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somnambulos:

blunted:

ambesarawrs:

Open Letter from Assata Shakur

Assata: In her own words
My name is Assata (“she who struggles”) Shakur (“the thankful one”), and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government’s policy towards people of color. I am an ex political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984. I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the 1960s, I participated in various struggles: the black liberation movement, the student rights movement, and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. I joined the Black Panther Party. By 1969 the Black Panther Party had become the number one organization targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. because the Black Panther Party demanded the total liberation of black people, J. Edgar Hoover called it “greatest threat to the internal security of the country” and vowed to destroy it and its leaders and activists.

Political Prisoner to Exiled
On May 2, 1973 I, along with Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli were stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike, supposedly for a “faulty tail light.”Sundiata Acoli got out of the car to determine why we were stopped. Zayd and I remained in the car. State trooper Harper then came to the car, opened the door and began to question us. Because we were black, and riding in a car with Vermont license plates, he claimed he became “suspicious.” He then drew his gun, pointed it at us, and told us to put our hands up in the air, in front of us, where he could see them. I complied and in a split second, there was a sound that came from outside the car, there was a sudden movement, and I was shot once with my arms held up in the air, and then once again from the back. Zayd Malik Shakur was later killed, trooper Werner Forester was killed, and even though trooper Harper admitted that he shot and killed Zayd Malik Shakur, under the New Jersey felony murder law, I was charged with killing both Zayd Malik Shakur, who was my closest friend and comrade, and charged in the death of trooper Forester. Never in my life have I felt such grief. Zayd had vowed to protect me, and to help me to get to a safe place, and it was clear that he had lost his life, trying to protect both me and Sundiata. Although he was also unarmed, and the gun that killed trooper Forester was found under Zayd’s leg, Sundiata Acoli, who was captured later, was also charged with both deaths. Neither Sundiata Acoli nor I ever received a fair trial. We were both convicted in the news media way before our trials. No news media was ever permitted to interview us, although the New Jersey police and the FBI fed stories to the press on a daily basis. In 1977, I was convicted by an all- white jury and sentenced to life plus 33 years in prison. In 1979, fearing that I would be murdered in prison, and knowing that I would never receive any justice, I was liberated from prison, aided by committed comrades who understood the depths of the injustices in my case, and who were also extremely fearful for my life.

New Jersey Police & the Pope
The U.S. Senate’s 1976 Church Commission report on intelligence operations inside the USA, revealed that “The FBI has attempted covertly to influence the publics perception of persons and organizations by disseminating derogatory information to the press, either anonymously or through “friendly” news contacts.” This same policy is evidently still very much in effect today. On December 24, 1997, The New Jersey State called a press conference to announce that New Jersey State Police had written a letter to Pope John Paul II asking him to intervene on their behalf and to aid in having me extradited back to New Jersey prisons. The New Jersey State Police refused to make their letter public. Knowing that they had probably totally distort the facts, and attempted to get the Pope to do the devils work in the name of religion, I decided to write the Pope to inform him about the reality of’ “justice” for black people in the State of New Jersey and in the United States.[Cont. reading story]

(via blunted)

this will almost certainly be the most important thing you read today

(via somnambulos)

(via dendroquiver)

nevver: What day is it?

Sat, 04 May 2013 22:48:27 +0100

nevver:

What day is it?

Nothing like a 9 AM shotgun.

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:34:01 +0100

Nothing like a 9 AM shotgun.

Blowout 2013.

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:33:05 +0100

Blowout 2013.

nevver: I am the blood of the dragon

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:55:11 +0100

nevver:

I am the blood of the dragon

Tomorrow night kicks off a great slew of concerts (unless I include last Friday’s incredible...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:17:33 +0100

Tomorrow night kicks off a great slew of concerts (unless I include last Friday’s incredible Dan Deacon show in Harrisonburg, in which case I’m a little late with this post). I wasn’t able to make any big music festivals this summer, but I think I’m doing alright.

4/25-Kendrick Lamar and Big Boi at William and Mary

5/11-ICP in Norfolk

5/12-James Blake in DC

6/6-Cut Copy in Charlottesville

6/16-Baths in RVA

6/18-Tame Impala in RVA

6/19-Local Natives in RVA

7/19-Kurt Vile in Charlottesville

New tattoo, can’t get enough birds in my life.

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:02:02 +0100

New tattoo, can’t get enough birds in my life.

Some fun with my man Matt after our staff photo shoot at the...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:12:32 +0100

Some fun with my man Matt after our staff photo shoot at the historical society.

The one album I’ve been listening to as much as James...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:04:00 +0100

The one album I’ve been listening to as much as James Blake’s excellent Overgrown is Kurt Vile’s Wakin On a Pretty Daze. This gem of an album is filled with a laid back pace, simple wisdoms, and superb guitar work. It’s a long album that Clocks in at around 70 minutes, but after many listens I have yet to feel like it drags at any point. Three songs that exceed 8 minutes makes this quite the feat by Kurt Vile, but he continues on the fine path laid by 2011’s Smoke Ring for My Halo by producing songs that demonstrate his abilities as one of the finer songwriters out there. Wakin On A Pretty Daze is the perfect chilled-out summer album, with a quiet confidence that suggest a complete embrace of the here and now along with a strong contentedness with life. It hits me perfectly on a personal level, as I find myself in such a delightful place as the spring begins to turn to summer. Girl Called Alex is my current favorite, but I go back and forth with so many of the albums songs. Never Run Away, the above track, is brief but incredibly catchy. Wakin On a Pretty Day and Goldtones, the albums opener and closer respectively, are the opposite of brief, but they are fantastic tracks filled with beautiful lines such as Goldtone’s ‘There’s a place in my heart for all of my friends, some have stepped out but some check back in’. They may come across as simple, and sometimes seem that way with Vile’s disarming style of singing, but they hold beautiful emotions that, whether sad or happy, ultimately feel like life going on. I won’t hesitate to call this album one of the best of the year, and fully expect to be listening to this for much of the summer.

I might be adrift, but I’m still alert

concentrate my hurt into a gold tone

Random Access Memories // Official Tracklist.

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:45:04 +0100

Random Access Memories // Official Tracklist.

After weeks of being teased by several incredible individual...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 03:58:00 +0100

After weeks of being teased by several incredible individual tracks, I have finally gotten to enjoy James Blake’s Overgrown in its entirety. After several listens, I’m hesitant to say that it tops his self titled debut, but it is certainly as strong of an album. If there was ever any doubt that his powers as a producer plus his undeniable vocal talents set him apart as a singular force in today’s music, this album should end that. Overgrown is a concise and brooding album filled with sublime moments, a beautifully overcast day occasionally punctured by bolts of lightning and glorious gusts of wind and rain. Blake’s brand of gorgeous R&B vocals paired with unusually striking beats continues to defy categorization, as he both challenges norms or embodies them perfectly: the album opener Overgrown employs a simple beat to showcase Blake’s vocals, followed by the moody and atmospheric I Am Sold, but then Life Round Here explodes into a diverse electronic splendor that nearly overshadows Blake’s voice. The next track is the only stumble of the album, but it is an endearingly creative one that features the RZA of Wu-Tang fame. Rapping feels slightly out of place on this album, but it comes together in such an unusual way that it demands attention despite disrupting the flow of the album. Fortunately, it is followed by Retrograde, one of my favorite songs of the past month that takes its well earned place as the album’s centerpiece. It is such a perfectly executed crescendo of a song that its 3 minutes and 45 seconds never seem to last long enough, and I keep returning to it. Dlm inhabits a similar space as Give Me My Month on his previous album, and provides a calm before the one-two punch of a storm that is Digital Lion and Voyeur. Digital Lion starts off peacefully, but soon enough bursts into aggressive percussion that drive the song into a frenzy. Voyeur gives you a minute of peace before returning to Digital Lion’s wild energy, using a wildly delicious piano breakdown that is complimented by rising synths and Blake’s infectious repeated refrain. I was surprised to find myself perhaps even more in love with the following track, To The Last, a stunning, soulful romantic ballad laid over an occasionally menacing beat that somehow fits together perfectly. The album closer, Our Love Comes Back, is a subdued but elegant end to an excellent album. James Blake has established himself as a consistent force, with two excellent albums and multiple astonishing EPs in his body of work that many bands would kill to just produce once. Overgrown may not prove to be Blake’s ultimate masterpiece, but it demonstrates an artist in full control of his abilities creating music unlike anything else today. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen; don’t be surprised if you see this turning up on end of the year lists. I would look forward to what he is going to do next, but I am just too damn satisfied with this for now.

nevver: On this day in 1950, J. D. Salinger’s “For Esme - With...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 03:10:45 +0100

nevver:

On this day in 1950, J. D. Salinger’s “For Esme - With Love and Squalor” was published in The New Yorker.

"One American critic was so angry she chased me to the exit to inform me, ‘This film is a call to..."

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 02:28:15 +0100

““One American critic was so angry she chased me to the exit to inform me, ‘This film is a call to racial violence!’ I thought not. I thought it was a call to empathy, which of all human qualities is the one this past century seemed most to need.””

- Roger Ebert on Do The Right Thing. (via jsmooth995)

I had the distinct pleasure of catching Aziz Ansari live in...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:55:00 +0100

I had the distinct pleasure of catching Aziz Ansari live in Richmond last night. It was one of the funniest hours (or hour and a half, he performed way longer than I expected, to my delight) of my life, he possessed a stellar stage presence and a darker set of material than previous stand-up specials. He interacted superbly with a couple audience members, which resulted in him hilariously ripping on Mechancsville, and throughout kept everyone in stitches. His bit on Seal was on par with his infamous Kanye and R. Kelly stand up material. Well worth the price of the tickets, Aziz once again demonstrated that his unique brand of comedy makes him one of the best young comedians of our time. (the above video comes from his show in Charlottesville a day before Richmond, but we got to enjoy the same material in RVA)