Civilization is a weird place

Civilization is a weird place chale. somewhere in between the plenty gadgets, the rules, the news, and the blues, our humanity is missing and misplaced. still i'm tickled by it.

This evening i saw a white collar fella in his white collar dress clothes wearing a screwface, walking on a side walk, and picking every piece of trash he saw. he either is selling a house on the block (property value?), has a chip on his shoulder, or has a compulsive need to manual street sweep at the end of his work day at whatever office downtown. Could be one of the above or i'm just a presumptuous idiot.

Civilization is a weird place chale. Where else can lebron james making a luxurious decision of which city and NBA team to pay him the most and satisfy his career be more important than the gross injustice of the verdict in the cop that shot and killed Oscar Grant in the back?

Civilization is a weird place chale. there's a curtain of illusion that makes us think talent and a meritocracy is what runs things. nope suh. It's always politics and bullshit. it does off course pay to be a pleasant person because people tend to like that even in the cut-throat and nepotism riddled world of politics and music.

civilization is a weird place. fashions that come and go. Twitter's 140 characters runs the information world. crabs in a bucket and the rat race being civilly called "competition" or the workings of the free market if you want to get sophisticated.

civilization is such a weird place i think i have to keep reminding folks of what i have in my discography thus far to keep the $ support going. so here goes. shamwless plugs is a part of the weird civilization. so allow me:
manifestations CD. On Itunes
Sankofa On Itunes
The Birds and the Beats. Free Album!
2Africans and a Jew CD Itunes

Stay Human,
M dododotidoh

Black Stars Ayekoo! More Than Just Sport

First things first: Black Stars Ayekooooooo! It was a great run. pride oozing from every pore of my africa-man-original body. Ghana's looking real good on the stock market and in the hearts of many right now. Every Black Stars victory had every African beaming... yes we came from Africa



second things second. I'm slowly nursing the heartache of losing on penalties to Uruguay in the World Cup quarter finals. I haven't been this salty about a sports loss since Senegal 92. Back then 'twas the African cup of nations when Ghana's best player ever (forever ever *Andre 3stacks voice), Abedi Ayew, couldn't play the final cause the ref in the semis showed him a yellow card for dissent. guess what chale? we lost that one too on friggin penalties! as fate would have it, 18 years later his son Andre Ayew, who had an amazing tournament, also missed this decisive game cause of yellow card fckery. ebei! History needs to stop repeating itself already. i'm not even going to talk about Suarez and his goaltending madness. It'll make my blood do all sorts of volcano larva boiling.


You see chale, it's more than just sports. The hullabaloo about winning or losing is rooted in many things. it's everything from national pride to faux nationalism, to continent and kinship, to diaspora love (i love how my Caribbean peoples and others were supporting the black stars), to finding joy in a life rife with struggles, etc. Personally, been having it rough for a week and some change so i know a victory would've been more than a good look for my spirit chale. It can be as much an escape as it can be motivational. some people probably know more details about the world cup than any of the world wars. bet.

Back to life, back to reality now. Get vuvzela blackstars mp3 for free download, featuring yours truly, and celebrate the team with the best dance moves. gone but not forgotten. Black Stars, y3 ma mo Ayekoo!

M.

Brighter than Sunshine...vote already :)

before you read this, just go underneath the video and click VOTE. thanks.

now that that's out of the way...long time no blog. i'm in leavensworth Washington. A bavarian style village with some pretty mountains and thangs behind it. why? more on that next post. but urgently though, i need you to Vote for my friend Budo and i. we were invited to submit a remix of Aqualung's "brighter than sunshine" to Alternative Apparel's contest and we did. and folks are loving it. but it's a contest. we need to get an incredible number of votes to stay in 1st place. spread the word to ya friends on twitter, facebook and their a-alikes. let's get it!
Peace
M.

Unsigned Artist Competition Sponsored by Alternative Apparel

A.R.M, Soundset, the Grind, and the Sun Set

we came, we saw, we soundset, sun up to sunset. 17,000 or so people in the same location is what we call nuts. Hip-Hop festivals for the win. we give thanks that i could be on that stage with Budo and Krukid as A.R.M. (African Rebel Movement). Second time i played Soundset and it only gets bigger by the year.

lemme just say, for those who don't realize this here is a vocation, it's certainly a full time job performing, helping to sell your own merch, shake hands with the generous fans, sign tees, caps, posters, cds, vinyl and answer random questions. i love it though. i'll shut up and let the flicks speak.

kruk and i. Budo on guitars and horns (and mic) in the back left.


Muja Messiah and Dodi Phy come on for "refuse to lose," posse cut off "2 africans and a jew" album.

Shouts to Susan Campion and those cool and talented students from HSRA school: such support makes it twice as nice to enjoy the vocation.

last but not least, A.R.M tent and tees.


Bonus:
Potholesinblog.com recently re-posted this circa '06 recordings between me and wicked dope Belgian producers 40 Winks. download and enjoy. it''ll shed some light on the evolution of my voice.
http://potholesinmyblog.com/under-the-radar-40-winks-m-anifest-untitled-ep/

Hilarity! peep this...

okay, so i should be blogging about my london and paris journey i'm on right now. but i'm enjoying it too much to be blogging. :). however tho, this video/mockumentary right here is hilarious, and brilliant and vulgar. i've been waiting for Paul (who designed and manages my www.manifestmc.com) to put this out for a minute. he just did so i'm geeked to post it for my own mischievous reasons. see you at soundset on May 30th if you're in MN! you don't want to miss out! peace

struggles, faults & promise; all in one man

i struggle with a lot. i have too many faults to count. i try not to make too many promises. their too hard to keep. i have too many friends, i'm not sure i need anymore. even though i'm learning to keep that friendship circle smaller cause there are too many parasites and plenty opportunists waiting to sodomize my dreams for their own short term benefits.

i shouldn't throw fits. but sometimes i probably do. my fault. or perhaps just a struggle i need to keep, to keep the balance. i'm probably a dope strategist but not always a great judge of character. i can't swim. i love to win. i got a secret stash of that M.J competitiveness. the one that showed up at his NBA hall of fame speech - google that incredulous event. it's one of those necessary faults though. just can't take it to the podium like his royal airness.

i have thick skin. i have thin skin too. which skin shows up when? can't promise. i'm a scorpio, so do the math. i've seen funny-style reviews of my art that don't affect me none at all. i think too highly of myself maybe. on the other hand, i've heard slick sh*t said behind my back by supposed-to-be friends that irks the hell out of me. why should i care? i dunno why i do. i might end up learning to do the same from them. Jah Forbid!

with all my many faults, and my struggles to rid my life off the absolute drama it is sometimes, i've promised myself to remember to tell u guys where you can purchase and support the music and movements i'm making. i'm like public radio, currently membership driven. so here goes...

1. Tomorrow Wed May 5th at the Guthrie theater, Minneapolis, at 7:30pm. i have a show! it's a big one. come thru! get tickets here or at discounted rates at fifth element
2.Tuesday May 11th (next week), the long awaited "Two Africans and a Jew" EP Debut from the phenom of a group known as A.R.M that i'm a part of. Pre-order it here
3. Did you already get "sankofa" from itunes? released this year. Get it!
4. My first album was called "manifestations." buy it on itunes or a physical copy.

thank you and goodnight.

sincerely,
mr struggles-faults-and-promises

That New New!

In case you missed this.... Here ya go! A.R.M. (Budo, Krukid, & yours truly) featuring Slug. thank me later :). Download below.

A.R.M. feat. Slug - Fear of the Mundane(Dirty)
A.R.M. feat. Slug - Fear of the Mundane(Clean)

Off A.R.M.'s upcoming "Two Africans and a Jew" EP. Big up to Slug for such a good look and going in on that verse eh! spread the word and link up with A.R.M. on facebook. And oh yeah *drum rolls*, we'll be performing at Soundset 2010!



"Two Africans and a Jew" is dropping (do people still use this term? :)) late April/Early May. I'm geeked (squad) for this. Listening to the mastered version of the record right about now. mmmm...

peace peace
m.anifest