"No longer selling out, I'm buying in"
-Sole, "I Don't Rap in Bumperstickers," Bottle of Humans
So, yeah, I'm on facebook now. It's as simple as that. Or is it?
It all started when I decided I wanted to put on a hip hop show so that austin (brikabrak) could play in Jackson when he is home for Christmas. So I put together an ill line-up and what I think will be a great party and a stellar show. I got the show put together and and got a venue and we're gonna have a canned food drive and it's gonna be dope.
But I guess we have to go back a bit further to fully understand. Through writing for the Free Press, I met Rashad Street, a local rapper and entrepreneur, and beyond that, a really good dude that shares my passion for hip hop, Nike SB's and fitted caps. I interviewed him for the paper, and we became friends. I took him on the JFP radio show with me to talk about a piece I wrote about hip hop culture. In the parking lot after the show, we talked about building the Jackson scene into something serious, based on the talent we have. We also talked about doing a documentary film, tracing the history of hip hop in Jackson from the 80s to the present. It sounded like a great idea.
Well, a week ago, Rashad Street sets up a meeting with himself, me and Kamikaze, Jackson hip hop legend and social activist. We had a great meeting; we talked about the film for a bit, but the majority of the meeting centered on how we could strengthen the hip hop scene in Jackson and take it to the next level. Lots of good ideas bounced around. I came out of it realizing that I can and should help put on and promote shows in town. Kamikaze told me I should and gave me all kinds of advice on how to go about it. The first thing you have to do, he told me, is set-up facebook and twitter. Cause that's how you reach people.
So here we are. I did it. No choice. But I can't front and say I wholly dislike it. It's cool. Especially cause I have connected with a lot of people that I know will come to the shows we do. It is also pretty neat to see people I haven't seen in years. But that is about the gist of it. I don't see how I can keep up with all that. I doubt I will be posting many status updates that have to do with my mood or what I am up to. It's all kind of boring anyway. People I haven't seen since elementary school probably don't care about that shit anyway. I don't.
I think there is some comfort in just seeing some of those pictures and knowing those people are out there, doing their thing. But, now I am on facebook and they have to put up with my bullshit.
I guess in the end, I have an agenda with all this, and I hope my time on facebook isn't seen as disingenuous (would that even be possible?). But I will also update people when I have a new article out, or when I update a blog or something. People seem to care about that kind of stuff and I want people, ultimately, to hear what I have to say. The blog, the writing, the shows, I see as all part of the same "thing" or whatever it is that me and Rashad Street are trying to do. Which is show the world that the Jackson hip hop scene has a place of importance within the current mode of our cherished culture.
My name is Garrad Lee and I am a sell out. Or am I buying in?
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