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- » Name: Anthony Springer, Jr
- » Age: 24
- » Location: Sigma Land/The City of Sin
- » Member Since: 04/09/07
- » Bio: Hip Hop fan, writer, promoter of higher ed... you want to know more: blusolo1914@yahoo.com
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- » Dollars and Change
- » Vanessa Blue: The Outtakes
- » Random Thoughts on Porn
- » Things You've Always Wanted to ask a Porn Star
- » You're a Playa Only Because You Be Playin Yaself
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Mr. Springer's Neighborhood
Dollars and Change
It’s been a minute since I’ve blogged on this site, and those of you around during the infancy stages of DX blogging will recognize the screenname (note to all: I haven’t gone anywhere, I just write under my government now: Anthony Springer, Jr.)
I can’t recall the last time I shed a tear over too much of anything in the news, not 9/11, not Jena, Darfur. The Sean Bell verdict did what an act of terrorism and a genocide could not: move me to tears. My heart hurts for the Bell family, his wife, and the two daughters that will grow up without a father. But most of all, I hurt for everybody who’s ever been killed or maimed at the hands of overzealous, cowardly and crooked officers.
To continue saying “fuck the police,” at this point in time is counterproductive, and gets us nowhere. Sure, it makes us feel good (go on and say it now, you know you want to), but at the end of the day, we’ve wasted emotions and black and brown men everywhere will still be getting shot across the country and we’ll be left feeling powerless to do anything about it.
My blogging brethren J. Burnett issued a call to action, and if that was the alley oop, I hope this post is the dunk that hits home with somebody out there in cyberspace.
Barack Obama commented on the verdict today, saying, "Well, look, obviously there was a tragedy in New York. I said at the time, without benefit of all the facts before me, that it looked like a possible case of excessive force. The judge has made his ruling, and we're a nation of laws, so we respect the verdict that came down.”
I don’t expect Obama to take a real controversial stance on the issue, and while his statement was, to say the least, disappointing, there’s a gem in there that we need to heed.
In a nation of lawless police, we are a nation of laws, which means that we can’t be content to march in the streets and we can’t resort to random acts of violence against law enforcement. We need to lobby our elected officials to change our laws.
“Dollars and change,” in the words of the late Johnnie Cochran. There’s no amount of money that will bring Mr. Bell back, but if the people who fund the police are made to pay EVERY time some rogue cop acts a fool, the police may think twice before drawing a weapon.
And we need to lobby for changes to the court system. Expecting the police to police themselves is ridiculous; expecting the local district attorney—who’s success DEPENDS on a good working relationship with the police—is equally ridiculous. Cases involving police misconduct should be investigated, at worst, by an independent body and at best by the FBI or Justice Department.
The three officers in the Bell case were likely acquitted because they opted for a trial by judge instead of a jury. This needs to change as well. Trials involving police misconduct should be MANDATORY jury trials, in a venue close to the location of the incident in question.
Bullshit rolls down, real change is an uphill battle, who’s willing to push the wagon for justice and equality? I seldom agree with Al Sharpton, but justice was aborted today. Let’s not allow Mr. Bell’s death to be in vain.
Vanessa Blue: The Outtakes
Whether you love or hate this porno shit-and many of you seem to have some feeling about it one way or the other, the good thing is that the series of interviews we've been running is getting you all talking. Aside from the random "these bitches are nasty" comments, it's some really good dialog going on over on this small part of the Internets (shout out to Meka Soul), and that benefits us all at the end of the day. As a journalist, it's not my job to approve or condemn the things or subjects I write about (minus an editorial or a blog). At the end of the day, my job is to inform you-the reader. Whether its Kwame Kilpatrick phone boning, the upcoming UFC fight this weekend, or Lil Wayne talking crazy (again), we report, you decide (no Fox News). What I will do-directly or indirectly-is challenge you all and hope that in turn you continue to challenge me (and the rest of the staff here). So when I engage you-the reader, it's not in an attempt to piss you off, but to challenge the way you think, challenge the way you view this rap shit (or in this case, this porno shit). Love it or hate it, agree or disagree, keep reading, keep responding and keep learning. In this short set of questions—some of which were submitted by you, the reader—Vanessa touches on faking “it” (and you know what “it” is), her favorite performers to work with and what’s off limits on and off camera.
Hip Hop DX: Do you ever fake it?
Vanessa Blue: What woman doesn’t? If she tells you she doesn’t, she’s a fuckin lie, ok?
DX: Does it hurt sometimes?
VB: Yeah of course. Anal does hurt if a guy doesn’t know what he’s doing or doesn’t care about you. Or the director doesn’t care and he wants something psychotic. Yeah, it does hurt.
DX: Any acts that are off limits?
VB: Multiples. I did a [double penetration], it was really fun, but I’m good on it. I don’t think I want to do that again. I don’t want to do anything that I wouldn’t do in my bed room and I don’t want to do anything that I wouldn’t do in front of a husband. Take that any way you want to
DX: [Laughs] Who are your favorites to work with?
VB: Any European guy that doesn’t speak English.
DX: How come?
VB: Cause they don’t speak English
DX: So it’s just all scene?
VB: Having interacted and this is going to be very foul, having interacted with a lot of male talent on the set… I don’t know if guys go through this, but, have you ever talked to somebody and you’re like “oh my God, they look really good” and then you start talking to them and you’re like, “shut the fuck up, I hate you!” I mean immediately, it’s like distaste in your mouth. Not all the guys are like that, but there’s enough male talent like that. And now I have suck your dick.
My favorites are the guys who don’t speak English. We don’t have to talk about anything, I don’t know how fucked up you are, I don’t want to hear about what you did last night. I don’t want to know about the partying, you don’t have to deal with any of that if they don’t speak.
I would love to say [Mr. Marcus], but I haven’t worked with Marcus. I think if I had, he would definitely be my favorite.
DX: Do you ever get tired of having sex?
VB: Do I ever get tired personally? Yes. It’s a double sided thing because there are days where I will practically slam my head into the wall because I want it, and then there are days when I don’t want to be touched at all. I think that’s some of the damage that happens when you do scenes. You have to come in and be prepared for sex whether you want it or not. Whether you’re into that guy, whether you hate the set, whether it’s hot or cold. You've gotta be ready for action. In porn of course, you get tired. But, not if you’re new. If you’ve been here for a while you’re working with the same people, doing shit you don’t want to do.
DX: It gets old, like any other job I guess…
VB: The beauty is, no matter how old it gets you can always close your eyes and be somewhere else. I mean as a woman, the guys can’t but I can close my eyes and be anywhere. Which is why I really wanted to make the transformation to directing, so I can put girls and guys together that I know will want to fuck each other and I’m excited to watch them screw. I’m telling them that when they hit the door, like “holy shit, I was fantasizing about y’all doing this shit, she’s gon’ suck your dick!” and I’m more excited than they are and then it’s a good scene. I personally check out my own product to make sure it passes the test. I love making the transition because I can put two people together that I wouldn’t have been able to work with [before].
Random Thoughts on Porn
The few people who know me that browse this site know that there’s one thing I love almost as much as music: PORN
That’s right. The kid has a serious hang up on all things sex. Movies, pictures, books, etc. You name it; I’ve got it or seen it. There’s something intriguing about the sexual hang ups people have, why people like what they like and so on. One of these days, I’ll devote some serious time to the study of sex (hopefully on some university’s dime), but for now, I’ll stick with interviewing porn stars.
Since my Vanessa Blue interview ran prior to porn week (and thus, making me feel a little left out of the loop), I decided to do this drop for all the folks who got their protest on last week.No connection to Hip Hop and porn? Nonsense!
Can anybody say Luke?
Hip Hop and porn fit together like a hand and glove, peanut butter and jelly, kool-aid and sugar, and all other things that go together. Videos are peddling more flesh than Cinemax in the 90’s, XXL (back when it was really dope) was dropping (sanitized) sex issues and 2Pac was running around with porn stars in the X rated version of How Do You Want It.
I hate to toot my own horn, but them DX writers got it going on, word is Bon Jovi © Big Pooh (interpolation by me).
So here we are, the bad guys are doing a whole week dedicated to America’s dirty little secret: sex, sex and more sex! Love it or hate, revere or revile it, porn is here to stay. While I haven’t read any of the pieces that will follow in the coming days, I do know the reputation of our HNIC, Andreas Hale, and the quality of the writing you all have come to know from this site. Regardless of how you feel about porn (and I KNOW I’m not the only one that watches—and was watching before they reached the age of majority), read with an open mind and draw your own conclusions from there.
When all is said and done, I’ll bet any reader on this site that you won’t be able to find better coverage of porn on a Hip Hop site—EVER. We’re stepping the game up because, well…the world is bigger than this rap shit and covering Hip Hop news all the time is—for lack of a better word—boring. Expand your minds, it won’t hurt… I promise.
Nonetheless, I could write a book about each of the critiques I saw in the My Blue Heaven comments section.Here are three indisputable facts:
Porn and Hip Hop ARE connected
Positivity doesn’t sell
More of you than not indulge in fantasies of the flesh. From the strip club, to the night club, y’all love this porno shit and nobody’s bringing you the real like the men and women of DX. Rest assure, there will be plenty more interviews with smut peddlers in the future, so feel free to shoot your boy some names and I’ll do my best to make it happen.
As for everybody else who keeps begging DX to cease and desist with the sex: Let me find out Hip Hop’s gotten conservative. With all the misogyny that goes on in these forms, the last thing I expected to find in my comments section were folks who sound like they came straight out of the GOP convention. Sit back, relax and enjoy the week of festivities. I’ll be back to drop some extras from my Vanessa Blue interview later on.
Peace and wet dreams,
A-Plus
Things You've Always Wanted to ask a Porn Star
The bad guys at DX are in the building at this year's AVN expo (which will be referred to as "the porn convention" for the duration of this post). We talk a lot about sex around here, but now is your (that means you, the reader) chance to get in some questions of your own about the stars that dominate your wet dreams.
I figured it was only fitting to get some questions from the fans, so you all have until Noon, PST tomorrow to post some general questions for porn stars to be used in a later feature here on DX.
Ps. Before somebody posts this, if I run into Wesley Pipes, I'll ask him why he talks so much...
peace
You're a Playa Only Because You Be Playin Yaself
I've heard a number of different arguments that seem to take the heat off of why black folks aren't responsible for the nonsense currently assaulting my eyes and ears on a daily basis.
Some people will lead you to believe that the TI's are running this rap shit and force emcees and reality show hoes to act a damn fool for the camera (and to some extent, this is correct).
Other people will lead you to believe that white people are keeping this stuff on the air (and to some extent they're correct too).
But any person of African descent is fooling themselves if they can say with a straight face that anybody OTHER than us is keeping the cycle going.
We are the only (or one of VERY few) cultures that degrades our own and will turn around and fight folks to the death for the right to do it (hey, I don't care for Al Sharpton, but he has some valid points). Long gone are the days of white actors dressing up, pretending to be us. We'd have a foot to stand on if black face was the new black, but the black faces on TV acting a donkey... are actually black faces!
At the end of the day, we green light this stuff and anybody telling you otherwise is lying to themselves. Black Americans have always been trend setters. Don't believe me? Answer the following questions:
1. How successful would your favorite (commercial) rapper be without a co sign from "the streets?" [1]
2. How long would 106th and Park have lasted if the audience was all white? [2]
3. Would Flavor of Love made it past a pilot episode if the majority of the women were white?
3a. Would Flavor of Love even been conceived with said concept?
The answer to all these questions is as follows.
1. Not very
2. Not long
3. No
4. Hell no! Flav wouldn't even be allowed in the building
According to an article that appeared on Blackenterprise.com, Last year’s season finale of Flavor of Love was the highest rated show in VH1's history. VH1’s Charm School was the no. 1 show in black households for the first week of July, according to Nielsen reports.
Let me run that back: VH1’s Charm School was the no. 1 show in black households for the first week of July, according to Nielsen reports.
We are starring in and supporting our own toxic behavior. The hour glass on blaming white people is running low. If we stopped watching and co signing foolishness, the rest of the world will fall in line.
That's how it's been, that's how it always will be.
[1] the rappers that do make it are the exceptions, not the rule
[2] I'm not sure if this is still valid, but 106 and Park, at one point in time had higher ratings than TRL
Let's Leave Hip Hop... to Hip Hop
So Rev. Al is at it again.
While I applaud anybody that's able to speak up and articulate the shock, dismay and outrage (hey, SOMEBODY is following him) of a group of people, I cannot sit idly by and watch said person inadequately address the problem.
THAT is my problem with Al Sharpton.
Anybody with any ounce of common sense realizes that Al's anti-bad language crusade is, when stripped down to a bare minimum, absolutely correct. The problem is that Al (as usual) is a day late and a dollar short (and that dollar would be better spent elsewhere).
Those of you who've followed DX over the years know full well that Hip Hop (in a general sense of the word) is capable of policing and defending itself. If you look at past editorials on this site, you'll see that we've challenged the industry on both artistic and moral levels. If you look at most of the blogs, you'll find Meka Soul, Brillyance, Andres, and J. Burnett (if I missed any other of my blogging fam, I apologize) talking about the shitty state of music AND the content of said music.
A look across the web will reveal the same thing on numerous other sites. Last I checked, The Source isn't afraid to check the industry and (to a much lesser extent) XXL as well.
Sorry Al, we got this covered.
With so much going on in our communities and the Black community in particular, it's with absolute shock and amazement that I continue to be bombarded by a black "leader" with a bad perm insistent on cleaning up the music some pre-teens listen to. If I took an informal poll, I'm willing to bet a paycheck that the majority of kids under 18 don't know who Al Sharpton is, and if they did, don't give a damn one way or the other.
Sorry Al, a day late and a dollar short.
I would also bet a paycheck that said individuals read The Source, XXL, or log on to Hip Hop DX
Yeah, we got this one.
But in the 07 (and beyond), Hip Hop is gunning for bigger things. We're more organized and as we get older, we get more focused. We're taking on the war in Iraq, health care, education and a host of other "grown up things" because, well... Hip Hop is growing up.
We're doing all the things that "leaders" like Al Sharpton should be doing. If Martin or Malcolm were alive, I doubt they'd be spending the bulk of their time trying to clean up the latest 50 Cent album (though I have no doubt that they wouldn't be pleased with what plays on the radio).
Al and Jesse need to clean it up, and clean it up quick[1]... or be replaced by the next generation of real leaders.
Let this serve as a warning.
[1]and I'm not talking about rap lyrics
It Must Be ya Ass Part Duex
If you didn't catch the original, you can check it out here
I know there are a few women that post here on the regular, so this one is for you (but the fellas are more than welcome to weigh in on this one).
After having a little debate with my "soon to be" over the original blog, she stated something that seemed a bit out of this world to me. Here it is: My point is this, if you want to see a change in trends it has to start
with the men. If more men reacted to a woman's intellegence, rather
than her body, then more women would display their intellegence, rather
than their bodies.
Let's be real for a moment, it's easy to say that if men stopped watching videos with half naked women in them, they'd go away. On the flip side, if women didn't want to be the objects of half naked affection, said videos would also go away. I'll be the first person to admit that I like looking at half naked women, so the odds of me not watching said entertainment is slim to none (though I do think that the game suffers from a lack of balance). On the flip side, if women stopped being half naked, I suppose that I and the rest of the circle jerks in the world would find some other form of entetainment to tickle our fancies.
With that said, it has always been my belief that the movement for either a)total annhilation of the video vixen or b) at the very LEAST, a balanced portrayal of women in Hip Hop (and subsequently pop culture) must be led BY WOMEN, FOR WOMEN. A man can't lead a women's movement any more effectively than a white person could've led the Black Power Movement in the 60's.
I believe that men should be limited to two roles if/when said movement jumps off
1. SUPPORTING the women
2. TEACHING the next generation of young men how to be responsible father's/spouses and how to properly treat a woman.
What say you, DX readers... can a man lead the women's movement? I think not, but I could be wrong...
though i doubt it.
It Must Be ya Ass...
After watching that Deelishis (did I spell that right?) video, I must say that I enjoyed the visuals (the song was pretty whack though).
Aside from the 25% hard on, it also put the nail in the coffin on what used to be one of my humanitarian efforts.
The relationship between women and Hip Hop (today) is like Ike and Tina... and that's putting it mildy. I bet that Ike and Annie Mae had a a lot of happy times, but the only thing we remember about those two is rolling rivers, throwing punches and "eat ya cake Annie Mae!" Hip Hop is a lot like that. We had our Queen Latifah, Ladies First, U-N-I-T-Y moments, but when all is said and done, "it must be ya ass cause it ain't your face" and "back that azz up" will FAR outweigh the positive female contributions to the game.
A lot of this is the fault of women.
It's hard to have sympathy for, or take up for a group of people who have none their damn self (and yes, this can double as a message to Black folk in general as well). I apologize in advance for not being compassionate about the plight of Karrine "Superhead" Steffans or any other video vixen/turned industry jump off who sold some T&A and a wet tongue for fame. I apologize for no longer giving a fuck about the video models mistreatment and I apologize if, as a man, I can no longer take your "it's more to me than a pretty face and a phat ass" comments seriously because... well, you made a name for yourself BECAUSE of your pretty face and phat ass.
I've come to the conclusion that certain women just don't give a fuck about being degraded and I honestly believe that deep down, some of them actually like it. It's certaintly no surprise that sex sells, it sold yesterday, it sold today and it'll sell tomorrow.
Hell, prostitution is older than Jesus.
However, when one continues to play up ASSets and play down everything else, it's no wonder why I can't look at a woman like Deelishus, or Superhead, or *insert name here* and don't automatically see the Mother Teresa in them that must be dying to get out underneath the lack of clothes.
On the flip side, that's not to say that the women who do choose to act like they weren't raised by wolves deserve to be disrespected by us men folk. In fact, I believe that those who, by choice or plain ignorance fail to make the distinction between a classy lady and a jump off missed a couple lessons of home training (and perhaps the jump offs did too, so maybe they were made for each other... alas, the Circle of Life)
In this life, you reap what you sew and if the seams of your jeans are busting out, you can't be surprised to feel a palm on the back of your ass.
Maybe we were just trying to fill the void.
And now, back to the show...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2mdbu_deelishisrumpshaker_music
Deelishis-rumpshaker
Uploaded by advakidd
We Got to Do Better
I almost forgot about BET's sorry excuse for new programming which debuts tonight (We Got to Do Better) until I stumbled upon THIS here gem on the net this morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMthrJjpe4Y
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Say what you will about the program (which not too many regular folks have seen), but mark my words, there will be something similar to this and something more outrageous than this tonight. And if not, I'll be back tomorrow to retract.
Vick Gets Pass at the Expense of Hip Hop?!? Negative
In America, we live under the presumption of innocent until proven guilty… supposedly.
You and I know better and the presumption of innocence, more often than not hinges on how the media spins a high profile story. I hate to cast judgment before the jury delivers a verdict, but not only has Michael Vick already been hung in the media, this writer also has a strong feeling that, well… he did it.
I don't know if he's guilty or not, but I believe that Vick is guilty of something in this dog fight matter.
At the very least, he’s guilty of being dumb ass.
The one individual who’s more than happy to give Vick a pass at the expense of current media sacrificial lamb Hip Hop [1] is columnist Jason Whitlock.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, he was one of the journalists who appeared on Oprah’s joke of a town hall meeting after Don Imus uttered the now infamous “nappy headed ho” phrase. Whitlock railed against a Hip Hop culture that allows characters like Don Imus to think its okay to call women ho’s and suggests that we should check ourselves, lest we find these incidents occurring more often.
Point taken.
However, linking the Vick dog fighting incident to Hip Hop culture is like saying that Ouija board rapping Bone Thugs-N-Harmony had a role to play in the Columbine High School shootings some years ago (wait, that happened too).
In a commentary that recently appeared in the Kansas City Star, Whitlock writes, “My desire is to see Vick evolve as a human being and for his troubles to serve as yet another wake-up call for black athletes to reject the hip-hop/prison culture that glorifies much of the negative behavior and attitude that has eroded the once-dignified and positive reputation of African-American athletes.”
Granted, there are some credible arguments to be made that Hip Hop, or better yet, MAINSTREAM Hip Hop promotes a lot of things, misogyny and senseless violence being two.
Main stream Hip Hop and dog fighting? Not so much.
Whitlock goes on to say that the “hijacking” of Hip Hop culture began in the late 80’s with NWA, and gangsta rap hasn’t looked back sense. While these comparisons may resonate with people who just don’t know any better, Whitlock isn’t fooling anybody with an ounce of Common Sense (pun intended) and knowledge on Hip Hop culture.
Perhaps Whitlock lived on another planet when the black community began to take a nose dive into the abyss of apathy, disorganization, and division. However, I’ll assume that Whitlock is a credible journalist for the sake of this argument and with that, its safe to say he knows the black community started to take a turn for the worst before Cube, Ren and them came straight outta Compton.
There’s much to be said for the decline of black America, the idiocy of the Vick case and Hip Hop’s hold on pop culture and AmeriKKKan values, but the comparison to dog fighting and Hip Hop just doesn’t fit.
Let’s call it what it is, Vick wasn’t embracing Hip Hop culture when he chose to get involved[2], he embraced being a damn fool.
Perhaps he and Whitlock have something in common.
[1] Don’t worry, wrestling is about to be the media’s new whipping boy, just wait.
[2]Or allowed his boys to be involved with illegal dog fighting on his property
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