Kenji Jasper
Scribe
Words Lines and Phrases
Brooklyn, NY

At 33, Kenji Jasper can boast of a 18-year career in writing and journalism, which began when he published his first article as an intern for The Washington Informer newspaper at the age of 13. At 14, he became a contributor to Black Entertainment Television's YSB Magazine, and later worked as a writer/instructor at The Institute for the Preservation and Study of African American Writing. He also served as an on-air personality for WTTG Fox 5's Newsbag (1986-1987), and later as one of the founding cast members of Black Entertainment Television's Teen Summit (1989-1993). By the time he graduated from Morehouse College in 1997, his journalism had appeared in The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union Tribune, and The Atlanta Tribune .

But creative writing has always been his true love. He penned his first novel, "Dark" , at the age of 21. It has since been released in the United Kingdom and translated into French. It was later optioned to be made into a film by State Street Pictures(Soul Food, Barbershop, Roll Bounce) and Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Mr. Jasper has contributed articles and essays to Newsweek, National Public Radio, The Village Voice, VIBE, The Charlotte Observer, The Chicago Sun-Times and Essence among many other publications. His first work of nonfiction, The House on Childress Street, was published in January of 2006. He is co-editor of Beats, Rhymes and Life, a collection of critical writings on hip hop culture and the novella, Snow, which was published by VIBE Books in 2007. 

He is also the CEO and Editor of The Armory, a publishing partnership with Akashic Books. It's mosrt recent release, Cake, by author D, was published in Summer 2008.   He is currently at work on Nightshift, the first novel in a three-part series and other screenwriting and client projects.

VIDEO ALERT: Young MC “Bust A Move (Don Rimini Remix)
+ Don Rimini Fall Tour in action now!

Taken from the album Delicious Vinyl All-Stars RMXXOLOGY, French producer Don Rimini rmxxs Young MC’s hip hop classic “Bust A Move” and turns it into an electro-house dancefloor smash for the 21st Century.

Check out the video -

To create a video for the most slammin’ remix of the year RMXXOLOGY curator Rick Ross and editor Gabriel Reed have assembled a futuristic RMXXOLOGY universe. The video integrates elements of film footage shot personally by Ross, along with the electric neon signs of Paris’ Pharmacy industry, motion graphic work by Gabriel Reed and the original Bust A Move video directed by Tamra Davis to create a cutting edge visual complimenting Don Rimini’s Fire scorched Rave kid rmxx.

Don Rimini’s currently in the midst of a world tour in support of his critically acclaimed new Delicious Vinyl release, “Kick N’ Run” EP. The months of November and December will see the Parisian jam master destroy dancefloors across the U.S. and Canada before he heads out to Europe for the balance of 2008 and the start of 2009.

Catch Don Rimini on Tour!
11/20/08 Rocket – Milan, Italy
11/21/08 Merlin – Budapest, Hungary
11/22/08 Nitsa Club @ Apolo – Barcelona, Spain
11/26/08 The Roxy - Los Angeles, CA
11/27/08 Hi Fi Club – Calgary, AB
11/28/08 New City Suburbs – Edmonton, AB
11/29/08 The Craneway Pavilion - San Francisco, CA
12/02/08 Snacks – Philadelphia, PA
12/03/08 Bills Bar – Boston, MA
12/04/08 The Moct – Milwaukee, WI
12/05/08 Abbey Pub – Chicago, IL
12/06/08 Le Poisson Rouge - New York, NY
12/11/08 Social Club – Paris, France
12/12/08 Club Q – Zurich, Switzerland
12/13/08 Astroclub @ Olympic – Nantes, France
01/16/09 Razzmatazz – Barcelona, Spain
01/17/09 Low Club – Madrid, Spain
01/24/09 Les Transardentes @ Liege, Belgium
01/31/09 Ghetto Hype 13 @ Rafiot – Strasbourg, France
02/14/09 4 Sans – Bordeaux, France

Links:
www.myspace.com/donrimini
Electro House Music

Egg Hunt was a one off project that resulted from an Easter weekend that label founders Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson spent messing around in Southern Records founder John Loader’s London Studio. Well, it may have been a little bit more purposeful than just “messing around.” Really, who am I to say?

My initial reaction to this was, “Do I really have the 12MB to spare on these two songs that I will listen to approximately never?” It seemed like the kind of record where everybody’s mom got a copy and then the rest went into the basement forevermore–just as 200 of former Citylights editor Mike Kanin’s Better Automatic CDs continue to rot in my cellar (anybody want one of these? I can hook you up).

The single is pretty good though. “Me and You” has a pretty tight proto-Lungfish groove. “We All Fall Down,” is fully sing-along-able and benefits from what sounds like 80 overdubs of the same chugging guitar part. And the price is right.

Still, why not some obscuro Fugazi freebie? Or the studio version of Lungfish’s “Armageddon“? Or, jeez, even a Fidelity Jones b-side? Well, since Egg Hunt was a duo consisting of only MacKaye and Nelson, this was probably the only record they could give away without diminishing somebody else’s royalties. And there are probably members of Bluetip, guys that MacKaye can’t remember or possibly hasn’t even met, who are still living for those checks. So, respect.

In this week’s New Music Report, Rolling Stone contributing editor Christian Hoard runs down the week’s top stories starring the Who and Rivers Cuomo and takes a look at new releases from Guns N’ Roses and Beyoncé. Click above for the entire video, including exclusive audio of Mary J. Blige talking about Aretha Franklin and footage of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox performing in Brooklyn.

Related Stories:

• Album Review: Guns N’ Roses, Chinese Democracy

• Album Review: Beyoncé, I Am…Sasha Fierce

• The Who’s Roger Daltrey on Keith Moon, New DVD

• Q&A: Rivers Cuomo

• Breaking: Deerhunter

"So here's how it is: You've got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this." He pointed to a Bible. "But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn't. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you've got blue, you've got the Democrats, and they're, like, 'You can do whatever you want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."

When asked about his perspective on social issues-- gay marriage, abortion-- Prince tapped his Bible and said, "God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, 'Enough.'"

This would imply that Prince is a "Yes on Proposition 8" kind of guy, yes? Maybe? It's always hard to tell with Prince, but the implication that he opposes gay rights was enough for a representative of his to allegedly reach out to Perez Hilton (Really? Of all people?) and say, "We're very angry he was misquoted." [Via Rolling Stone].

According to Perez, the New Yorker writer didn't use a tape recorder, and Prince's point to the Bible was actually followed by a reference to the parts of the book that talk about showing love and not judging others. (According to Wired, The New Yorker backs up its story.)

In less salacious news, Reuters reports that perfume company Revelations has sued Prince for breach of contract, saying he has failed to help promote his previously reported "3121" fragrances. (Yes, frangranceS. Plural. There are two. The first came out last year, and the second will debut next year.)

Prince's music publisher Universal Music Publishing Group was set to receive half of the profits from sales of the fragrances, but Reuters reports that according to the $100,000 suit, "Since July 2007, despite repeated attempts by Revelations there have been virtually no communications from anyone who could commit to or coordinate any promotional efforts by Prince."

In a statement of response to Reuters, UMPG said, "Although we have not seen the complaint, we are familiar with the claims being asserted by Revelations, and they are completely without merit."

Another lawsuit against Prince was settled recently when a Los Angeles judge ruled that Prince must pay video editor Ian C. Lewis $58,000 for "editing work and unreturned equipment," according to an AP report [via WiredPost].

And finally, something lighthearted and entirely strange: According to a firsthand account from DJ Scratch on Miss Info's blog [via Nah Right], Prince surprised Q-Tip at the latter's Las Vegas show on Sunday by magically appearing on stage...and disappearing just as magically.

Take it away, Scratch:

Yo, while me and Q-Tip were performing 'Vivrant Thing' in Vegas last night...this n-a Prince walked out on the stage, took the guitar from our guitar player and just started rocking! None of us knew he was there until he popped up on the stage...then the n-a vanished like Batman, LOL!

The sound crew said Prince was in the balcony watching the show from the very beginning (The balcony was closed off). Then when 'Vivrant Thing' came out, he just came backstage and walked out on stage.

None of us knew what was happening, then when we finished the show he was gone LOL!

You guys, Prince breaks my brain.

Seriously, this came up when I searched for "pitchfork."

It has been well publicized by voices louder and more authoritative than mine that Pitchforkmedia.com is a veritable trendsetter, all but launching the careers of artists such as Arcade Fire, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Annie (Stateside, anyway), among others. The site’s influence is so vast that long-forgotten acts like Gang of Four, ESG and the Congos have posthumously become prescient. And who knew that Talk Talk and Jesus Lizard were so damn good? Pitchfork, apparently.

Not that they are the only ones on the internets with a stacked record collection; there are practically as many “indie” music websites as there are “indie” artists, each trying in their own way to match Pitchfork’s success and influence. Considering the pull that Pitchforkmedia holds, the decision to pursue a print publication is a rather odd one. Other than the fact that a book sucks in a whole lot more money for the work than simply posting the same information – oh, right.

More importantly, as far as I'm interested, Pitchfork is among the few websites to have made the jump from audience to performer. The gaze has shifted so that P4K isn’t simply chronicling their musical tastes, they are in effect making declarative statements with each new album review, and in doing so, are the subject of other’s criticisms. Their relationship to music is similar to a Keith Olbermann’s to news or a Tony Kornheiser’s to sports. Sure, the former is reporting on the latter, but the former has also reached a certain celebrity status in their own right. So now what they do is occasionally as newsworthy as the actions of the subjects they traditionally cover.

Unfairly or not, Pitchfork Media’s new The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to Present will inevitably be viewed through a hypercritical lens. Criticism of the book immediately fell into two camps: older, established media outlets hoping to ride the coattails of hipster cred back into relevance, like the Los Angeles Times, which praises it as, “An essential part of the iPod Generation’s lexicon, a must-read”; to envious, pajama-wearing, mother’s basement-living wannabe blogs and posters calling the books proprietor’s, “misguided and insecure”, as one recent reviewer on Amazon.com has done.

My thoughts on the book can be found at the end of this post, but before getting to that, I had the opportunity to exchange emails with Pitchforkmedia.com founder and Pitchfork 500 co-editor Ryan Schreiber. Find out what he had to say after the jump, replete with as much context as possible:

ESSENCE magazine reflects back on the epic year that was 2008 and recognizes 25 distinguished African-Americans who have made a difference. From the rise of political figures to the celebrity activists changing the world and entertainers breaking artistic ground ESSENCE honors the extraordinary trailblazers that made 2008 an unforgettable year. President-elect Barack Obama received the most votes in an online poll on essence.com, earning recognition as the “Readers’ Choice” for the year’s most influential African-American. The December issue of ESSENCE features 20 of the Most Influential List, with essence.com reporting the complete list of honorees.

“President-elect Barack Obama’s historic win was the pinnacle of an amazing year in African-American achievement,” says Angela Burt-Murray, editor-in-chief, ESSENCE. “ESSENCE is so proud to acknowledge the top 25 African-Americans who followed suit with extraordinary steps in news, music, film, politics, activism and fashion and emerged as the game changers of 2008.”

The list features the newsmakers like Gwen Ifill and Donna Brazile who helped shape this year’s news and captured the attention of millions while making a powerful impact on the media landscape. Celebrities who raised the bar and achieved enormous success are saluted as well, like Tyler Perry who became the first African-American to own a major television and movie studio and Will Smith who broke barriers at the box office. Following the pattern of historical moments in African-American history, New York Governor, David Paterson makes the list as the first Black governor of New York and the first blind governor of any state. In a special tribute to African-American women in radio, the list boasts Michel Martin, Adaora Udoji, Michele Norris, Bev Smith and Farai Chideya. These influential African-Americans and more are featured in the December issue of ESSENCE and on essence.com.

  To see the full list log on to: www.essence.com.

  25 Most Influential List
  Barack Obama - President-elect
  Donna Brazile - Political Strategist, Commentator
  Gwen Ifill - Journalist
  Valerie Jarrett - President and CEO, The Habitat Company, Adviser
   to Barack Obama
  Queen Latifah - Singer, Actress, Jenny Craig Spokesperson
  Will Smith - Box Office Titan
  Wyclef Jean - Musician, Activist
  Kanye West - Hip-Hop Artist, Producer
  will.i.am - Musician, Activist
  Tyler Perry - Writer, Actor, Director, Producer, Studio Owner
  Michel Martin - Tell Me More, Host
  Adaora Udoji - The Take Away, Host
  Michele Norris - All Things Considered, Host
  Bev Smith - The Bev Smith Show, Host
  Farai Chideya - News & Notes, Host
  Van Jones - Founder and President, Green For All
  Ian Smith, M.D. - Diet Expert, Author, Television Host
  David Paterson - Governor, New York
  Bethann Hardison - Advocate for Black Models
  Phill Wilson - CEO, Black Aids Institute
  Reverend Leah Daughtry - CEO, Democratic National Convention
  Mark Whitaker - Washington Bureau Chief, NBC News
  Candace Parker - WNBA Star
  Patrick Robinson - Lead Fashion Designer, GAP
  James Rucker - Internet Civil Rights Activist

  About Essence Communications Inc.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the leading media and communications company dedicated to African-American women. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is “Where Black Women Come First.” The company’s flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women, generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, Women Who Are Shaping the World Leadership Summit, Window on Our Women (WOW I, II & III) and Smart Beauty I, II & III consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD) via Essence Studios. For 38 years, ESSENCE magazine, which has a readership of 8.5 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women’s lives.