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July 4, 2007

Happy Fourth of July

Lyrics to "Brooklyn" by Mos Def

Hey hey, ha ha say what say what
Ha ha bust it yo
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel like my only friend
Is the city I live in, is beautiful Brooklyn
Long as I live here believe I'm on fire hey
Cuz it's the B-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
L-Y-N is the place where I stay
The B-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
Best in the world and all USA
It's the B-to-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
L-Y-N is the place where I stay
The B-to-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
Place where I rest is on my born day
Bust it, sometimes I sit back and just reflect
Watch the world go by and my thought connect
I think about the time past and the time to come
Reminesce on Bed-Stuy when I was pride and young
I used to try and come, to the neighborhood function
Throw on my Izod, say a little something
When I was just a youngin, before the days of thuggin
How me and Charlie Chims (aiyyo what?) I'm only buggin
Fast forward, Nine-Now I gotta team my seed
I must proceed at God's speed to perform my deed
Livin the now space and time, round the nine to five
For as long as I'm alive, paw I got to strive
I ain't sittin roadside, that ain't harder to plan
I'm out here for my fam doin all that I can
I love my city, sweet and gritty in land to outskirts
Nickname Bucktown cuz we grown to outburst
Philosophy redefine us, touch mines I touch back
Walk the streets like a sweet and get beat like drum tracks
Catch no shakes over jakes (boomp-boomp!) we bust back
Bring the marty to your face wit no place to run back
I'm from the slums that created the bass that thump back
This ain't a game clown, play ya James Brown and jump back
What you want, Jack? Young cats stash they jums at
Draw they guns back, momma screams where she sons at
Tryin to hunt that, recurring dream of high stakes
The fourth largest, first artist, Brooklyn is the place
Settled by the judge many years ago
Three billion strong and here we go

GOOD MORNINNNNNNNNNGG VIETNAM!!!
Ha (back up back up back up back up back up) [repeated in background]
Yo sometimes I sit back, reflect on the place that I live at
Unlike any place I ever been at
The home of big gats, deep dish hammer rim caps
Have a mishap, push ya wig back
Where you go to get the fresh trim at
Four on the jake got the Timb rack
Blue collars metro carding it
Thugs mobbin it, form partnership
Increase armorment, street pharmacist
Deep consequence, when you seek sleek ornaments
You get caught, rode the white horse and can't get off
Big dogs that trick off just get sent off
They shoebox stash is all they seeds gotta live off
It's real yo but still yo, it's love here
And it's felt by anybody that come here
Out of towners take the train, plane and bus here
Must be something that they really want here
One year as a resident, deeper sentiment
Shoutout "Go Brooklyn!", they representin it
Sittin on they front stoop sippin Guinesses
Usin native dialect in they sentences
From the treeline blocks to the tenaments
To the Mom & Pop local shop menaces
Travel all around the world in great distances
And ain't a place that I know that bear resemblance
That's why we it The Planet
Not a borough or a prov, it's our style that's uncalm
From ?sun? to the ? to the Lafayette Gardens
White ?coff guawinas? in they army jacket linings
Yo this goes out to my cats in Coney Isle
Friday night out in front The Himalaya goin wild
This goes out to Crown Heights and Smurv Village
The nighties, and all my ?yarda trenny? Brown's Village
Parkside tennants caught, thirties, forties, and the fifties
The cats out in Starite City gettin busy
To the Hook, to the East, to the Stuy
Bushwick and Kanarcy, Farraget, Fullgreen, and Marcy
My Flatbush posse, generals of armies
When it's time to form, just call me
And let this song be, playin loud in Long B
If you love Bucktown STRONGLY!
RAISE IT UP!

Brooklyn my habitat, the place where it happen at
Live sway and the sharp balance of the battle axe
Irons is brandished at, thugs draw they hammer back
It's where you find the news tool crew cameras at
It's where my fam is at, summertime jame is at
They play Big and get you open like a sandal back
Hotter than candle wax, hustlin you can't relax
The crack babies tryin to find where they mama's at
It's off the handle black, wit big police scandals that
Turn into actions screenplays sold to Miramax
The type of place where they check your appearance at
And cats who know where all the hot 'lo gear is at
The stompin grounds, where you find a pound, smoke is that
Be blazin charm that have your wave cap floatin back
The doorstep where the disposessed posted at
Dope fiends out at Franklin Ave sellin zovarax
You big ballin better keep your money folded back
Cuz once the young guns notice that it's over, black
Brooklyn keep on takin it, worldwide we known for that
Flossy cats get it snatched like the local tax
The place I sharpen up my baritone vocals at
Where one of the greatest MC's was a local cat

Mos Def's Brooklyn [azlyrics]
Photo by CB Photography

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Comments

omg I love Mos Def and I absolutely LOVE this song. the melody is sang like a rock song he sampled. it may have been guns and roses? iono I don't know much about rock.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 8:57 AM

Thanks. Nice. Brooklynites are (seem like at least) the proudest group of New Yorkers. No group "bigups" their hometown so. For those of you who are new, watch how your children feel about the place after they have grown up. They will write poems about it, novels about it, rap it, paint it and always carry it in their hearts. It's unbelievable really.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 9:02 AM

Ah, it's a pastiche of the Red Hot Chilli Pepper's ode to L.A. "Under The Bridge."

Posted by: anon at July 4, 2007 9:27 AM

These lyrics are killin'!

Agree, 9:02, there's just something about BK that makes you feel alive and challenged and inspired.

Posted by: lucky to live in b'klyn at July 4, 2007 9:30 AM

thanks anon@927! I gave it an honest try with my guns and roses guess :-)

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 9:54 AM

Good grief. Brownstoner just sank several rungs on the ladder of credibility. You need an editor...badly.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 9:59 AM

Lighten up..(9:59am) :) Brownstoner in my opinion is recognizing all facets of BK...not just the real estate aspect, what restaurant is coming, open house pics and etc. BK is a "culture" to a many..a feel, a way of life...there is a certain "swagger" when ur a true "Brooklynite". I say all that to say, GO BROOKLYN!! Everyone enjoy ur 4th of July!

Posted by: BKProudAsHell at July 4, 2007 10:12 AM

oooooh i have a massive crush on mos def! nice b'stoner!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 10:36 AM

rap and hip-hop are in free-fall these days. And based on the lyrics posted here, Walt Whitman's got nothing to worry about.

Posted by: music man at July 4, 2007 10:56 AM

Happy Fourth of July to my Brooklyn neighbors! old and new alike! :)

Posted by: bren at July 4, 2007 11:00 AM

Oh, lighten up, y'all. That was fun, and I don't even like rap, although Mos Def is also a fine actor and a cool guy.

Perhaps something in this vein would be more suitable to your highbrow tastes:

Ode to Brooklyn

Ah, Brooklyn, an ode to o'erweening priv'lege
Born of land and brick bought most dear.
How doth thy spires of steel and glass
Mingle with sandstone most humble and brown?
As ebon as the hues of masses most undesired,
Lest as help for tasks most distasteful.
I yearn, no pine, for days of yore, when
As unfettered, we of means meandered down paths of exclusive beauty.
Tis ours! Cried we, and shall always be
When in our gaze we desire.
Come condo bright, or mansion dear, to us shall be the spoils.
And ye - "dose bums" of mem'ry fade, make way! We come! We come! We come!

Posted by: Sterling Silver at July 4, 2007 11:47 AM

brilliant. simply hysterically brilliant. I laughed till I choked on my latte.

Posted by: bx2bklyn at July 4, 2007 12:05 PM

Good God, Brownstoner mentioned a Negro! And a MUSICIAN, no less -- Well I never! See if I ever read this Internet Blogge again! And I'm reporting you to the Culture Committee.

Posted by: Q.R. at July 4, 2007 12:24 PM

to the 9:59, 11:18... havent lived in Brooklyn long ,have you?, tourists

Posted by: born and raised at July 4, 2007 12:24 PM

My (pathetic attempt) at a Brooklyn rap. . .

A rap about Brooklyn,
Here we go:
Born in Beth El,
Half a century ago.
Where Brownsville, Canarsie & East Flatbush meet;
A huge intersection-
So be quick on your feet!
Lived on St. John's Place,
In Prospect Heights;
Sis came along,
Had to move up 2 flights.
To Eastern Parkway,
Where we had fun-
(Except for that teacher,
At 241!)
Ludwigs, Ruders, Sinclair & Collins,
Washington Avenue had plenty good shoppin'.
The laundromat with funny
Overload signs,
And of course Tommy's restaurant-
Where everyone dined.
Then to Kings Highway,
Is where we next went;
Which felt like cross country,
Is where we were sent.
Then we were told,
The house must come down-
Pushing us further,
Across this great town.
Finally our own house,
Near Avenue U,
Not far from the beaches-
So now something new!
Walking to Sheepshead, Brighton or Coney,
Where we found my lost sister,
On a policeman's tall pony!
Several years later,
When I lived on my own,
Cobble Hill, Starrett City & Bay Ridge were my home.
But for the past decadem
In Manhattan I reside-
Whew! Am I dizzy-what a decades long ride!!!!!

Posted by: brooklynborn&bred at July 4, 2007 1:28 PM

This is why I love Mr. B. He's the coolest white guy I ever met. He lives in CH and is thoroughly part of the community. He doesn't front. He has no problem saying that the community has a way to go but at the same time he respects the community, its culture, its history and the people who live there. Big ups, Mr. B!

Though you're a transplant, you're quickly becoming a native son. Keep up the good work. Brownstoner is changing Brooklyn for the better but the full extent of what is happening here and now won't be fully appreciated for another seven to ten years.

Much love and many blessings! Happy 4th!

Posted by: Bk4Life at July 4, 2007 1:48 PM

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"
US poet (1819 - 1892)

This is Whitman at his best, a capacious self that mirrors our Brooklyn. One of the things that made Whitman great was his understanding that poetry needed to be modern and speak in a common tongue. Whitman was the hip hop of of his day--irreverent and contemporary. The person who attacked Mr. Bs post is the same type of person who attacked Whitman during the nineteenth century. Same Philistine--different day. Happy fourth to the people who get it--and also to the people who don't!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 2:05 PM

Thanks for sharing brooklynborn&bred!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 2:08 PM

i nominate sterling silver for poet laureat of the boro of da bums!

Posted by: pissah at July 4, 2007 2:15 PM

are there any fireworks in brooklyn worth checking out? I haven't been able to find anything online. thanks!!

Posted by: cff at July 4, 2007 2:21 PM

This is one of the best threads I've read on Brownstoner in a long, long time!

Music Director, I had to forward that You Tube/X Clan link to my Hip Hop-challenged boomer friends.

Sterling Silver you rule!

Brooklyn Born & Bred, you rock!

Mr. B: great happy fireworks in celebration of our diversity. Thank you!

Posted by: Brooklynista at July 4, 2007 2:45 PM

never thought I'd see lyrics to a Mos Def song here...big ups to Brooklyn and Brownstoner!
Great song--even better album.
Happy 4th!

Posted by: cinechica at July 4, 2007 2:57 PM

just when i thought i knew brownstoner, he hits me upside the head with mos! i love it. keep up the good work!

Posted by: threecee at July 4, 2007 3:35 PM

Happy 4th.

Posted by: danamo at July 4, 2007 4:14 PM

Sterling Silver you're brilliant! I had such a laugh as did my holiday company!
Happy Fourth of July! :)

Posted by: bbren at July 4, 2007 4:29 PM

Brooklyn Born & Bred, good stuff too!
Brooklyn misses your spirit, when are you gonna' come home where you belong! :)

Posted by: bren at July 4, 2007 4:35 PM

Loved all the poetry - Mos Def and our other less famous but talented scribes. Bravo and happy 4th!

Posted by: John at July 4, 2007 4:54 PM

Bren-
Thanks-I'm glad you enjoyed it!
As for your question, "When am I gonna come home to where I belong?" (Hmmm. . .why do I suddenly hear "Hello Dolly" in my head?!? Seriously, I ask myself the same question from time to time, but the way Brooklyn has exploded in price, it's actually cheaper for me to stay put in Manhattan! Sounds ridiculous, I know-but true!!! I'm also getting to old to move, anyway, so I guess I'll just have to be a Brooklynite-at-Large (or maybe just a large Brooklynite. . .)

Posted by: Brooklyn Born & Bred at July 4, 2007 5:06 PM

Brooklyn Born & Bred, just remember this... you can take the man outta'
Brooklyn, but you can't take Brooklyn outta' the man! :)

happy fourth!!!

Posted by: bren at July 4, 2007 5:57 PM

Bren:

Yes indeed; how very true! (and a happy 4th to you.)

Didn't mean for that to rhyme-
But alas it happens-EVERY TIME!

Happy 4th to ALL Brooklynites, from Greenpoint to Seagate & from Bay Ridge to East New York!
(I think that covers all points N,S,E & W, & everything in between.)

Posted by: Brooklyn Born & Bred at July 4, 2007 6:15 PM

Isn't it funny how the privileged, educated, monied yuppie bourgeoisie makes themselves feel vindicated as a Brooklnite merely by quoting a black person?

Go Brownstoner, tell it to the Man!

Oh wait, you all -are- the Man!

How ironic!

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 4, 2007 6:16 PM

Isn't it funny how the privileged, educated, monied yuppie bourgeoisie makes themselves feel vindicated as a Brooklnite merely by quoting a black person?

Go Brownstoner, tell it to the Man!

Oh wait, you all -are- the Man!

How ironic!

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 4, 2007 6:17 PM

Isn't it funny how the privileged, educated, monied yuppie bourgeoisie makes themselves feel vindicated as a Brooklnite merely by quoting a black person?

Go Brownstoner, tell it to the Man!

Oh wait, you all -are- the Man!

How ironic!

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 4, 2007 6:17 PM

Peter got it right

How ironic that a rapper is quoted here, while everything this site and most of its readers "represent" equates to the death of the very culture that gave birth to such artists and lyrics.

Would be funny if it weren't so sad

Posted by: yup at July 4, 2007 7:33 PM

ya, brownstoner...i'm sure u'r keepin it real

Posted by: brutha please at July 4, 2007 7:35 PM

I sure wish I was as rich and "monied" as that gorilla Mos Def. I guess you don't have to be black AND poor to be legit around here (Peter in CG)...one or the other's good.

Posted by: Phil at July 4, 2007 7:43 PM

To Listen & Donny Whore: A 4th of July "blessing" to you both:

May wayward bottlerockets find their way up your a------s tonight.

Perhaps they'll "spark" some semblance of intelligence-if that's not too far of a stretch (no pun intended) of course.

Posted by: The Thing with Two Heads at July 4, 2007 7:49 PM

To 7:43

I guess truth hurts.

If you don't see the sad irony in a bunch of white folks trying to fit into Brooklyn culture by associating their identities to a black rapper, then you are just pathetic.

I'd wager a paycheck that 99% of everyone who reads Brownstoner has never been to "the Hook, to the East, to the Stuy,Bushwick and Kanarcy, Farraget, Fullgreen, and Marcy, My Flatbush" and if they have, then only as newcomer gentrifier.

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 4, 2007 7:52 PM

shut the f*ck up phil

Posted by: whateva at July 4, 2007 7:53 PM

Phil 7:43

Are you calling me black and poor?

I'm neither.

Just being honest...

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 4, 2007 7:56 PM

the irony of this post is so delicious!

Posted by: oh my at July 4, 2007 8:01 PM

Wow! I just got back to my computer and I'm utterly shocked at what this thread has disintegrated to. It's awful.

So you know, many of the comments, I surmise, are from young white men who can not understand nor appreciate Brooklyn for all that it entails and represents. I truly feel sorry for you. You'll never get the chance to smell the roses. The experience is breathtakingly awesome. So sad.

Peter from CG has been a negative force on this blog for weeks now and I seriously wish he would go someplace else. If you think that Mr. B is biased or that your nabe isn't getting it's deserved props, then start your own blog. No one is forcing you to read Brownstoner!

As to everyone else, Happy 4th! Brooklyn is incredible. Enjoy the ride!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 8:39 PM

The Music Director,

Thanks so much for the utube link!! X-Clan is true hip-hop! That was old skool to the core but very new and current at the same time! The lyrics were out of this world!

Wow!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 8:52 PM

Don't feed the trolls! Don't answer them!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 9:16 PM

8:39 is hilarious
"breathtakingly awesome"
ya im sure thats what u think when ur walking thru the hood

keep it up, ya guys are killing me!!

Posted by: ya ok at July 4, 2007 9:27 PM

me thinks some weenie teenies, or, teenie weenies, found their way to this site... yawnnnn...

fireworks from the rooftop were clear and crisp in spite of the light rain!
happy fourth everybody!

Posted by: bren at July 4, 2007 10:20 PM

Bren, methinks you are right. I see our identity impersonating troll has been let out of the basement for the holiday.

We're not buying it....go, scat, go!

Enjoy what is left of the 4th, everyone.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 10:23 PM

10:23PM = Bx2bklyn, though you've all probably figured that out by now :)

Not a very innovative troll, I must say.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 4, 2007 10:25 PM

this has got to be satire, right?

white weenies trying to define what it is to be a tru brooklyinte..and trying to use mos def lyrics to gain cred??

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA

omg this is fucking hilarious

Posted by: wow at July 5, 2007 12:14 AM

Happy 4ht of July to all of you. If you have time also might as well visit my real estate web site (http://sam2007realestateagent.blogspot.com/ and if chances permit it, i would like to exchange links with yours. Thank you very much for the opportunity to comment in this page.

Posted by: sam casuncad at July 5, 2007 12:29 AM

This was cool Brownstoner. You would probably be a White guy i'd give dap if we met in person. You respect the culture, but not in an idiot wiggerish way.

Posted by: Brooklyn, Stand up! at July 5, 2007 8:09 AM

10:12 said :

'there is a certain "swagger" when ur a true "Brooklynite".'

___________________________________

yeah, like when you swagger over to your cafe to order up a latte.

please, you all just stfu and quit trying to gain cred with the whole "i know black people" thing

it aint working

Posted by: me at July 5, 2007 8:19 AM

dave chappelle would have a field day with this

Posted by: peace at July 5, 2007 8:21 AM

8:38 : hahahahaha

after reading this joke of a thread ths morning, yours made me crack up

Posted by: haha at July 5, 2007 8:48 AM

I think its hilarious that some people think to gain "cred" you have to pretend to know black people. You are so deluded.

Yea, thats what were all dying for. needing "cred". You idiot 8.19am.

Pretty good poetry by Mos Def, whatever elese you want to call it.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 8:53 AM

"some of my best friends are black"

Posted by: Philip Drummond at July 5, 2007 9:04 AM

20 years from now, when all the black people are eradicated from brooklyn, will Brownstoner & co. wonder :

'how come i haven't heard a good brooklyn rap song in a while?'

Posted by: hmmmm at July 5, 2007 9:12 AM

Nice photo.

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 9:18 AM

Since I've been singled out by Brownstoner admin, I figured I'd come to my own defense a bit, respectfully and professionally.

-original post in quotes-

" Wow! I just got back to my computer and I'm utterly shocked at what this thread has disintegrated to. It's awful."

As long as the thread steers clear of profanity, whats wrong with discussion and dialog with differing opinions? Only a few comments have been truly offensive.

" So you know, many of the comments, I surmise, are from young white men who can not understand nor appreciate Brooklyn for all that it entails and represents. I truly feel sorry for you. You'll never get the chance to smell the roses. The experience is breathtakingly awesome. So sad."

I am white, not necesssarily young and I DO appreciate Brooklyn for all it entails. I smell the roses every day, in the markets, in the Botanical Gardens and in my own backyard. My rose bushes have been doing very well this year. My posts from yesterday referred to a particularly ugly white guilt that I've noticed in many areas of urban culture. Quite often you find the white ruling class namedropping and quoting the spokespeople of the black, urban poor ( in this cases Mos Def ) as if the mere mentioning of his poetry somehow frees you from the class of people that he speaks -against-.

" Peter from CG has been a negative force on this blog for weeks now and I seriously wish he would go someplace else."

I won't, but I will continue to call out bullshit when I see it. Dissenting opinion and confrontational dialog is necessary in a free press. To mandate only positive and supportive dialog is at best naive and at worst, dangerous.

" If you think that Mr. B is biased or that your nabe isn't getting it's deserved props, then start your own blog. No one is forcing you to read Brownstoner!"

I don't think Mr. B is biased. I think an overwhelming majority of white, urban gentrifiers ( who you must admit is a -huge- portion of your readership ) misses the point of the urban race dynamic.

And I have no issues with my nabe being covered or not covered. I think Brownstoner is doing an excellent job.

" As to everyone else, Happy 4th! Brooklyn is incredible. Enjoy the ride!"

Brooklyn -is- incredible, agreed. Lets keep it that way.

The ultimate irony here is that I bet Mos Def himself would agree with what I am saying. Here's another Mos Def lyric, " All white men is runnin this rap shit"

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 5, 2007 9:56 AM

Peter in CG

you speak the truth
its too painful for most on this blog
they probably will just never understand

but i for one agree with what you say 100%

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 10:05 AM

Peter,
You haven't been singled out by Brownstoner admin. THis is the first comment we've posted. The other comments addressed to you were from other readers.

Posted by: Brownstoner at July 5, 2007 10:09 AM

Thanks, Brownstoner for the clarification.
Great site, great dialog, great thread.

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 5, 2007 10:21 AM

Thanks, Brownstoner for the clarification.
Great site, great dialog, great thread.

Posted by: Peter in CG at July 5, 2007 10:21 AM

Wow, did you actually pay the thousands of dollars it costs to reprint song lyrics in their entirety like that or did you just commit massive copyright infringement in order to put content on your site?

Posted by: combustiblegirl at July 5, 2007 11:09 AM

"dap", 8:38 you corn ball, is a hand shake. Maybe I should of said I would "give'em five".

Posted by: Brooklyn, Stand up at July 5, 2007 11:38 AM

I thought the posting of Mos Defs lyrics were hot. Being born in raised in BK I feel the love that Mos song conveys.

I've see many Whites try to be down with the culture by trying to hard. If your down,then "YOU ARE DOWN". you don't have to bag or sag or swag what you are not, OR what you "THINK" we are.

Get a Clue?, Ha, You'll never get it at all...

Posted by: Brooklyn, Stand up at July 5, 2007 12:08 PM

This is a great Post Mr. B.
I grew up going to school in Ft. Greene when it wasnt nice....All of my friends and I would play ball in all the different parks throughout ft.greene, bedSty and East New York.
I began to love the Ft. Greene neighborhood and the music was a big part of it...it wasnt about black/white, money/no money. You associated with it. Playing ball on the courts Mos Def, biggie, Gangstar blasting in the background was normal!

Now whenever any of my friends get in my car they think its funny that I listen to this type of music. But I look at it as a way a grew up.
Im glad to be a part of it and I dont claim to be down or be something Im not...but its a part of who I am.

Posted by: Ft.GreeneK at July 5, 2007 12:39 PM

Keep posting, Peter in CG. There are some of us (certainly not most readers, for reasons already mentioned by you and others in this thread) who agree with much of what you're saying.

Those who dissent from the majority of Brownstoner readers should NOT leave what I thought was an open forum to discuss all things Brownstone Brooklyn. The people who should read and post elsewhere are those who can't handle open and honest dialogue.

Posted by: BrooklynZoo at July 5, 2007 12:52 PM

Gang Starr! sorry i didn't have time to post ALL the corrections & wow, who gave "combustiblegirl" a badge? (repeat: the lyrics are WRONG, so are we still "violating" "copyright"?)

one thing apropos to the greater theme of this thread is Mos Def's reference to

Yardies & Trinis

those who KNOW & didn't need to comment are cool; the rest should perhaps pay closer attention to the w-i-d-e range of folks around ya'll before criticizing Mr B's or anyone's motivations. real life in Brooklyn is about A LOT more than just skin colors, tho' that's surely important too.

regards,

The Music Director
WWIB

p/s-- this is sort of the prequel to Mos Def's "Bucktown" (that part was correct):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6KxZbLeo80

Posted by: who walk in brooklyn at July 5, 2007 1:07 PM

I'm gonna have to take my nine down to Moutarde on 5th Ave later today so I can tear up the waiters there. Dem bitches was dishin' up calimari last night and dat shit wasn't crispy at all.

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 1:23 PM

What is all this about? What kills me is the postings that generate the most reponses are those that people take and attempt to make some sort of class/race/culture struggle or fight out of it.

The title of Mos Def's song is "Brooklyn"

This is indeed a "brooklyn" brownstone blog. Does that infer something?

Marketing and Media take things that they wish to utilize for the benifit of promoting what ever product they are hawking. What does that have to do with someone attempting to gain street cred...

Nike once used a Mos Def song to promote sneakers (Umi Says).... Did anyone have a problem with that? I'm sure nobody that usually blogs here did...

I actually had a problem with the fact that Nike had Mos Def change a very specific word in the add-

His song says " I want Black People to be free... "
Commercial says " I want the people to be free... "

Now what does any of this have to do with Brownstone Brooklyn?

Good Grief

Posted by: NewStoner at July 5, 2007 3:13 PM

Mos was great- everytime I've seen him with the 99% of white folks in the audience, especially when he kicked off the opening of the BAM spring season and when Marty Mark was borrowing a few lines from him during the introduction - he was keeping it real then. Don't get me wrong- Mos is great. I even liked him when he was selling books at the store by the 78th precinct. The racial thing is soooo tired. There were plenty-o-white- folks here before the blacks folks were here before the white folks were here again and on and on...

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 3:18 PM

White folks don't need black street cred. They run the streets. Let's be real. Nice try.

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 3:23 PM

Let's not forget to mention the Native Americans that were here b/4 ANY of us!

Posted by: NewStoner at July 5, 2007 3:27 PM

" Funny, however: it's almost always white people who tell you race is so "tired" "

^------ amen.

Posted by: BZoo at July 5, 2007 4:24 PM

The lyrics to Mos Def's Brooklyn are either cliches, or some patois or argot. The patois and argot are occasionally interesting. That's about it.

Meanwhile, the YouTube performances linked to this thread convey jumbled messages.

Walt Whitman has nothing to worry about.

Posted by: words & lyrics at July 5, 2007 4:40 PM

A. Wyatt Mann, is that you posting at 4:25?

Either way, it's a D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 4:42 PM

this entire conversation emerges out of a political context. certain segments feel more emboldened than they normally feel. and they should. a certain group rules, starts wars, is above the law & they know it. the atmosphere was the same from 1980-92. we (the others) may get some respite in a few years; we may not. bottom line--this is not our world, its theirs. work hard, get an education, help those less fortunate and hold on to your brooklyn property if you are lucky enough to have it. arguing about hip hop vs. whitman is really an argument about something much, much more profound. just makes me sad.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 5:08 PM

Brooklyn has changed a lot but not that much in the last 10 years.

You think? Ask all the 80 year old Jewish folks that left Brooklyn for Long Island 50 years ago.

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 5:14 PM

Race is so "tired" or whatever because Mr. X from Senegal is not the same as Mizz Y from Guyana is not the same those kids Z1 and Z2 from Frankin Ave who spend the summer with grandparents down in Georgia.

Yet there are people who think:

"Isn't it funny how the privileged, educated, monied yuppie bourgeoisie makes themselves feel vindicated as a Brooklnite merely by quoting a black person?"

"I'm not just inspired by black art, but good art, representations of art that are sincere and genuine" Dante Terrell Smith

So Mos Def is inspired not by only black art but white folks are going to take shit if their taste crosses the race line?

Love

Posted by: anonymous at July 5, 2007 5:31 PM

that's the thing. take a look around man, everybody is always picking on white men. it's just unfair. it's our..i don't know, burden.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 5:36 PM

and you know you can't dance and your dick is small

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 5:40 PM

"work hard, get an education, help those less fortunate" so that you can be called yuppie scum.

Posted by: anonymous at July 5, 2007 5:48 PM

Old white men is runnin' this rap shit,
Corporate forces runnin' this rap shit,
Some tall Israeli is runnin' this rap shit,
We poke out our asses for a chance to cash in.
Cocaine, is runnin' this rap shit,
'Dro, 'yac and e-pills is runnin this rap shit,
MTV is runnin' this rap shit,
Viacom is runnin' this rap shit,
AOL and Time Warner runnin' this rap shit,
Quasi - homosexuals is runnin' this rap shit.

Posted by: anonymous at July 5, 2007 6:02 PM

anon 5:48,
the work hard comment was addressed to african-americans. perhaps people call hardworing black people yuppie sc@#, but if so, i missed that.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 6:22 PM

and now we've come full circle because some people had to object to lyrics/music that they didn't like in a nasty and mean way and the objectors had to do the same. daily we see on b'stoner disputes over all sorts of things that people can't work out. minor differences about music or who is "more real" or who a Brooklynite is and at the same time we can't understand how it is that we can't just all be peaceful, live together, or why there is war.

Posted by: anonymous at July 5, 2007 6:25 PM

These are small fish. The way that you judge others is the judgement that will be handed down to you.

Posted by: anonymous at July 5, 2007 6:27 PM

5:48- You didn't miss it. In that case there are many other terms as equally kind. It's coming, though.

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 6:32 PM

6:22- You didn't miss it. In that case there are many other terms as equally kind. It's coming, though.

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 6:32 PM

peace

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 6:39 PM

compensating?

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 6:43 PM

I guess anon @ 6:36 is less of an idiot? how profound!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 6:45 PM

D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 5, 2007 6:57 PM

The days of whine and poses are upon us. Repent. Love your neighbor.

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 8:08 PM

Btw, anon at 5:40: it's 9.51 inches, white as chalk (or caulk) and YOU KNOW IT!

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 8:16 PM

And, anon at 5:40, watch in awe as I polka, weapon drawn (see above for dimensions), with rythmn, grace and style. HA!

Posted by: anon at July 5, 2007 8:21 PM

For the record "the certain swagger.." comment.. comes from a non-white blogger that is born and raised in Crown Heights..not Park Slope. Can't judge a blogger by it's cover ;-)

Posted by: BKProudAsHell at July 5, 2007 9:23 PM

Yeah, OJ was one helluva guy. Maybe we should all murder our ex-wives. That would make it a better world.

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 9:51 AM

Is that the new Virgin ad for Brooklyn? Mos Def you rule!

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 11:13 AM

"our neighborhoods"

who's your landlord?

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 12:22 PM

I think this thread has just taken a turn for the worse. 11:49, that statement is just horrible. I'm an African-American/Hispanic woman and I'm insulted by your comments. You're being just as ignorant as people who use the "N" word and feel that we should not purchase homes in their neighborhoods.

Why should they leave? The majority of the homes that white people are buying in BS, CH, PH & FG are being sold by us. We are the ones who are choosing to leave. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

Everyone has a right to live where they want to.

Please stop all forms of racism.

B.K to the fullest!!!!

Posted by: faithful at July 6, 2007 12:33 PM

12:30 oh right, the guy who's tappin' your queen.

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 1:00 PM

Can I be your queen? My husband's got a room for rent.

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 1:36 PM

Where you at- Starbucks?

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 2:04 PM

Ok playa, so you are at Starbucks or are you in the kid's section at Barnes and Noble?

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 2:25 PM

I am not a race traitor. When I speak of people choosing to leave, I'm speaking of black homeowners not renters. I'm also concerned about the rise in rents. It will price out many and that is very unfortunate. I love everything about Brooklyn, even the knuckle-head kids that insist on lighting firecrackers when I specifically told them not to.

Posted by: faithful at July 6, 2007 2:45 PM

mmmm, you are fine. i can tell.

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 2:50 PM

2:14 so it's you corrupting the hood?

Posted by: anonymous at July 6, 2007 2:57 PM

knock 'pon me entrance marathon man

Posted by: anonymous at July 6, 2007 3:38 PM

Buju Banton
Maybe We Are

Maybe we are
A different race of people
Maybe we are
A different color people
Maybe we are
Of different ends and reasons
Maybe we are maybe we are
Of different spiritual conviction

People of the world come together by virtue of love
Able to be seen yet at most time they
are unabel to touch
Make not my brother my rival
Don't watch skin color we all want survival

Isn't it blood that flows through the veins of man
You've got a heart and when I search my
self I've got one
Why must we be at each others throat
There goes the breaking of solemn oath

And the words you say to they mean anything
When you say that you love does it come from within
And the songs yoyu sind do they mean anything
Will they calm our fears and our suffering

Ah ah ah ah

It make me feel like crying
Ah ah ah ah
It make me feel like crying
Ah ah ah ah
It make me feel like crying
Ah ah ah ah
It make me feel like crying

Earth rightful ruler rns no wire fence
May not be your neighbor still yet we can be friends
Though language barrier we find ways to comprehend
Each man is my brother and I am glad to say that each
man is my friend

Posted by: anon at July 6, 2007 3:49 PM

¡no pare sigue sigue!

Posted by: the latin voice at July 6, 2007 4:11 PM

Yeah, Buju is awesome, indeed. A real beacon for the black community. Loves to murder homosexuals.

Batty bwoy = gay man

Boom Bye Bye

"World is in trouble
Anytime Buju Banton come
Batty bwoy get up an run
At gunshot me head back
Hear I tell him now crew

(Its like) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead

(Two man) Hitch up on an rub up on
An lay down inna bed
Hug up on another
Anna feel up leg
Send fi di matic an
Di Uzi instead
Shoot dem no come if we shot dem--
Don't want Jackie
Give dem Paul instead
Dem don't want di sweetness
Between di leg
Gal bend down backway
An accept di peg
An if it really hot
You know she still naw gon fled
A some man
Still don't want di
Panty raid
Pure batty business dem love

(Me say) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote the nasty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead

(Woman is di) Greatest thing
God ever put pon di land
Buju lovin dem from head
Down to foot bottom
But some man a turn around
Where dem get that from
Peter is not for Janet
Peter is for John
Suzette is not for Paul
Suzette is for Ann
Where the bobocloth
Dem get dat from
Here come the DJ
Name Buju Banton
(Come fi) ((Straighten yuh talk?))

(Boom boom boom) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote the nasty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no batty man
Dem haffi dead

(Caw me say) Dis is not an bargain (Me say)
Dis is not a deal
Guy come near we
Then his skin must peel
Burn him up bad like an old tire wheel
gwaan buju banton yuh tough

(Me say) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote the batty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no batty man
(Hear what now!)

(Two man) A hug up on an kiss up on
An lay down inna bed
Hug up on another
Anna rub dung leg
Send fi di matic an
Di Uzi instead
Shoot di batty boy come if we shot dem--
Dem don't want Jackie
Give dem Paul instead
Don't want di poom poom
Between Patsy leg
All dem want
Is the body from Fred
But dis is Buju Banton
Me say

(Me say) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Dem haffi dead

Caw woman is the prettiest thing
God ever put pon di land
Put pon di land (Pu-pu-put pon di land)
But some man a turn around
Where dem get dat from
Peter is not for Janet
Peter is for John
Suzette is not for Paul
Suzette is for Ann
Here come di DJ name Buju Banton (Come fi)
Give di massive
Satisfaction
Happy how yuh lovin (Ju fi)

(So just) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no batty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no batty man
Dem haffi dead

All a di New York crew
Dem no promote Batty man
Jump an dance
Unno push up unno hand
All di Brooklyn girl
Dem no promote batty man
Jump an bogle
Anna wine yuh bottom
Canadian gals dem no like batty man
If yuh are not one
Yuh haffi push up

(Me say) Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no batty man
Dem haffi dead
Boom bye bye
Inna batty bwoy head
Rude bwoy no promote no batty man
Dem haffi dead"

Posted by: Boo_Jew at July 6, 2007 5:05 PM