Look what Jonny found...

This is a rapper that I discovered while listening to the roots new album on youtube. His song was used as a background to a bumper for a music and arts festival and I fell in love with the track...Unfortunately they didnt have the name of the song as a title foe thr video so I had been spending the week trying to find it. I finally did today and have been addicted to nearly every track that I've heard thus far. He has an extremely versatile command of rhythm and rhyme with a clarity and sophistication that is unlike any rapper I've heard in his age bracket. He's truly a virtuoso of rap and his name: Kendrick Lamar. Take a listen to this track and feel free to let me know if I'm jocking him too hard.

Fried Chicken, Rap Music, and...Final Fantasy VII?

For years, I've been a fierce opponent to black stereotypes. For most of my young life, I tried my hardest to become the antithesis to stereotypical black behavior. I was anti-basketball, refused to listen to hip-hop, only ate fried chicken from the comfort of my home, and was an advent gamer of everything that wasn't Madden. Unfortunately, I discovered that as I tried to drive a wedge between societal perceptions and me, I was quickly developing another one. Now, in 2012, there is a new stereotype for black men.

Yes, blogging community, every black male nerd in some way, or some capacity loves Final Fantasy VII. If they don't now, they will as soon as you set them down in front of this beautiful game. Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix's 64-bit masterpiece of modern escapism, introduced many young black men into the world of Role Playing Games, and the quirky artistic sensibilities of Japanese animation. The futuristic story line, coupled with a cast of bizarre characters, created a fantastic world that still grips the imagination of many gamers today. This game seems to resonate deeply with black gamers especially. I began to notice this as I wandered digital media recently, and saw the type of FFVII inspired fan fiction, art, and music that are cropping up.



This week I posted on Facebook asking this same questions and here are some of the responses my fellow black gamers gave to me.

"It's because the black characters always keep it real in those FF worlds. Barrett was the first time I saw "%&#$&" as part of the text in a Final Fantasy game. And since they do voice acting now I don't think they'll ever get that close to swearing again."

"I think it has something to do with Barret's patois: so edgy and urban..."

"I blame you and your brother. Never dabbled in a FF game until I started hanging out with you two."

There is something resonating with this game and my generation.

Introducing Barret Wallace. Before 1997, young black men rarely had a video game rendering look remotely like them. Granted there were some, Jax from Mortal Kombat, Skate from Streets of Rage, Bishop from any number of Xmen games. But most of these were barely articulate goons with lack luster story lines, and little motivation to do anything but F*** people up. Barret was introduced similarly, with a barrage of localized profanity happily censored with $s and &s, as he berated the protagonist for his nonchalant attitude, spiky hair, and questionable mannerisms. His concept art included a leather jacket (it was the 90s), Timberland style boots, and a chrome gun strapped to a handless arm. No explanation was given to why he had gun strapped to his arm, but he registered in our minds as one complete bad ass.


Looking back, I realize that Barret was an amalgamation of many archetypal "black" characters in Japanese media. Violent, jive talking, hooligans who enjoy cigar smoking, drinking, and are shockingly one-dimensional. But what separated Barret from the rest was a level of depth. Barret's reveals, like many of FFVII's beautifully written characters, nuances that are subtle and make sense within the given circumstances. We find he loves his adopted daughter, and is a strong father figure. He is a fierce environmentalist. He is one of the most honorable and loyal characters in the game. He was even reduced to a gurgling puddle at the sight of newborn chicks. Seeing an African American character rendered as a good guy, and not some goon helped black gamers connect to this very Japanese story.

Final Fantasy VII was a gritty game. The grittiness of the game, and the chiefly urban feel in much of the opening levels crafted a very hip hop feel. Especially late 90 gangsta hip hop which tended to craft fantasies of urban life. You’re assaulted with a harsh world full of seedy characters, graffiti, scantily clad women, and a unique mission to become the catalyst of a revolution against a corrupted government. Young black men like me relished in this environment because it was remote yet familiar.


As “black nerd” is increasing coming toward the forefront of America's collective perspective, so to certain stereotypes associating themselves with said nerds. The Black nerd is a term encompassing a grand scope of blacks, as diverse as the culture itself. However on the topic of Final Fantasy, in my experience, we remain a united front. Final Fantasy VII was a great game, and a gateway to a huge world of equally beautiful time wasters.

New York, New York

New York has a love/hate relationship with me. Ever since I was in high school, New York has had a almost mythical allure to it. I think its like how those kids in a C.S. Lewis novel must feel when they find themselves once again stumbling into Narina. The glee of the anticipation for adventure, but also the realization that this is a very dangerous place. Now I know there aren't creatures actively trying to kill me in New York, but I consistently question if I can survive in a place as harsh and unrelenting as New York likes to think it is. It is almost a right of passage for kids of my generation, to move to New York and mine for their futures like gold miners flocking to California. Driving into new york, two songs come to mind to represent my feelings about this place. A place that carries so much meaning in our collective American history. Enjoy.

my playlist

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Embrace Rejection...it hurts soo good.

Its been a long time since Ive been on this site. Months in fact. Me and my friends started this blog about 2 years ago in an attempt to keep in touch with each other. It was a hit with our friends and eventually with people we didn't know from all over. Like everything in life, it fizzled out. People became too busy and some members had to drop the site. Eventually we all dropped the blog siting "life" as the main contributing factor at least it was the case for me. I also feel like I was no longer inspired to write anymore. I had nothing interesting to say.

I find myself back on this site hoping I can inspire the rest of the crew to jump back on, but now to the subject matter. What i want to talk about is WOMEN.

I hate cute things. Animals Children Women. They all find a way to exploit you in some way and they all love attention. Its fun at first because you find yourself willing to give the attention and not really think much of who's contributing more but if you have half a brain you begin to realize that any and every relation evolves into a power struggle. This is where politics come into play and usually the point where I pull out. I hate politics and the relationship tit for tat that everyone seems to get themselves involved in (probably why I'm the quintessential single guy in my group of friends). I cant help but be cynical about a process that involves for example, ignoring someone you like so they don't think you like them that much. FUCK THAT. Why can't people be upfront and damn the consequences? OK that was a rhetorical question. The reason is because people are afraid of getting hurt but is pain really that bad? Geez people! Get over yourself. I honestly believe that the reason people get so scared of rejection is because they got trophies for losing soccer games as a kid to boost confidence. Our generation is one full of people who had their egos stroked their entire lives to preserve their self esteem. Ridiculous.

I digress, in an attempt to be a different man than I was previously I found myself going on REAL dates and meeting women NOT in a bar and actually trying to foster something meaningful. You know what it did? It left me with a fuckin migraine and I HATE headaches. I tried to be sweet and nice and hangout and text and all that shit. NOT fun for me. I would rather something evolve naturally and maybe that's where I failed in trying to manufacture something that wasn't there. I can accept that BUT I would have saved a lot of time if people were not scared to hurt everyone's feelings all the time.

Oh and back to the "cute" things. Those things are the worst. They are so in tuned with the fact that they have a natural appeal that it's kinda scary and awesome. Even the cute girls who are really nice know in the back of their mind that they can manipulate and some find it fun. I guess I can understand it to a point but this goes back to the power struggle. I think I have a hard time subscribing to the power struggle bit because my motto in life is "Dont Fight the Feeling". You cant fight the feeling and be afraid to tell someone how you feel. It's rule number 37. I think that in general people should open themselves up more to rejection and also rejecting. Both are painful at times but pain is temporary and we've all got a lot of life to live.

I missed you 5ivebruhs...Thanks

Ladies and Gentlemen...Hermain Cain

This cat is as worse as a candidate as Sarah Palin and it scares me to think that this guy is actually popular>

Did Obama just say what I thought he said?

Glad the president was finally blunt about the Bush Tax Cuts. To bad he wasn't blunt about raising taxes. Sneaky sneaky Mr. Obama. Start watching at 30:00.



My chemistry teacher used to carry a water bottle and she shot people in the face if they feel asleep in her class. I think Obama needs on for Biden.

Diamond District: Music out of the DMV thats not Wale or Go-Go

I discovered Diamond District recently. They hail from the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) so its my obligation as a resident to publicize them. They are a little different from the DMV "prodigal son" named Wale, so its refreshing to discover something new from this area (Not knocking Wale, he's a favorite here on 5ivebruhs ). Wale is heavily influenced by Go-Go music, and his lyrics tend to be autobiographical. He utilizes allot pop culture references for his metaphors and samples. These guys are more influenced by Jazz Hip-hop, and alternative hip-hop coming out of new york in the 90s.  They are similar to Mobb Deep in that sense; street chroniclers with dark beats and grainy sound bites.  Check them out below: