Day 14: August 7, 2007 (Part 2)

"Memories don't live like people do, they always remember you, whether things are good or bad, its just the memories...Baby don't forget me, I'm a travellin' man, movin through places, space and time, gotta lotta things i got to do, GOD willin' I'm comin back to you, my baby boo, I'm leavin..." in the words of Mos Def, but before I leave, here's part 2 as promised:

So after Arch Angel and the madness in front, I left Kensington with the same bouncer from the door, Kofee, one of his breddren, and my good sistren Saran, to head over to Brixton...once again, before I forget, big respect to Kofee for the ride star...and nuff respect due to my one and only, photographer, videographer, yes I-yah, my camera crew, Saran...on the way, we saw another fight in front of another pub, club, or whatever it may be, this time it was a patron fighting a bouncer,
(This actually made me not feel as bad about the first fight, apparently everyone; not just us, love to fight)
and the same two police from the first fight, a male and a female officer, tried to break it up...it was crazy, the woman officer was between these two men that were twice her size...pure madness, I never knew London stay so...apparently, the Brits have a rep for brawling throughout Europe, trus me, I see it, but it doesn't stop there...

We finally get over to Brixton, we hit up this one spot, I think it was called Porky's, or something of that nature, it was a pool hall, met some local soundman, the dance was kinda dead, so we head to another spot...when we get outside the club, two man start the back and forth thing, "So my yout, whe you really a seh star, how yuh really feel," then the other one: "yuh wan ramp wit b...clot me, come on, me seh, me shot people fi fun," like Ox in Belly...then outta nowhere, babylon swoop down in a van, two officers get out, and immediately, one of the man dem is arrested...this was a very different response from the police in Kensington, but then again, we in Brixton aka Little Jamaica, so the color scheme changes....

After that, we ended up at some session called "Mass," where the elusive David Rodigan was supposed to be playing, which was the strangest thing, it was a club in a building that looks like a church, I think it used to be a church, I don't know, but that was a little disturbing to me...outside you had the "crack-heads" doing what "crack-heads" do, the bouncer there told us Rodigan was playing a different night, so we asked one of the man dem outside where the next session was...after going to what seemed like every club in Brixton, we eventually called it a night, and I headed back.

Day 14: August 7, 2007 (Part 1)

"I am leaving on a jet plane, I don't know when I'll be back again, kiss me and smile for me..." yes, in the words of Beenie and Doug E. Fresh, if you don't know the song, do the research...I'm actually leaving London today around 11 AM, but before I head out, lemme tell you about Saturday night:

Yo, I was in the process of making my way down to Oxford Circus to check out some night life, via the bus on High Street Kensington, when I decided to go over to a bar/restaurant called Arch Angel. I had previoulsly hailed up this bouncer that worked there, so I figured I would go over there and ask him about what was poppin for the night, maybe go inside for a little bit. So, as I'm talking to him, there is a group of about seven older guys (when I say older, I mean like mid to late 20s) walking out the club, who then try to catch a cab. The bouncer tells me that they probably won't get a cab in this area for the same reason we both couldn't eat at a diner in rural Mississippi during the 1950s. Then these three young girls and two younger guys (when I say younger, I mean A-levels younger, 16, 17, maybe 18) walk out, and one of the girls gets into some form a argument with one of the seven older guys waiting for the cab. Follow me so far, good.

So, then the girl goes back inside the club, in the meantime, the pot is boiling beause one of the younger guys is being draped up by one of the older seven. Then, out a nowhere, one of the older guys tump one of the younger yout in the face, by this time, amidst the back and forth ting, and the commotion, the girl come back out the club with two older guys to try and mek peace. They try to talk things out, but that just leads to more excitement, and in the blink of an eye, the older seven guys just rush the two new guys that came out, and jump them, kicking them in the head, the mouth, tumping one of the girls, shoving another one, girlfriend bawling, it was madness, for real...then, just like that, the seven either all jump into one car or two, I'm not sure (I really don't know where they all of a sudden came from) and drive off.

Then the police show up, which by the way, don't carry guns, that has always been interesting to me, apparently if you as a civilian, is caught with a gun, it's an instant five years or something like that...so after the pandemonium, an adult somehow associated with the younger group shows up in a limousine, she's in the middle of everything, then she leaves, ambulance shows up, some proper cussing going on, one of the younger youts is going crazy, bawling, going out of control, it was crazy, pure bullocks, trust me...and I couldn't help but think, damn, why do we always have to fight each other, why is it always one of us...

Day 13: August 6, 2007

Yo, Saturday night in London was madness...I don't have enough time to get into it right now, but the night included two fights, a tour of Brixton and all the hole-in-the-wall clubs in between, a dance called mass at a church, which was supposed to be the ever elusive Rodigan dance, but I'll get into that later...

Coppa

Day 11: August 4, 2007

Planes, Trains, and no Automobiles:
Yo, I left Amsterdam yesterday, and my flight was delayed 4 hours back to London...I found a cheap one way flight on British Airways, speaking of money, yo, the exchange rate is ridiculous, especially for certain bruk-pocket artists such as myself, the pound is 2.13 to 1 and the Euro is 1.5 to 1, so needless to say, the complimentary breakfast of toast, bread, and more toast was much appreciated...before I left Amsterdam, I came across this place called the Living Room, right down the street from the Anne Frank House, where apparently, squatters can occupy a building once it is vacant without paying the owner any rent, the only way the owner can evict them is to provide the city with definite plans for use of the property...so these people I met were essentially squatting there indefinitely, and had cleaned the place up, and set it up like a "coffee house style" open lounge where they played reggae and hip hop, and spread the word about squatting in Amsterdam, a type of socialist lifestyle where everyone pitched in to up keep the house...so yuh si, is not only Jamaica have squatters...so I dropped off a couple Cds, posted some flyers, thanked them for their hospitality, and headed off to Schipol to catch my flight...oh yeah, before I forget, big up to the staff at Nadia Hotel...right now back in London, once again trying to find a session or dance to go to, but as always, we'll see how that goes...

Coppa

Day 9: August 2, 2007

Paris Gare Du Nord to Amsterdam Centraal: "All Aboard!!"
Well...touched down in Amsterdam via the train from Paris, the spot I stayed at was down the road from Dam Square, off a street called Raadhuis Straat. Met a few DJs, dropped off flyers and CDs in various "coffee" shops, bars, and clothing stores, got a few spins, made a few connex, I had a couple coffee shops play a couple tracks, yo, big respect to the staff at the Kadinsky coffee shop and the bar across the way, they were the first to play my musik, it was interesting to see people's reactions...for the most part, it was positive, and everyone speaks English, so communication wasn't an issue like Paris, I was actually glad to learn that Lauryn Hill had a show here last week, I think, I'm glad she's back in the game, her solo album was solid, straight through...there's also a Richie Spice show coming up the end of this month, TOK is coming as well, and a big reggae show not this weekend but next, with Sizzla, Buju and many other artists, I can't remember right now, so yo, reggae de yah...otherwise, I only have one question: why is it that I can't see the bottom of the canal, what is really goin on...?