Today, I turn the magical age of 17. In light of this, I would like to point out some of the notable that have occurred on this day.
1) Death of Charles Darwin
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Source: Smithsonian Museum
I shouldn't have to go that much into who he is. I will say, though, that he is one of the most misunderstood scientists of all time. Thanks to controversy surrounding his theory on evolution, he is often the target of much
scorn and praise. On April 19, 1892 he passed away at the age of 73, leaving an undeniable impact on the science community.
2) Afrika Bambaataa's turns 56
Source: Colorlines.com
Afrika Bambaataa is one of the undeniable pioneers of Hip-Hop. He is most well known for his song 'Planet Rock', one of the greatest party records in Rap history. He also started the Universal Zulu Nation: a collection of b-boyers, graffiti artists, DJ's, and politically aware rappers who are a part of Hip-Hop culture. Ironically, though he has had a tremendous influence on Hip-Hop, a lot of people who say that they are Rap fans do not know who he is. Which is a shame, really. Especially when early on people such as him had to deal with the criticism of onlookers who called Hip-Hop a "fad". Hopefully there is a second awakening of some sort in which the youth actually dig into the history of Hip-Hop. But it has to start somewhere.
3) Oklahoma City Bombing
Source: time.com
The Oklahoma City Bombing was an unfortunate event in which Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh decided to bomb the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 people, injured 680 more, damaged 324 buildings, burned 86 cars, and caused $652 million in damage. The blast was so powerful that it could be felt 56 miles away. Before 9/11, this was easily the most deadly domestic act of terrorism in the history of the United States. It's events like these that make my birthday bittersweet.
4) End of the Waco, Texas Siege
Source:ctpost.com
On April 19, 1993, the siege on the Branch Davidans compound ended after 51 days. The standoff between the Branch Davidans and the ATF resulted in a total of 86 deaths (82 Davidans; 54 adults and 28 kids, and 4 ATF agents), most notably the Davidans leader, David Koresh. At the end of this violent confrontation, the Mt. Carmel Center was engulfed in flames, forever searing the events of that fateful day into our heads forever.
5) Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was one of the first conflicts of the American Revolutionary War. Dozens of colonial minutemen clashed with British forces, with the British winning the battle in a landslide. Although Britain gained a strong foothold in the beginning of the war, they were eventually defeated by American and mercenary forces acting as American allies. The picture above is a representation of on of the most iconic American battles in history.
6) Death of Guru from Gangstarr
On this day in April of 2010, Guru passed away, him being the front man of one of the greatest Hip-Hop acts of all time. With a collection of 6 albums, he and DJ Premier sealed the deal as on of the best. R.I.P. Guru
7) Release of Illmatic
The greatest rap album ever. Nuff said.
To: Mr. Kev S. Cranium
ReplyDeleteFrom: Dr. Dale E. Richards
Dear Mr. Cranium,
I was pleased to see that the world can finally learn what you have to say about music. And I want to add that IT'S ABOUT TIME!
I particularly enjoyed what you had to say about your friends, family, and fellow students and how they seem to be preoccupied with the popularity of an artist, rather than what he or she might be doing that is original and interesting. This is no less true for Hip-Hop as it is for any other legitimate art form.
Where I would like to see you go a little further is in your development of a clear and specific analysis. For instance, under the heading "Mediocre lyrics," you basically just quote long-ish passages of song after song as though the mediocrity were self-evident to anyone. I think you have a job to do to break it down: Identify specific lines that are cliches or that are merely gratuitous fluff. Find short, parallel references from other, more serious, artists and place these alongside what you are showing us from Drake, so that we can see the clear contrast.
All in all, however, I am glad to see you are finally taking your ideas to a public forum.
Keep up the good work,
DR