In honor of Jay-Z’s comeback, today’s quote of the day comes from his verse on “What Gonna Do”:

You got starch in your flow
I flow too many ways, got a arch in my flow
All sorts of flow,
Rembrandt, Rilkey, I am art with the flow
Even if I’m filthy, you gotta pardon the flow
Niggas taking it lightly, had to darken the flow
Way I put it together, tear ‘em apart with the flow
I’m too smart with the flow, you just started the flow
Stop it youngin, you 106th & Park with the flow
I am pro, as you see I’m off the charts with the flow
Actually I’m number one on the charts with the flow
In some places they say this, I am God with the flow
Like my office, but they’re biased, too involved with the flow
(Oh no) I am the youth spirit, I am y’all with the flow
Trouble man, dare I say, I am Marv with the flow
I come up hard but I evolve with the flow
Crossover, slam dunk, Rucker Park with the flow

Despite my fierce support and love for the hip-hop generation, I often agree with our critics about the quantity and quality of our political engagement. Despite the various forms of injustice that directly affect the hip-hop generation, too many of us have little involvement with grassroots activism or electoral politics.

Those of us who are engaged often fail to help our generation to leverage its considerable influence in ways that will yield social justice. Instead of fighting for more jobs, less crime, or the improvement of public education, too many of our best and brighest are squandering valuable time discussing tangential and superficial issues like Jay-Z’s Cristal crusade.

This past weekend, however, I was reminded that many members of my generation are still engaged in on-the-ground sruggles for social justice.

From Friday to Sunday, I attended the bi-annual meeting of the National Hip Hop Political Convention (NHHPC), a developing national organization operating in 20 states throughout the country working on issues facing the hiphop generation. The meeting serves as the organization’s keystone event, where delegates and local organizing committees from the Hip Hop Generation vote on, adopt and endorse a political agenda for the Hip Hop Generation. The purpose of the National Hip Hop Political Convention is to support the movement towards increased civic and political participation within the Hip Hop Generation.

As an invited speaker on the criminal justice panel, I was able to share and listen to ideas from activists, organizers, artists, and intellectuals about concrete ways to improve the criminal (in)justice system. In addition to my own session, there were dozens of engaging sessions on topics such as education, economic empowerment, and gender inequality. Unlike many events, where the focus is placed on charismatic speeches and selling products, the NHHCP proved to be a wonderful site for intellectual exchange and political mobilization.
In addition to the concrete planning, the thousands of people gathered at the event reminded me that I’m not alone in my frustration, anger, and tireless hope for the hip-hop generation. Most important, they renewed my desire to help repair the fractured world that we inherited.

To learn more about the NHHPC, please visit their website by clicking here.

Let you tell it, man, I’m fallin’ / Well, somebody musta caught him/ Every fourth quarter / I like to Mike Jordan ‘em

According to several sources that I’ve spoken to at Def Jam, Jay-Z is definitely in the process of recording a comeback album. The album, which is still untitled, is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2006.

As the above quote from Jigga suggests, his upcoming un-retirement further solidifies his position as the “Mike Jordan of the mic recordin’s.” By deciding to append another chapter to his storybook career, Jay-Z will either expand his legacy or reduce his standing within the hip-hop pantheon.
Of course, almost no one will be surprised at this news. Like athletes, few MCs retire when they still have the skills and financial incentive to continue. This is why Deion Sanders, Jerry Rice, and Michael Jordan continued well beyond their primes. Given their extraordinary gifts, these men were able to hold their own with the new generation despite being watered-down versions of their former selves.

Still, many would argue that the inability to exit the stage at an appropriate time ultimately tarnishes one’s legacy. This is why it is so hard to separate the late 1980s/early 1990s versions of, say, Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson, from the caricatures that they’ve become in the 21st century.
My hunch is that Jay-Z will be alright in the short term. He is said to be enlisting the help of hot young producers like Cool and Dre, Kanye West, and the Neptunes, as well as veteran leaders like Dr. Dre to ensure that the project is a critical and commercial success. While many will be disappointed to hear that Nas won’t be on the album –Jay-Z will, however, be appearing on Nas’ September LP– there’s no doubt that the album will have its share of strong guest appearances to appeal to different fan bases.

Still a time will inevitably come when Jigga will no longer be hot. It may be a few months or it may be a few years, but when his time comes, I hope he recognizes it and retires.

For good.

Juries in the U.S. tend to hand down the death penalty twice as often to black defendants with stereotypically black features like darker skin, bigger noses and fuller lips, than to those perceived to have less stereotypically black features, according to the findings of a new study