Usain Bolt!

Usain Bolt is a new hero of mine. He just smashed his own world record in the 100m last night in Beijing. While the Olympics takes nationalism & patriotism and injects them with BALCO, the beauty of watching athletes accomplish impossible feats, shatter world records, and obtain titles like the “fastest person the world has ever seen,” is some pretty dope ass shit.

Usain Bolt not only put it down by running the 100m in 9.69 seconds, the first human to ever crack the 9.7 second mark, he also did it with an awe inspiring amount of swag. He was so far ahead of the rest of the field halfway through the race that he looked to the right and proceeded to turn his palms toward the sky and then pound his chest triumphantly. That was a classic moment in the long history of Swagger. In a moment of swag that would make even Jay-Z seem regular, Bolt was dancing before during and after the race. His exuberance and excitement in the moment probably even cost him hundreds of a second, but that type of shit is an afterthought when you see someone loving the moment the way Bolt was.

Usain Bolt 9,69s – Finale du 100m J.O Pékin 2008
Uploaded by tachelhite

There is something really empowering and uplifting (and this could just be me, but I doubt it) to watch when someone coming from a country with such rich history and culture and becomes the representative hero of the day like Bolt just did in Beijing. Usain Bolt is the most famous Olympic athlete out of Jamaica since Malik Yoba, Doug E. Doug, Leon, and that other dude bobsledded to gold medals in Cool Runnings! “Jamaica, we got a bobsled team!”

“I’m feeling very Olympic today” ~Cool Runnings

The saddest part about the whole feat is that it was not even televised in the U.S. NBC’s coverage has been pretty racist, patriotic (of course), and terribly announced. Bob Costas and others have been constantly belittling and demeaning of countries around the world and simultaneously deepening my understanding of why the world hates Amerika in all of it’s arrogance. Had an American had a fighting chance at all, the 100m sprint, likely would have been one of THE most watched events of the olympics. But alas the hometown favorite, Tyson Gay, was unable to qualify for the finals, due in large part to an injured hamstring. Thus, as a consequence, NBC refused to televise the 100m sprint, one of the events known for creating heroes and putting people onto Wheaties boxes.

None of this takes away from Bolts brilliance. In 9.69 seconds Usain Bolt, a 22 year old sprinter out of Jamaica, was able to inspire me and uplift me through watching what he accomplished in individual sport. This is why I love sports (and hate how they are used for propaganda). Congratulations and thanks to Usain.

Swag Hall of Fame inductee, I’m nominating Usain Bolt.

peace.

*PS- Drea, if you read this, you gotta let us know how Bolt is being talked about in Jamrock and if the homie got a billboard or something!*

Dream Feature #1: Sir Mix-a-Lot

Sir Mix-a-Lot

I ain’t posted in an extended amount of time, but on the bright side I got a B in statistics at Berkeley City College and so that means that I am almost through with this bachelor’s degree in American Studies from UCSC so I’m pretty damn juiced.

Anywho, I figured the next post I would do would actually have NOTHING to do with statistics and everything to do with posting my first segment of “Dream Features.” Sir Mix-a-Lot is the first to receive this illustrious honor of musicians whom, if I was able to ask politely for anyone to be on a song with, I would definitely have to pick them.

Sir Mix-a-Lot is a multi-platinum recording artist who was most prominent in the late 80s and early 90s. Everyone knows Mix-a-Lot from the classic “Baby Got Back” cut that dropped way back in 1992 off his album Mack Daddy. An ode to the female posterior, “Baby Got Back” is still spun in clubs around the country. It’s one of those songs that got picked up by pop culture and they kind of just beat it into the ground with redundancy to the point of making it kind of a joke and a song that frat boys nationwide I’m sure get a kick out of. In all seriousness though the video was pretty damn funny with the mountain booties and all that ish. The song itself while certainly rooted in misogyny and patriarchy actually did address certain pressing issues within mass media, hip hop and rap vs. rock & roll, such as voyeurism (“Oh my god! Becky look at her butt. It is soooo big!”/ “Even white boys got to shout!”), and standards of beauty (“So Cosmo says your fat/Well I ain’t down wit that!”).

Sir Mix-a-Lot though I think deserves an incredible amount of respect. For one, he was able to establish himself as a platinum artist in the late 1980s and early 1990s while being from the relatively obscure hip hop region (at the time) of Seattle, Washington. Those were the times when if you were a rapper on the West Coast then you HAD to be from either Los Angeles or The Yay. AND, 4 years previous to the international ubiquity of “Baby Got Back,” his dropped his classic slumper, “Posse On Broadway” on his album Swass (what a dope album title). Posse On Broadway has to be one of the most famous (at least within a hip hop historian frame of mind) songs in the history of hip hop. It’s pioneering sounds was part of the revolutionary impact of the 808 drum machine and the west coast influence on hip hop culture and rap music.

The slappin’ ass 808!

Mr. Mix-a-Lot was RAW as fuck, and going back and listening to them joints like Posse on Broadway make me wish that it was hella easy to just call a person up and ask them to hop on a song. If that was at all possible I would with the swiftness for sure be hollerin’ at Sir Mix-a-Lot. He brought to his music an INCREDIBLE amount of energy, swagg, intellect, understanding of music, lyrics, and honesty. He is definitely an All-Star Legend in my book, and if there was a rap video game he would definitely be one of those secret legendary characters you unlock and can play as once you beat the game!

(Sidenote: Me and Chris were just talking the other day and this brilliant question came up, “Why doesn’t Hip Hop have a hall of fame???” Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Diddy, and some other people need to get their acts together and front the necessary funds to make that shit happen!).

But like Colin says, “Like Snoop says…” Back to the lecture at hand…

**Sir Mix-a-Lot if you by chance come across this post my email address is getatmefolks@gmail.com and my name is Greg!!!

When you take your next shot of whatever you’re taking a shot of make sure you cheers at least one of those shots to SIR MIX-A-LOT!

“Shake that healthy butt!!”

(Record Scratch) Aw, Aw, Aw yeah,

g.