Dear Viacom......

Dear Viacom
Written By: Devan Cotton




Dear Viacom,

Dear Viacom i am a girl. A Black girl. No a black woman who is not a stereotype.
I bet you think I'm just some statistic.

Popping out babies at an age that isn't liked. but you say you'll better the community.
Fuck that . Aint nobody getting help from BET.
The only thing on that damn i see on that TV just for a little bit
is music videos all day and Mc Donald's im lovin it.

And then there's your VH1 and MTV.
Channels meant for music not dumb ass reality
Shows are the worse. Trashy ass women degrading there souls.
And fake celebrities trying to find love but its really love for the dough.

You got this fake ass kid shows trying to teach kids a lesson,
the only thing ya teaching them is how to get fat by watching every session
Of shows that come on. With little subliminal shit.
Sexual jokes and preferences . WTF they're kids.

And it sad what you do to the channel Logo
anything gay and on to the progo.

Im pretty sure this will be nothing more than a complaint.
But i had to say something, i had to be a saint.

Sincerely,
A black girl in society






Devan Cotton is a dope poet, and she's from "Writers United"
Expect To Hear more from her soon!!!!!!!! I'm Glad she wrote a letter to viacom to stand up against the stereotypes on television. Keep Up The Good Work!!!!!!!1

Good Music: Spectac & 9th Wonder

Yo!!!!! Check Out This dope mixtape from North Carolina Artists: Spectac & 9th Wonder
This Mixtape was released for Free Download.(Copy Link)

http://rapidshare.com/files/113555535/Spectac_and_9th_Wonder_-_The_Corner_of_Spec_and_9th__kevinnottingham.com__Exclusive.zip.html

MIKE THE POET

Mike The Poet is one of L.A.'s best poets to ever rocked the mic. This amazing poet has forever changed the way, how children, teenagers, and adults view writing by talking about the positive side and beauty of the Los Angeles culture. Mike is one of my main influences to start writing poetry and music, with this being said, I would like to thank Mike for showing a different side of myself that I never knew before. By expressing myself through the power of words, instead of expressing myself in a different way that can get myself hurt or killed.



SALUTATIONS CITIZENS!
Written By: Mike The PoeT

We are the face of
the New Beautiful...

back to the people
speak to the soul
hear the whole
behold the beautiful
in your own backyard
no additives of preservatives
just the natural ish
buck the artifice
humbleness service
community artists
the universal soulful multicultural
emerging worldwide tribe people
bring it back to the basics
compassion, spirit, patience..
One global human family,
one godbody entity
one vehicle cipher
divine energy harnessed to heal
the new beautiful
Earthpeople pull away
the plastic
embrace reality
erase the fallacy
lets make reality better,
stop the cycles of hate,
break the chains..
The new beautiful
is an organic soul movement..
Be the change
build it in your backyard
We are all sacred!
Bodhisattva universal virtue!
A Soul force for PEACE..

The SOUL force for peace
multiplies energy..
The new beautiful is here,
turn the television off
& check your surroundings!
Tomorrow starts now
MAKE HISTORY!!
Elevate the faith!
Plant seeds of change,
Heal the community
we have the capacity
for transformation
Transform a nation
We are the movement!



"We Are The Face Of The New BeautifuL!, We Are The Movement!"
Happy Birthday Mike!!!!!!!!!!!

Tell Me........

TELL ME
Written By: Eryca Wafer

Tell Me
Is it the color of my hair?
The color of my skin?
The color of my heart?
The color of my friends?
Tell me
Is it the size of my clothes?
The size of my shoes?
The size of my school?
The size of my room?
Tell me
Is it the shackles on my ankles?
Or the shackles on my hands?
That make me no better of a woman
Tell me
Is it because I'm Black?
You don't believe I can get the right education?
But in reality I can beat y’all's expectations.
Tell me
Is it fair that we had to fight for our rights?
While y'all laid in your comfortable beds at night
Tell me
Is it right for me to say these big words?
And you not to known what to do with them?
I can say segregation, integration, or motivation
but if you didn't know these words you would need meditation
Tell me
See I can change the color of my hair
The style of my clothes, but I can not change my skin tone
Tell me
See I don't have a problem with the white man
See I don't have a problem with the black man
I only have a problem with the Ku Klux Klan
Tell me
Obama said it the best
Education is the key to success
But my key is used for more than 1 thing
It's the key to these shackles on my feet
The key to the door called my American dream
And it is the key to my individuality
Tell me
As I take these shackles off my feet and
Open a book to start to read
I am the next component to Black history
Tell me
See I can throw out the names of the past
Like Fredrick Douglas or Harriet Tubman
Or I can move forward with names
Like Barack Obama or MLK
Showing y'all that we have a dream
We have hope, and you will remember our names
Tell me
See I'm not Toby, I'm Kunta
Proud of my black name
I'd rather get my hoot chopped of then pick cotton again
Tell me
So as this pen & this paper combines
I am taking back rights
As a new chapter of African American life
Tell me!

Eryca Wafer Is an Dope Poet from "Writers United", and a member of the Shadows Of Society team!!!!!!!! Expect More from Her soon!!!!!!!!!
P.S. If you wanna be part of the "Shadows Of Society" Team to influence your friends to start writing, to increase the level of literacy in Los Angeles(and around the world if possible) and let your voice be heard, E-mail me at: sider2993@yahoo.com or add me on facebook I'm (Christopher Siders), then tell me who you are!!!!!

Black Arts

Black Arts
Written By : Monique Mitchell


I’m black! I’m black! I’m black! I’m black!
Black is the greatest “afro-desiac”
I may talk a little proper but that don’t make me less black
And it don’t make me pretentious
If I use proper syntax
My heart beats to that of a tribal African drum
And my spirit sings an African hymn that’s unsung
The beautiful blacks are fighting a war that’s un-won
The day we realized this world was cold was the day this war begun
Revolt! Revolution!
Barbaric! 3/5 human!
Black power, right fist, black panthers, AK’s
Killin us with those AID’s
Crack heads, welfare, presidents. Don’t care
Eviction, addiction, get hooked, to my diction
Fiction, fact, can’t tell the difference
Go to church on Sundays, prayin for deliverance
Slave ship, black queen
Middle Passage, black king,
Cotton picker, diamond ring
Monique’s Bill of Rights?
I hold this one truth to be self-evident:
Anything is possible, Barack is president!

Monique Is an dope poet, who is also part of "Writers United" and a L.A. literacy group known as "Get-Lit Players".Her poetry inspire many students (including me) to start writing. I'm Proud of her Hard Work, Keep It Up and Keep Writing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Showers Of Wisdom

Showers Of Wisdom
Written By: Taryn Tamir

You know sometimes you need to cry;
In order to cleanse the mind;
And that's when you really find out what's inside;
Whether the words you speak,
The sounds that glide of your lips are prayers;
Or whether it's simply your true emotions filed in layers.
See, I want to try something new this time.
I want you to see how a simple tear can ring through the world like wind chimes;
How keeping things in and being silent aren't even healthy for mimes;
And how every spoken word and piece of information you deliver,
Scrapes a sliver of scab of my heart,
So all that's left is bare skin,
Exposed as flesh,
As you offer to caress my face,
Just so I can feel your pulse underneath your fingertips.
Nothing will ever replace the day I spent the summer with my grandmother;
And when I asked how true love can ever be performed;
Because at the time,
I found it such a difficult task;
How could true love actually even last?
And when she spoke;
Her words tore me apart.
65 years of fears swelled to the surface;
As she let it be known that marriage is not the only purpose,
It is to ensure a gift.
As her sobs increased;
And I being so young could only stare as she struggled to speak;
As she let it be known that the havoc wreaked over time was something that could only try to be healed by tears.
This isn't the happy woman;
The one that I've always known;
This isn't the woman who taught me to love nothing else but to love what I own;
This time she was nothing but a soul who was tormented by the thing she feared;
And the one thing she held so dear;
Love.
As I walked into her house today;
I almost fell to my knees;
How could 103 years be broken in a day be broken in a day?
Lord, tell me, please;
How could the stuff I was brought up to know disappear so suddenly?
And most of all,
How could I believe it was my fault?
How could the summers I spent at home be nothing but mere memories;
How could the faces I've seen daily since birth,
My God I'm missing my everything;
And most of all how could I almost break down in tears when she text me "I'm sorry" only to find out it wasn't true.
How could my sky blue be faded into pitch black?
You don't know how many times I've wished I had a time machine just so I could take that day back;
You don't know that the tears rolling down my cheeks as I write this are one's of melancholy and fears;
You know,
Sometimes,
It just needs to be us and our tears.

Taryn Tamir is an dope poet, who is part of "Writers United" a Club for students who love to write poetry, prose, and making music. Except to hear more from her soon!!!!!!!!

Mainstream Hip-Hop? Or Underground Hip-Hop?

Mainstream Hip Hop Vs. Underground Hip Hop
Written By: Christopher "Justice" Siders



"Mainstream Hip Hop Music has lost it's orginality and lacks true meaning towards the hip hop culture. Although underground music isn't heard throughout the cities, it is still helpful to know that there is still good music present in society." - Anonymous

For Many years, many people claimed that Mainstream is better than underground gets more radio play, create party songs without a care in the world. However, some people claim that underground hip hop has a more positive impact to the listener , opposed to dance/party songs

History:
During the Golden Age of Hip-Hop, from the late1980's-early1990's. The Hip-Hop genre became very popular in the underground world due to it's graphic lyrics that didnt appeal to the public society.Artist such as: N.W.A., Tupac, B.I.G., all have positive messages in their songs that can leave a positive impact on someone's life due to the amount of passion that is expressed in the Lyrical Content.For example, in Tupac's "Me against the World", he raps, "They're relocating to the cemetary/ Got me worried, stressin, my vision's blurried/ The question is will I live? No one in the world loves me/I'm headed for danger, don't trust strangers/Put one in the chamber whenever I'm feelin this anger." -Tupac. However, in the Mainstream society, rappers only talk about cars, money, and girls, without having substance, behind the artists' lyrics. At the end of the 1990's decade a new subgenre emerged in the hip hop culture called "Snap/Crunk Music", in which formed in Atlanta, Georgia. This subgenre has been favored among the mainstream society due to it's care-free lyrics and party hard beats.

Today's Music:
In Today's Underground Hip Hop music, it carries on the traditions of the past golden age era of hip hop, to provide positive music. West Coast Artist Fashawn is prime example of sending a positve message among the hip hop culture. On his album "Boy Meets World"' Fashawn talked about becoming a man, in the harsh realities of violence and poverty in Fresno, California. On the Heavily Nina Simone sampled,"Ecology" produced by Exile, he raps," Unity thrown out the window what a shame/ back then we was all ken folks, it ain't the same/ I dream of that day when little kids can play in the streets/not worried about getting hit by strays."- Fashawn. However compared to a typical mainstream hip hop song like young money's"Every Girl" where they rap about using women as a sex symbol to party and dance, there is no competition.


However, not all Mainstream hip hop is bad, it depends on the artist you chosen to listen to. Lupe Fiasco is a good example of a artist that make positive music, and yet stay relevent in the mainstream world, In his Haiti dedication "Resurrection", he raps, "Urgency emergencies among us/
Life is in a crisis,tragedies upon us/ And we won't leave you stranded, rapidly we cometh/To take you out the darkness, show you where the sun is."-Lupe Fiasco. And all underground isn't good either with artists such as: Bangs proved that terrible music can appear anywhere. On his song "Take You To Da Movies" he raps," Let me take you to da movies shawty, show that you will be my baby, let sit down and just be by my side, and eat popcorn cause i kno that what you like/Hey shawty, you really lookin' nice/let me take you to the movie because i know you like."- Bangs

In Conclusion, both worlds have many faults, but in this case Underground Hip Hop is the victor, due to the fact most artists have a powerful meaning behind the music and they doing it for the love of music, the only problem is getting people to listen to more underground music. Mainstream Hip Hop, do it for the fame and money, in which brings down lyrical content for most songs.

"They ain't Listening, they thinkin about they timbalands/They say the stuff we talk about ain't interestin'/we got a better chance of blowing up in switerland/ Holla if you hear it cause people ain't listening." - Little Brother, The Listening

Verdict: Underground Hip Hop


Fashawn - Ecology


Lil Wayne- Shoot Me Down


Tupac - Me Against The World


Bangs - Take You To Da Movies


Lupe Fiasco - Resurrection


Drake - Forever


LMFAO - Shots


Little Brother - The Listening


Which Genre of Hip -Hop you think is better? Explain.
What do you think of this review? Leave A Comment.
P.S. For More music there's a play-list at the bottom of the page

Peer Through Corruption's Facade

"Peer Through Corruption's Facade"
written By: Jamal Carter

I’m pissed off and my anger can’t be contained/
Mind full of evil thoughts, I’m bout to go insane/
Government oppression fueling my aggression/
Worldwide genocide, man this shit is depressin/
Poisonous mercury found in our vaccinations/
Damaging the brain’s neurons of all its patients/
Teaching us false propaganda based education/
Does anyone realize the true problems we facin’?/
Probably not because the government classifies this information/
So they can continue to make huge profits in their corporations/
And they distract you with entertainment and stupid shit/
Like who has the most bling and flashiest fits/
All to assault your mentality and mindstate/
So your mind’s thought processes will surely disintegrate/
Just look at the chemical trails they put in our skies/
They claim it’s to combat global warming, but that’s all lies/
Because if that’s the case, why won’t they tell us about operation cloverleaf?/
On our lives their hunger for money will continue to feed/
And your mind is no longer yours, believe it or not you share/
Welcome to the age of psychological warfare/
Your mind is forever influenced by continuous suggestive thinking/
Which causes your open mind to close and its broad range to start shrinking/
For example, the subliminal messages transmitted through television screens/
Causes severe damages to your brain to an extent consciously unseen/
The reason for this is that the government wants to dumb us down/
So we can’t figure out their conspiracies and turn it all around/
Don’t believe me?, then take a closer look at our foods/
Most contain MSG that causes brain damages and ruins your moods/
And it’s intentional, so it’s not like the government isn’t aware/
They’re concerned about money and power so when it comes to us, they don’t care/
They even had a conspiratorial program for mind control/
“MK ULTRA”, so they could take one’s mind and own their soul/
The news are all propaganda so they don’t tell you the truth/
And they back up bullshit with what they claim to be proof/
And don’t believe the school history books you read/
Because they don’t mention America’s History of deceit and greed/
Like how America help fund the rise of Hitler’s reign/
And how the government set up Osama’s part in that hijacked plane/
Speaking of Osama, his American name was Tim Osman/
He was trained by the CIA and was the government’s close friend/
But of course most don’t know this information/
Which should tell you how much they manipulate our education/
So stop taking everything that you’re told as truth/
Unless you have concrete facts and solid proof/
Like this bullshit about the swine flu/
I believe like most diseases, this is man made too/
This may be opinionated, but it may be true/
Because if they made poisonous vaccinations, aids, gulf war syndrome, and more, couldn’t this be safe to assume?/
So open you eyes and see the lies that blur your vision like fog/
And Now that you’ve been enlightened, take a peer into corruption’s façade/
We can’t let these evil people run our lives and treat us like dogs/
But In the end, Inevitably, these evil bastards will all have to answer to god

Jamal Carter is an dope poet,who's part of "Writers United" club as he talks about political issues in the government.
He's also an dope rapper from the group "Lyrical Misfits" expect to hear more from him soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Issues

I wrote a short sonnet that describes some of the problems us, as the citizens of this country face.......

The Issues
Written By: Christopher "Justice" Siders

Living in a cold ass world
where no-one gives a fuck
people shoot rocks up
the block just to make a buck
maybe I should leave
trash on the floor for somebody to pick up?
Our communities getting worst and worst
can somebody save us?
the main issue of the source, somebody said what?
the media will say bullshit, to keep the line dividing us
you against me, me against you
blacks verus whites is the real main issue
Individuals want the power to control everything
when the problem is, us as citizens of america can't control anything.............

Do you think there is more issues than this? If so, Please leave an comment.....

Something To Think about.........

Immortal Technique - The Poverty of Philosophy



"You cannot change the past but you can make the future, and anyone who tells you different is a Fucking lethargic devil." - Immortal Technique

P.S. If you like this artist here's a song you might like:

Immortal Technique - Harlem Renaissance

Good Music Artists: Little Brother

Tribe, De La, P.E....were like our big brothers in the game so now we are the little brothers of that movement...carrying on the tradition of good music."- Phonte




Following the foot steps of the big brothers that came before them Hip-Hop super-group, Little Brother hopes to continue the tradition of good music, that features lyrical skill and chopped sampled beats.Little Brother's debut album "The Listening" follows the concept of an live radio show, JLR (Justus League Radio), featuring Chaundon on the heavily sampled "Morning", where the rapper introduce the group members: Phonte, Big Pooh, and 9th Wonder. The Album's first single "Speed", Provides a simple, yet relaxing beat from 9th Wonder, where rappers Phonte and Big Pooh talk about the struggles of a daily life citizens in america, as Phonte spits,"Another day to face, i'm share cropping in the paper chase/take a deep breath and clear my database/It's afternoon and im talking shit to my alarm clock/cause I gotta face this world of capitalistic onslaught." On the album's next single, "Whatever You Say" features another chilled /relaxed sampled tune with strong hi-hats and powerful snares. As Fellow members talk about their relationships with women,as Big Pooh Spits," What up brown skin, you're body smellin like cinnamon/Hair in a bun, your toes done so feminine/Heard you suck your teeth like oh no here we go again/Let me get your name so I can be more genuine."The Album Also features funny radio commercial interludes such as "Make Me Hot" which where Phonte sings about other artists asking him how to sing, and write a 16 bar verse. And "Roy Lee Producer Extraordinaire", it where phonte act like a 1980's producer.The album truly shines with Phonte and Big Pooh's dedication to there love ones on 9th Wonder's nostalgic beat "Away from Me". And the last song on the album titled "The Listening", where Phonte and Big Pooh talk about how people don't pay attention to deep lyrics, but they pay attention to the mindless trash that's on the radio, as the chorus goes, "This is a message for our people chasing benjamins/With real rhymes and skills they believing in/Keeping them bad tapes rolling like michellin/it don't matter, cause people ain't listening/They ain't listening, they thinkin bout they timbalands/They say the shit we talk about ain't interestin/We got a better chance of blowing up in switzerlandHolla if you hear it cause people ain't listening."Overall this album, touched on many topics such as love, deception, daily life , lyrics, etc., while being presented in an very creative format. With More albums and Mixtapes, Little Brother can become as big as the brothers that came before them.

Score: 9.9/10
Speed"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx5YJK4BocY"
Away From Me"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_rSwXhtmH8
"The Listening"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYLKWTwMSE8
"Shorty On The Lookout"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJaUd_ujx5Q

Written By: Christopher "Justice" Siders


P.S.: Be on the Lookout for their last album, "Left-Back" drops April 20th

Little Brother- Curtain Call
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHBZXZt3jHk

SUPPORT THEIR MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Semaj Earl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Semaj is an amazing student from View Park Prep, who has won an award for writing an very inspirational poem for Black History Month. And she's also part of "Writers United" club.



State Of Mind
Written By: Semaj Earl





Im too profounding for the average mind
and my dominant qualities are a definite defeat
for the traps society has attempted to set up for me
im a product of freedom and a victim of being a African American Child
the child of an african who was captured and shipped
Strived and deprived of an abundant vibrant spirit
the child of an slave who was stripped of half her family and sold
the child of an runaway who followed harriet tubman to a promised land
where i'd be free of my masters bullwhip
the child of an man who heeded on the words of abolitionists like fredrick douglass
the child of an soldier who fought civily and paid for my peace
the child of an aviator that soared above expectation of the masses
the child of an writer who painted harlem vividly listened to langston hughes and zora neale hurston
the child of a mediator taking after martin luther king
and the child of malcolm x's brotherhood by any means necessary
the child of an black panter that marched and protested through these streets
the child of rebellion against segregation, intergration, and complated the basics
the child of a revloution and the black arts movement
who changed her name wore a dashiki and hanged the wqords of nikki giovanni
the child of an historical concept who has not only one month to celebrate her
history but everyday
black is power
right fist
black beauty
censorship
revolutionary
dedication
old white illusionists
enrichment
inspirational
life is at an stand still
discrete genius
uplift
we rise
and self redemption
i bring adoration to the african american name and my ancestoral spirit lives throughout me
my pride is wider than the deepest gorge and my strength can overcome any macrolistic obstacle
my bravery is derived from my determination to live and survive
I fear no man and i can manipulate the aspects of time
im the too profound for the average mind
and my dominant qualities are a definite defeat for the traps society has attempted to set up for me
im a product of freedom and a victim of being an african american child
the vigorously everyday and enjoying life's small victories.....

I Am very proud of Semaj's hard work on speaking the truth, and taking the time to write about African American History. Keep It UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introduction.

Welcome, Shadows Of Society Blog! In this blog, I will be posting some: amazing poetry, music artists of the next generation. The Reason I started this blog and named it "Shadows Of Society", because I feel that we don't have a voice as individuals in a corrupted society. So my purpose for posting young poets, and good music is to show we feel about living in this cruel world of ours.

Shadows Of Society (S.O.S)
Written by: Christopher"Justice"Siders


We are S.O.S
the voices that gets overpowered
by the presses in tenements
of the broken down experimental projects
we don't have a say-so
what goes on in our environment
the government ignores
our 3/5 dark transparent figures
as they shot down
our historical figures
trying to shut us down
keep us apart
they keep us in darkness
where the light is blocked off
no signs of hope, only dope
we blend in the city streets
where nobody can't see us
the wealthy people can only see
a mere shadow of the ecology
Gangbanging
slanging rocks
normal black shadows
hanging out at corner bus stops
we try to come together
to make a change in the communities
As the white watch, the blue and red broke up the unity
we need to put up a black fist for empowerment
to re-build of what was torn down
educate the children about our history
to keep the culture alive, in this world's mystery
speak loud to make our voice clear
in today's society it's, every man for himself
because people don't get the message that's unclear
we get caught up in the wealth
so much to where
we can't even see ourselves.................


........We Are Shadows Of Society