Blought #11: The Evolution of Cartoon Network

Boy were the 90’s a time to behold. Just like the forty something to be generation did with their nostalgia of the 80’s, us millenials are doing the same with the 90’s. He-Man, GI Joe and Jelly bracelets are now artifacts worthy enough of enshrinement in the Smithsonian.

For me the 90’s was WWF, action figures and occasionally a little elementary school thrown in there somewhere. One of my favorite past times as a child was watching cartoons. A hobby of mine I am still active in today. Back when Adelphia was the go to cable provider for the Cleveland area their channel selection was somewhat limited. They did however carry the kiddie essentials of the time which were Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel (I've never regularly watched the latter).

Blought #10: 'Young Langston Arrives'

The name 'Young Langston' to me means creativity and legacy. It's a Cleveland brand of a legenday name and future representation.

This new banner is the perfect way for me to describe my writing. The black is simple while the font style shows the natural flow a writer feels while writing.

I don't want to be him, I'm me. But I can use him as a template for my digital reincarnation of what I believe is Cleveland Literature.

"Crows on the Line" Photo by Daivon Shepherd

‘When the Crows Come Home’ is a collection of my thoughts of the hood from a more humble and grown up Brendan.  The book opens with the line “There will always be blood on the leaves as long as there are crows in the trees". This was a play on the lyrics of Billie Holiday’s 1939 song titled ‘Strange Fruit‘.

The song was originally a poem written by a teacher by the name of Abel Meeropol. The poem was published in 1937 during the era of Jim Crowe when the lynching of African Americans was a regular occurrence especially in the southern states.

As I finished the short collection I struggled to find inspiration for a cover. Almost naturally I thought of finding a picture of an actual crow. I never liked that idea and decided to ask a child hood friend of mine to help me find an inspiration. Then my vision became realized.

Blought #9: 'Damn, Shit Done Changed'

A bout a week back I ran across a meme on Facebook that had Biggie sitting down in a chair with his head leaning up against his arm. Biggies natural sleepy expression was used to convey the message of the meme that said something to the tune of “How it feels listening to Hip-Hop today”. I classify myself as a lover of various forms of Hip-Hop. I can listen Rick Ross, Common, Pharcyde, Lil B (yes, the Based God entertains me), Joey BadA$$, Mac Miller and just about any other major or underground rapper out there. Hell even G Eazy has a song I enjoy.

For some reason some faux black elitist crowd has begun to surface around social media over the past few years. They disregard the most current urban of Hip-Hop like Rick Ross and Lil Wayne and call it trash. What they fail to realize is that Hip-Hop is entertainment.

Black Skateboarders Pur Ohio on the Map by Brendan Whitt (Courtesy of Call & Post Cleveland)

Local Clothing Designer's art goes from 'Lame" to Fame by Brendan Whitt (Courtesy of Call & Post Cleveland)

'Papers' from 'When the Crows Come Home'

When the crows come home
We get high my nigga

When the crows come home
We drink dark French liquor

When the crows come home
It’s like fam got back together

When the crows come home
My heart feels better

When the crwos come home home
Lil niggas got they pops

When the crows come home
We need a red carpet for the block

'Contraband' from 'When the Crows Come Home'

Contraband got him shoes
Contraband stashed in his sock
Contraband paid his momma rent
And got his little brother an XBOX

Contraband bought diapers
Contraband cause fights
Contraband got you a new whip
And keep you up at night

Contraband got you a quick buck
Contraband was the plan
Contraband ain’t no way to live
And it didn’t last

'Gotta Do Better' from 'When the Crows Come Home'

You shouldn't yell" free my nigga"
Instead we should be promotin "teach my nigga"
Take yo son hand
And not a key my nigga
Now we wearin orange jumpsuits
Cause the lick was sweet my nigga
I understand the man don't like us niggas
But why we gotta keep addin to the problem
Cause then we gon keep bein niggas

'Rappers' from 'When the Crows Come Home'

Look at these rich pampered niggas
They all claim to be the realest
You wouldn’t be authentic
Even if the US Mint made ya
Counterfeit thugs got famous
Cause Atlantic or Def Jam pay ya
Like Africans sellin Gucci
Y’all just a bunch of fakers
And Capitol just want capital
Cause once that cell or casket closed
That’s when ya album chart and go gold

'When The Hens Roost' from 'When the Crows Come Home'

The sun ain’t hit the top yet
And the birds out chirpin’
Mr. Farmer just finished his joe
Time to get workin

Had a steer pullin a plow
And the dog herdin his sheep
Mr. Farmer went to the coop
And couldn’t believe what he didn’t see

Not a hen was there
And they hadn’t laid any eggs
“I done lost to a goddamn coyote”
Then an idea popped into his head

If they ain’t in the coop layin
Or walkin around outside
They probably sittin somewhere talkin
Guess I’ll give them some time

'Untitled 3' from 'If I Wrote a Hip-Hop Album'

Can we put the guns down
Put a L in the air
Its like every other week
All a young nigga hear
RIP my nigga
Another black male dead
And it hurt me soul
Make me wanna drop a tear
Another son aint here
Another brother gunned down
Can we put the guns down
I don’t who next
But I hope it aint me
Hope it aint my nigga
Hope it aint my fam
So what you ‘sposed to do
When the streets so cold
You need heat by ya belt
Like a nigga name Pacino
Whats the motive anyway
Mucho Dinero
But the means aint worth it
So I beg and I plead
Can we put the guns down
No more black mothers cryin’
Lil bros grow up mad
Cause he lost his brother, closest thing to his dad
It just make me so sad
Can we please put em down
Just put the guns down

Chapter 1 of 'A Summer In Harlem' by Brendan Whitt

     “Thad, Thad, Thaddeus Leon Thomas! If I gotta call your name one more time to get up boy!” The loud and bellowing voice forced Thad to wake up. He pulled his blanket from over his head as the sun shined brightly through his bedroom window and into his face. He sat up for a moment and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before letting out a big yawn. Standing in the doorway staring at him was his grandmother. She was a large and portly black woman with a head full of grey hair. Standing right behind was her fat yellowish orange cat named Precious.
       “Glad to see you‘re finally up,” his grandmother said. “I’m headed out to run a few errands. Your breakfast is downstairs but you have to make your own eggs. You know how they get when their cold. When I get back we can head for the train station.” She took two steps out of Thad’s room before turning around, “Oh, and feed Precious” she added. Almost instinctively Precious turned around and followed Thad’s grandmother out of the room. When he could hear her footsteps heading down the stairs he pulled his covers completely off of his body and got out of bed. Thad was a relatively scrawny kid with dark skin and short black hair. He had just finished his first year of high school and had aspirations of becoming an engineer after college. He wanted to go to Tuskegee where one of his idols George Washington Carver had taught. Thad was a very intelligent kid who always garnered high praise from his teachers in regards to his academic accomplishments and behavior. He rarely got into any serious trouble or mischief. Outside of school Thad hung out with his same friends from when he was a child. He was just your run of the mill teenager from Beloit, Alabama in 1948.

'Tribe Lords Look to Plant Seeds for Cleveland Hip-Hop' by Brendan Whitt (Courtesy of Volume Magazine Cleveland)

When you think of Cleveland Hip-Hop who comes to mind? Bone Thugs and… Well that’s it. Cleveland, a Midwest city currently in an urban renewal and explosion of local arts still can’t seem to find a substantial place in the national Hip-Hop community. Kid Cudi, who is arguably the biggest name in the Cleveland music scene, falls more into the alternative genre although most of his influence comes from hip-hop.

Like all movements, whether it is arts based or political, this one has to start underground. Local artists Tony Blunt and Tilla, collectively known as Tribe Lords (stylized as Trib3 Lxrd$) are looking to make that kind of splash on the local Hip-Hop circuit. Both Cleveland natives, Tony and Tilla are looking to define Cleveland Hip-Hop. “Cleveland is still looking for a sound” says Tilla. “The east side is doing more but we need both sides of the city to come together to make this work” Tony added. “Right now its like crabs in a barrel.”...

https://volumemagcle.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/tribe-lords-look-to-plant-seeds-for-cleveland-hip-hop/

'Ingenuity Born out of Necessity: The Soul of Sole Snatchers' by Brendan Whitt (Courtesy of Volume Magazine Cleveland)

So you’re in your early twenties and the economy is not as generous as it was to your parents and grandparents. Union jobs aren’t booming like they once were and minimum wage is a joke. Now you have to dream. You want the house, car, money, vacations, all of it. Then you want more. You want something real. Something that can get you that dream. So you grind, a hustle that you will grow and cultivate until it bears you the fruit that you so badly wanted when it was just a dream. Now enter Daniel Butler, a young man with a dream and hustle to match. Daniel is the owner and creator of Sole Snatchers, a business that was born out of his love for sneakers and the culture that surrounds them. “My goal is to see as many people in the shirts as possible” he says. Daniel created his own line of t shirts based on his business that didn’t take off as planned. So he put it on hold and waited for the right moment. Sole snatchers was supposed to be a shoe consignment and trade marketplace for sneaker collectors, buyers and sellers.

Daniel had a plan and a product but not enough funds. He had a beta for the site but saw there was still a long road ahead of him. He soon did what all dreamers did, got his hustle together. “I had a logo someone designed for the site and thought ‘That’s a catchy design. I should put that on a shirt.’”...https://volumemagcle.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/ingenuity-born-out-of-necessity-the-soul-of-sole-snatchers/