MolinaSoleilThirty-eight weeks into 2010. This A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively project is only one blog a week, but putting down something meaningful each week in addition all the new stuff I’m working on definitely keeps me on my toes. The fall equinox already has me reflecting on 2010 like its December 31st.
SOULAJU will perform our last show of 2010 at the Boulder Theater on Oct. 1st. Bill includes us, The Reminders, and Les Nubians. People still needing tix can pick those up here: http://bouldertheater.com/event_detail.php?id=1319. We have a few video shoots coming up and some big youth advocacy events/projects in October, then SOULAJU goes on hiatus until February 2011.
During this hiatus, I’ll be getting back into my solo element. DJ Icewater will be putting out a 45’ single that features my vocals. I have some long-awaited collabs lined up with Denver and Albuquerque emcees and producers.
This necessary shift takes me back to the October 2008.
“Solo tour in fall 08, I saw the same in every city, Minneapolis, Chicago, NYC down to Philly / back out west through Omaha and Denver, caught a plane to Austin, Portland city to Seattle, Albuquerque to the Bay / cats be pushin major weight like you would think they slangin’ Yay / but they got t-shirts with Obama face cuz homeys sellin’ “change”.
Even the skeptics were hyped on this notion of “change” – a concept that is clearly played out. Change is ever-constant, life is always in flux. Change alone is not progress, just rhetoric. As election 2010 heats up, it’s just another reminder that both parties run on a “change” platform every election year. And the reality…
“In this service-based economy it wouldn’t matter B, if everyone had B.A.’s or bs or Ph.D’s / we’d still have homeless and poverty, that’s the fuckin’ setup, so we scrap and kill each other over shit that we can’t get…”
I was in Portland when I wrote this, becoming friends with a young vato loco by the name of Cesar. He was known as Droopy in the streets but now that’s he’s come up and got his life together his homeys call him Smiley. The last verse is dedicated to him and El Grupo Juvenil – a crew of undocumented youth activists who grew up calling the U.S. home, now pushing for the DREAM ACT so that they have some options in this society.
This first version of The People was released on Shine Flow EP w/ DJ Icewater (2009). The second version, same beat, was released on the SOULAJU album this March. Same subject matter but different vibes. The new version is more polished. I like the grit and flow of the original.
A link to The People II: http://www.soulaju.com/a-m-soleil-retrospectively-week-5-the-people-ii/
Tags: A.M. Soleil, Change, DJ Icewater, DREAM Act, Molina Music, Politics, Retrospectively, Shine Flow EP, The People
