Kingston Chronicles: I NEED Sunlight!

I just realized the biggest reason why I haven't fully embraced (or settled into) the place I'm currently living in, even though it is stylish and has lots of great qualities...

NATURAL LIGHT!

Now, it's a loft, so this shouldn't be a problem but, with the way it's set up, it is. It has two skylights (one in the bathroom and one over the stairs) but they're kinda small, dirty and opaque so they only work really well at high noon. It also has several glass windows and patio doors (which are big enough for lots of light to come through) but, because I have close neighbors, I have to completely cover them most of the time. Plus, there are so many bushes and trees surrounding my place that very little natural light gets in.

The lack of natural light has also created another issue, MOLD! The floors are clay so they absorb moisture and it has been raining for what feels like years so I have been having issues with mold, which terrifies the obsessive compulsive germaphobe in me. I came from vacation the other day and could smell the mold. I can only imagine what kind of havoc it's wreaking on my belongings.

That, in addition to the dutty bitch owner who waan treat me like mi "kotch wid har," means that I will likely have to move away from my dream loft. So sad but it must be done. I need to live in a safe, clean, comfortable home. Le sigh.

Survival - Bob Marley and the Wailers

I should be in my bed and I'm about to go there but I was just overwhelmed my how amazing the Survival album is that I had to blog real quick about it.  It's not just the most amazing Bob Marley album but one of the best albums of all time.  If you've never heard it, listen to it.  If you don't have a visceral reaction to that music then I don't know what you got going on in your soul.

I'm a little emotional, yes, and some say I'm dramatic but I'm tearing up just thinking about how deeply those tracks affected me growing up.  Its blowing my mind just thinking about how painfully relevant those tracks are to our world right now!  "Babylon System," could easily be an anthem for the Occupy Wall Street movement!  I love this album!  It contains my favorite Bob Marley song of all time (although I'm pretty sure that statement is not really feasible cause I love all of his art) "One Drop."

 When I was in my angry phase in high school, I used to just sing it in my head over and over again to drown out the bullshit they tried to teach me about myself and my culture. 

There is so much emotion dripping out of that song. It wells up in my heart and...sigh.  I just can't explain it.

Just promise me that you will make every effort to listen to this album as soon as possible.  And if you feel me, leave a comment!

Uptown Girl

Because "Anonymous" (reveal yourself!) left me a "motivating" comment on my last post, I decided not to get up from this chair until I have published something.



This video is hilarious because it highlights the uptown/downtown dichotomy in Kingston. Can you guess which one of these women is from Uptown? The concept is ingenious. Snaps to the creator. Apparently, this whole business about uptown men going downtown for "good pussy" is quite real. Ever heard the song "Wicked Slam" by Beenie Man? Ha ha! "Man if yuh waan fi get di medal, yuh haffi get a slam fram a real ghetto gyal."


Speaking of uptown and downtown, I actually found this video on Timberlee's Myspace page. I'm kind of liking Timber-lee.


She's a relatively new dancehall artist who benefits from the fact that her rudegyal deejay style doesn't exactly fit her pretty face. Personally, I love the idea that she's a confident thick girl who can get down on the mic. Most other people like her because she's an uptown girl with downtown style and people are always fascinated by a situation like that. That kind of annoys me because it's akin to people loving Justin Timberlake because he's a white and makes black music or any situation when the originator of culture is marginalised because they don't fit the image of what people want to see delivering that culture. ANYWAY! Her popular song "Bubble Like Soup" is a dancehall classic. I like!


"Hot Gyal a Hot Gyal! Sweet like a honey!"

The video is cool although I do not promote the early whore-ification of the little girl nor do I approve some of Timber-lee's outfits. Still rooting for Timber-lee for now.

Oh Jason...

"Please tell them black girls to start shaving their legs, it feel like makka a jook me"

Jason S. Edwards