Old Skool. Literally.

This is one of my first — if not the first — student film project I did while I was at Howard University. I ran into one of my former classmates/production team members at a show tonite and I told her I’d Youtube this for her. So I thought I’d share with you too ;)

The video is called “Ghetto Superstar” and it’s about a ghetto superhero who rescues innocent women from annoying men with no game. Shaky camera work, poor lighting and blurry focus by yours truly ;) And the sound effects came courtesy of Wu-Tang Clan’s “Enter the 36 Chambers” and the rest of the ladies in the group (I did the one where the guy next to the car is laughing).” It’s not exactly a masterpiece. But it’s still fun to watch. I’m not in it but a bunch of my old HU buddies are. Back then all I wanted to do was operate camera and edit. I had absolutely no desire to ever be in front of the camera… but look at me now. Life is so random.

Damn, I don’t know this song either

So I wasn’t working this past weekend and got a chance to be “normal” ;) and hang with some of my friends. Hooray! On Friday nite, me and my friend Kellz went out to a club. I put on a dress and heels and we got to the club before it was real packed and set up shop on the first floor by the bar.

Perfect.

The music was great. They were playing a lot of old school hip hop and R&B, some Chaka — a little Tribe. We were having a great time. We even spotted an S-Curl and I made Kellz pretend I was taking a picture of her so old boy wouldn’t know we were clowning him…

Big fun.

scurl.jpg

After about an hour, we went upstairs to the second level. And as we were standing on the outskirts of the dance floor watching folks get their dance on, I slowly began to realize that I didn’t know any of the music the DJ was playing. You know that “Awwwwww, s—! That’s my joint / Woooooo!” sound that happens right after the DJ plays the first few notes of a club banger??? Well I heard it repeatedly. I saw the hands go up in the air. But I didn’t recognize any of the songs.

How the hell did this happen?

I consciously stopped listening to urban contemporary radio stations several years ago — not because I don’t like hip hop — but because I *do.* And what passes for hip hop and R&B on the radio these days sickens me. I prefer to read reviews and forums, find artists that I like and buy/download their music myself. But even so, the ignorance that floods the airwaves has always found a way to somehow seep into my consciousness. Thru commercials or MTV or something… Last Friday however, I literally knew none of the songs that were played in like a 20-minute period.

What are you supposed to do in a situation like that? Should you just throw your hands up in the air when everyone else does and pretend like you like the raggedy-ass ‘music’ that’s playing (as one friend suggested)? Or do you just acknowledge the fact that you’re over it and look for a comfy seat?

I opted for option #2.

Overall I enjoyed myself that nite but I spent the last half hour we were there texting a friend of mine who was being equally lame at another club.

My how times change… Continue reading →