Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Sour Patch Kids...Will They Ever Get a Bailout!?


Those who are familiar with the title "Sour Patch Kids" might recognize it because of the candy. However, fans of freshmen emcee Asher Roth might recognize it as the song off of Roth's debut LP Asleep in the Bread Aisle. The song addresses many social issues affecting society today, particularly poverty. Well, my good friend DJ Daddy Mack, who was inspired by Roth's song, as well as the current recession, took it upon himself to address this very issue and I thought I'd share it with you all. Read an excerpt below and if you're interested click the below link to read the entire article/document.

A little awhile ago, the American government has given bailouts to failing companies on Wall Street and in Detroit. Bailouts are loans given by the government. Taxpayers fund them. The most interesting part about these bailouts is that some of the companies that were given a bailout are still failing. People are still getting laid off while the same people who let the companies fail are getting rewarded. The point of the bailouts was to prevent things such as laid offs. But, these bailouts are not working the way people thought they would. Despite that, other industries still ask the government for a bailout. People talk about these other industries and how they are in need, but poor people are the ones who need a bailout the most.

Throughout history, poor people have been put on the back of the bus. There were barely any major movements in support of them being led by major figures. The sixties were notable for these movements. The number of Americans in poverty went from 22.2% in 1960 to 12.1% in 1969. One of these major movements was led by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. When he ran for President, he promised a “Great Society.”


Read it in it's entirety [HERE]

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

In The Trenches


Wow, I haven't updated in a while! The past month or so I've been in the trenches as I like to say. This is my last semester at the University of Illinois and I graduate in 4 days. Basically, I've been bombarded with paper after paper, presentation after presenation and exam after exam. When this semester concludes, I would have written a 20 page journal article, a 23 page paper (roughly), four 6-7 page papers, and a bunch of short papers ranging from 1-3 pages. In case you were wondering, I'll be getting my degree in History (with a minor in African American studies) with intentions to become a high school teacher and free lance writer. I was going completely out of my mind for a while because these assignments were stressing me out, but I'm almost at the finish line and it feels good.

However, it wasn't just school work that was stressing me. Let's see, along with those tedious assignments, I've also been maintaining a long distance relationship, and coughing up money to repair my busted car. Oh, and did I mention that my digital camera also broke and laptop started acted weird so I almost lost all of my class assignments and music. In addition, my ability to record songs has been limited because of that. That was probably good though, since I wasn't able to get sidetracked by rapping, but sometimes I have so much on my mind that I need to get it off my chest. Alright, well, I'm just about finished with my 20 page paper (that will probably end up 23 pages like stated earlier) but I'm going to get some shut eye and finish that in the morning. PEACE!