The New: Tamir Rock and Ra-Re Valverde, Summer Stylin' for the Fellas, Kick...baallliiiin!!, Crack Economics, Why I Love: The New Bentley Joint

The New: Tamir Rock & Ra-Re Valverde

As I walk to the train station in the morning I often listen to music. Besides setting my mood for the day it’s kind of therapeutic but today it was different. With every step and every toggle of the “next” button on my iPod I realized that I need some new music. Badly. I’m always frustrated around this time in my life {which comes frequently} because I know how challenging it is to find music that I really like and the radio {no matter where you live} is utterly useless. I search for new music so fiercely that I feel like I’m looking for the Holy Grail.

Unlike those kats who unsuccessfully search for the Holy Grail I’ve found my treasure. No doubt. Your boy stays within arms reach of The New and today I’m glad to say that I’ve hit the jack pot. I’ve found two musical artists that exemplify what The New is and they are Tamir Rock and Ra-Re Valverde. Now I’ll be the first to say that these artists are new to me and some of you may have known of them for a minute but dammit their still new to me so keep reading.

Interesting names aside both artists are incredibly talented, distinctive from mainstream dribble that is shoved down the public’s throat and are incredibly, freakishly, stinking, stupidly talented. Trust me.

Tamir Rock

I can’t even take credit for finding out about this kat. Tamir {pronounced Tah-meer} was presented to me by my personal new music genie who’s actually a really good friend. Tamir hails from Richmond, VA {RIC stand up!!} and has managed to create a unique style that is far from a gimmick. Another strength of Tamir’s is that his rhyming surpasses all of the “shawty shawty” “drop it like its hot” stuff that populates the charts right now. My personal favorite is “Confess” and the track is mean. Everything he’s touching on is relevant and it’s easy to see that dude has a lot of artistic character. I’ll definitely keep my eye on him as he develops and eventually blows up. It’ll happen sooner rather than later.

To check out some of Tamir’s work visit his myspace page but stretch your neck before you make the jump cause I guarantee you’ll be bobbing your head for a good 20 minutes—non stop.

Rock on.

Ra-Re Valverde

Okay I can’t even lie. I was at work when I stumbled upon Ra-Re {pronounced Rah-Ray}. I was gathering materials for an upcoming creative briefing while listening to some Rahsaan Patterson on YouTube. YouTube is addictive too. You watch/listen to one thing and before you know it you’ve listened to 12 other videos related to that one you looked for. I was watching Rahsaan, Trina Broussard and Ra-Re jam and I could not take my eyes off of her and it didn’t hurt that she has an amazingly smooth voice {her and Trina sounded great to be honest}. After listening to that 2 minute jam session at least 30 times {when I like something I really like it} I decided to look up Ra-Re online and was excited to see she has an album {A Beautiful Mess available on iTunes and Amazon.com} and she features a few samples of her music on her myspace page.

I have been listening to “B With U” non-stop for two days straight. No lie. This track has a groove to it that is infectious and you don’t know whether to sway or bob your head. I honestly do both. Ra-Re, like Tamir, is a distinctive artistic soul that offers a fresh perspective on the musical experience. “Love Will” featuring Peter Hadar is another crazy track that speaks THE TRUTH about love and struggle. The first time I listened to this track I couldn’t stop saying “ummm” and “I know that’s right”. The truth indeed.



Ra-Re is a straight up and down cutie pie {luscious lips and fly style} and I plan on telling everyone I know about this sister. Check out Ra-Re’s talent on her myspace page.

Tell her The Genius Syndicate sent ya.

{It ain’t like she knows who I am or anything but I always wanted to say that.}

Summer Stylin’ for the Fellas

In terms of clothing options women have it easy. Damn right they do. I love summer but the wardrobe, especially the work wardrobe, doesn’t offer too many options. The temperature has been in the 90’s lately and I know my fellow male counterparts have been punished in the heat while wearing pants, long sleeve shirts, blazers and the occasional neck tie. A few minutes outside and your brow, neck and armpits are soaked.

So what do you do when it’s too hot to wear jeans but you don’t want to look like you totally surrendered to the heat? I got you. One of my favorite stylists, Clinton Kelly {TLC’s What Not to Wear}, has put together a road map to summer style for the fellas and if I must say it will definitely get you through the rest of this blazing season no matter where you live.

In the summer months try a little linen on a casual Friday if you can swing it or even some seersucker. A seersucker jacket and a nice pair of jeans is a nice summer look and to let the feet breath throw on a pair of flip flops.

Pattern is another way to fight the khaki brigade. I have nothing against my brothers in Dockers but every once in a while you should break free. Clinton suggests you “try a gray pinstripe trouser with a lavender checked shirt and solid yellow knit tie. Do something to distinguish your self from the clones!” Amen dude.

Fit is one of my pet peeves with a lot of kats these days. The summer time doesn’t give you free range to throw on a 3 X shirt and a pair of baggy shorts all day and please don’t wear shirts that hang below your crotch. That -ish is aiight when you’re 15 and you get your fashion tips from 106 & Park but any grown man shouldn’t be dressing like a teenager. I’m just saying.

To read Clinton’s full list of tips for summer style go here.

Kick…baaaalllliiin’!!!!!!!

Mainstream sport is over rated. Give me the days of competitive hide and seek, freeze tag and 1 2 3 red light. Those days of are long gone or are they? Imagine my surprise when I found out about the World Adult Kickball Association. Kickball is the quintessential game that anyone {granted with feet and eye-foot coordination} can play and like we used to do in the projects you can use ANYTHING for a base. An old bag of Wise potato chips, a tree stump or a piece of cardboard will do. You get creative when you can’t afford to buy real bases but who needs real bases anyway?

WAKA is the “international body encompassing WAKA kickball divisions across the globe. Each WAKA division contains a maximum of 16 teams of 26 players each and is run by a President, other division officers, and a Board of Directors.” This thing is real. For about $60-$70 registration you can sign up for a team in your city {WAKA has divisions in cities across the U.S and even India} and join the team that suits you best.

There’s even a WAKA pod on Current TV. To get a real feel for what adult kickball is like check out the video.

Steven Levitt and Crack Economics

When I was growing up it seemed like everyone I knew was on drugs or selling them except me. That’s not a hint of envy your reading it’s actually a sigh of relief. I’m glad the crack game never touched me directly but I can’t say the same for family and friends. I’m a firm believer that crack {whether smoking it or dealing it} has removed an entire generation of Black people from the planet and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the effects of it.

One thing that always intrigued me was the disconnect between the gloried image of selling crack {e.g. Nino Brown} and the busted, dusty dudes I saw and still see standing on the corner. Some how young black dudes were convinced that selling crack was the short cut to financial stability and that’s just not the case. Even if someone does work his/her way up the crack corporate ladder they don’t hold on to their money for long. I always was able to do the math in my head and I made sure my brothers and sisters knew that having a steady check coming in every two weeks was a lot stable than waiting on the corner for days on end hoping for the next crack head to stroll through with their little $10.

Steven Levitt {co-author of Freakanomics}, the economist, presented some information pertaining to the economy of crack dealing in the south side of Chicago at TED in 2004 titled “Why do crack dealers still live with their mothers” and what he has to share is pretty interesting. I don’t want to steal too much thunder from his presentation but from Steve and his partner’s research they found out that the foot soldiers or the dudes on the corner make a little over $3.50 an hour selling crack. That’s far below minimum wage even in 2004. To add insult to injury a lot of the young dudes recruited to slang them thangs on the corner was duped to believe they would work their way up only to hit the crack glass ceiling or succumb to violence, incarceration and/or death. Some job.

Steven’s presentation is a little over 20 minutes long but it’s so freaking interesting those 20 minutes will fly by. Give it a look. It definitely makes you think twice about hearing these rap kats talk about making so much loot off of selling crack. Somebody’s lying but I ain’t trying to figure out whom. I have a legit full-time job to focus on.



Why I Love: The New Fonzworth Bentley Joint

Luckily I’m secure enough to say why and why not I don’t like a particular thing so with that said I really am feeling this new Bentley cut. A few years ago I got a sneak peak of some of his music and I was feeling it then. He has an all-star line up for his debut track “Everybody” with Andre 3 Stacks, Kanye and my boy’s Sa-Ra {I love these kats. They stay on rotation in my crib.}.

To be successful in music today {especially black music} all you have to do is be different. Lord knows we need some variety. There are only a few kats adding to hip-hop at the moment and R&B has been dying a slow death for some time now. I think Bentley adds a new perspective and mos def brings back some fun.

I guarantee this video concept will be featured in somebody’s step show by October. Watch my word. Check out Bentley’s video with Kanye, Andre 3000 and Sa-Ra at Kanye’s blog below.

Quote of the Day

“Give me a place to stand and I will move the world.”

-Archimedes