Road Travellin'

The month of February is proving to be a great month. So I have visited Philly and New York. Philadelphia is a dirty ass city but there is a scence that is brewing (well it's kind of cliched by now) musically like no other. A lot of the music that I like these are from people born and raised in Philly. While I was there I had a celebrity sighting. This person is not from the aforementioned musical revival. While chowing down of a cheesesteak at Ishkabibbles in walk a flashy dressed man. I immediately recognized him as Carl Thomas (CT), a singer on Bad Boy records. I though to myself that this is kind of cool but I wasn't going out of my way to acknowledge him more than I would acknowledge and regular person on the street. We continue to eat while watching the CNN coverage of the shuttle explosion. After a while CT whips out two color cell phones in full floss mode. So I am thinking wow he really wants to be noticed. We continue to eat and then he starts humming. Obviously he wanted to be noticed. I had no problem speaking to him but he wanted on this long show so then I couldn't. He was wearing a waist length fur coat, an oversized kangol-esque hat, and a pair of sunglasses. What is wrong with this you ask? It was raining! Fur coat and sunglasses on a rainy, foggy day in Philly.

This weekend I went to New York to see the Chappelle Show, starring Dave Chappelle from Half-Baked and You've Got Mail. I think he is a brilliant comedian. I have not seen the show because DC does not offer Comedy Central. The footage we saw was great. The skits weren't that much of social commentary as I have heard about some of the other episodes but it was hilarious. I have a feeling that his skit Blackzilla will never air. He has sex with a volcano and pissed (litterally) on the Japanese.

While riding through New York I realized that many things seemed familiar because of all the references I hear in rap songs. For instance:

Flatbush Ave Brooklyn: referenced in every Mos Def Song
Junior's Bakery: I saw Jay-Z go there in one of MTV's diary
Westside Highway: referenced in Nore's "Nothing"
106 and Park: The BET top 10 live countdown
Ft. Greene Brooklyn: The Neo-Boho capital (or so they say)

It was quite interesting over there. I would love to spend more time in that city. It is so large and there is so much to see and do. I think I would be slightly overwhelmed but I would rather try and fail than to not try at all. Next I am going to Boston and the last weekend of the month someone may come to visit me