Did you ever get someone or a group of people just stare at you for no good reason? I don’t mean kids, because that’s their natural tendency. I mean adults. I’d understand if I was breathtakingly handsome, but I consider myself cool, at most photogenic. Of course, people offer different opinions on that matter. Personally, I think their assertions are outrageous, but what can I do?

For example,

I’ve never been the head of a multi-million dollar rap label, nor have I ever sold millions of albums based on my street rhymes, though I’ve thrown up that ubiquitous diamond sign whenever a few of this guys’ songs comes up.

I’ve never stood next to the Notorious B.I.G., money has always been a problem for me, and I’ve never endorsed any acne prevention medicine on T.V.. I only make 1/2-assed attempts at preserving my sexy.

Yes, I am somewhere between 5′8″ - 6′2″, wear a hoodie often, Black / Latino male, Black hair, jeans, and sneakers, but no I did not rob or assault the liquor store, grocery store, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, convenience store, 99c store, little old lady, the church, or any of that ish, and I definitely did not shoot the sheriff or the deputy.

I don’t have an album coming out on September 11th, I’ve never been on the cover of Rolling Stone with a ring of thorns around my head, but I don’t wear a backpack or Louis Vuitton anything, but I’m pretty sure George W. Bush does not like Black people.

I’ve never had a CD containing my train of thought, though I do believe there is a beautiful struggle, and I do consider myself a Black Star (/sarcasm).

But, if you do mistake me for “that one teacher’s boyfriend,” “that guy’s brother,” “that dude I saw on stage for my welcoming event,” “my older brother’s / sister’s / cousin’s former math teacher,” or even “the guy who used to write for this blog,” then I’m totally for that.

jose, who’s thoroughly excited about the following information

For anyone in the NYC area, I have an event coming up on the 15th of September. Check it:

Tavern of Creativity

feat. Rob Bless,Cathy Delaleu, Melissa Falcon, Celeste Doaks, Aminah Love, Nnmandi, Sam Adewumi, Stephen E. Jordan, a.ka. Bougie, and Jose Vilson

Stain Bar
www.stainbar.com
(718) 387-7840
766 Grand Street
4th Stop in Brooklyn, off the L Train
September 15, 2007 – 6:00 -11:00 PM

Art & Poetry books will be sold.  (but not mine because I don’t have a book … yet ;-)) …

As if you didn’t know, I am fully in support of Talib’s latest effort, Eardrum. For the most part, it’s hot as hell. Don’t believe me, though; read the article I wrote for Blogcritics.org. Right now, my favorite tracks are it might be much easier to list the tracks I’m not a fan of.

1. “The Nature” with Justin Timberlake (it’s not memorable and a wack ending to an awesome album)
2. “Country Cousins” (just for the chorus)
3. “Give ‘Em Hell” (same thing. Chorus was boring.)

Otherwise, I like all of it. I was pleasantly surprised by will.i.am.’s production on “Say Something,” but not surprised at Jean Grae’s animalistic rhyme ability. But again, I mentioned all of this in the Blogcritics article.

The first song, “Everything Man,” applies to me in so many ways. I was so bored for a good week and change, but now everything’s coming back into the fold. I’m having masters’ diploma clearance issues, which will be resolved really soon and that I recently found out about. I have to help take my brother back up to Syracuse U. tomorrow and be back on the same day in time to either 1) go to sleep or 2) go and party with my friends, who I won’t see for a few months.

Then I’m going with my lady to a baby shower for my friend AnnMary. That should be great, because I anticipated this event for so long. I got the pair multiple gifts; people know I’m bad with remembering dates, but try to make an awesome impression at the event.

On Tuesday, I have a “photoshoot” of course with cool peoples, and of course, the countdown to the classroom begins. I’m so nervous that I won’t be ready for them to come in, but I’m also excited about the possibilities.

It’s also time to start shopping and turn from jose to Mr. V. Any time I haven’t spent with the aforementioned events will most likely be used for this metamorphosis. That’s the best part. The transformation’s already taking place, but I have to remember my scripts and such. Once I finish Fast Food Nation, a book worth reading even if you just get through the first few chapters, I’m going to read The Reluctant Disciplinarian by Gary Rubenstein, just so I can start out the year right.

And this is just within the next week. I hate to sound cliche, but I need to make taking over the world look easy.

jose, who you’ll only see on weekends after september 5th

Many of you are familiar with Talib Kweli the artist. Since the days of Black Star, he’s blossomed into a premier face for hip-hop music. Unfortunately, because of the topics he discusses (politics, hip-hop, and urban community issues are among his favorites), he’s often type casted for a niche audience. What that usually means is that artists him, Immortal Technique, Mos Def, Common, and Pharoahe Monch get put in a little slot, even when their music has the ability to reach more audiences. In this day and age where hits are no longer made, but manufactured, it’s hard for artists like him to get their shine.

What it does mean for people who like their artistry is that we have to invest in their product and be active participants in their growth. Acts like Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Gwen Stefani, and Fergie, regardless of whether they actually craft their own music or rely on formulas for their success, already have machines behind them that will force listeners to hear their product. We don’t have to like their songs for them to be played a million times on the radio; they’re still going to get played. This is also not to say that they don’t work hard, but in Talib Kweli’s case, he doesn’t give the radio a diet Talib, if you know what I mean.

With the recent payola scandals (which were fairly obvious for decades now) and the mainstreaming of illegal downloading, it becomes ever more pressing for us as consumers of music to cast in our monies to artists we actually want to see succeed. I personally buy CDs from artists who have either come out with a very good project as of late (Linkin Park) or who have been consistent enough over their career that it inspires confidence in the product I’m buying (Janet Jackson). What this also means is that I’m also doing my “research” on the albums before I get them, something the music industry heads can’t understand. Many of us don’t download because we’re pirates; it’s because we’re tired of getting screwed over by a 15-song album whose quality is worth just 2.

You see, if they’re going to keep allowing cookie cutter crap to invade our ears and minds, then people will continue to download on a regular basis. As recently as 2004, I felt the music industry would remember how cutting edge music transformed the landscape for so many of these artists, when they gave breathing room to underground artists to get some shine on the major music stations. Now, because of the lack of variance amongst these radio and TV stations, it seems that we’ll never get the opportunity for these new energies to hit our eardrums.

This is all to say that, if you enjoy an artist, please support them, not just through CDs, which has gone the way of presidential voting, but also through concerts and word-of-mouth. BET’s 106 and Park was NEVER about the viewers’ choice, and radio’s still mired in money politics. I know I’ll be buying Eardrum (8/21/07), because more or less, if I want to see Talib succeed, I need to let the majors know he’s still relevant to people like me and you. More or less, if we want to see more of these artists, we need to support, or we stand to lose them all.

jose, who’s having the best summer in quite a while