♪♪♪ 3x ♪ from almong 🥜

1) Food - BADBADNOTGOOD

2) Horsell Common & The Heat Ray - Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds

3) Sons of Fate - The Protomen

Loves Me / Loves Me Not

another round must commence <3

Magon - Third Dimensional Love

Lovely slacker progressive from mainland France. It’s been a while since I’ve heard this nice use of drone-y slacker. I see a lot of diy-made ‘homevideo’ style music videos out there, like 95% of them fail, Magon does not. It’s equal parts lovely akward and “bad” taste. The French have always had a good eye for aesthetics. Check out the older movies by Jean-Pierre Jeunet - City of the Lost Children, Delicatessen etc and you’ll know what I mean.

Next time I’m going to my imaginary garden to pick flowers for a late night tea-party this is the track I’ll be blasting out the speakers, me and my butterflies will love it equallty.

Dead Little Penny - Dead Together

I’ve missed bands like this, it’s proper revival of all that was good about the late 80s and early 90s before Cobain decided to leave us which unfortunately made way to a crusade of bad rip-off and watered down “grunge” bands. Maybe Dead Little Penny is here to signal a new round of good taste, or maybe it’s just a reminder that there still are great bands out there who can master a dirty sound with pleasant melodies without seeming to be too full of themselves. The band is from Australia - how I wish they would come to Europe for a tour - I’d be the first to help them out with lodning and local venue contacts <3 please.

Cool Sounds - Digi Dog

https://open.spotify.com/track/7CzlShBUaCWT2iAHFOhfBH

It’s a good time for Australian acts apparently and I will be the last to complaint - if it wasn’t for that the trip from Europe is quite the distance. I apologize for only having a spotify link for you on this on, but it doesn’t make the track less chill. There’s nothing fancy about this tune, it’s thumbing ahead like a lofi version of War on Drugs, which in itself sounds like something I would get on board with. This is a nice track for the mornings when you’re not really sure what you’re supposed to be doing - you can always play the tune a second time around.

Callum Pitt - L.Lane

https://soundcloud.com/callum-pitt/l-lane

Callum on the other hand is very much into War on Drugs I am quite certain - most problems for bands trying to copy the sound of the band is that they just don’t have good enough songs for such a pleasurable vibe in the production. So it just becomes dull songs without a purpose. Callum’s different - he clearly knows how to write good songs - which is probably also why he is signed to the same label as the gents of the War on Drugs.

If this is the level Callum insists on putting forward and he can keep it up, I’m pretty sure he’s walking towards a bright future, I would surely keep my eye on him. If I had a ranch and was taking daily walks checking up one some stray animals and just gazing over whatever you have on a ranch, this is what I’d be putting on my boom-box that I’ll be dragging along in my wooden cart. I’d naturally only have the cart along for the boombox, which would only be along because this track would fit such a walk tremendously - I don’t own a ranch obviously, but I do like this song.

Maybird - Montreal

I LOVE the vocals on the singer of this! There’s something in this that reminds me of The Growlers - a band that it’s almost impossible not to like or love for at least a few reasons. 

It’s a pretty short song, the good thing about that is you definitely would want to listen to more songs - where do I get them, when do I get them? There’s not much to know, but in this day and age of convenience and ‘having everything you way’ it’s quite healthy having to go out and catch your music yourself, just a little effort?  If someone bought me any type of old car, I would give them a recording of this and take a ride together <3

Sons of Zöku - Dead Poets

https://soundcloud.com/sonsofzoku/dead-poets/s-4zFzN

If you’re ever sad that you were born too late for the grandest of days with the Beatles - now is your time! And it could possibly be pretty fucking epic! Never have I heard many good tunes inspired by the trippier times of the Brits - with the exception of the first couple of Tame Impala records! 

SO - once more the problem for us is that these guys are ALSO in Australia - WHAT THE F IS UP with Australia these days? And why aren’t somebody starting a record label to put out all these goodies! Anyhow, if I ever were to become a booking agent I might as well start a company and sign the Aussie bands in this post - anyone thinking of doing the same out there I’m open to teaming up <3 Go listen to this track, go do whatever you feel like - this will fit anything you could ever consider spending your day on today, scouts honor.

JW Francis - Lofi

https://soundcloud.com/jw_francis/lo-fi/s-4TlV5

We’re going to end on a chill and lovely note. JW Francis is a pal I’m happy to know exists in this world - I’m pretty sure he’s put here to brighten our days. He sounds like the kind of guy I’d want to go hang out at the beach with, he would bring his guitar, he’d have a friend who has a small rowing boat. We’d row out into the water, he would have already packed a nice lunch basket with grapes, maybe some wine. It’s not some kind of secret gay romance I’m harbouring - though I’m pretty sure any partner ending up with JW would be smiling when he’s writing songs in the opposing room or the kitchen, I know I would.

I don’t know much about JW Francis, but I know he’s got good taste and I know he knows how to put a song and mix together that has just the right bits of aesthetic sense to make it pleasurable almost no matter what kind of music you’re into - put this on if you have a boat, if you don’t have a boat just go buy that todler swimming-pool, fill it with a couple of liters of water and lay down - you deserve it <3

Until next time, hope you have a pleasant weekend everyone.

Ducktales/Disney Avatar AU (Part 1)

I was thinking about this AU since long time ago. And finally i got to end it. 

Earth, air, fire, water. When we were younger, the old man of the town told us stories about a person, born from time to time between each nation, who could master all the four elements, who were called "the avatar." He told us how the avatar kept the peace throught his time until he died because of the betrayal of one of his associates and that, as a result, a war was to begin. We also heard the stories, told by that old madman, of how the avatar had had a group of partners in which my Uncle Donald figured as a great waterbender. I, personally, did not believe these stories, because of my uncle Donald, and I remained skeptical. See to believe, isn’t it? I’ve never had seen someone who could master more than one element… Until that day when Dewey, my younger brother, accidentally burned my Uncle Donald's boat with his hands. Now, my brother is the avatar, he has to maintain the world order. And, you know what? ... I trust in him.

New team Avatar: Group of friends of the new avatar Dewey. It’s currently formed mainly by his brothers and Webbigail Vanderquack.

Dewey - The new and improved avatar (or so he says). Dewey was born in the southern water tribe inside uncle Donald’s boat, and he is the second brother of triplets, that is to say that he is the one in the middle. Dewey is the most powerful avatar so far as he is extremely strong both physically and mentally; but he has a problem: he has a hard time learning to control them properly because he always acts before thinking (Scrooge, his last teacher, always scolds him for working harder than working smarter) His abilities are superior by much of the previous avatar: in addition to the four elements, he knows pretty well energy control, healing, purification, and metalbending; and he achieved a better control of the avatar state, being practically conscious when he uses it (but this after a lot of practice and an early maturation he didn’t wanted to get). Funny fact: He discovered he was the avatar because he set on fire Louie’s sweater and then, trying to put out the fire he burnt all the boat. After that, Uncle Donald took him and his brothers to all the world and he belived it was because of the shame he made them pass that time (but Donald does this because he wants to protect his nephews).

Huey - He is the elder triplet brother of avatar Dewey, and Louie. He is a boy from the southern water tribe, the son of a waterbender (who died) and an airbender (who disappeared); is, along with his two younger brothers, in the care of his uncle Donald (who is a waterbender and expert navigator). He is a waterbender as well as his uncle and his father, with an innate talent for healing and soul purification through water, and his power is strong enough to control the clouds from the ground thanks to the arduous practice which has had since he was small thanks to being part of the rescue group “Junior Woodchuck”. In addition, he knows very well self-defense without element thanks to his training as Junior Woodchuck, and all the things that the JW guidebook has taught him. And because of his personality, the spirit of the moon gave him some abilities that only the water witches can possess: Astral travel, basic energy-bending, and the ability to enter into the dreams of other creatures. He has a responsible personality, organized, worried for his brothers, with a very particular temperament (maybe learned or even inherited from his uncle Donald) and with problems to know how to have fun. Curious fact: He has a red hat because Uncle Donald didn’t wanted to confuse them (the nations has to wear the same color. Every. Day).

Louie – The younger brother of Huey and avatar Dewey, with the same offspring as them: Born in the southern water tribe, son of an airbender and a waterbender, living with his uncle in a boat, etcetera. As for his abilities, he is also a water master who has control of the element as an innate talent, and without much practice managed to master the element much faster than his brothers; unfortunately he is too lazy and does not practice as much as them and somehow ended up being the weakest in power (though with Dewey it's pretty obvious because ... he's the avatar; but he stills weaker than Huey). After seeing what his brothers were capable of doing, he decided to begin a training by himself. In the way to the success, failing a lot because he didn’t wanted to learn with his brothers only cause of his pride, he found a women who taught him a lot like healing, fighting,taking water from the weather, and the forbidden water technique: Bloodbending. He can use this powers without the full moon,, even he is so powerful he can waterbend and bloodbend only with his eyes. He is a very loose and whining, manipulative, and too emotional boy, but with a little impulse he can get to do great things because of his great determination and cunning (for example, learning those forbidden and complicated techniques). Curious fact: He has Della’s visors just because Uncle Donald didn’t wanted to confuse them (the nations has to wear the same color. Every. Day). Another fun fact: He had never have watched his waterbender teacher’s face.

Webby – She’s a kyoshi warrior apprentice who lives in Scrooge’s mansion (the ancient air temple of the north). She lives in there with her granny (a Kyoshi Warrior trainer), and all her partners and the apprentices. She is a very strong girl even without an element to bend, with physical skills that are to envy like knowing lots of martial arts, a lot of history, of war, of war tactics, music, culture, she knows where the nervous points are to leave a person without their bending and physical abilities for moments, and she even is the little bodyguard for the tripplets (mostly Dewey because of the uprising war). She gets excited very quickly because she didn’t had a normal childhood, growing up closed in that air temple, just training to be a good Kyoshi Warrior as her granny. So when the tripplets came out, she had a taste of freedome for first time. Fun fact: She really is Dewey’s bodyguard, even if he doesn’t want to. If anyone of the tripplets gets violent, she has the permission to block them out of their powers until one of their uncles arrive the place.

Old team Avatar: The group that formed the closest friends of the Avatar Mickey.

Mickey Mouse - He was the previous avatar, born in the Fire nation with an older sister (who wasn’t a bender) and his parents. He gained control of the four elements and a little of energy-bending. Unfortunately it was not enough and he was murdered at 25 years old by one of the former leaders of the order of the white lotus (General Peter of the Fire Nation, who revealed he was in associate with the society of the red lotus). He was a playful, adventurous and some sort of irresponsible avatar. He kept his whole life a childish and selfish attitude, because of the different life he had, having not a normal childhood because of the training to be a good avatar; but despite this, he kept the earth kingdom away from a revolution, maintaining the world order. He had benevolent and naive attitude, so he is considered one of the best avatar that has ever existed. In a part of his life, he discovered he had a half-brother, but when they met, his brother hated him a little with no reason.

Donald Duck - He is a waterbender and the best sailor in the world, or that is what he says (because, truthfully, he is a better waterbender than sailor). He was one of Mickey's closest friends, and one of the few people who watched General Pete kill him. He was part of the society of the white lotus until the murder of Mickey and the disappearance of Della (thinking that was the order’s fault, and mostly of his Uncle Scrooge). He now lives in the southern water tribe, taking care of his nephews in the name of his sister and, with dying hopes, that she will return someday. And after discovering that Dewey was the avatar, he forced the family to move much of the city in the city hoping that the white lotus and/or the red lotus involves his family again in a conspiration (he hates them alike). His skills are truly impressive, so much so that he was Mickey's teacher in the element of water, and he is currently the master of Huey, Dewey and Louie (Although he initially taught only the basics, the white lotus command forced him to teach him all that Dewey knew). He has innate talent for healing, and when he is angry he can easily beat an army of fire and land soldiers alone (or all the beagle boys on a milestone).

Goofy - A soldier of the earth kingdom who did not agree with the revolution some rich people wanted to do in the earth kingdom. He does not own an element and is quite clumsy normally, causing millions of accidents, but his loyalty made him one of the most important in the avatar team. Currently, he lives in a village near Omashu, where he took care of his son Max and told him all his adventures as a friend and companion of the old avatar. But that was before he disappeared at the hands of the “face thief” (an evil spirit who steals your face). Goofy thinks that he is dead, so in every Max’s birthday, he makes a little funeral for him and sings and stuff.

Pluto - It was avatar Mickey’s pet. He is an ordinary dog, but it was his companion throughout his life, even because Mickey was a small mouse, the avatar could mount his pet. The animal was buried next to its master a few days after the death of the avatar; is thought to have died of sadness.

Honorary member.

Della Duck – An impressive airbender who revolves the tecniques of this ancient art. She was a pilot of the Northern Water tribe army when she lived with her parents and his twin Donald, as well as one of the first women on a real plane. While her brother is a waterbender, she is an airbender because her mother has the air genes and her father is a native from the water tribe. But she doesn’t worked as a monk because the aribenders where practically extinct. She is the mother of the triplets (Huey, Dewey and Louie), and with that, the mother of the new Avatar Dewford. Sadly, she never got a chance to see that, because she disappeared seconds before the murder of avatar Mickey. Her skills as an airbender were impressive, and most importantly, she was Mickey's teacher on the Air element. She was mainly the pilot of the avatar team and she didn’t get into the adventures as much as her brother did (she had to take care of Scrooge's plane). 

Bonus:

Why does the Music Industry keep “Underground Hip-Hop Music” Underground?

Global Research, September 23, 2013 Music is everybody’s possession . It’s only publishers who think that people own it. John Lennon The Corporate Music industry has had a monopoly on what youths from all around the world listen to. They have been controlling the thoughts and beliefs of our youths and even adults through their control of the music industry. The Music industry is a multi-billion dollar business. There are now “Big Three” record labels since 2012 that include Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group that dominate the market. They control the artist and set what percentage of the sales receipts they keep as profits. They also keep the competition between the major record labels at a minimum since they are already a monopoly. There are many underground hip-hop artists that the political and corporate elite don’t want the public to know about. They control what kind of music is produced and sold to the public. In an interview with Jay Woodson, organizer of National Hip Hop Political Convention (NHHPC) in Philadelphia with online news source The Final Call: FINAL CALL (FC): A recent study of rap songs and music videos on BET and MTV found that several major corporations advertise their products or services during programs that often expose explicit lyrics and images to children. I remember the time when the music industry and society held that rap and hip-hop music was just a fad that would pass. What’s happening now that “everyone” seems to be on board? JAY WOODSON (JW): What our options are in this political economy are options for profit, which benefits large corporations. This includes the entertainment industry. They give a very narrow message and image of what Black life is. It’s materialistic, about death, it’s about violence, and it’s about misogyny and any diverse or alternative messages and images of that, they don’t seem to support because they don’t find it profitable to have diverse aesthetics within the entertainment industry for people to purchase and to view on television. A lot of time when it comes down to critiquing BET and Viacom, we really need to look at the policy of communications. Like, we understand that the airways are owned by people, who give licenses through the Federal Communication Commission. With legislation that was passed in the mid-90s under Bill Clinton, Congress narrowed the plan for people to tap into the media. A lot of larger media bought up media in smaller markets and it narrowed the choices for smaller media or even public access to have cable programming or even local radio stations. So you have these large corporations such as Clear Channel giving such small packages of 20 songs that are played over and over again. Lauryn Hill is a Grammy award winning singer, songwriter, rapper and a former member of the Fugees explains how the music industry operates in a letter she wrote on Tumblr to the public about the music business and her tax evasion case where a judge sentenced her to 3 months in prison earlier this year: For the past several years, I have remained what others would consider underground. I did this in order to build a community of people, like-minded in their desire for freedom and the right to pursue their goals and lives without being manipulated and controlled by a media protected military industrial complex with a completely different agenda. Having put the lives and needs of other people before my own for multiple years, and having made hundreds of millions of dollars for certain institutions, under complex and sometimes severe circumstances, I began to require growth and more equitable treatment, but was met with resistance. I entered into my craft full of optimism (which I still possess), but immediately saw the suppressive force with which the system attempts to maintain it’s control over a given paradigm. I’ve seen people promote addiction, use sabotage, black listing, media bullying and any other coercion technique they could, to prevent artists from knowing their true value, or exercising their full power. These devices of control, no matter how well intentioned (or not), can have a devastating outcome on the lives of people, especially creative types who must grow and exist within a certain environment and according to a certain pace, in order to live and create optimally. I kept my life relatively simple, even after huge successes, but it became increasingly obvious that certain indulgences and privileges were expected to come at the expense of my free soul, free mind, and therefore my health and integrity. So I left a more mainstream and public life, in order to wean both myself, and my family, away from a lifestyle that required distortion and compromise as a means for maintaining it. During this critical healing time, there were very few people accessible to me who had not already been seduced or affected by this machine, and therefore who could be trusted to not try and influence or coerce me back into a dynamic of compromise. Individual growth was expected to take place unnaturally, or stagnated outright, subject to marketing and politics. Addressing critical issues like pop culture cannibalism or its manipulation of the young at the expense of everything, was frowned upon and discouraged by limiting funding, or denying it outright. When one has a prolific creative output like I did/do, and is then forced to stop, the effects can be dangerous both emotionally and psychologically, both for the artist and those in need of that resource. It was critically important that I find a suitable pathway within which to exist, without being distorted or economically strong-armed. During this period of crisis, much was said about me, both slanted and inaccurate, by those who had become dependent on my creative force, yet unwilling to fully acknowledge the importance of my contribution, nor compensate me equitably for it. This was done in an effort to smear my public image, in order to directly affect my ability to earn independently of this system. It took a long time to locate and nurture a community of people strong enough to resist the incredibly unhealthy tide, and more importantly see through it. If I had not been able to make contact with, and establish this community, my life, safety and freedom, would have been directly affected as well as the lives, safety and freedom of my family. Failure to create a non toxic, non exploitative environment was not an option. As my potential to work, and therefore earn freely, was being threatened, I did whatever needed to be done in order to insulate my family from the climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism that I was surrounded by. This was absolutely critical while trying to find and establish a new and very necessary community of healthy people, and also heal and detoxify myself and my family while raising my young children. There were no exotic trips, no fleet of cars, just an all out war for safety, integrity, wholeness and health, without mistreatment denial, and/or exploitation. In order to liberate myself from those who found it ok to oppose my wholeness, free speech and integral growth by inflicting different forms of punitive action against it, I used my resources to sustain our safety and survival until I was able to restore my ability to earn outside of it! When artists experience danger and crisis under the effects of this kind of insidious manipulation, everyone easily accepts that there was something either dysfunctional or defective with the artist, rather than look at, and fully examine, the system and its means and policies of exploiting/’doing business’. Not only is this unrealistic, it is very dark in its motivation, conveniently targeting the object of their hero worship by removing any evidence that they ‘needed’ or celebrated this very same resource just years, months or moments before. Since those who believe they need a hero/celebrity outnumber the actual heroes/celebrities, people feel safe and comfortably justified in numbers, committing egregious crimes in the name of the greater social ego. Ironically diminishing their own true hero-celebrity nature in the process. It was this schism and the hypocrisy, violence and social cannibalism it enabled, that I wanted and needed to be freed from, not from art or music, but the suppression/repression and reduction of that art and music to a bottom line alone, without regard for anything else. Over-commercialization and its resulting restrictions and limitations can be very damaging and distorting to the inherent nature of the individual. I Love making art, I Love making music, these are as natural and necessary for me almost as breathing or talking. To be denied the right to pursue it according to my ability, as well as be properly acknowledged and compensated for it, in an attempt to control, is manipulation directed at my most basic rights! These forms of expression, along with others, effectively comprise my free speech! Defending, preserving, and protecting these rights are critically important, especially in a paradigm where veiled racism, sexism, ageism, nepotism, and deliberate economic control are still blatant realities!!! Learning from the past, insulating friends and family from the influence of external manipulation and corruption, is far more important to me than being misunderstood for a season! I did not deliberately abandon my fans, nor did I deliberately abandon any responsibilities, but I did however put my safety, health and freedom and the freedom, safety and health of my family first over all other material concerns! I also embraced my right to resist a system intentionally opposing my right to whole and integral survival. I conveyed all of this when questioned as to why I did not file taxes during this time period. Obviously, the danger I faced was not accepted as reasonable grounds for deferring my tax payments, as authorities, who despite being told all of this, still chose to pursue action against me, as opposed to finding an alternative solution. My intention has always been to get this situation rectified. When I was working consistently without being affected by the interferences mentioned above, I filed and paid my taxes. This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society, in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family. As this, and other areas of issue are resolved and set straight, I am able to get back to doing what I should be doing, the way it should be done. This is part of that process. To those supporters who were told that I abandoned them, that is untrue. I abandoned greed, corruption, and compromise, never you, and never the artistic gifts and abilities that sustained me.” There are many “underground Hip-Hop artists that are politically conscious-driven such as Common, Flobots, Dead Prez, Rebel Diaz and many others. Lowkey is another underground Hip-Hop artist, a former member of Poisonous Poets, lives in the UK and has traveled the world in support of Anti-war and human rights causes. He announced last year that he will leave the Music Industry to pursue his studies. Lowkey is a rapper that can easily be distinguished from main stream rappers. He has numerous albums produced independently that include Dear Listener, Soundtrack to the Struggle and Uncensored. One of his most popular songs is called ‘Obama Nation’. He has toured the world with several rappers including Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco. He is an influential part of the underground world of Hip-Hop music transforming how rap music can be used to inform and educate people not to turn them into consumers. Lowkey is one of several rappers who are at the forefront. The main stream media does not mention Lowkey, instead they continue to play Hip-Hop music from the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Snopp Dog among many others. Their Music has no substance or positive meaning behind the lyrics. It is music that destroys the minds of urban youths. But according to the media whether based in the United States, Great Britain and Israel, all criticize Lowkey. The Jewish Chronicle Online describes in a 2011 article how Lowkey and other artists such as Elvis Costello can become a “Potential Nightmare” that can influence youths during an event organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for the second anniversary of Operation Cast Lead and the Gaza conflict that killed thousands: One expert studying anti-Israel activity described the increasing influence of performers such as Lowkey as a “potential nightmare,” and compared the impact of his backing for the campaign to the effect of artists such as Annie Lennox and Elvis Costello attacking the Jewish state. Lowkey was heavily criticized by the Jewish Chronicle when it said “At last week’s rally he spoke of his pride at being an anti-Zionist and called Israel a “terrorist state”. The event organisers and audience later successfully persuaded him to perform his track “Long Live Palestine”, written during the Gaza conflict. It accuses Israel of bombing hospitals and mosques and criticises everyone from Barack Obama to Coca Cola and Huggies nappies. Fox news jumped on the bandwagon with Glen Beck mocking Lowkey when he danced and showed gang signs to his song “Terrorist? In his Website Glenn Beck describes why he did what he did on his show: Sometimes a story comes along and it’s almost impossible to find the words to really capture what’s happening. More often than not, the story involves tragedy, riots, and possibly some kind of new world order/Edward Bernays “conspiracy”. Sometimes Glenn just breaks down in tears because of, well, anything really. It could be the death of the Republic, uncensored pictures of the Alamo, or the latest Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy. And sometimes the stories that take the words away involve Glenn dancing and throwing up gang signs. Is it a coincidence that big name rappers who are known throughout the world are sponsored by the biggest corporations in the world? Hip-Hop music gets nominated for the Grammy awards based on the number of sales and popularity of the rappers. Lowkey lives in London, the heart of the former empire known to support numerous causes especially the Palestinian struggle against Israel. What drives Lowkey to focus his music on human rights issues? In an interview conducted by ‘Ceasefire’ an independent political and cultural quarterly publication by Jody McIntyre, Lowkey was asked what has “hurt or inspired him the most?” He replied: Well, I have been privileged enough to travel to many different countries, particularly doing what I do for a living, it is a real blessing. Recently I travelled to Australia, a nation founded upon the genocide of over 500+ separate nations, I heard some harrowing stories of what life has been like for the indigenous people of that land the last 223 years since Captain James Cook arrived there with a British flag. I learned that until the 1967 Referendum, the indigenous, native people of that land were considered “Fauna and Flora” ie Plants and Animals within Australian Law. True justice can only come with acknowledgement of the historical context within which we live. The fact that his date of arrival on the land is still celebrated as “Australia Day” shows that justice for the indigenous people of that land is something we all must fight for, especially those of us who are British citizens. Travelling and touring throughout the United States alongside my friend Norman Finkelstein, showed me that despite the constant manipulation by the mainstream media in that country, there are millions of US citizens who do NOT believe US security is dependent upon on its supremacy and global dominance. There are millions of US citizens who do not believe it is a good idea to have over 1,000 military bases worldwide from Japan to Colombia to Diego Garcia, these people are just so marginalised in the mainstream discourse that in the rest of the world it is easy to forget they even exist. Being detained twice in Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv was an interesting experience; particularly the second time, when I was held for 12 hours. It made me realise that a state which is built upon the foundations of injustice will never feel secure. The ever-changing and diverse citizens of Israel will always be united by one thing and one thing only; fear. The IDF are a colonial force of scared teenage supremacists who would shoot at their own shadow. The worst thing about that, is that they are supplied with the most sophisticated weaponry on the face of this planet by the United States and Britain. Israel is a colonial supremacist state which is rapidly expanding, and the Zionist dream which Theodor Herzl had is still yet to be reached. Many rappers in the West come from poor neighborhoods where crime, drugs and high incarceration rates affects their communities and do rap about “life in the ghetto”. But many rap about sex, drugs, prison and money. I have seen rap videos where they have numerous women on multi-million dollar yachts as Jay-Z’s video called ‘Big Pimpin’. According to Dr. Carolyn West, associate professor of psychology and the study of prevention of violence at the University of Washington said “What’s changed over time is the greater sexualization of hip-hop. Initially, it started off as a revolutionary form of music. Now, large corporations produce images that sell, and there is a blatant link between hip-hop and pornography” in a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article in 2008 called ‘Researcher cites negative influences of hip-hop.’ Rappers promote business agenda’s for the music industry where advertisements and propaganda prevail over young minds. Lowkey raps about real issues that affect life on earth. He wants his music to make a change in society. Why does the main stream media (MSM) and the Music industry criticize Lowkey? Why does the Jewish Chronicle Online call him and other musicians of consciousness a “Potential Nightmare?” Can Lowkey’s music inspire youth to seek change or the truth for that matter? Yes, the MSM and the music industry want to keep youths interested in issues that don’t matter. They want them to follow “Uninspiring rappers” who are about nothing. The majority of rappers are used by the major labels to sell propaganda. They use rappers to further demoralize people who have no idea what is happening in their communities and the world. Do music fans who follow main stream rappers know who Lowkey is? I doubt it. But I will bet that the state of Israel does. In 2009, Lowkey was detained in Israel, when he arrived in Tel Aviv’s airport for 9 hours. According to Music News and Reviews, Concert Tickets, Videos, Pictures and Free MP3s - NME.COM The musician had been travelling to Tel Aviv to take part in a series of charity shows in the country, including sites in Palestine and Palestinian refugee camps, to raise funds to help rebuild the Gaza Strip. He told NME.COM that his passport was confiscated at Tel Aviv airport on February 27, after which he was questioned, detained for nine hours then released. “As soon as I stepped off the plane with my AA guide to Israel tucked under my arm, I was pulled away to the side and interrogated as to why I was in Israel, by a man who wore no uniform identifying himself as any type of security but was clearly heavily armed,” Lowkey explained. “After this I carried on through to passport control. After giving over my British passport it was confiscated. I was then detained for nine hours. During this time I was interrogated about many aspects of my life, what the purpose of my trip was, where my parents are from and where I planned to go in Israel. “Eventually I was told my story was a lie and was subjected to a bout of the Israeli polices paranoid mind games. I was eventually released, knowing that no matter how frustrating what I just went through was, I knew that it was not even a miniscule fraction of the degradation Palestinian people are subjected to on a daily basis.” Lowkey and many other underground Hip-Hop artists are controversial to the corporate music world and even to average people who follow the main stream rappers. Some people may not like his style. People do have different tastes, styles or other musical preferences. All legitimate reasons. Hip-Hop is controlled by major corporations, they have a monopoly on several record labels mentioned earlier. Singer Cee-Loo even commented on how and why corporate influence is relevant to hip-hop music. In an interview with The Daily Beast, platinum recording artist, Cee-Lo commented on the current state of Hip-Hop and what is the agenda behind corporate control of the industry: We don’t judge, but we acknowledge that acting and performing music are very kindred spirits. You write something down, go into a recording booth, and reenact the emotion onstage. At one point in time, there was a code of conduct: creed and credential. And I’ve said this before on Twitter, but hip-hop was once an Ivy League institution, and now it’s become a community college—you don’t need any qualifications to come on in. And, quite frankly, it can be a little embellished-upon. There’s a low entry level, and it’s become monotonous and congested. All you need to do is be able to rhyme “cat” and “hat,” and you can become an MC. But executives have a lot to do with the larger agenda to emasculate and colonize. I believe hip hop is being used in some mass way to influence underachievement. Maybe these individuals may not be aware of the larger agenda, and how they’re being puppeteered, but if they are, that’s even more shameful. He is correct to point out that corporations “colonize” youth through music which promotes “underachievement” and depicts women in a negative way. Lowkey is an example of what major corporate record labels do not want people to listen to. Down below is one of Lowkey’s music videos which I recommend to those who never heard his music before. It is worth a listen. So I ask the question once again, why does the music industry keep “hip-hop underground music” underground?