"Biters" is coming...

w.i.p (work in progress): promo piece for Biters by me, samax Ameni let the cat outta the bag on my interview on www.Fanboy.tv,
me and Jamar Nicholas (Detective Boogaloo) are doing a zombie/grafitti/post-hiphopalyptic epic called BITERS. as i said on the show, that's in the Embryonic stages... we're still designing the characters for the story, which revolves around a crew of Graf Writers bent on executing the ultimate Bombing (as in "massive unauthorized muralization") of a prominent monument, amidst the emminent danger presented by the city's brutal and barbaric Anti-Vandalism Task Force, rival crews (who wanna tag the monument before they do!), and, of course, a city full of ZOMBIES!!!

so, it'll be fun.
stay tuned...
samax
www.ghettoManga.com

Cypher Time...

it's Thursday a.k.a. hip hop appreciation day at ghettoManga. somebody told me they weren't able to download the music i was posting on This Weeks Cut... until i figure out what the pro'lem is, i'll just drop these YouTube joints. this week, it's Ahmad of 4th Avenue Jones and Chicago freestyle juggernaut JUICE.

if you are able to download the Cut (on the toolbar on the right), lemme know, so i can see what's up. anyways, support real hipHop...

shalom.

samax.

attention Speed Freaks!

in case you didn't know, the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix) are directing a live action Speed Racer movie, adapting one of the most popular and well-loved anime of all time. it will star relative newcomer Emile Hirsch in the title role, and his girlfriend will be played by weirdly hot Christina Ricci (Addams Family, Monster, Black Snake Moan). the cast will also include John Goodman (Roseanne, The Big Labowski) and Susan Sarandon (Thelma and Louise) as his parents, and rumor has it Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers, Be Cool, The Breakup) will play Speed's mysterious masked big brother Racer X.
i'm so crunk to hear about this, i think i'll drop that Ghostface "Daytona" joint:

holla!
www.ghettoManga.com

my Nightmare realized...

"MurderRap" by samax

so i FINALLY finished my piece for The Book of Angels and Nightmares coming out from ArtLoveMagic this spring... i would think the meaning was fairly obvious, so i won't dwell. if you wanna hear my rambling about it (or anything else, for that matter). you know where to find me...
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com

wanna get away with Murder?

my man PORTAL hipped me to this new KRS joint called "You Wanna Get Away With Murder? Kill A Rapper" about how cops never solve murders of hip hop artists... oh, by the way: IT'S JAMMIN'!!!

that's all. go listen to it HERE.

http://www.ghettomanga.com/

incessant, everlastin'...

last winter was hectic. i had so many blogs to write that i never got around to... for example, i was way too busy last december to drop my 2006 ghettoManga awards... but if i had, i would'a told ya'll that 2006's Emcee of the Year was Bavu Blakes. easily one of the most prolific rappers i've ever seen, the talented Mr. Blakes is at it again: he's just dropped The Woodgrain Collection with mixtape mechanic Rapid Ric, he's droppin' Concrete Rose Gold with deejay Whiz T, and he's still threatening to kill us with his long-awaited studio record Too Selfish this summer. when combined with his standout tracks on Hydroponic Sound System's Mixtape Mentality, his own Spring 2006 Collector's Edition compilation, and a million other mixtape projects, 'Vu nudged out deepspace 5's Playdough for Emcee of the Year.

so, better late than never, right? in honor of Bavu's award-winning year, i'll share some vintage Blakes material! This Weeks Cut is "It Don't Stop" by Up^South, the not-long-enough-lived combination of lyricist Bavu Blakes and beat maestro Pat Murphy.
over "Pea Dee's" (that was before puff started goin' by p. diddy, by the way...) string-laden beat, Bavu asks "why would it stop, when it's incessant everlastin'/stead fast in/side rhythm. i'm not a Jamaican, but i can/make a jam/with style you'd rather listen to like damn"... yeah, really. i copped this cut off the maxi-single "Product" i bought at waterloo records in austin circa 1999. to say that Product was inspirational to me would be an understatement, but that's a whole 'nother blog. suffice it to say, this joint is classic material.

enjoy!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com

bring it ON!!!

"New York Respect my Game like Joe Namath"

are they EVER gonna drop that Pharoahe Monch album? the word right now is may 1st for Desire, the long-awaited follow up to his solo debut plate, Internal Affairs(released on the sadly departed Rawkus Records)... the oft-imitated veteran writer/rapper/producer known for his rapid-fire flow and mind-bending punch lines has been all over the place, biding his time and worming out of his record deal with geffen records.
fresh off his ghost-writing collabo with (ugh) P. Diddy, Monch says he is ready to roll, having already salted the market with the blazing hot single, Push. so, the release of Desire is less than a month away...
nope. i still can't wait, so here's a video for "Let's Go" :




holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com

Miraculous...

"Miraculous" by samax.
now that i have a little break from conventioneering, i'm making available these signed prints of "Miraculous"...

Miraculous is a drawing that illustrates my view of Love and Spirituality . it speaks of, and to, the longing for a relationship that is "right" in every sense of the word... like many of my "sweetheart" drawings, it's a wish, a prayer... a drawing done with one set of fingers holding the pencil, and the other set crossed behind my back (figuratively speaking, of course!). i'm one of those folks that STILL believes in God, Love, and Angels, and that they usually work in unison... and sometimes, in pieces like this one, it shows in my work.

the prints are standard 8 1/2 x 11 (so they're easy to frame), and hand-signed by the artist (that's me!) you can cop one for just $25, with free shipping!





peace, Love, etc.
samax.
www.ziontific.com
p.s. you can buy other print items with this image in the Ziontific Store...

the Early Bird Special

“Me tryn’a be good don’t mean that I won’t bust my thing,
If I have to get ‘hood, like David wit’ the Phillistines…”
-MO Tep
The strength of hipHop, now as ever, is the Underground. It’s the vibrant energy of the streets (wherever those streets may be), and it lets those with an ear to hear know what‘s up. in the case of the man behind This Weeks Cut, those streets ran through the windy city of Chicago. (in case you didn't know, every Thursday, I load a new song on this blog, as my way of teaching people what REAL hipHop is… ). This week's Cut is “Belief (Early Bird Work)”, from blue collar Chicago rhymer M.O. Tep.
“Cops is after me, so I don’t really party much. Plus, I’m inta math and can still use an abacus…” says Tep, a matter-of-fact kind of spitter who mixes street-level braggadocia and sky-high metaphysics flawlessly. The youngest of nine kids, the family-centered emcee says of his brother “but at the same time, he on the front line, tatted up wit’ gang signs battling’ with that slave mind” on my favorite joint "Had Ta Bus"… look, just go to his mySpace (http://www.myspace.com/earlybirdwork) and check it out along with other songs from his ambitious record, Early Bird Work, a’ight?
peace...
samax.

www.ghettoManga.com

Disney's Next "Princess": a Sista in the N.O...?

N.O. this is not a joke! not a dream! not a hoax! a 19 year old black woman named Maddy is the star of Disney's next animated film: The Frog Princess. the film, which Disney (and Pixar) c.c.o. John Lasseter calls "an American Fairy Tale," will be set in the womb of the Jazz era, 1920's New Orleans.

experienced directing tandem John Musker and Ron Clements (Alladin, The Little Mermaid, Hercules) will helm the new film. New Orleans native Randy Newman (seen below with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band) will supply songs and the score for the Disney musical, and Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, and Alicia Keys are all rumored to be contending for the title role, but i haven't heard who will snag it... The Frog Princess is currently scheduled for release in 2009... so you got time to save up for movie popcorn...

holla!

samax.

www.ghettoManga.com

Storm and T'challa the New "IT" Couple at Marvel?

yeah... in case you didn't know, Storm and T'challa, the King and Queen of Wakanda (and generally important negro superfolks) are gonna take over the Fantastic Four. in the wake of Marvel's super-duper crossover event, Civil War, Reed and Sue Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman) will dip out (presumably to work on their marital issues) and be replaced by the new Power Couple.

seeing as i am already an on-again-off-again FF fan, i will certainly be watching the book, which will be written by prominent black dude Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League Unlimited, Ikon). we'll see...

peace.

samax.

www.ghettomanga.com

what's the Illest hipHop Album Ever?

just wondering... what do you consider the illest hipHop record ever?

there's a lotta usual suspects, but it's interesting to see what other people say...

my answer'll be in comments, but think about yours. to help, think about this:

1. what record were you most excited by when you heard it?
2. what record gave you/restored your faith in hip hop?
3. what record never gets old, no matter how often you listen to it?
4. what record is a high water mark you judge other records by?
5. what record can you listen to without skipping any tracks?

think hard, get at me!
samax.

REACH was great!

just a quick thanks to everyone who attended the REACH artshow in dallas this past weekend! you all made me feel like a real superstar! i made good money at the show, and met tons of cool people!

if i can get my hands on some good photos, i'll post them here.

holla!

samax.

www.ghettoManga.com

p.s. make sure you bounce over to www.artlovemagic.com and thank them for having me!

boonDocks/tupac fusion!

okay, i'm not the biggest 2Pac fan, but i think 2Pac -at his best- was a great communicator who put raw, naked emotion into his rhymes. and that's why people love him so much.

this YouTube joint by Priyal turns a Boondocks medley into a fresh new video for my favorite 2Pac song: Trapped (from Pac's debut plate, 2Pacalypse Now). oh yeah, and it has a samurai with an afro in an adidas suit...

jeauh!!

samax.

www.ghettoManga.com

Where there's Smoke, theres's FIRE!

it took me awhile, but i finally got around to seeing Smokin' Aces recently... HO-LEE-CRAP! this is my favorite big-budget movie in a long while! the movie has a fabulous cast, a mixed bag of character actors, veterans, and newcomers (including the big screen debuts of both Common and Alicia Keys) scrambling around to find a spot in a crazy story reminiscent of Snatch or Pulp Fiction. speaking of stories, this one revolves around Vegas magician-turned Vegas gangster-turned Vegas snitch Aces Israel played intriguingly and economically by Jeremy Piven (Entourage, Runaway Jury, Family Man) that just about EVERYBODY else in the movie wants dead!

without telling the whole movie: Aces is about to narc, and in so doing, bring down the entire Vegas mob. the reigning boss doesn't take kindly to this of course, and is offering seven figures to whoever brings him Israel's heart... literally! in order to snitch, Aces has jumped his bond on lesser charges, so in addition to having mad mobsters and freelance hitters gunning for him, bounty hunter Jack Dupree (played by Ben Affleck [Good Will Hunting, Changing Lanes, Chasing Amy]) and his team of bodysnatchers have been tagged to bring in the most wanted man in America. all to the chagrin of FBI agents played by Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Identity, Narc) and Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Blade:Trinity), who just want to get the silly bastard to trial alive!

the small, colorful army of hired guns clapping for Israel includes the lovely and dynamic duo of Sharice Watters and Georgia Sykes, played to my delight by Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow, Baby Boy, Four Brothers) and the magnificent Ms. Keys. the relationship between the militant, outspoken Sharice and the sultry, seductive Georgia would be fascinating even if they WEREN'T also flamboyent freelance assassins... and they are! they are just the tip of the iceberg of weirdos in this movie that is worthy of a comicbook treatment, but that's quite a beautiful tip...

i could be wrong, but Common may just be the coolest muthafucka alive! Rockin' the goat and the baldie, he was on some ghetto Morpheus shit as Israel's menacing bodyguard Ivy. oh! and stay for the end credits to hear what i assume is a new song by Common, which if i had to bet, i would say was produced by the late J.Dilla (but it coulda been Kanye)... whoever produced that joint, it was outta this world!!

maybe you've noticed, i barely said two words about Piven, who played the erstwhile Buddy Israel... well, he was awesome too, it's just he wasn't really onscreen much! while the flic revolves around him, Israel himself remains a mystery... most of the time, his character is coked out and emotionally blasted. everytime you think this cat is just a lucky scrub, he does something that makes you wonder "is this dude really that HARD that he can get out of this alive?"

anyways... watch this movie. and if you don't make it to the theatre, my man khalid already has it on dvd (bootleeeeeeeg!)

holla!

samax

www.ghettoManga.com

Dead Wrong Jugganaut Freestyle...

i like all kinds of hip hop... while i am generally into "conscious Rap," i do get ignorant now and then. which leads me to This Week's Cut: a freestyle by Dallas underground rapper Hollywood Cole, over the beat from Biggie Smalls' "Dead Wrong"... it was mixed by DJ WHIZ T (because if it isn't mixed by a DJ, it's not a mixtape, it's a compilation...) on Cole's "I'm The Juggernaut Bitch! Mixtape" inspired, of course, by the YouTube Classic of the same name, where two dudes turned down the sound on an episode of X-men and created an internet phenomenon, about mutants, pimpin', and bein' "the Baddest Muhfucka On the World..."

anyways, check that joint out, and if you dig it, buy Cole's mixtape...

it's ignorant... but still good.

holla!

samax.

the Kiss of Death

for the record: there ARE actually comics i read that DON'T get cancelled... NO FOR REAL!!! but as it turns out, NEXTWAVE is not one of them. yep... after just 12 issues, Nextwave went the way of the dodo, robert townsend, and redhead kingpin. i never saw it coming, and another comic i adored got the axe this month.

too bad too... this was the funniest book in all of comics! and it was being produced by Marvel (can you believe it?)?!! Nextwave was written by superscribe Warren Ellis (Authority, Global Frequency, Planetary, Thunderbolts) with art by Stuart Immomen (Hulk, Ultimate X-men, Secret Identity), and was easily and honestly the funniest superhero book since Giffen and Macguire's Justice League (Slott and Bobillo's She-Hulk was pretty funny too...). Ellis took a bunch of also-ran characters from marvel's d-list dungeon and put them together on a superhero team, apparently for the sole purpose of mocking all the crappy storylines and ill-concieved characters in the companies 60-odd years of making comics... and it's FREAKIN' HILARIOUS!!!

whether it's surmising about what's in Fin Fang Foom's giant shorts, the revalation that (former New Mutant, current Nextwave team member) Tabitha (aka Boom Boom) really doesn't think, Machine Man's obvious disdain for "fleshy ones" (humans), or Team Leader (and ex-Captain Marvel) Monica Rambeau's constant reminder that she usedta be a team leader in the Avengers, this book takes full advantage of all the weird twists and turns in major superhero comics continuity. On the Authorty and Planetary, Ellis has shown he knows how to strip-mine major comics history for post-modern story ideas, but he takes it to a NEW level when doing it for comedic effect in Nextwave!

and series artist Stuart Immomen has gone on from being just another Adam Hughes wannabe to develope a distinct, striking art style of his own that is worthy of ripping off! it's clear that this book would be hard to swollow in the hands of a lesser artist, but Stu makes it go down smooth as swedish brandy...

alas, the ride is over, but on the PLUS side, you can go back and collect all 12 issues without TOO much trouble, i'm sure. soon, Immomen will be the regular artist on the RED-HOT Ultimate Spiderman, so you better get them Nextwave issues while you can!

holla!

samax.

www.ghettoManga.com

i got my PhD in p.h.a.t...

i didn't get any sleep last night... but i took time to read some comics! priorities... among them was the 3rd issue of StormWatch PHD. no, i doesn't stand for Pimpin' Hoes Daily, it stands for Post Human Division... this book is all about the (mostly) human cops who bust up supervillainy that sneaks by those grandstanding pretty boys in tights. at least that's what i gathered... i didn't get 1 or 2, but once i flipped through and saw the gorgeous art of Doug Mahnke (JLA, Frankenstien, Major Bummer), and read a few panels written by comics newcomer, screenwriter Christos Gage (Law And Order, SVU), i was hooked!

In this issue, the team heads to Vegas (no, not for the NBA All-star game...) to train PHD Las Vegas to combat beings " so far above you, they view you as a child. A pet. Or a piece of meat."

of course, while there, they encounter dark, dangerous secrets of the murdering alien bodysnatcher variety... and this is Wildstorm Comics, so there's sex and disturbing violence too... NICE!

if this sounds like your type of hype, peep the CBR interview of series writer, Christos Gage here.

peace.

samax.

the Pretty Tony series

marvel puts out so many books, they can do limited series on characters who already HAVE a series... this time it's your boy Tony Stark aka Iron Man (not ghostface... the OTHER Tony Stark aka Iron Man), starring in IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY , a six-issue mini by well-known american mangaphiles Adam Warren (Dirty Pair, Livewires, Empowered) and Brian Denham (Killbox). Hypervelocity takes a decidedly cyberpunk spin on the iron avenger: addressing his addiction to alcohol, high speed, high technology, and high end honeys...

a Win/Lose Situation...

the Losers, by Andy Diggle and Jock
"it's got spy crap in it. but in a good way!" that was all the recommendation i needed... see, my friend mike is a pretty good judge of what won't work for me in a comic. when he was gushing to me about his new favorite comic, The Losers (published by DC/vertigo), he said "i've never seen any comic do spy crap as well as they do it in film... until now. and (the artist) Jock is a fucking badASS!"

so there you go! i just finished reading AnteUp, the trade paperback collecting the first story arc about the newly rogue black-ops special forces team, the Losers. after seeing something they shouldn't have, the team is whacked by the CIA, or so it seems. now the Losers are back, with new team member, Iraqi killing machine/CIA mole (and seriously fly chick... don't tell her i said that!) Aisha (foreground in the cover art at left), and they are giving the crooked government bigwigs the muthafreakin' bizness.

anyways, the point is, this mess is the BOMB!!! and yeah. Jock is a Bad Ass... collectors should scoop these issues, as they will surely be valuable when he goes on to draw Batman, Daredevil or some other top-selling comic. the book has the kind of severity and elegance in the action sequences you rarely see, and Jock's sense of style, framing and pacing is breathtaking!

i've got two more trades to read, so i won't go on too much. I advise buying the TPB, but you can download a PDF of the whole first issue for free here...

samax.

the haps...

yeah... i'm, like, busy and stuff... i got an art show comin' up with those fine folks from ArtLoveMagic on the 24th in Dallas. tryin'a get more art ready for that... i'll definitely be sellin' prints and original art (paintings, comic pages, maybe sketches) there as well as doing art live. ALM is also producing a fancy-shmancy art book called The Book of Angels and Nightmares that will have art form James O'Barr (The Crow), myself (see the fresh wip [work in progress] on the left) and other artsy bastards, so stay tuned for more on that as the drop date approaches... i'm doing a takeover of Jungle Jem, the Jungle45 newsletter next month, so expect news on that here as well as my usual ramblings. read the previous newsletters including my article, "Brotha Got Bills" at the jungle45 myspace blog... you can buy Valentine's Day swag over at Ziontific. all orders placed on or before the 14th will earn you a free gift from yours truly!

i've been reading a ton'a comics, watchin' movies, traveling (!) and pretty much just wasting time lately, so the upside is, you can reap the benefits as i'll vomit out a ton'a blogs in the coming weeks!

that's it for now, tho'... busy, busy, busy...

samax.

www.ghettomanga.com

ghost Ride or die!

to promote the new GhostRider flick comin' out next month, sony pictures waded through the nerds, geeks and weirdos (you may decide which category you wanna put me in) at the San Diego Comicon, and sat a bunch of us down to talk about the screen adaptation of everybody's favorite Spirit of Vengeance. so anyways, peep the video below, go to www.ghostRiderMovieBlog.com to vote for me as numero uno gR fan, and/or peep my original blog about the distiguished mr. Blaze by clicking the pic above...


holla!

samax.

the Immortal Iron Fist

the Seventies spawned many great people (like me!), piles of ugly clothes, and lots of funky music. in addition, Marvel cranked out a gang of great comic characters, such as danny rand, better known as Iron Fist. created in 1974, Iron Fist is a product of white people's apparent need to inject a blonde, blue eyed saviour type into the otherwise foreign and exotic adventures of the colored masses... in this case, the "oriental" world of high flying kung fu!

the short version: young Danny Rand finds himself in the mystical city of K'un L'un after his parents are slaughtered by the bad guys. seeking vengeance, he studies martial arts at the feet of Lei Kung "the Thunderer" and ascends the ranks to become Kung's most gifted disciple. He is thus granted the right to battle Shou-Lao (a giant mystical dragon, for the record), eventually slaying him and plunging his fists into the dragon's molten heart. Rand emerges from the slain dragon's chamber with the dragon's tattoo burned on his chest, and the power of the Iron Fist in his hands... (get more detail on the character here!) then, he becomes an ass-kickin' kung-fu superhero! NICE!

so anyways, there's a new Iron Fist series out by Ed Brubaker (Daredevil, Gotham City PD) and David Aja (Daredevil, Giant-Size Wolverine) called The Immortal Iron Fist that seeks to delve into the mythos of the cult marvel b-list hero. it looks great so far... by the way, there's also a movie starring Ray Park/Darth Maul in the works for 2008 release, directed by Steve Carr (Doctor Doolittle 2, Next Friday) of all people.

we'll see...

samax.

www.ghettoManga.com

it has finally begun...

versus called me out. i have been slack on my game lately in many areas, but none so inexcusable as my neglect to speak on the broadcast debut of
Afro Samurai,
the new Animated Series starring the original Bad MuthaF^!$a: Sam L Jackson... which is not to say that i'm late to the game:

i been geekin' on this since february (don't believe me? check my previous blogs, cousin!), and i went aaaaall the way to killer cali to peep the news on it at the sanDiego comicon, where i shook hands with the muthaf!^#$n' Rza... anyways, now the mostly-lame spikeTV is airing the show, (10 o'clock thursdays where i rest... check your local listings kids...). it was my job to make sure you know about such things, and i dropped the ball like terrell owens. my bad.
but i come baring gifts, fam'ly! click the pics for a clip apiece on youTube. then start watching it on thursdays before you go to the club... if you see me out, we can talk about it, a'ight?

holla!
samax.

give me LIBerty or give me...

many a hip hopper considers Talib Kweli (the non-Mos Def half of Black Star) to be wack now... i'm not one of 'em. as such i was an easy sell for that new Talib Kweli/Madlib mixtape LIBeration (Ta-LIB... madLIB... get it?!?). i mean, it's a no-brainer! kweli rockin' it with hip hop's best kept secret, the magnaminous (i love that word... i don't know what it means, but i use it anyways) Madlib!
well, that... and it's free! tap the pic and get 10 joints for nothin'... don't say i never did nothin' for ya!

i just copped it myself... expect a review soon.

holla!

samax.

happy new year...

well, it's 2007. james brown, gerald levert, j.dilla, and joseph barbera didn't make it... but you did! and that's worth celebrating!!! i'll hitch'all back with some reviews and assorted other opinions later... for now, i'm just glad to be alive, and i'ma go enjoy myself...

holla!

samax.

read Cross Bronx here...

click the cover image to read CrossBronx, by Ivan Brandon (NYC Mech) and Mike Avon Oeming (Powers, Hammer Of The Gods)