Mexico City Standuuup!

the homie marking showed me this video last night of rodrigo y gabriela as an example of the unique ability of the classical guitar. these two are fuckin ridiculous! -tadillac

Passing of Xzibit's Newborn Son

early monday morning xzibit's new born son xavier kingston joiner passed away due to complications after being born prematurely. a year ago i was visiting my baby niece in the pediatric ICU and saw so many newborns fighting for their life with their parents by their side feeling helpless. i can't imagine what it must be like to loose your own child. x recently wrote the following on his blog the day his son passed. with the death of my uncle jimmy last month and the death of my auntie this week, xzibit's truths really hit home. ITS 4:32AM AND I HAVE SOME BAD NEWS........ AS you all know I told shared with you the announcment of my newborn son Xavier Kingston Joiner on may 15th and also informed you that he was born prematurly. well this week was extremly difficult for him because his lungs were not strong enough to handle regular oxygen on his own. Xavier passed away this morning at 3:30am and I must tell you this, It is unatural for a parent to bury a child. I am telling you this because of the same reason I tell you when im having great times, life is too short to be fake. Hold on to your kids if you have them, protect them and show them you love them everyday you wake up and see them, dont take a second you get to hug them teach them and care for them for granted. You can have all the material wealth in the universe but it is NOTHING compared to having your family. I am thankful for all of my blessings and im not one to question God's perfect plan, so I leave you with great love and thanks for the love that was sent earlier on my pervious blog to my son. Of course I need to take some time and handle my loss, STAY FOCUSED PEOPLE. Its not promised to any of us. R.I.P Xavier May 15th 2008- May 26th 2008 x has been holdin it down for LA ever since his days with tha liks. here's the video to his joint "the foundation", a letter to his first son tre. listening to the lyrics again just makes his recent loss more tragic. give someone you love a call today. live well! -tadillac

bambu, bambu, sorry bruh, but i had to...

let this be a lesson on community politics, if you try to hide something from your people that you know they would appreciate...chances are, your partner or your sneeky japanese friend will have to call your ass out! emcee eye-a-sage has recently put her partner bambu on blast by posting photos of bam in the new indiana jones flick. it seems that when my favorite emcee is not puttin in work in the studio, he likes to...dress up like a cross breed of the cure's robert smith and superfly jimmy snuka. but keep ya head up bam, my pops was also once a young community-serving artist who needed to work as an extra. it's no indiana jones but my dad was one of the morlocks in the 1960 hit the time machine, sweartogaaad: here's a little sample of what my brotha really looks like at the release party for his latest album "...i scream bars for the children..." (cop that shit if you don't have it already):
Bambu Performing "Chairman Mao" at Block Party from Tadashi Nakamura on Vimeo. -tadillac

Kiwi featured on Myx TV's "Built From Skratch"

shouts to big brotha kiwi for gettin featured on Myx TV. this piece is done proper but it ain't shit compared to the film e.t. is currently doing on kiwizzo. if you haven't already you should cop kiwi's summer exposure mixtape. -tadillac

Blue Scholars Get Artist of the Week on Blip TV

big ups to the homies saba and geo for being the artists of the week on blip tv. these brothas continue to do it in a major way. just last weekend they opened up for nas in santa barbara! i'm glad i ain't the only one doing this video shit who can't spell. peep the "lolalty" tag. -tadillac

Presidential Candidates No-Show, Beau Sia Spits Hotfaiyah

as many of you know, all three presidential candidates proved how much they care about the api community last saturday by not even showing up to the api presidential town hall in irvine. jeff chang writes about other actions that prove that neither barack, hill or mccain really give a fuck about our community or issues. jeff also posted this video of beau sia putting it down at the same api town hall, damn i wish obama and clinton where there to hear this brotha spit! i'm really becoming a big fan of beau sia. a while ago i just thought he was another loud ass spoken word poet but since he moved to LA a couple years ago, i've really seen how dedicated he is to serving community and voicing our issues through his art. he hosted the people power show the other week here in LA and did the best job i had ever seen hosting a show. much respect to beau. -tad

Happy Birthday Malcolm and Yuri!

-tadillac

People Power Tour, LA show *Mass Movement TV Exclusive

last weekend on mother's day, the people power tower came to LA. two of my favorite emcees geologic of blue scholars and kiwi blessed the mic, along with key kool from the visionaries and dj phatrick who spun for all three sets. me and e.t. shot the show even though the knitting factory tried the tax us a $100 fee per camera (shouts to geo and apollo for handling that!). for those of you who didn't make it, y'all missed a good fuckin show. here's a taste of what went down:
Geologic at People Power Tour, L.A. from Tadashi Nakamura on Vimeo. my favorite emcee spittin over one of my favorite songs, what! i'll be writing a lot more about the show soon. here's the "paper planes" video by m.i.a.

M.I.A. Paper Planes
by ecureuilvolant

-tadillac

MUTO by BLU

saw this on ali wong's blog:
-tadillac

Last Day of Art Exhibit for Michael Cho, Artist Murdered by Police

this saturday night (5/17) will be the closing program of the michael cho memorial exhibition. michael cho was shot and killed by la habra police officers on december 31st, 2007 in la habra, california. for me, this cop killing hit a lot closer to home as cho was a young asian american artist who recently graduated from ucla. police brutality is often portrayed as only a brown and black issue, but cho's death is a chilling reminder that police violence is also an issue that the api community must address. the closing event will be at: dangerous curve in LA's chinatown saturday, may 17 7-10pm please sign the online petition to demand a fair and quick investigation into cho's murder. also, see for yourself the ridiculous number of those murdered by cops. peep the game's latest song "911 is a joke (cop killa)" -tadillac

Ninja Baby

i know i'm pretty late on this one but it's hella funny.  another reason why tv in the motherland is just funnier than shit here, not necessarily better, just funnier. if that clip was from an american show i would probably call it racist, but since it's my people...that shit is humor! -tadillac

California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage

California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage - nytimes

By ADAM LIPTAK

Published: May 16, 2008

Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The court’s 4-to-3 decision striking down state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman makes California only the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriages. The decision, which becomes effective in 30 days, is certain to play a role in the presidential campaign.

“In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship,” Chief Justice Ronald M. George wrote of marriage for the majority, “the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.”

California already has a strong domestic partnership law that gives gay and lesbian couples nearly all of the benefits and burdens of heterosexual marriage. The majority said that is not enough.

Given the historic, cultural, symbolic and constitutional significance of the concept of marriage, Chief Justice George wrote, the state cannot limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. The court left open the possibility that another terms could denote state-sanctioned unions so long as that term was used across the board.

Here's the full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/15cnd-marriage.html?ex=1368590400&en=a2b28353007139ee&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink -Chris G.

Unarmed 19-Yr-Old Killed by Inglewood Police

19-year-old michael byoune was shot three times and killed by inglewood police this past mother's day. the pigs say they heard gunshots in the area and saw a man run into a car that was moving toward them...so they fired. no one in the car was armed and witnesses say that the car was moving at a slow speed, as if the driver forgot to put on the parking break. read the whole story here and you'll understand how outrageous this tragic murder is. although the i doubt anything will happen to the cops, we need to demand that justice be served and not have another sean bell type verdict. -tadillac

Happy Birphday Mina!

today is my baby niece mina loy's 1st birphday!  this is huge because a year ago mina was born with paralyzed vocal cords and had to get a tracheotomy when she was only a couple days old. for most of this past year little mina had to breath through a hole in her neck and was constantly in and out of the hospital. with the help of her family and love from her community, mina's vocal cords eventually began to vibrate and now she's 100%! here's the first time her parents heard her voice... and this is what my family does now for entertainment: little mina has taught me so much about strength, courage and the precious things that we all take for granted. i never thought i could learn so much from someone so young. for all of you who know a little one who is not in the best of health, keep ya head up, i'm thinking about you... -uncle tad

Boomerang - Best Soundtrack EVER!

to continue with my early 90's nostalgia, i just have to state for the record that the Boomerang soundtrack is the best of all time! in addition to such classic lines as (come on y'all, i'll start and you finish) "maaarrrcuuuss, i have no..." or "don't be pussy whipped,...", or introducing the world to halle berry, Boomerang also brought these classics to the table: boyz II men - end of the road toni braxton - love shoulda brought you home pm dawn - i'd die without you a tribe called quest - hot sex ahhhhh, i'm fucking old... -tadillac

A cappella...please?

you know what pop r&b needs right now?  a fuckin early 90's a cappella comeback!  cheezy indeed, but a classic a cappella joint combined with some nostalgia can do some amazing things.  just listen to these songs and see what it does to your memory bank... -tadillac

Ghost Ride The Handle Bars

Here's my response post to Tad's "Ghost Ride the Whip" post.

Ooh, that go!

-Chris G.

Just Say NO!

One thing I hate about "related links" is the fact that it makes you procrastinate for hours (it's a lonely Saturday night). After sharing that Kobe video, I started watching some old Showtime Lakers videos and found this. It's too hilarious not to share. *Listen closely to Walt Wesley (after Kareem), I'm almost certain that ODB bit his style.

Instead of going through my dad's shit to try and find porno tapes, I was going through my dad's shit to try and find old vcr recordings of the Showtime Lakers winning championship after championship in the 80's. I've been a hardcore Laker fan my entire life but even though I loved the Shaq-Kobe era (I remember hearing gunshots being used as fireworks in Carson after they won their 1st of 3 championships in 2000), I gotta say that I dig this new Laker team ALOT more. Watching this new team brings me back to when I was 5 and I'd be watching these old tapes of Magic dishing a no-look-behind-the-back pass to Coop who would pass it behind him to AC Green who would then lob it to Worthy for a alley-oop. With Kobe now trusting his team, you could definitely see the resemblance.

It'd be icing on the cake if we see LA and Boston in the Finals... but just as long as we don't see a "Just Say No!" remix video. -Chris G.

Why is Kobe this year's MVP?

Cause he gets the whole team involved... including himself.

-Chris G.

Atmosphere Show at the Fonda

wednesday night me and sasaki-san went to the atmosphere show at the music box (which is becoming one of my favorite music venues in LA). in the last 4 years slug has become one of my favorite mc's. say what you want about dark, emo hip-hop but being haunted by your ex, substance addiction, or battling your own ego hits a lot closer to home (unfortunately) than 26 inch rims, gucci bags or makin love in the club. the show was everything i expected plus that fool rocked an "obama 08" shirt for his whole set! here's the video for "guarantees" off atmosphere's new album: felt & felt 2, slug's collaboration with murs, are 2 of my favorite hip-hop albums in recent years. here's the video for early mornin' tony: damn it's almost 4:20a and all i'm gonna do is continue editing...sober -tadillac

Joey Guila and "Apologize"

a couple of weekends ago my boy roger came to la and the whole time he was down here he couldn't stop talking about 1) joey guila's vietnamese bit on comedy zen and 2) the song "apologize" by one republic but made famous by the jabbawockeez. so i finally got around to see what he was talking about and now i can't stop talking about that shit either. this one's for all my viet-friends: while "apologize" definitely goes on the guilty pleasures playlist, it is the latest in a string of recent timbaland pop tracks that slap: -tadillac

Up The Yangtze

last weekend i was able to see Up The Yangtze by yung chang at the vc film fest. yung's been reppin hard for young asian documentary filmmakers as up the yangtze has been getting mad pub and after seeing it, i know why. the film gives a much needed look at some of the fucked-up effects (like displacing poor people) of china's "new economy". the film is shot amazingly and the story unfolds well. it's having a theatrical run in LA soon, i'll post the details when i get them. peep the trailer: -tadillac

Unexpectedly the best film I've seen in a long time..

y'all gotta see this!! we went to watch Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay last night and it blew our minds. you should go and get your mind blown too. =) -ET just a sneak peek. don't wanna spoil nothin'...

The Asian Guy From That Commercial

last night at the vc film fest i was talking to a friend when we both recognized this asian guy who was in one of my favorite commercials. this shit it too funny not to post: see, if your asian it doesn't take that much to become famous to other asians. last night reminded me of when my friend phuong told me she met "the asian guy in that commercial with 'push it' in it", and i immediately knew which one she was talking about:

Native Hawaiians Reclaim Palace

on wednesday The Hawaiian Kingdom Government took over and occupied 'iolani palace in honolulu. "We are resuming and assuming our lawful government, the Hawaiian Kingdom. This is the seat of government since 1882," said Mahealani Kahau, leader of the group. the action was peaceful and no damage was done to the palace which is sacred to native hawaiians. respect to The Hawaiian Kingdom Government for making moves to re-claim their land that was illegally taken and colonized by the u.s. government. the battle for hawaiian sovereignty is not just about land but also an issue of hawaiians trying to stop the genocide of its culture and its people. "I found this pretty inspiring," said ninth-grader Nolan Brack, saying he was excited to "be a part of history." -tadillac