Peter Tosh first rose to fame as a member of the Jamaican ska group The Wailers, alongside Bob Marley and Bunny Livingston (aka Bunny Wailer). Like Marley, in time Tosh became a major reggae star in his own right, but while Marley's espoused a utopian political philosophy, Tosh took a far more aggressive stance toward issues of political equality, economic justice, and rights for people of color . If Bob Marley was the Martin Luther King of reggae, Tosh was the genre's Malcolm X, and he made no small share of enemies before he died in a hail of bullets in 1987. Peter Tosh: Stepping Razor Red X is a documentary which traces this artist's rise to fame and the constant controversy which followed him throughout his career. Along with rare interview footage of Tosh, the film includes a number of little-seen live performances, including the songs "Legalize It", "You Can't Blame The Youth", "Fools Die", "Rastafari Is«
Peter Tosh: Stepping Razor Red X
Meen Doze Green...
A Little Quicky...
Check his newer work at his recent show at Jonathan Levine Gallery
SharkWater
Check the SharkWater Wesbite
For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure. What it turned into was a beautiful and dangerous life journey into the balance of life on earth.
Driven by passion fed from a lifelong fascination with sharks, Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas.
Filmed in visually stunning, high definition video, Sharkwater takes you into the most shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world's shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
In an effort to protect sharks, Stewart teams up with renegade conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Their unbelievable adventure together starts with a battle between the Sea Shepherd and shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing them to flee for their lives.
Through it all, Stewart discovers these magnificent creatures have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth's history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed.
Stewart's remarkable journey of courage and determination changes from a mission to save the world's sharks, into a fight for his life, and that of humankind.
Check SharkWater on Netflix
Television the Drug of Nation!!!!
disposable heroes of hiphoprisy
television the drug of the nation-->
powerful message
Steel Pulse - Door Of No Return
The latest Steel Pulse video was shot on location in Brooklyn, New York and on Goree Island off the coast of Senegal. The song, 'Door Of No Return', is from the band's last studio album; 'African Holocaust'. It focuses on the impact of the slavery trade and speaks of the infamous Slave House on Goree Island, where many Africans left through the door of no return, never to see their homeland again.
Serge gets Buffed!!
MIAMI
Artist must paint over his best intentions
Posted on Fri, Apr. 04, 2008
Artist must paint over his best intentions
By TRENTON DANIEL
Ever the artist, a Little Haiti painter may have taken some liberties with a very public assignment.
Serge Toussaint painted a mural of slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on an Interstate 95 underpass. He has since been forced to cover Obama's image. He used white primer. The muralist said he was paid by the city of Miami to paint a King theme piece as part of a beautification project.
''What's the point of painting Martin Luther King Jr. if you can't paint his dream?'' said Toussaint, referring to Obama as King's realized dream of racial harmony.
Acting on a tip that the Obama mural was an unfair political endorsement, the Florida Department of Transportation ordered the mural removed. FDOT also says the city of Miami needs to reapply for a special permit because the project falls outside the boundaries of what was originally filed -- a request to paint walls and pillars with blue skies and clouds.
''At some point, the city of Miami will have to reapply for a permit,'' said Brian Rick, an FDOT spokesman.
A painter since he moved to Miami from Haiti at age 15, Toussaint is one of Miami's most prolific and well-known muralists. His bright, cartoon-like handiwork appears on storefronts throughout the Haitian enclave, as well as in neighborhoods and cities to the west, such as Liberty City and Hialeah.
With that in mind, a city of Miami agency picked Toussaint in December after he applied to do work along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, said Elaine Black, president of the Liberty City Community Revitalization Trust.
Toussaint was paid $3,000 to color the concrete poles -- he painted sky blue clouds and used uplifting King quotes along the pillars -- under I-95 and an entrance east of the highway. He was not allowed to paint the highway wall, Black said.
''We did not pay Serge to do that,'' said Black. ``He decided to put that one up.''
So for almost two weeks, Obama's face greeted motorists at the southbound exit ramp off I-95 and NE 62nd Street.
Toussaint's cellphone rang. Callers complimented him. They also complained he was denigrating King's legacy by juxtaposing him with a politician. Others called to object to Obama's candidacy.
Then an anonymous caller reported the mural to the Florida Department of Transportation.
''Fyi -- do you think it was a Clinton supporter who complained?'' an FDOT engineer wrote in an e-mail to a colleague.
'I believe so, because he indicated if the O'Bama [sic] painting was to remain, then he should be allowed to paint a picture of `his' candidate,'' Margaret Higgins, an executive assistant at FDOT, wrote back.
Notified by FDOT, the Trust called Toussaint: Obama's got to go.
Given a 72-hour notice, Toussaint ventured to do the paint job at night -- free from the stares and glares of passersby.
''I was so ashamed,'' said Toussaint. 'It was like I was painting on Mr. Obama himself -- `Bro, I'm sorry!' ''
The new paint job generated further finger-wagging.
Toussaint said he got an earful about using white primer. Callers, he said, accused him of ''whitewashing'' Obama.
That wasn't his intention.
Toussaint said he used the white primer to paint over the image to allow Obama's face, navy blue suit, and red tie to appear, albeit barely, under the paint coat. Besides, Toussaint said, Obama's profile remains -- with a giveaway.
''Obama's the only man with big ears like that,'' Toussaint said, chuckling.
On Thursday, the image of King still appeared on the wall, but that, too, may go because it doesn't fit into the permit description.
''It's still an open issue,'' said FDOT's Rick.
Just a block away, a business owner wondered why Toussaint wasn't allowed to keep up the Obama painting.
''I think they ought to put it back,'' said Paulette Greene, an owner of Greene Dreams Shoe Repair, where Obama T-shirts fluttered on display outside. ``What's the big deal?''
Cajun sk8ters
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the skateboarders of New Orleans use the destruction and debris as skate spots.