"Eazy access, baby..."
the Associated Press is reporting that laws banning saggy pants are gaining popularity all over the nation. that's right: it is actually a freaking CRIME to wear pants hung low in several cities right now!before you laugh, check your local paper, homie! such laws are in the works in places like Trenton, NJ and Atlanta, GA... so get ready to get rousted by the cops (again) when you're not even doing anything (again!)... because that steelo you have become accusomed to is about to make you public enemy number 1 (again...)
watch your back.
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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Hip Hop Education: Scratch
of the many tools of a good hipHop deejay, Scratching is definitely the most recognizable and, many say, the most difficult to master "You have lots of people who can mix and they think they are great DJs. However, ask them to scratch and they act like it is beneath them, but in actuality it is a lot harder than it looks..." comments a deejay on youTube...
but as this video shows, you CAN learn it:
holla!!!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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classic Immortal Technique!
Bin Laden by Immortal Technique
have a nice day (LOL!)
Preorder "Spontaneous'!
the Urban Arts Festival was a big success! thanks again to the fam at ArtLoveMagic.com for makin' it blend, and props to each and every art afficianado in attendance!of course, ghettoManga was in the house, promoting the debut issue of
Spontaneous-
which will be ready September 22nd... and just like those lucky fools at the Festival, you can save five bucks by pre-orderin' this FULL COLOR 64 page monster for $35 (it will go up to $40 after the 22nd, or if you cop it in stores...) , just click the link below
instead of showing the cover here, i'm showing the table of contents, so you can know just what to expect... but basicly, it's 90% of the sketches/illustrations/designs from my blogs/websites and many joints never seen anywhere, homie! so cop that!
holla!!!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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that Boogey Man shit...
Cornel West and the Mighty Mos Def on Bill Maher.
Hip Hop Education: Battle
Battle (BAT uhl) n. competitive contest between two hip hop artists (usually rappers, but dancers, deejays and graf writers also battle), where ultimate victory is decided by applause. despite deriving its name from a term which denotes physical combat, battles usually (but not always) remain peaceful. to prevent anymosity (as words can get harsh in a battle, see also "Beef"), it is customary for opponents to give each other a handshake (see also "Dap") afterwards. (ex. "You gone get in that BATTLE on monday night at the Carribean Grill, right?")
v. to compete in a battle (ex. "this cat act like he wanna BATTLE me?")
here, Wordsworth (Lyricist Lounge) is battling a random dude on the street outside a taping...
stay tuned for more hip hop education, from your friends at ghettoManga!
peace.
samax.
another video that doesn't suck...
"Struggles" Eternia feat. Wordsworth, Kenn Starr
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture
carryin' the Cross
one of my favorite artists ever is ChrisCross. no, not the mack daddy and the daddy mack, i'm talkin' about the comic book artist probably best known for his jaw-dropping work on Captain Marvel (written by Peter David and colored beautifully by Chris Sotomayor) for Marvel, and Firestorm (with writer Dan Jolley and inker John Dell) for DC.
the short-lived spinoff of Shadow Cabinet published by Milestone Comics in the nineties. it was clear that he had a love of anime/manga storytelling techniques, and his energetic pencilling has only evolved over the years. not long after that, he did one of the influential books of my life in the opus-worthy XERO with Priest in the late Nineties. the title character is Coletrane "Train" Walker- a professional basketball player of Lebron-like proportions who is as controversial as Michael Vick for his general badassness, and who also just so happens to put on a white faced prosthetic mask and kill people as a costumed bionic-powered government operative who can walk on water, phase through walls, and pull your medical records just by looking you in the eye!
XERO is one of the best comics i've ever read. it should be reprinted and collected into trade, because it would have the kind of effect (on a lesser scale of course) as a Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen (for MY money, the best comic ever created), in that i believe it would really cause people to become interested in comics who currently don't care... Black people are terribly limited in what they can see of themselves in comics. if this book (which has several black people in it) was collected, blacks would likely give it a look at say a bookstore or something like that.comics. hiphop. news. art. culture
i got your Superwoman...
Enter the poison pen of (my sketchBook All-Star brethren) Randolph "Pencilism" Williams... Pencilism has been on my Favorites list on every art message board and networking site i've ever been on, and if you give this book a look, you'll see why! Williams' characters actually act out the sharp, naturalistic script that Sales writes for them, and he shifts from action scenes to monologues and talking head sequences and back quick and effectively enough to snap that NECK, son!
A gifted illustrator, Williams had to flex different muscles drawing comics, where keeping the story straight for your reader is the primary job. he performs admirably here, finding special affinity for certain characters and expanding that confidence into other areas as he goes.
So anyways the point is i REALLY enoyed the most recent issue of Southside Nefertiti. if you are a purist, there are only two prior issues of the book out, but even if you can't/don't get them, check out the third issue (it has a preview that explains what you missed). if Sales and Williams can stick together for a while, they can really help each other (and miss Nefertiti...) gain some much-deserved noteriety. you know what time it is?
ghostface, mighty Healthy
that's it...
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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Sadat X at Rock The Bells!
Sadat X of the Venerable rap crew BRAND NUBIAN!
enjoy!
USE MONKEY POWER!!!
yes... there is a comic in the works by Robert Love (Chocolate Thunder) and David Walker (Bad Azz Mofo, Tokyo Tribes) called (i shit you not) The Blind Monkey Style. i could only speculate about the story, but from this pic, i'd say it's gonna kick lots and lots of ass! when i know more, so will you...that's all...
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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put this in your ear!
Brooklyn Emcee Talib Kweli (pronounced tah LIB quah-LEE) dropped his new joint Eardrum today in stores nationwide. In what the press release calls a "career-defining album" (Kweli's sixth studio joint), Kweli promises to mix "hard hitting beats with inventive rhymes that serve to not only entertain, but also to educate."Guest artists on the record include UGK, Norah Jones,Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, KRS-ONE, Blacksmith artist Jean Grae and Musiq Soulchild.
On Beats kweli enlists Kanye, Will.I.Am (of the BlackEyedPea's), frequent partner Hi-Tek (Blackstar, Reflection Eternal), Kwame (yeah, THAT Kwame) and MadLib. when i get a chance to hear it, i'll let ya'll know what i think...
peace.
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture
Quote of the Day...
to let folks buy out your movement/
for less than it's worth, that's what you get!
(if it's in your future, don't do it...)"
-Bavu Blakes aka Mr.Blakes, Breakdown
peace,
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture
R.I.P. Mike Wieringo
top knotch comic book artist Mike Wieringo (Flash, Robin, Sensational Spider-man, Superman, Fantastic Four, Tellos) died sunday of a sudden heart attack. read more about Ringo and his work at newsarama .best wishes to the family.
peace,
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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Stic it!
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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Lights, Camera, cock back the Hammer...
as his comic gets a much-anticipated return to the comics racks, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creation, The Mighty Thor looks set to get lifted up to the big screen as well. Easily one of marvel's most powerful heroes, the thunder god Thor (often referred to as "Marvel's Superman") has yet to get the real hollywood treatment. Marvel Studios is setting Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) to direct the screenplay by Mark Protosevich ("I Am Legend"). i did the drawing at left to celebrate the occasion... well, i was bored.
anyways, that's gonna take a million years to come out, so cop the comicbook version... the new book entitled simply Thor by J Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Rising Stars, Amazing Spiderman) and Olivier Coipel (Legion of Superheroes, Avengers, House of M) oughta be a decent place to jump in... Straczynski and Coipel are pacing things slowly, but I don't expect that to last.
against hero, registration become law, and is, all in all, a remarkably different America from the one that he left,” explained series editor Warren Simons. “His first encounter with Iron Man is going to address some of these points, especially the question of what happens when you take a God’s genetic code without his permission.” Oh, did i mention that Thor died at the end of his old series (he did...), and that all the Asgardian gods were dead too (as heavenly doornails), or that the Marvel heroes had a violent conflict over registration laws (in the aptly titled Civil War crossover event), or that Iron man and Mr Fantastic made a clone of Thor that whooped up on the rebel heroes, brutally killing Bill Foster (the unimaginitively named Black Goliath)... Oh No They Didn't... well, yeah. they did. so that's why Thor has returned to give Iron Man his "don't let me catch you in the street" notice (see the cover to Thor #3 at left)! 
new Ultimate Spiderman Artist
Stuart Immomen's (Ultimate X-men, Secret Identity, Nextwave) debut issue of Ultimate Spiderman will arrive in your friendly neighborhood comic shop this wednesday. after a whopping 111 consecutive issues by Mark Bagley (not including annuals and stuff), Immomen hits the ground running with issue 112. if you (like me) can't wait 'till then, preview the 1st 8 pages here
Fantastic Four, done Right...
the monster writer-artist team of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch (The Authority, The Ultimates) is taking the reigns to Marvel Comics' flagship book:"[Non-Fans] associate Marvel with Spidey, but as fans we know it all started with Fantastic Four!" explained the highly renowned writer at Wizard World Chicago.
Millar (who passed on taking over the X-titles with Hitch and two other artists) said of the Fantastic Four, "It was probably the most radical of all the Stan and Jack collaborations in that we had a superhero cohabiting with his equally super girlfriend, the world's ugliest superhero, a super-hedonist, and with no masks or secret identities. It was the book that broke all the rules, which is something we take for granted."
read more about Millar's plans for Marvel's First Family on CBR
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture
is it just me...
for real, fam... the only thing wrong with this record cover is that I DIDN'T DRAW IT!!!

samax.
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture
Black on Both Sides...
see y'all there when it comes out!
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture
Quote of the Day...
They leave the Hood stuck in a position to starve.
Capitalism's a Religion that makes Satan a god,
and teaches self-righteous people to embrace the facade"
-Immortal Technique
Jump Around!!!
Sam L Jackson (Afro Samurai, Star Wars prequels, Shaft, Pulp Fiction) and Hayden Christensen (Star Wars prequels, Life As A House) will be starring in a new film called Jumpers next year (based on the 1992 Steven Gould sci-fi novel) about a breed of mutant teleporters ("Jumpers"... get it?) and the sect of hunters who track and kill them ("Paladins"). since the movie website is trash, i'll recommend you to this blog instead for more info on the film.Quote of the Day...
-Black Thought, of the Roots on "Duck Down"
Angry Black Man On A Elevator
that nigga Rhymefest managed to get me straight head-knoddin' to a track by... Li'l Jon? don't hit the back button yet playa!!! i'm tellin' you, that mess is straight fire! this week's cut is called Angry Black Man On A Elevator, and you can hear it on the ghettoManga mySpace page... if you prefer to get yours from the horse's mouth, Rhymefest has a page too... otherwise, peep the "Makin' Of..." Documentary here:
learn somethin' more about Rhymefest here...
anyways, that's whassup.
peace.
samax.
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture.
Afrodisiac Iron On!!!
my clients are keeping me busy, so i haven't had time to blog much about comics...and i'm not gonna do it now either... HOWEVER, i just HAD to blog about this SWEET iron-on by indie phenom Jim Rugg of Afrodisiac, the blaxploitation super-hero, ladies man and all around bad mofo from Rugg's equally badass comic: Street Angel...
like i said:
SWEET!!! go harrass Jim (like I did!) so he will put these on the market, fam!
holla!
samax.
Ball Till You Fall
the Boston Celtics are on the brink of signing the best player they've had since Larry Bird...
assuming KayGee agrees to the contract extension Boston is requiring, he'll turn the Celtics into instant Conference Title contenders, alongside Paul "The Truth" Pierce and (newly acquired) Ray "He Got Game" Allen.
as much as the Celtics (and struggling GM Ainge) needed this, the NBA needs it more... as if the soft serve Eastern Conference wasn't causing enough crying last year, the Top Two draft picks went to franchises in the northwest where they'll never be seen on national teevee, then that referee scandal was whoopin' the League's butt... so this news is welcome to B-Ball fans no matter WHO you cheer for...Tony Stark Doesn't care about Black People!!!
I just wanted to say that... so anyways, production has begun on Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr as the alcoholic Avenger. in case you haven't seen any, here are some pics from the set. before you get all fired up, keep in mind ol' Shellhead won't hit screens until may 2008.
This Weeks' Cut
in case you didn't know, Wise Intelligent from the legendary Jersey crew PoorRighteous Teachers has a new record out called The Talented Timothy Taylor, Back 2 School... and i'm sure it'll be good (i already like cuts Bam Bam, I'm Him, and The Genocide), but until i get my next check and cop it, i'm bumpin' the new OH NO-produced cut Set U Free."One Mic" by Nas...
"One Mic" by nas, from Stillmatic. directed by Chris Robinson
one of the illest Rap Videos ever, "One Mic" represents Nas at his best. this joint's a mixture of raw (sometimes incomprehensible) lyricism, optimistic pseudo-religious proclamations, and revolution-inspiring gun-talk. in fact, the lyrics on the clean mtv version were even HARDER! and besides all that, Robinson throws together one'a the illest treatments i know of, with the the African uprising, Nas' one mic tee shirt (if you know where i can cop that tee, get at me...), and "I Am Tiger Woods" snippets of diverse people mouthin' the lyrics... one of nas' best joints ever...
holla!
samax
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture.
in case you care...
here's a new ghettoManga banner i made today for a webblogging site...fans of Champion of Children will recognize the drawing i did of series star Li'l Madd Skillz.
holla!
samax
Dave Chappelle news
hiLARious...
i KNOW it's a cartoon. just TRUST ME on this...
i promise, it's not from Class of 3000. i don't know where it IS from, but it's NOT from cartoon network... well, it could'a been on adult Swim... but even if it was, your kids STILL shouldn't be watchin' it!
or maybe they should. the message is there, just, y'know... with lotsa cussin' an' stuff...
anyways, thanks to my friend Camisha J (i don't know if she reads this blog anymore... if so HOLLA!) for sharin' this with me... i laughed my face off!
peace, fam!
samax
www.ghettoManga.com
comics, hip hop, news, art, culture
"One more repetition, I'ma spot you..."
i mean, not only does he write/spit the rhymes, produce the beat, and sing lead vocals for the hook on "Push" (from his new frisbee: Desire, in stores now kids!), but he rocks one hell of a mean Afro in the video!
this song is apparently on the soundtrack to NBA Homecourt (of course with the anti-Bush comment, reference to DVD bootleggin', and cuss words zigga'd out) because of his props to Manu from the Spurs...
anywho, i bow down to a true player, mon ami!
recognize the skills...
peace.
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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angry, relevant hipHop artistry remixing a party jam into revolution music:
NICE!!!!
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
comics hip
it don't get much better than that!
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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feelin Pay-triotic?

