#ThoughtfulThursday - Radio Silence

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Parent Category: Onstage

by Khari Gzifa

A frequent topic lately, at least in hip hop circles, has been the idea of "culture vulture-ism" and the overt revamping of the popular hip hop image into a less melanin dominated one. While I definitely have an opinion that I have shared in some impromptu roundtables, I think the greater issue is being missed. To illustrate my argument please allow me to divert this conversation into a brief socio-economic lesson. I promise, I will return to my point.

In the 1970s a critical threshold in American business was passed with barely a word mentioned or notice taken. In that decade, GMAC (the financing arm of manufacturing giant General Motors, and basically a bank) for the first time surpassed GM itself in profit-making. When big business saw that it was more profitable to loan money to buy cars than to make and sell those cars, there was a seismic shift in our business models. In the interest of keeping it brief, things like NAFTA, the birth of the world’s most ridiculous CEO-to-Employee pay ratio and most importantly CONSOLIDATION are all direct results of that change. Consolidation is what has been happening all over American business for the last 4 decades; from the Ma Bell and public utilities breakups (which were supposedly done to INCREASE competition, lol), to the wipeout of neighborhood hardware and mom and pop general stores by the likes of Home Depot and Walmart. The new model is very few choices in all of your goods and services. No place is this rule more obvious than in public or terrestrial radio. As a result of that same consolidation trend, behemoths like Clear Channel are now able to completely dominate the marketplace. They are able to present their viewpoint everywhere at once, and only their viewpoint. By establishing that role in media they were able to change radio from its previous role of conduit or a highway through which ideas and art were transmitted between creator and consumer, into a new role as tastemaker and grand arbiter of what is appealing/popular and what ain’t!  Now songs had to "cater to radio", images had to fit into a known value and the public needed to be TOLD what to like. See, that’s the only way the banksters, the bean counting counterfeiters that are the real force behind the huge multinational corporations and the crime enabling legislation that created this situation, know how to do business. It’s their ONLY model!

So all this brings me back to where we are now. The reason hip hop is lightening up is because it needs to accomplish two tasks for this group; a) it needs to sell to as wide a base as possible and that includes not just the majority culture but the originators too, and it needs to include the lions share within both those groups and, b) they need to sell other images, lifestyles, products, etc. to you through the music and to do this they need the least threatening/most broadly accepted images out there; the majority culture (read, white people). Remember, these labels are doing 360 deals exclusively for a reason. The money ain't there in music like it used to be and those same reverberations go through radio as well.

#WeRecommend - The Coupe

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Parent Category: Onstage

With so much recent media hubbub about new restaurants along 14^th street it’s easy to forget that DC offers a countless variety of eateries to choose from. In the Adams Morgan neighborhood you can find the 24 hour spot The Diner and coffee & Wi-Fi user paradise Tryst. Travel a few minutes up from Adams Morgan to Woodley Park which has a lot of new pop up restaurants & bars and one location that many tourists make a point of visiting on their trip to DC is Open City. The Columbia Heights area is growing rapidly with new business, eateries, and retail locations. That’s where you’ll find our favorite hangout for food; The Coupe, located on 11th & Monroe Streets.

Originally imagined as a 24 hour spot for ppl to come grab delicious pancakes, eggs, hash browns, or even a great burger during a late night out, this “half a block of cool” has evolved into a unique traditional restaurant that’s seen a lot of changes since its opening. The Coupe is a French/American style restaurant/bar that has a cafe portion where you can be seated and have a traditional breakfast/lunch/dinner inside or on the patio, then if you move over on the other side of the restaurant there is an outstanding bar (#BarBar) where the happy hour rocks Mon-Fri (6pm-8pm inside or on the patio).

The ambience of The Coupe stands out. It's really laid back, with a friendly & attentive staff with a variety of backgrounds reflective of the diversity of the clientele. The Coupe offers brunch sat/sun (6am-6pm) with food specials every Wednesday of the week, typically an appetizer, a vegan & regular entree.

At Onstage #WeRecommend you check out The Coupe!

#TheDownLoad v5

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Parent Category: Onstage

Vitamin THC (True.Human.Connection.) – iMallbot

Fatz Sinatra – Fatz Da Big Fella

Repressed Thougths – Physcoactive

Check Mate – Foams

Only One Squad – Bless Squad

#EverydayStyle - Accessories and Tees

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Parent Category: Onstage

Summer’s heating up now, and #EverydayStyle in DC has reached the sizzling point as well. Check out all the shots in our new photoset “Accessories and Tees.” Remember, style is attitude. When you’re comfortable with yourself you’ll never be uncomfortable with what you wear…