The Life & Death of the Notorious BIG
10 years ago today, the rapper Notorious BIG, (aka Biggie, aka Biggie Smalls) was murdered. He was leaving party in LA when he was shot in a drive-by shooting. The killer has never been caught by police!
Biggie's death came 6 months after the death of another rapper, 2pac (aka Tupac Shakur). 2pac and Biggie didn't get along, and 2pac made insulting Biggie. Some thought Biggie was responsible for 2pac's death, and that Biggie was killed in retaliation!
(for my commentary on 2pac, go to http://pablothemadtiger.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html)
1) I still remember the first time I heard of the Notorious BIG. It was in the summer of 1994, between my 7th & 8th grade years. I first saw the video for "Juicy"The song was about Biggie's dream of being a rapper, living in public housing, his trouble with the law, and how he was trying to live a more positive and successful life! The video illustrated that even better than the song itself!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/juicy.html
That song was part of Biggie's 1st album "Ready to Die". It also had another song "Everyday Struggles", another song about how hard it was for someone in the ghetto to survive, and that getting in trouble with the law isn't glamorous at all!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/everydaystruggle.html
I also remembered the song "Big Poppa" which was his 1st mainstream hit! It was a more happy song, about living a life of luxury and being a stud. Every guy my age loved that song because we wanted to live that Big Poppa lifestyle!
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Notorious-B-I-G/Big-Poppa.html
2) That song also had a beat that was popular with West Coast rappers at the time. Though Biggie was from the East Coast, and most of his songs used East Coast beats, he used a West Coast beat for "Big Poppa" because 1) West Coast rappers were the most popular that time, 2) he wanted to have fans in both the East & West coast!
However, Biggie had problems with 2pac (who was born in New York, but moved to California as a teenager) and it was seen as a "East Coast vs West Coast" war!
However, 2pac did make songs with East Coast rappers like Naughty By Nature, Method Man, Redman and the Outlawz.And Biggie made songs with West Coast rapper Too Short (the Word is Filled ..), and made a solo hit "Going Back to Cali" (another song with a West Coast beat), which he stated he loved to visit California!
3) While Biggie had some serious songs, he also had some funny stuff as well. Just go to the following website and you'll find some interesting stuff!
http://www.azlyrics.com/n/notorious.html
4) "Ready to Die" was Biggie's 1st album. "Life After Death" came out 2 weeks after he was killed.
The other 2 albums listed, "Born Again" & "Duets: The Final Chapter" had mostly stuff that Biggie made, but wasn't planned for release. However, the fans wanted more stuff, so Bad Boy Records released them.
Most of the stuff wasn't as great as his 1st 2 albums!You could also find more stuff with Biggie on Puff Daddy's (aka Puffy, now known as Diddy) album "No Way Out"!
Puffy and Biggie were good friends, so they made a lot of songs together! "No Way Out" came out a few months after Biggie's death, and you'll find some great stuff there!
5) I remembered when I 1st found out Biggie was dead.
It was early in the morning, and I just got up. I was still tired!
I could hear my mom's radio (usually tuned to KSSK, which mostly played slow songs).
The hosts Perry & Price were talking about 2pac & Biggie's feud, and I was wondering why were they talking about it, since that radio station didn't play rap music! I was wondering if Biggie was being questioned by police about it!
Then about a 1/2 hour later( when I was finally wide awake!) , the TV news mentioned Biggie was killed!
Then it finally hit me! That was why Perry & Price were talking about it!
Monday, February 19, 2007
In memory of Danielle DeMatta
I have known Danielle DeMatta from this one pre-school that I occassionally work at as a substitute teacher.
She was a part-time aide, working in the afternoons, with the youngest of pre-schoolers.
I have only known her for 2 months, and already she has gone. She was only 22 years old.
She was a very nice person and she loved working with the kids.
Based on the few conversations I had with her, she was a Kamehameha grad, lived in Hawaii Kai, and loved music by 98 Degrees and NSYNC!
--
The circumstances surrounding Danielle's death was shocking, and caught me & many of her co-workers by surprise.For more info on it, go to http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/15/news/briefs.html, (you'll need to scroll down to find it) or http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Feb/15/ln/FP702150372.html
--
Condolences to her family & friends, and may Danielle DeMatta rest in peace in heaven!
I have known Danielle DeMatta from this one pre-school that I occassionally work at as a substitute teacher.
She was a part-time aide, working in the afternoons, with the youngest of pre-schoolers.
I have only known her for 2 months, and already she has gone. She was only 22 years old.
She was a very nice person and she loved working with the kids.
Based on the few conversations I had with her, she was a Kamehameha grad, lived in Hawaii Kai, and loved music by 98 Degrees and NSYNC!
--
The circumstances surrounding Danielle's death was shocking, and caught me & many of her co-workers by surprise.For more info on it, go to http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/15/news/briefs.html, (you'll need to scroll down to find it) or http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Feb/15/ln/FP702150372.html
--
Condolences to her family & friends, and may Danielle DeMatta rest in peace in heaven!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Minimum Wage
Congress wants to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25
That just sounds so great - those working for minimum wage will have an easier time paying for neccessities right?
Not really.
Look at it this way, employers will have to pay the workers more. But the money to pay for that is NOT going to come out of nowhere! Prices are going to be raised in order to pay the workers more!
So, with the minimum wage increasing from $5.15 to $7.25, that means everything that once cost $5.15 will now cost $7.25
And that won't even erase the struggles of those on minimum wage!
In some cases, employees might even lay off workers or cut their hours! Why? Because they can't afford to pay the higher wages!
Congress wants to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25
That just sounds so great - those working for minimum wage will have an easier time paying for neccessities right?
Not really.
Look at it this way, employers will have to pay the workers more. But the money to pay for that is NOT going to come out of nowhere! Prices are going to be raised in order to pay the workers more!
So, with the minimum wage increasing from $5.15 to $7.25, that means everything that once cost $5.15 will now cost $7.25
And that won't even erase the struggles of those on minimum wage!
In some cases, employees might even lay off workers or cut their hours! Why? Because they can't afford to pay the higher wages!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
WAC football
1) 1st off, much props to the University of Hawaii football team. After early struggles against Alabama and Boise State, the UH team went 11-3.
Colt Brennan made many difficult throws and dodged many tackles, Nate Ilaoa brought the running game that was missing from UH the last few years, and defense finally gained more speed and tackled faster than they did the last few years.
This was one of the best UH teams in history.
2) Because UH plays Boise State every year, I am well aware of how good the Boise State program is!
But because UH and Boise State are in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), they are overlooked by much of the US.
Boise State finally made it to a big time bowl game (the Fiesta Bowl) and defeated the big-time Oklahoma team. It was one of most exciting games I ever watched, with both teams taking the lead several times in the last few minutes and went into overtime, with Boise State winning.
And to top it all off, Boise State running back Ian Johnson made a proposal to his team's cheerleader, and she accepted!
3) Boise State's victory shows that those from lesser known conferences have been underestimated! We need a playoff system in Division 1 college football, with teams from all conferences.
It's not fair to have a championship if some conferences don't at least get a shot at it! So, maybe the big-time conferences would win most of the championships. But if we're gonna call anyone a Division 1-A champion, then all Division 1-A conferences ought to be involved. Period. Otherwise, we might as well delete some conferences from Division 1-A.
4) Hopefully, UH can go undefeated in 2007, then go to a big time bowl game. And defeat a team from a big conference in that bowl game!
Now THAT would be exciting!
Colt Brennan should think about that, and return to UH one more year
1) 1st off, much props to the University of Hawaii football team. After early struggles against Alabama and Boise State, the UH team went 11-3.
Colt Brennan made many difficult throws and dodged many tackles, Nate Ilaoa brought the running game that was missing from UH the last few years, and defense finally gained more speed and tackled faster than they did the last few years.
This was one of the best UH teams in history.
2) Because UH plays Boise State every year, I am well aware of how good the Boise State program is!
But because UH and Boise State are in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), they are overlooked by much of the US.
Boise State finally made it to a big time bowl game (the Fiesta Bowl) and defeated the big-time Oklahoma team. It was one of most exciting games I ever watched, with both teams taking the lead several times in the last few minutes and went into overtime, with Boise State winning.
And to top it all off, Boise State running back Ian Johnson made a proposal to his team's cheerleader, and she accepted!
3) Boise State's victory shows that those from lesser known conferences have been underestimated! We need a playoff system in Division 1 college football, with teams from all conferences.
It's not fair to have a championship if some conferences don't at least get a shot at it! So, maybe the big-time conferences would win most of the championships. But if we're gonna call anyone a Division 1-A champion, then all Division 1-A conferences ought to be involved. Period. Otherwise, we might as well delete some conferences from Division 1-A.
4) Hopefully, UH can go undefeated in 2007, then go to a big time bowl game. And defeat a team from a big conference in that bowl game!
Now THAT would be exciting!
Colt Brennan should think about that, and return to UH one more year
The execution of Saddam Hussein
Finally, Saddam Hussein has been executed. Hussein was the dictator of Iraq and one of the worst violators of human rights
Hussein used poison gas on Kurds and Shiites, tortured his critics, invaded Kuwait, used Scud missiles against Israel, and threatened to acquire weapons of mass destruction!
The US did support Saddam Hussein when Iraq fought a war against Iran in the 1980s. However, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the US turned against Hussein. The 1st President Bush led the US troops to get the Iraqi troops out of Kuwait.
The US also led UN sanctions against Iraq, which both Bushes and Bill Clinton supporting the sanctions!
After 9/11, the younger Bush feared that Hussein might want to further retaliate against the US by acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Because of that, Bush allowed the US troops to invade Iraq in 2003.
To learn more, check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein
Finally, Saddam Hussein has been executed. Hussein was the dictator of Iraq and one of the worst violators of human rights
Hussein used poison gas on Kurds and Shiites, tortured his critics, invaded Kuwait, used Scud missiles against Israel, and threatened to acquire weapons of mass destruction!
The US did support Saddam Hussein when Iraq fought a war against Iran in the 1980s. However, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the US turned against Hussein. The 1st President Bush led the US troops to get the Iraqi troops out of Kuwait.
The US also led UN sanctions against Iraq, which both Bushes and Bill Clinton supporting the sanctions!
After 9/11, the younger Bush feared that Hussein might want to further retaliate against the US by acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Because of that, Bush allowed the US troops to invade Iraq in 2003.
To learn more, check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
More on Cell Phones on Buses
The City Council, some bus drivers and bus riders want to ban cell-phone ringtones on the bus.
This is what I wrote to the Honolulu Advertiser.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Dec/25/op/FP612250301.html
BUS BAN ON CELL-PHONE RINGTONES IS RIDICULOUS
The City Council passed Bill 71, which bans cell-phone ringtones on the bus. It has yet to be signed by the mayor.
The idea of banning cell-phone ringtones on the bus is ridiculous, and is an overreaction to something that is extremely minor.
The bus isn't a library, a classroom or a private space for meditation.
If we ban cell-phone rings, what next? Do we ban all conversations between passengers?
Also, if someone who is in a hurry to go to work (or another appointment) and forgot to put the phone on vibrate, that person will suffer the humiliation of being expelled from the bus.
And that person will suffer just for the sake of petty tyrants who complain about extremely minor issues!
We need to encourage Mayor Mufi Hanneman to veto Bill 71.
Pablo Wegesend
Honolulu
The City Council, some bus drivers and bus riders want to ban cell-phone ringtones on the bus.
This is what I wrote to the Honolulu Advertiser.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Dec/25/op/FP612250301.html
BUS BAN ON CELL-PHONE RINGTONES IS RIDICULOUS
The City Council passed Bill 71, which bans cell-phone ringtones on the bus. It has yet to be signed by the mayor.
The idea of banning cell-phone ringtones on the bus is ridiculous, and is an overreaction to something that is extremely minor.
The bus isn't a library, a classroom or a private space for meditation.
If we ban cell-phone rings, what next? Do we ban all conversations between passengers?
Also, if someone who is in a hurry to go to work (or another appointment) and forgot to put the phone on vibrate, that person will suffer the humiliation of being expelled from the bus.
And that person will suffer just for the sake of petty tyrants who complain about extremely minor issues!
We need to encourage Mayor Mufi Hanneman to veto Bill 71.
Pablo Wegesend
Honolulu
Friday, December 01, 2006
The End of an Era
Tower Records will soon be going out of business.
Part of this is due to the popularity of downloading songs off the Internet. The younger generation prefers to downloads songs from iTunes instead of buying a CD (which might have 2 good songs, and 8 songs to take up space)
Still, I'll really miss going to Tower's!
I remember when I was attending McKinley High School, I would sometimes walk to Tower's after-school! (side note: being able to walk to Tower's was one of the great benefits of attending McKinley High School)
I would go to Tower's and usually stay there for at least an hour. I can look at the new CD's, read the magazines, and sometimes buy the CD's.
But the BEST THING ABOUT Tower's was the listening stations. Listening stations had a group of CDs you can listen to before you buy them.
Sometimes, the listening stations had the really popular albums. Other times, they had albums that have been over-looked by the mainstream media!
The listening stations were separated by categories, so that there were listening stations for hip-hop, reggae, heavy metal/hard rock, jazz, techno, Hawaiian, etc. There were also listening stations reserved for musicians who were ignored by radio & MTV!
With listening stations, I could find out which CD was worth spending my limited funds.
Sometimes, I hear a good song on the radio, and I find out from the listening stations that the rest of that musician's albums is just junk!
Other times, the listening stations had albums that from musicians that have been over-looked by radio stations & MTV! However, when listening to the album, I loved it so much, I bought it!
Many of the other record stores, like Sam Goody's, either DONT have those listening stations or dont have as many as Tower's did!
I used to go to Tower's every week, but time limits have reduced how often I went to Tower's. Soon, I would no longer able to go there!
I would be really saddenned when Tower's is closed forever! It was such a big part of my teenage and young adult years! It was where I would sometimes run into my friends and acquaintances! It was a place which my family know I love! The staff members there recognized me when I went there! It was one of my favorite places!
To the folks at Tower Records, thank you for so many good years of service! I will forever miss you!
Tower Records will soon be going out of business.
Part of this is due to the popularity of downloading songs off the Internet. The younger generation prefers to downloads songs from iTunes instead of buying a CD (which might have 2 good songs, and 8 songs to take up space)
Still, I'll really miss going to Tower's!
I remember when I was attending McKinley High School, I would sometimes walk to Tower's after-school! (side note: being able to walk to Tower's was one of the great benefits of attending McKinley High School)
I would go to Tower's and usually stay there for at least an hour. I can look at the new CD's, read the magazines, and sometimes buy the CD's.
But the BEST THING ABOUT Tower's was the listening stations. Listening stations had a group of CDs you can listen to before you buy them.
Sometimes, the listening stations had the really popular albums. Other times, they had albums that have been over-looked by the mainstream media!
The listening stations were separated by categories, so that there were listening stations for hip-hop, reggae, heavy metal/hard rock, jazz, techno, Hawaiian, etc. There were also listening stations reserved for musicians who were ignored by radio & MTV!
With listening stations, I could find out which CD was worth spending my limited funds.
Sometimes, I hear a good song on the radio, and I find out from the listening stations that the rest of that musician's albums is just junk!
Other times, the listening stations had albums that from musicians that have been over-looked by radio stations & MTV! However, when listening to the album, I loved it so much, I bought it!
Many of the other record stores, like Sam Goody's, either DONT have those listening stations or dont have as many as Tower's did!
I used to go to Tower's every week, but time limits have reduced how often I went to Tower's. Soon, I would no longer able to go there!
I would be really saddenned when Tower's is closed forever! It was such a big part of my teenage and young adult years! It was where I would sometimes run into my friends and acquaintances! It was a place which my family know I love! The staff members there recognized me when I went there! It was one of my favorite places!
To the folks at Tower Records, thank you for so many good years of service! I will forever miss you!
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