Source of Labor

The Source Magazine's Jerry Barrow and Sia Barnes

Umm so despite all the talk about the corruption at The Source they put out a pretty good issue this month which I checked out at the Union Square Virgin Megastore (Jada's on the cover). Jerry Barrow's feature on Mos Def is worth noting. It seems the same cat that said "stop with the nonsense, like he's conscious" had switched his style back to the Black On Both Sides industry irreverence asserting he don't make his music for dumb niggas and calling out all area coons (i.e. The Eastside Boyz) and puppetmasters (shady record exec types). Anyway given Mos's recent penchant to shuck and jive for the media this is incredibly odd. Mos' also makes vague mention to having a big family which the article doesn't push. I mean family business is family business but I just don't think a woman would be able to so obscure her personal life and commitment in this same way. It's also wierd how when his people took over the fan site MosDefinitely.com all references to his personal life were excised.

"You might not know who I is." ~Cooning reputedly devil worshiping Southern rappers and friends

On the subject of the kids I must confess unlike Trick I don't love 'em. Well in theory I do but not in practice. I babysat the angelic daughter of family friends for the first time at 17 or 18 and she remains the only child I've every babysat (as she said "we're girls" and I love her and her siblings mucho) but I'm not not a kiddie, googly, woogly person. My sister is. I hate the fact that when I make faces at babies they don't always smile back or that they look away at something more interesting like I'm not putting in work. Not to mention their proclivity for peering over their airplane seat and guilting me into playing peekabo for the entire span of a transcontinental flight when all I want to do is sleep or read my book or stare into the clouds. I tend to talk and interact with kids like I do with adults so although ego makes me want to have kids in the far away future I wasn't raised to mother nor do I dream about it. In fact quite a few of my friends are determined to not have kids. Kids inevitably although outdatedly make me think of marriage and to that I'll say I really like that Julie Dexter song "Never Will I Marry" 'cause I think it captures some of my sentiments about traditional institutions that tend to preclude women from living a full/fulfilled life but admittedly I'm a walking contradiction and the grass sometimes still looks green.

"You ain't even gotta do the dishes."-Summer Epistle Writer

I gotta share what my dear friend the amazing vocalist Ife sent me today:

Here's the fairy tale all little girls should be reading...
Once upon a time, in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat, contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle. The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said: Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so. That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sautéed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce,she chuckled and thought to herself: I don't fucking think so.

Oh yeah and I like Roy Jones Jr. and his protege's new song and their coordinated bulletprof vested hard bop in the video.