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The Hardest Thing

The other night I watch a rapumentery about the group Dead Prez. Being it was about the state of Black America it was near and dear to my heart. Being that it was about Black America, I wasn't surprise it was on cable at Midnight on a Friday. The piece espoused the members' music and its angle and lack thereof in Black America. T'was a really good story to be told. Frankly, even though I only know about Dead Prez from my recent dealings in the music industry I'd never heard the group's music, but my better half later mentioned she loved their song where they talk about having mental sex. Cerebral intercourse.... That what I'm talkin about!

I really felt the piece because of the truth that needs to be said but typically doesn't get the eyeball share & earshot it it deserves and we as a country need. I tend to think we are wrapped in a stifling vortex of mental stoppage. We, as a country do not think about what we can do anymore, although we are far too fascinated with our capabilities of doing anything we would choose to do, i.e. going to Mars. As a people we are, in the past twenty-five years, only aspiring to achieve mediocrity. So, I am offering my my two cents (or ten edicts) on what we should do to aspire to inspire children to achieve the things we only dream of. Many may conclude I am crazy or these things are impossible. But I'd rather be seen as crazy than lazy. And we all know impossible just takes little longer to make a reality. Here we go.

There are ten things we should start with to get the ball rolling. Remember these things are not about us, it is however about for the every expanding fertile minds of the youth. Our jobs are to create the opportunities and resources for them to make mitigate the polarity in our cultural progress.

1. Create A Pure Human Solo Flight Suit ... Yeah, yeah, they said the same thing about the horseless carrige and machine based flight. A couple of years ago in France a guy jumped out of an airplane at 30,000 feet and flew (or moreso glided) 12 miles to another city with the aide of a wingsuit, so we're already halfway there. Folks around the world have been working to perfect the wingsuit since the 1930's. They now working on landing. Now we need to work on machine-less takeoff from a standstill. My suggestion: make sure you use a tether. Besides with the rate at which police are shooting unarmed black folks, brothas will really need to the get in wind. Ok the rest of these should seem like a piece of cake!
2. Stop funding public schools... That's right! Maybe I'm ignorant but it seems we're giveing money to the buildings and not to the education of the children. I'm not saying close the system. Eliminate the systematic part by elevating the principal of teaching youth and supporting that principle with resources that benefit the children and the instances of their lives. Listen, I and millions of other law abiding folk attended classes in old schools packed with pre-pubescent children. While it may have smelled like a kind of hormone soup, we did learn how not to dangle our participles and stay out of prison - both equally important when applying for a job. Since statistically the public school system seems to be the onramp to the public penal system, we should fund the children rather than the companies that build the pretty facades and collate the standardized failing grades. There are private programs that have proven the funds typically used to support the incorrection of an inmate can be use to fund successes from all walks of youth. There is absolute nothing wrong with our youth except our misconceptions & expectations of them. That brings me to the next edict.
3. Push New Education via Community College.... When some a trade business comes out with a new machine, tool, or regulation, community colleges take up the charge to certify the people in these trades. Well, when you kid dream up new occupations or economies that require new jobs, push them through the community colleges to develop the training curriculum. It will validate and accelerate the new market economies.
4. Demand Local Media Reflect Rather than Command Culture ... Why don't you hear this on TV? It's not of interest to the media. Well, that can no longer be a digestible excuse. The proliferation of computers and their connections to each other have made it absolutely possible for people seeking to gather for the purpose of creating to create their own stories, music, and news in entertaining accessible formats. And since Black people continue to be the number 1 adopter of broadband services (we won't wait for downloads but we'll wait for Harold's. Go figure.), we should be pioneering the production, promotion, distribution and viewing of content that reflects our culture instead of driving the interest of every foreign culture that syphons walletshare from our loosley connected community. Kids create short 15 - 40 minute scripts and use your mini-cams, cell cameras and mutimedia software on your computer to create something you and your friends would be interested in checking out. Put your stuff out on You Tube or Current TV and let the world see it. No computer? Lacking multimedia skills? Join one of the many Intel Computer Club House programs. Is your movie, music or video game the stuff Fame was made of? Since we are related, I just may put it in our monthly rotation on Aspire. That's how it works in Hollywood! Just look at all the people on TV that pop up out of nowhere. Speaking of that - what relative did Mo Rocca come from?
5. Adopt your own traditions... Divorce, crime, the wrong media, and distance will always dilute one's culture. And without a culture a people loose the legacies and the willfull direction of generations that suffered before us in their beliefs of what was healthy for their clans and communities. Could you imagine a race of people who only reflect the beliefs of others (ClearChannel, et al) to the extent they become uncomfortable and even destructive of their own space? Imagine that. All youth need rights of passage, pecking orders, and external forethought. I'm old fashioned, but one of our rights to passage when I was a kid was you couldn't get your ear pierced until you were 21. I never wanted to get my ear pierced but I aspired to turn 21 so I would have that right between me and my Mom whose expectations and experiences were mine before I ever had them.
6. Think beyond our current means... Adopt Biometrics, Voice Recognition activated computers, and Segways-like applications. If you're not carrying cash there's less to be robbed of; if you're talking to your computer, it takes less time to tell it what to do for you; If you're using other forms of fuel to travel, you're diluting our dependence on foreign interests. It's all possible today. How would you suggest adopting them in your community?
7. Establish real world indices... The NASDAQ and DOW and others like them represent the growth and shrinkage of primarily dying companies. You will need to track the investment potential of new businesses as the globe begins to adopt new modes of transportation, communication, and commerce. What if you and your community of family and friends developed a network of identifying those businesses communities and deliver investments that allow those companies to grow like the dying Fords, United Airlines, and Disneys of the world? Begin to create your own trading networks today! There are already internet based companies to enable this.
8. Establish Banks and Transaction based systems that support your indices ... Cash is king in credit poor communities.
9. Legalize Weed - Not for the obvious reasons but for three good ones
10. Promote Peace - For the obvious reasons
11. Experience Love - For unseen reasons

I'll explain the last 4 upon request.

Jaqpott

I started off by saying "my name is Steven Philpott, and some of my friends call me Jaqpott." The name comes from the old school mixing term "Jack Your Body". I was a DJ and when Steve "Silk" Hurley produced a house cut by the same name. If you don't know house music, it really makes you do just that. If you don't believe me, just check out the complex lyrics.

I'm not a DJ anymore and I spend my days as Steven Philpott, CEO of XtraMedium. This is my third year heading up the company as well as the third year of existence. Most of my days are spend calling folks for sponsorships or investments. Most of my night are spent at our shows.

Monday

So I live here, in Chicago. It's a pretty rough city, but there's something about being able to call this place home. Kinda nice. But many of us understand that we can't accept a lot of the bad that happens far too routinely in the many cities like Chicago. So we communicate. I believe Hip Hop as form of expression enables several forms of positve communication. I believe hip hop as a a form of commerce mass produces several forms of negative reinforcement. That said, I want our network to display their positivity to the children in our community and on our network.

So from Chicago:

From now and through the next five months leading up to the convention I will:

- Introduce the top national issues from our community
Look for Aspire Street Tags (click the example right)
- Introduce the top musical artists/dancers from the Urban Soul genre
Street Tag your favorite weekly from Music available as videos and PODcasts
- Introduce the nation to the top businesses in our Black and Brown Communities
They sponsor our shows, events, and Children - Just Street Tag the business name and win!

And from the world: This is your chance to get your Street Tag before the convention. During July 19th - July 23rd you'll need to know the right Street Tags to get to the right clubs parties. Having an event during the convention - Sponsor a Street Tag, The Response, or URL a low cost for a good casue with high impact to your brand.

In The Air

Heading out to be on the radio. That's be interesting...

Coordinated Speed

Gotta head out to this eve's meeting. Every Monday same thing but for good cause. The convention is coming and I'm gonna be a part. But I'm fighting CP time tonight. I'm waiting for the DVD to burn but CP will be the caption over my head when I walk into the meeting room. I sure need a secretary. Peace and Hairgrease Jaqpott

PS Support The Convention