ARTE: CALMATIC X OVERDOZ.

ARTE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUPAC

Happy Belated King

Little somethin for my godson Elijah and a little girl named Corinne

[Verse 1:]
Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots I give a holler to my sisters on welfare Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot When you come around the block brothas clown a lot But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up And when he tells you you ain't nothin' don't believe him
And if he can't learn to love you you should leave him Cause sista you don't need him And I ain't tryin to gas up, I just call em how I see em You know it makes me unhappy When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be a pappy And since we all came from a woman Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman I wonder why we take from our women Why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it's time to kill for our women Time to heal our women, be real to our women And if we don't we'll have a race of babies That will hate the ladies, that make the babies And since a man can't make one He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one So will the real men get up I know you're fed up ladies, but you gotta keep your head up

[Chorus:]
Keep ya head up, oooo child things are gonna get easier Ooooo child things are gonna get brighter [2x]

[Verse 2:]
Aiyyo, I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be And suddenly tha ghetto didn't seem so tough And though we had it rough, we always had enough I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two And I realize momma really paid the price She nearly gave her life, to raise me right And all I had ta give her was my pipe dream Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to tha bright screen I'm tryin to make a dollar out of fifteen cents It's hard to be legit and still pay tha rent And in the end it seems I'm headin for tha pen I try and find my friends, but they're blowin in the wind Last night my buddy lost his whole family It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity It seems tha rain'll never let up I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin wet up You know it's funny when it rains it pours They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor Say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is It ain't no hope for tha future And then they wonder why we crazy
I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup And even if you're fed up Huh, ya got to keep your head up

[Chorus]

[Verse 3:]
And uhh To all the ladies havin babies on they own I know it's kinda rough and you're feelin all alone Daddy's long gone and he left you by ya lonesome Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want em Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sure And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more Cause ain't nuttin worse than when your son Wants to kno why his daddy don't love him no mo' You can't complain you was dealt this Hell of a hand without a man, feelin helpless Because there's too many things for you to deal with Dying inside, but outside you're looking fearless
While tears, is rollin down your cheeks Ya steady hopin things don't all down this week Cause if it did, you couldn't take it, and don't blame me I was given this world I didn't make it And now my son's getten older and older and cold From havin the world on his shoulders While the rich kids is drivin Benz I'm still tryin to hold on to survivin friends And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but Please... you got to keep your head up

ARTE: Sunday Vibes = Noah Purifoy = Leon Thomas = Papillion Art

Still tripping out over one of the best exhibitions in the history of art, the Noah Purifoy show at LACMA will change your life.

 

ARTE: DOPE

In theaters June 19th! DOPE, is a super fresh film written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa.

ARTE: KOJEY RADICAL

<3

ARTE: James Davis

Really really really into "Better Than You Are" by sibling singing group, James Davis!  

ARTE: Nzuji de Magalhaes

Meeting Nzuji for the first time is quite the fun experience. She is warm, very friendly and is eager & excited to speak about her work.  I caught up with her at her show at LA Artcore Brewery where she has a few paintings and a video installation on view now.  But I fell in love with her work at the Made in LA show at the Hammer last year.

Nzuji is from Angola and is a painter, sculptor and composer.  She recently won the commission of doing a permanent public art install at the soon to open Bundy train stop on the Expo metro line!

Her installation of piano cities at the Hammer Museum

ARTE: Supertoy x Hek Hernandez = Warhol Baby

Amir George from Black Cinema House put us on to this track.

ARTE: This Week In Art

Spike Lee and Marina Ambramovic launch kickstarters (separately), both are worthy of supporting!

Marina is forming her own institute for the creation and advancement of long durational work.

Spike is making a new Spike Lee joint!

Picasso Baby debuts...Jay Z's 6 hour "performance art" piece (or music video) shot at PACE in NY last month.

And finally Lady Gaga announces new album titled "ART POP"

ARTE: EL'S FLOWERS

This is worth downloading...were loving Sunni Colon's latest EP

ARTE: DE∆TH

Was lucky enough to see this film in theaters...if you can't catch it playing in your area you can buy it online!  Its a must see.

Before there was punk...

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death. Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death’s music— and band name—too intimidating, and the group were never given a fair shot, disbanding before they even completed one album. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family love story, A Band Called Death chronicles the incredible fairy-tale journey of what happened almost three decades later, when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of the attic and found an audience several generations younger. Playing music impossibly ahead of its time, Death is now being credited as the first black punk band (hell...the first punk band!), and are finally receiving their long overdue recognition as true rock pioneers.

http://abandcalleddeath.com

ARTE: Unlocking the Truth

Based on a true story...

Unlocking The Truth - Malcolm Brickhouse & Jarad Dawkins from The Avant/Garde Diaries

ARTE: Where the lonely kids go when the bell rings

A really good fan made documentary about Kanye West.

ARTE: WHAT R U WEARING

LOVE the GIOGO Girls latest video! We had a blast last night with the ladies celebrating there 2 years of GET-IN'S

ARTE: TED TALKS VIRTUAL CHOIR

Read this article on Huffington Post over the weekend about the Virtual Choir.  This video is a new collaborative project between Huff Post and TED Talks. Many people coming together to do something they love and create something exceptional.

ARTE: SANTIGOLD - GIRLS

TOTALLY LOVE EVERYTHING SANTI! #GIRLS #GIRLS #GIRLS

ARTE: Bronzeville Project

Project Bronzeville is an exhibition of art work by Kathie Foley-Meyer inspired by Bronzeville, a period in LA history when African Americans moved into the neighborhood known as Little Tokyo. Please visit their site to see the list of events happening over the next few months including this performance by gallery favorite Miguel Atwood Fergueson.

You can purchase tickets to this show by going to their fundraising page this jazz performance is not to be missed! Visit the Project Bronzeville Facebook page to stay in the know.

ARTE: WILBERTA

We are so pleased with the launch of our new Jazz series! Last night new LA based group WILBERTA did a phenomanal set. We were honored to debut this new band!! Watch them cover Twice by Little Dragon.

ARTE: PHARRELL WILLIAMS

A BRILLIANT ARTIST, A GENIUS MUSICIAN & AN AVANT GARDE DESIGNER

 

ARTE: ROBERT RAIMON ROY IS THE GREATEST

NOBODY BUT NOBODY DOES IT LIKE RRR