Out in L.A.

Okay, so yes I do know McCain actually did make it to the debate. I listened on the radio in the car on my way down to LA. I think Barack did very well and I still think McCain is crazy. Particularly after proposing to freeze spending except for on the military. Dude is definitely crazy.

I head back to SF tomorrow. Last night was dope. Went to the last Funky Sole party and kicked it with Miles, Jeremy Sole and Cut Chemist. Despite what everyone says, LA has been really good to me. People are cool as hell. The driving thing ain't no joke however. Photos soon to follow.

Keep the faith with Barack. We are going to make this happen. Stay strong people, we got this.

Much love.

Thank you David.

So as most of you have heard, McCain ditched out not only Friday's debate that millions of Americans, including myself, were anxiously awaiting but also on Letterman because he has decided to suspend his campaign in light of the financial crisis that the U.S. is currently suffering so he can focus on helping the economic situation. Last I heard, one of the qualifications of the President of the United States was the ability to multitask. Well, let's just say Letterman isn't gonna let the old bag off that easy. Enjoy. Letterman is a good man.

Photos on a leisurely Thursday afternoon

A couple photos I took out of my window. The lighting is perfect in my neighborhood right now so I decided to take advantage.











The fam.




Here are a couple other photos I took earlier this week around SF.







These are some random ones from the past couple weeks that I have yet to post.

C. Moore recording the very first edition of Realness Radio.



Western Addition at 5 am.





Power to the Peaceful Festival at Golden Gate Park.





King Britt rockin' the Obama tee.

Rock hard, rock chalk Jayhawk!

So I am seeing that the student newspaper from the University of Kansas, the University Daily Kansan, is stirring up quite a bit of controversy over its annual Sex on the Hill issue. Particularly over photos taken depicting sex in a WWII memorial. Although, Lawrence is a progressive, liberal-minded college town, it does however lie in one of the more conservative states in the country. Which for me makes the issue that much more enjoyable to read, knowing that many of the readers are going to have to pray extra hard for God's forgiveness for seeing images of...gasp...homosexual affection. I am also quite impressed by the way many of the businesses in Lawrence supported the issue with aggreeing to run risqué ads. I can now say I am proud to have written for this publication and graduated from such a amazing University and community. Big ups Lawrence and KU!!!

Sex on the Hill "08

Fleshbot Article (NSFW)

Afrolicious Photos

Here are some photos from my last guest appearance at the Afrolicious party that happens every Thursday night at the Elbo Room hosted by Pleasuremaker and Señor Oz. Definitely, one of the better weekly parties in the city. Check it out if you haven't already. (All photos by Skyler)

Big news...

So, soon I will be launching a new addtion to the Realness, something I am really excited to announce. Stay tuned for fully downloadable radio show podcasts featuring a new guest for each segment. We are talking Realness Radio. I will be inviting DJs and producers from the Bay Area and beyond to share some of their original productions in addition to throwing down a set of some of their influences. Thrilled would be an understatement for how much I am looking forward to getting the ball rolling on this. Feel free to send me an email at souljazz45@gmail.com if you are interested in possibly being a guest on the show.

Peep this new flyer. . .

I put this together for our little Monday night weekly at the Tunnel Top. Hope to see your beautiful faces out some night.

Economy got you down?

Yeah, me too. Seriously, I'm not only worried for the U.S. but the world economy is struggling consequently. My only advice to keep us from getting down and panicking is to believe that we have the power to change things and understand that we run this nation, our nation doesn't run us. People make the world go round, not Wall St. If we work together to ensure Obama gets elected, that will be a great start but it will only be the beginning of a tough road ahead. Synergy is the answer. The power of many working as one will lead us out.

Now let's unite and do this together.

Much love and respect.

Out with the old...

So I've been trying to think of some new material for the Realness as I've hit a stage of boredom with simply posting photos, videos and DJ mixes, etc. So, I thought I would share some personal information you probably didn't know about me, because who wants to just pretend to be cool all the time. Afterall this is the realness, so let's keep it real.

I truly love playing frisbee for really, really long periods of time.

I am a sucker for hippy shit, i.e. Goji Berries, Kombucha, Dr. Bronner's, heaps of granola, tea tree deodorant, organic produce, although my style is far from your typical deadhead yogi.

It takes me really long to finish books because I like to start many at a time.

I used to be really good at football and rugby in high school.

I am really sore right now from falling off my skateboard going down a San Francisco hill.

I had a black lab named Spike growing up who was the kindest creature to ever exist.

My younger brother's name is Ryan and he lives in Miami.

Often I have really amazing ideas that I let fade away.

I miss people who have come and gone throughout my life and wish I could somehow throw a big party with all of my friends from my entire life...and the Talking Heads played the party.

I am really bad at saving money.

I've never been to L.A.

I love sleeping.

I will never be able to dunk a basketball although I came close while living in Italy in '04.

I talk shit on hipster bikes but I kinda want one.

Getting a tattoo and skydiving scare the shit outta me, but I want to experience both some day.

I need more classical music in my life.

I love meeting people and then kicking it with them for a full day.

It takes me a really long time to pick out beer at the store.

I worked as a fish monger at a fish market in Seattle.

I love dreams where you can fly.

If I hear a funky breakbeat I can't not dance.

Thanks for reading. Perhaps you feel you know me a bit more now. Stay tuned for more new additions to the Realness.

Paz y amore.

MAKossa @ MADrone this Friday

Friday Sept. 12 is gonna be mad fun as Kung Fu and I hit the decks extra hard at Madrone. Get down there for a healthy dose of hip-hop, funk, soul and reggae. Breakbeats so hard you might not ever come out of your b-boy stance.

Fear and Loathing 2008

I came across this photo blog today and was really affected by the powerful images taken from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN and the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO. Tim Hussin, Noah Rabinowitz and Danny Ghitis are the photographers. Please take a look.

Fear and Loathing: 2008 Conventions

Currently haunting my dreams . . .

this dude.



Not even funny. Just fucking scary.

The United States of America and the Deprivation of Democracy

Whenever I see footage of police brutality in America against innocent citizens stripped of their freedom and rights I become irate. I also think about the 99.9% of the time when injustices such as this are not able to be captured on tape, and how simply voicing these crimes, even with witnesses, fails to ever produce any repercussions within law enforcement. We can not let things like this happen in our country. The level of hypocrisy that this creates within the United States is intolerable, especially as we criticize or even invade countries for lacking a democratic foundation. I believe we need to focus internally on ensuring ALL Americans constitutional rights and democracy rather than pointing fingers at other nations while our government buries acts such as these seen in this video under the facade of our "democratic" nation.

MOMA Gratis.

Went to the MOMA yesterday because it was the first Tuesday, which meant I can actually afford it. One of my favorites of the day was the Jack W. Stauffacher Typographic Meditations installation.



Highly recommended. Insightful thoughts laid out in perfectly appropriate fonts.

Labor Day in the Bay.

Labor Day. Usually means summer is almost over but not in SF. Surprisingly this just means that the better weather has yet to come. So less fog and more sunshine. Sounds good to me.

Friday I unintentionally drove over the Golden Gate bridge and went to the beach over in the Marin headlands. I say unintentionally because I was trying to get to Baker Beach but almost no where in this city are you allowed to make a left turn, and before I knew it we were on the bridge.









These two passed out on the way home.



Later in the weekend I went on a boat ride in the SF Bay and saw some lovely views of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset as well as Alcatraz.











The rest of the weekend was a lot of straight kickin' it.



MAKossa loves his orange mocha frappuccinos.



Sunday was classic Bay Area great summertime vibes as a little Labor Day celebration was going on in Golden Gate Park called Doin' It in the Park. It was put on by Mr. E of Papalote and heaps of other Bay Area community leaders. Behind the decks, we had Shortkut, Sake One, Platurn, Hakobo and plenty of others. It even had free BBQ, an Arcade and a Moonbounce for the little people.







Unfortunately, the event got shut down earlier than expected by the park ranger. People were disappointed to say the least but it was certainly fun while it lasted. Check out this video I shot. I particularly love how kind the gentleman in the shades is to point out that the joint he is so graciously sharing also contains tobacco. Gotta love a little Bay Area summertime spliffage!





On Labor Day I went up into Redwood country and checked out Muir Woods. The trees are unbelievable. It was a magical feeling to be dwarfed by thousand year old Redwoods. Quite a humbling experience.





After the forest, I headed over to Stinson Beach to get some rays.



Stinson Beach exemplifies what I love the most about the Northern Cali coast. It has the beautiful trees of the Northwest and the white sandy beaches of So Cal. Perfect compromise of North vs. South west coast loveliness.





Unbeatable. Labor. Day. Weekend.