• @jeffcarvalho thanks for tip, but on the exec level now I’ll stick with Limo Liner; free breakfast, tables for laptop, drinks…style! #
• @jfkjohan in and out Boston under 12 hrs; picked up a car my mom gave me after she bought new car, drove back to nyc; already home. #
• @jfkjohan she purchased a 2008 toyota avalon, gave me her 2000 Buick Lesabre sedan…can’t beat the price: FREE! #
• With my lovely girlfriend @ home 2nite. We’re spending nice day 2gether 2morrow…hiking, lunch, movie; b4 we get slammed on monday w/ work #
• My g/f despises Twitter, heard story US citizen Egypt twitter friends about arrest, now she thinks some redeeming value #
• B4 long, g/f will be Twittering…she’ll go kicking and screaming, but she’ll end up succumbing to the social pressure, I’ll make sure of it #
• This is HOT: http://tinyurl.com/6232o3 #
• @emilychang enjoy your time with your mom #
• @jfkjohan missy and I are looking into a China trip in November, 14 days, will let you know if it happens #
• Listening to tracks @ Trackitdown.net. Graphic design ok, usability gets a 5 on scale of 1 to 10. Scroll is longer than Great Wall of China #
• German DJ download site TrackTracker.com close 2 Beatport UI. 2 many bells and whistles. White text is HORRIBLE!!! Why, why, why? #
• 1 issue about Beatport’s UI is the color palette. Why are DJ download sites so hard 2 read? Stop trying to be cool with colors. No one cares #
• We just want to download the f$%*#@( music people…we don’t need white text at 8 pt font (6 pt anyone?) in a 1024×768 design. #
• 1 more thing. Any of these sites ever QUERY active users about UE? Of course not. They build what think is cool, don’t care about usability #
• Need a panel on web design and usability at Winter Music Conference. (and yes, I know text in my sidebar hard to read, fixing it soon) #
• Sorry, let me revise. White text over an orange with white gradient is the issue, not the white text itself. #
• G/F and I are going to DIA up in Beacon today to check out some object d’art…a cultural day for us, will take pics and blog them #
• @dangrsmind happy b’day to the little one! #

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NY Times Video: Hmong Hip Hop

Who knew Minnesota was bringing the noize? Rapper Tou Saiko Lee, has been blending hip hop with ancient tradition to keep the Hmong culture alive. The Hmong people, originally from Laos, came to America to escape Communist persecution in the 60’s and 70’s. Many settled in the Minneapolis area, which has come to support the largest Hmong population in the United States.

The New York Times interviews Tou Saiko Lee, bringing what’s best about America, our immigrant culture and how that culture breeds new art forms. Lee bridges hip hop culture with his Laotian roots, including music and spoken word he’s created, which includes chants from his grandmother, who performs with an oral form of Hmong verbal poetry.

Lee’s convergence of American culture with Laotian history brings to mind the pioneering efforts of Eric B. and Rakim, who sampled Ofrah Haza’s “Im Nin’Alu for their rap hit, “Paid In Full.” The track bridged the beautiful sounds of Israeli music with New York’s gritty, urban experience. Im Nin’Alu was also sampled in M/A/R/R/S, “Pump Up The Volume,” a huge house record at the time. I can’t say for sure, but both classics were released by the long defunct 4th & Broadway record label, which I’m going to guess licensed the sample and used it on both recordings.

The point is, Hip Hop has transcended its roots in from the Bronx and streets of L.A. to become a global sound adopted reworked by oppressed societies who are struggling just as African-Americans who created the format have experienced. When other cultures embrace hip hop and merge the street sounds with their own oral history’s, amazing things ensue. For example, Bhangra, a traditional folk music of India, has merged with Hip Hop and that convergence has since emerged as a powerful musical force with a huge Indian following in New York City, led by the genre’s leading DJ, Rekha. And, disaffected Senegalese youth from France embraced Hip Hop to voice their issues, launching the divergent careers of rappers MC Solaar and Assassin.

Netmix gives props to Tou Saiko Lee for bridging Hmong culture and hip hop. The tradition of using Hip Hop to fuse the past with the present educates young people around the world that we can’t forget about our past, because our past will always be tied to our future. Combining history with music they can related to, innovators like Lee believe that their efforts will spur thought or action for others who follow to embrace and continue the message of those less fortunate. We have to keep the spotlight on the tragedies of our times.