NativeSun's Official Blog

TRAYVON MARTIN by Shepard Fairey Shepard created this artwork a...

Sun, 27 May 2012 11:42:00 -0400

TRAYVON MARTIN by Shepard Fairey

Shepard created this artwork a few months ago for a commission by Ebony Magazine. He was not able to show the artwork until the issue hit newsstands.

“I have followed Trayvon’s case closely and I think any compassionate human being can relate to Trayvon as a brother or son and would want to see a thorough investigation into the killing of an unarmed person. In my portrait I wanted to emphasize Trayvon’s humanity as well as the public outcry for a just investigation into his death.” —Shepard

Related: The Shooting of Trayvon Martin

"Lord, take these broken wings… I need your hands to come and heal me once again, so I can fly!"

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:06:00 -0400

“Lord, take these broken wings… I need your hands to come and heal me once again, so I can fly!”

-

2Pac - Until the End of Time

When it comes to your health and fitness… invest more time...

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:56:00 -0400

When it comes to your health and fitness… invest more time in exercise, making healthy food choices, and the acquisition of knowledge than you do money on magic pills, powders, and extracts.

Imagine all the frivolous things that you’ve dropped a dub on in your lifetime. The $20 that you will invest in this album, and this book will not be spent in vain! After investing that few bucks, invest the minutes, hours, days, and weeks of commitment it takes to work your way towards that new you in the mirror!

Southern Ingenuity: When life gives you days in the desert,...

Sat, 05 May 2012 08:34:00 -0400

Southern Ingenuity:

When life gives you days in the desert, where both the temperature and heat index exceed 100 degrees, MAKE TEA. You can take me outta the South, but you can’t take the South outta me. While others sit in their circles complaining, I’m out here making the best of a bad situation every chance I get!

—Sun

RELATED: Health Benefits of Lipton Tea

Rest in Peace MCA On this night, the Beastie Boys gave one of...

Fri, 04 May 2012 20:54:00 -0400

Rest in Peace MCA
On this night, the Beastie Boys gave one of the most memorable performances ever… but, what made an even bigger impact was the speech that MCA delivered prior to their acceptance of the MTV Video Vanguard Award.

I'm just sayin...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:35:00 -0400

It was great seeing [my friend in my head] 2pac again, even if it was merely a CG version… But then again, it was so much more. Although songstress Mariah Carey can claim stake as the OG of celebrity holographic performances, Pac’s recent resurrection shook up the world! I can compare my recent enthusiasm about the 2pac hologram to the excitement I felt when I saw the trailer for the Fight Night video game series that featured Malik Abdul Aziz (Mike Tyson) facing off with The Greatest Of All Time, Muhammad Ali! Technology has provided us with a rare opportunity to create the ultimate fight of the century, between two of boxing’s greatest retired legends… and now we’re even capable of bringing the dead back to life, convincingly!

The thing that gets me so fired up about these “holograms” is that they were observed and authenticated by live audiences. While Mariah’s hologram performed in five different European cities simultaneously last year, 2Pac’s performance set the World Wide Web ablaze with millions of folks flooding social media with comments expressing sentiments of being amazed, and creeped out at the same time. Of course there were notable flaws like the stage lights showing through the hologram’s translucent feet, and 2Pac’s new exaggerated physique, but the fact that this milestone was achieved using hip hop’s arguably most celebrated antagonist and cultural icon, versus an Elvis or Frank Sinatra, is demonstrative of the magnitude that hip hop, and 2Pac’s uncanny legacy have on the world. There are rumors now that claim that the 2Pac hologram will be performing on tours in coming months. I’ve even heard of a Notorious B.I.G. hologram in the works… But is that really what we need?

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve watched Snoop and Pac’s Coachella footage dozens of times, and even yelled out like I was right there in the front row a time or two. I’ve tweeted about my jealousy of the new Pac’s abs, and how I feel that his message and stage presence might have changed by 2012, had he been blessed to live an additional 15 years. While a Biggie hologram may allow me to briefly relive a few rambunctious teenage moments… I’d prefer holograms of folks like Harriet Tubman, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Marcus Garvey, Huey P. Newton, Stanley Tookie Williams, Paul Robeson, Bob Marley, and other historical Black figures that could speak to our people regarding our focus in modern times, and letting them know that we’ve come a long way as a people, but we can’t stop here… We can’t become satisfied with this… We’ve got more fight in us… and more mediums with which to become organized!

How many times have you heard something along the lines of, “so-and-so would turn over in their grave if they saw the way that things were here today?” Returning to the topic of Black Star Power, I say bring back Donny Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye… Have James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, and Isaac Hayes return to give us one more fight song! Allow Nina Simone and Billie Holiday’s vocals to bring tears to the eyes of the heartless, and let Michael Jackson come back to continue his mission of Healing the World! Have the 2Pac hologram appear at a poetry open mic session performing some of his lesser known masterpieces. I’m a huge Biggie fan, but I don’t need another dose of the 10 Crack Commandments in order to celebrate his legacy.

The Everyday Struggle is still very real in the form of ridiculously high gas prices, the unemployment crisis, healthcare and medical bills, student and home loans, and keeping our families fed. Give our heroes One More Chance… Send us some holographic icons that will awaken the hearts and minds of people who are selling their souls to the entertainment industry and social media, and those who are allowing the enemy to kill off the kids in our communities. Use technology to resurrect our ancestors so that they may provide us, once again, with the courage and strength to take a stand, protest, march, and fight without fear of what the folks at the job, the church, or the home next door will say!

—Sun

"I feel so blessed and at one with the all. I am bruised but far from broken. Flawed, but perfectly..."

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:39:04 -0400

“I feel so blessed and at one with the all. I am bruised but far from broken. Flawed, but perfectly so… Every bit of every day is precious and I thank the Lord that I still get to experience it.”

- LawyaGurl (the strongest person I know)

"People following cash and not the Commandments. Any second your fam could leave you abandoned. Any..."

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:49:26 -0400

“People following cash and not the Commandments. Any second your fam could leave you abandoned. Any minute your can could run out of rations. Every corner’s a chance to fall off the wagon…”

- Homeboy Sandman

"The reason they give me so much hell is… They know I care! But I’m intelligent enough..."

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:51:27 -0400

“

The reason they give me so much hell is… They know I care!

But I’m intelligent enough to know not to allow them to use my own passion against me! #thinking3movesahead

”

- NativeSun

Ask yourself… Why is that?

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:04:37 -0400

Ask yourself… Why is that?

"Everyday people, they lie to God too. So, what makes you think that they won’t lie to you?"

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:51:24 -0400

“Everyday people, they lie to God too. So, what makes you think that they won’t lie to you?”

- Lauryn Hill

"Human beings are equipped with what they need to do and once they are stirred with that realization,..."

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:39:52 -0400

““Human beings are equipped with what they need to do and once they are stirred with that realization, there are no barriers.””

- Dr. Na’im Akbar

SLEEPWALKERS

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:40:00 -0400

Fuck a dream,
I never wanna sleep again!
I’m up late nights (scribing my life)
with a pad and a pen

What up Souljah!?
We could trade war stories for weeks on end
I’m Hung… gifted… Black, and for real…
See, I don’t have to pretend

There’s an entire generation out there claiming they bang
(‘cause of some shit that they heard from Wayne)

…let’s change lanes,
The only “blood” I claim is through kinship,
and The Redeemer

If you a dreamer with wool over yo eyes,
You gon’ have to #wakeUp to survive

How blind do we have to be, to fail to see (we losin)
allowing industries to feed us poisons of our choosing…
(buffet-style)

Don’t ever settle for a mess of pottage #goDeeper

Stop being slaves to the programs
coming out of those speakers
…and realize that each of you are ambassadors of your communities…
…and how blessed you are
to have these opportunities
to venture out and see the world
‘cause back home,
are little boys and girls that can’t even imagine this…

All these free meals?
You’ve grown out of touch with the experience
of not having shit…

I want you to walk away with substance when I finish this
That’s why I take time to enunciate my sentences
Empowering the defenseless with that old common sense shit

Rather than,
utilizing this moment in time,
to rave about my sexual prowess
(which can speak for itself, and tie your line up for hours)

Let’s get back to Black
and to The People (be) Power

It just seems to me as though,
too many brothaz are sleepwalking
and men that are mentally unequipped,
to grip their lips are the only ones shit talkin

Unresolved issues with their parents, apparently
gets ‘em nervous in my presence
Shielding their eyes from this light,
(understandably)

See, I’ve got kids of my own to raise…
Don’t want them wilding in the street as I did back in the days

I’m lion-hearted,
and Lord you let a beast out the cage
I’m on my knees daily,
because You’re worthy of praise

I hope that folks receive the message
despite a few expletives,

you see…
The only way I know how to express myself
is passionately

‘it irks me that these men and women
fail to give credit where due…

Father,
Everything that I am,

…everything i’ve come through…

May as well be nothing
if I can’t acknowledge
that I get it from You

"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who..."

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:00:05 -0500

“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.”

- — Desmond Tutu

"Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice."

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:00:05 -0500

“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

- Steve Jobs

Success: THAT’s how bad you gotta want it!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:00:06 -0500

Success: THAT’s how bad you gotta want it!

A message to the PROCRASTINATORS… There IS NO tomorrow!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:40:00 -0500

A message to the PROCRASTINATORS… There IS NO tomorrow!

10 Minute Medtitation:by STIC.MAN OF DEAD PREZ founder of the...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:30:11 -0500

10 Minute Medtitation:
by STIC.MAN OF DEAD PREZ founder of the #RBGFitClub

"I decided to take control of my life: I would become a warrior-scholar. I made up my mind to turn..."

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:00:00 -0500

“I decided to take control of my life: I would become a warrior-scholar. I made up my mind to turn my body into a weapon… a weapon that would eventually set me free!”

- Rubin “Hurricane” Carter

"Being responsible sometimes means, pissing people off!"

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:43:25 -0500

“Being responsible sometimes means, pissing people off!”

- General Colin Powell