their wild style of dancing inspired him to create a hypnotic, simple, broken-down beat. A beat, he says, he kept to himself for a month. It didn't fit into anything he was working on with his own group, the High, so he drove to Marysville, where Keak was performing, hoping that the artist would use it.

``It was a cold night. I drove up there, met him after the show, and was like, `Take this, man. Track No. 3 is hot,' '' Traxxamillion says. ``That's all I said.''

Keak recalls that the first two tracks were good, but ``the third one gave me shivers,'' he said. ``I listened to it for two days.''

Three weeks later, Keak called, telling him to turn up the radio, but Traxxamillion already had it on. ``Super Hyphy'' was playing.

``It was chemistry,'' Keak says. ``Traxxamillion has a lot of talent.''

It was the same story for the single ``Grown Man,'' with Dem Hoodstarz. Traxxamillion met the East Palo Alto duo in San Jose's Ambassador's Lounge and exchanged numbers. A week later, they came by Traxxamillion's studio in San Jose. And a few days later, the single was on the radio.

``It was hella easy, comfortable,'' says Scoot of Dem Hoodstarz. ``They provided a nice atmosphere for us to kick it and do what we do.''

The names of Dem Hoodstarz grace a wall of autographs from artists that have visited Traxxamillion's bigger, better studio near downtown San Jose, like Oakland rappers Mistah FAB and Too Short, a Bay Area rap godfather.

Named Official Entertainment, the setup includes a sound room, computers, video games and a makeshift kitchen, put together and financed by a fan of Traxxamillion's, Nick Grote, who is CEO of the studio. Grote is a former construction worker who now pours his time and money into putting San Jose and the Bay Area on the hip-hop map.

``There's a lot of movers and shakers in the bay but not a lot of owners,'' Grote says. ``So I said, `Let's do it.' ''

In Grote's opinion, Traxxamillion's remix of ``Grown Man'' is the best remix since the legendary remix of ``I Got 5 on It'' by Oakland's the Luniz.

These days Traxxamillion doesn't have to go hunting down artists in clubs anymore. Record labels like Atlantic and Universal are calling him up.

``I'm quite proud of the dude,'' says KMEL-FM (106.1) music director Big Von Johnson, who first put Traxxamillion's singles on the air. ``We have homegrown raps and beats. We don't have to go outside for it.''

It's a far cry from his days as a backpack rapper, creating small-time beats in his closet at home. Now, Traxxamillion has a new motto: ``Go big or go home.''

*****
Thanks Davey D.com.

Barry Bonds is the man.

I know I know. The controversy. Whatever. I know about the man. One of my homies was neighbors with Bonds when he was 8. Went over their with his mom to get an autograph, and got bounced by Bonds from the property. Straight up, 'Get off my property." But Ultimately the Truth is that Bonds is the man. Barry you're the greatest ball player I've ever seen. When it comes to things off the field you're a total maniac, like a pendulum always swinging. Always entertaining, but not always _______________________________. You've been scapegoated many times, by you're not always a scapegoat. You've been meeting the media blow for blow for as long as I can remember. It's bizarre. No one has been like you in that regard, except for maybe Ali, or wait there are more. You've been such a great thing for baseball. We all know the cons, BUT look at the TRUTH. You going to tell me you didn't feel amazed when you saw Bonds hit one out of the park! No way. Not a chance in the wide world. And that's why he's a legend. If your answer is, "no"- you aren't perplexed by the Universe. I read an interesting article on ESPN mag today.
----You know what," he said. "I had a helluva season last year, and nobody gave a crap. Nobody. As much as I've complained about McGwire and Canseco and all of the bull with steroids, I'm tired of fighting it. I turn 35 this year. I've got three or four good seasons left, and I wanna get paid. I'm just gonna start using some hard-core stuff, and hopefully it won't hurt my body. Then I'll get out of the game and be done with it." (Title: For Bonds, great wasn't good enough, by Jeff Pearlman, espn.com).----On and on, on and on, Bonds is history. One of the best. A big bully GIANT. a LEGEND. Stocks, BONDS.

Praise Peace.

Afrika Bambaataa Brokers Peace Between KRS and Adisa
by Davey D

Yesterday March 9th on the anniversary of what was the 9th anniversary of the tragic slaying of the Notorious BIG, a good thing happened that would hopefully send a signal to people that his and 2Pac’s death did not happen in vain. A peaceful resolution between two high profile individuals within Hip Hop who have a had a war of words for more then a year was established. This war of words escalated intoan unfortunate and ugly incident at a Conference held at Stanford University this past weekend. We’re talking about the Blastmaster KRS-One and writer Adisa Banjoko.

The original source of their conflict is not that important. In all due respect, we should be focused on the lack of progress by our government in restoring the 9th Ward in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Can you believe there are still scores of un-recovered bodies there?We should be focused on the war between the garbage being spewed by commercial radio under the banner of Hip Hop. We should be concerned about all the new laws and designed to snatch our liberties by the guy who sits in the house on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington DC.

But with all that being said, what took place yesterday was a beautiful thing.Hip Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa got the two men together and helped work through the conflict. During the intense conversation both men came to see that there’s a larger picture in terms of protecting Hip Hop and dealing with some very real outside enemies that are attacking the culture and our communities.

Both KRS and Adisa talked like grown men with a sense of purpose and showed respect for one another as they agreed that this conflict should not have played itself in the public stage the way that it had and that it was now time for them to put all this behind them and move on to bigger things that need their attention.Both men also agreed that there were some hurtful things they have said to and about each other.

They also owned up to some of the actions they undertaken have reflected poor judgment and could've been done differently and more importantly, more respectfully. That included the way things were handled this past weekend on Saturday at Stanford by KRS on down to the way Adisa initially challenged KRS to a debate on his philosophy. Both men also clearly understood that it's important to stand up and show the world that folks can have major disagreements and still come to a peaceful resolution while maintaining their respective view points… In other words there’s room for everyone to co-exist.

They also came to the conclusion of keeping the lines of communication open.A big shout is in order to Afrika Bambaataa who demonstrated true leadership that was reflected yesterday in his years of handling and dealing with conflicts… His example and wisdom is one that we can all learn from and follow… Hip Hop needs that now. Big shout out to KRS and Adisa for keeping it real and seeing the greater good… I ran into KRS last night at his show in LA at the Viper Room and he was not only on fire, but feeling pretty damn good things got worked out. I spoke with Adisa who also felt good and is ready to focus his attention on other pressing issues like the current Black-Brown conflicts that seem to be plaguing certain areas of the Golden State.

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I'm glad the nonsense came to an end. I am grateful. Respect for the right-honorable gentlemen Adisa Banjoko and Kris Parker.

The Bad Apples

This is the kind of thing we don't need from our law enforcement officers, thank god the majority of them are not like this.

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SF Chronicle Story, by Henry K. Lee

03-03) 16:23 PST HAYWARD -- A West Contra Costa school district police officer and two security guards were arraigned today in the killing of a East Bay man who was shot dead in an argument over a parked car, authorities said.

Officer Joseph Jason Lee, 27, of San Lorenzo and security guards Mazzin "Mazz" Elhosseiny, 34, of Castro Valley and his cousin, Hussam "Sam" Elhosseiny, 25, also of San Lorenzo were charged in the Nov. 12 slaying of Martress Rogers, 23, in San Lorenzo.

Martress Rogers had been arguing with the suspects and at least four other people over Mazzin Elhosseiny's new Ford Excursion, which was double-parked outside the Ashland Gardens apartment complex at 16183 Ashland Ave., said Alameda County sheriff's Cmdr. Greg Ahern.

Lee -- who was not yet a school district police officer -- then broke a window on Rogers' red Chevrolet Corsica with his fist and Hussam Elhosseiny fired several shots from a semiautomatic handgun at the victim's car, Ahern said.

Hussam Elhosseiny has been charged with murder. Prosecutors charged Lee and Mazzin Elhosseiny with being accessories after the fact to murder. Clad in jail jumpsuits, they appeared before Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi this afternoon at the Hayward Hall of Justice.

Deputy District Attorney Annie Saadi said Hussam Elhosseiny had been making arrangements to leave the country, possibly to his native Egypt. The judge ordered Hussam Elhosseiny held without bail and set bail at $250,000 for Mazzin Elhosseiny and $25,000 for Lee.

All three are to return to court next week.

The judge's decision to grant bail to the two men prompted Rogers' brother, Marc Rogers, 23, to sputter in disgust and utter expletives outside the courtroom after having earlier said he was pleased with the arrests.

"I'm just happy they got them," he said before the arraignment.

Bullets hit Rogers in the arm and torso, and one of them destroyed his vital organs, Ahern said. Still, he managed to drive about two miles toward home before he staggered out of his car just outside his apartment building on Tropic Court in San Leandro.

Rogers died at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. He left behind a pregnant fiancee, Lailani Lopez, and their two-year-old son, Marvin.

"I'm just really happy they found them," Lopez, who is due in July, said today. "I hope they get what they deserve."

Lopez, who had been with the victim for nine years, said she was "really shocked" to learn that Lee became a police officer after the killing.

Deloise Quarles, the victim's grandmother agreed, saying, " Could you believe it? What is society coming to? Everything went down the drain, for nothing. He was trying to go home, that's what he was trying to do. It's unfair, so unfair."

After the slaying, the suspects agreed to keep quiet about the incident, which occurred after a night of drinking together in San Francisco, authorities said.

"We believe they were all sworn to secrecy," Ahern said.

Investigators found a trail of blood at the crime scene that led to a nearby apartment building where Lee and Hussam Elhosseiny live, Ahern said. The blood is believed to be Lee's, authorities said. Authorities identified the suspects with help from at least one confidential source, Ahern said, adding that additional arrests may be forthcoming.

At the time of the killing, the three suspects worked for West Coast Security and Patrol Company, which Mazzin Elhosseiny owns. A man who answered a number listed for Mazzin Elhosseiny said Friday, "I have no comment, sir."

Lee received his security guard's license in 2001, Mazzin Elhosseiny in 1993 and Hussam Elhosseiny in 1999. All three had valid firearms permits, according to records with the state Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.

Lee left the firm in January when he joined the West Contra Costa Unified School District police force, which has 19 officers. The district terminated Lee's contract Wednesday, said Vince Kilmartin, associate superintendent of schools.

A second district police officer hired in January, Manuel Regalado, was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday pending further investigation, Kilmartin said. Sheriff's investigators want to question Regalado and several other men to see if they were a witness to, or involved in, the shooting.

Both Lee and Regalado passed the standard background checks required to become a police officer, Kilmartin said.

Word of Lee's arrest comes amid debate over whether the district should disband its police force and seek a contract with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department to patrol its 60 campuses. But Kilmartin said he believed the slaying that involved the two officers was isolated.

"I don't believe that we will disband the force," he said. "I think this was just an unfortunate incident, and we will continue to provide the district police force throughout the community."

Westside Rebellion.

Check out the trailor for Adisa Banjoko's new book. It's on!!!

Trailor