Believe the Hyphy: Learning to go dumb with E-40

Posted inMusic

Believe the Hyphy: Learning to go dumb with E-40

Mike Bookey

Don’t know the language? Learn it from E-40.The last time E-40 came through town, about 14 months ago, this publication - the one you're reading right now - discussed the plus-sized rapper at length, but only briefly touched on his illustrious lexicon. The Bay-Area hip-hop mogul (who is approaching legendary status or as already achieved it in some circles), is best known for helping to cultivate the rambunctious and at times intentionally ridiculous "hyphy" sub-genre of rap and is returning to continue the lessons that he began with his 2007 Bend show. We thought we'd also help in the educational process.
 
The "hyphy" phenomenon is still alive, perhaps not as much as it was two or three years ago when the bump-and-crunch sound and "go dumb" dance moves lit up the hip-hop world, but alive nonetheless as you'll see when E-40 and his troupe of high-energy cats work the Midtown into a frenzy this week. Although "hyphy" has been a part of Bay-Area hip-hop culture since the mid-1990s, the movement didn't fully take hold until the major success (as in top ten Billboard success) of E-40's 2006 record entitled My Ghetto Report Card. Loyal hip-hop aficionados know all about E-40 and the hype of the "hyphy," (perhaps learning this from the documentary DVD E-40 and the Hype on Hyphy) but this article is not for the astute hip-hop fan. This is for the McSweeney's-reading sort of Joe or Jane who's main exposure to rap music comes in the form of 15-second intervals emanating from the cracked windows of passing Honda Civics on Third Street. In short, this is for the uninformed.

Posted inMusic

The Fast Life of Reed Thomas Lawrence: A tale of loving Bend and playing the same song 65 times in a

Mike Bookey

Through the looking glass with Reed Thomas Lawrence.The left arm of Reed Thomas Lawrence is resting on a sidewalk table in front of a downtown Bend coffee shop clearly revealing a tattoo that covers a healthy chunk of the appendage. The tattoo is a three-frame strip of film with one frame occupied by Salvador Dali's "Sleep," another filled with an Andrew Wyeth realistic work, and a third that remains blank. I ask if this is an intentionally blank canvas awaiting a stamp that represents the next phase of the rising soul-soaked Bend songwriter's life.
 
He laughs and then casually remarks that he's simply not sure what piece of art he'd like to drop into that particular frame. My attempt to connect the un-needled skin with a figurative blank canvas falls flat, but Lawrence gets where I'm coming from. In the last year, Lawrence has transformed from an amiable singer songwriter about town to a thriving up-and-comer who's become the fascination of Los Angeles musicians and producers. In the days before his self-titled album drops (slated for a July 15 release), things in Lawrence's life are still moving as fast as ever.
The 25-year-old Lawrence has Abercrombie good looks and almost never stops smiling - a combination of traits that for whatever reason doesn't come across as annoying as it should. Sitting across from Lawrence is Franchot Tone, the producer/engineer who's collaborated with a swath of artists including Ben Harper and Garth Brooks and has recently moved to Bend to work with Rage Productions (where Lawrence also works as a marketer). It was only a matter of months ago that Lawrence got a call from Tone, who is also a member of the Los Angeles reggae troupe Culver City Dub Collective.

Posted inNews

Reaching Across the World: A Bendite’s story of Helping Children in Kashmir

Intern

Indians killed Danish Khawaja's father.
The 12-year-old Pakistani boy with big brown eyes lost his dad to militants from India who fought for the controversial plot of land called Kashmir.
Like many Kashmiris, Danish's father was a jihadist in the India-Pakistan conflict. And like many children in the region, Danish could easily join a jihadist group to strike back at those who killed his father. Instead, he chooses to become a doctor.
"I want to help people," Danish told me between classes on a muggy May
morning in Muzaffarabad, the capital city of Azad Jammu Kashmir.
Danish
is just one of hundreds of students supported by Kashmir Family Aid,
the Bend-based nonprofit organization that I direct founded in 2005 by
longtime Bend resident Sam Carpenter.
We assist children in
Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province and in Azad Kashmir, where the
October 2005 earthquake, according to CNN and Newsday reports, killed
at least 73,000, left 3 million homeless and destroyed more than 1,000
hospitals and 8,000 of the region's 11,000 primary and secondary
schools.
Our primary goal is to counter poverty and terrorism
while promoting women's rights by providing secular education to
quake-affected children. No politics. No religion.
 

Posted inOpinion

Sleep With Your Baby, Go to Jail

Intern

Some district attorneys crusade against meth. Some crusade against child pornography. But Deschutes County District Attorney Mike Dugan has found a crusade all his own: He's cracking down on mothers who sleep with their babies.
 
Last Sunday, Dugan announced that if a parent sleeps with a baby and the baby dies, he's going to drag the parent in front of a grand jury. "Almost everybody who has a baby is aware that, if you sleep with the baby and you roll over on top of it, you could kill it," Dugan was quoted in Bend's daily paper. "So you are aware of that risk, and you consciously disregard that risk when you take your baby to bed, and now you are talking about manslaughter. … The law is the law is the law, and you bet I would take that case to the grand jury. And if the grand jury found negligence or recklessness, then criminal charges would be filed."
The law may be the law may be the law, but DA Dugan's interpretation of it in this area is pretty bizarre. Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis, who has a reputation as one of the more hard-ass DAs in Oregon, said he wouldn't prosecute unless there was other evidence of negligence - for example, if the parent had been using alcohol or drugs before sleeping with the baby.

Posted inOpinion

The Law of the Land: Busting out-of-control officials while Tiger takes your phone

Intern

He’s the sheriff!From Iowa, With Love
So I, Mr. Mick McMenaminsus, was lounging in my 9,689-square-foot mansion in Juniper Ridge, you know, the one beside the top-tier university, near the Les Schwab headquarters, made of recycled radials, of course. My cell phone rings: It's my editor calling from Iowa; he's in a tizzy applying for a FEMA trailer and emergency aid to replace his double-wide with a wrap-around deck and bocce court. Don't worry, he does this every year, Big Muddy don't quit flooding, nor do Federal funds stop flowing, but he won't be back this week (something about proof-of-residence problems or fraud). So, when he asked me, a run-of-the-mill ne'er do well, to write Upfront, I said, "Sure."
"I am the Sheriff"
Giusto. Say it, feel it, "Giusto." Few names conjure respect for elected office like Bernie Giusto; maybe Bernard Kerik, but let's not pick on all the Bernies of the world just yet… Last Friday, the Multnomah County Sheriff told the Oregon Government Ethics Commission that sometimes practice (and position) overrules written policy.
Giusto has been under investigation by the ethics commission for allegedly driving a county vehicle to Seattle with his girlfriend. Never mind the 250 pages of strict guidelines the soon-to-be dethroned Sheriff and staff must follow, Giusto told members of the commission: "The policy is either in effect because I say it is or not in effect because I say it's not, because I am the sheriff."

Posted inOpinion

Godvertising?

Intern

Letter of the Week 
This week's illustrious Letter of the Week award goes to Liz Nahnsen for bringing to our attention the exciting world of "Godvertising." 
As a resident on the Northwest side of town, I can't help but notice Westside Church's newish row of banners along Newport Avenue. Usually they are banal church advertising, but they are getting increasingly bold, and unpleasant. A few weeks ago the theme screamed at passing motorists "FAMILIES IN CRISIS," with a background of a man's ominous fist and some needles and stuff obviously depicting a drug theme.
Today I noticed the bravest signage yet: A photo of a man and woman's feet poking out from under bedcovers with a bright red caption "PURE SEX." I'm no prude, and as I write this I'm sure I'm creating just the sort of controversy the marketing folks at Westside Church are going for, but my dislike of these signs has little to do with the message. Although I strongly dislike fear or alarmist-based selling of anything (be it religion, political affiliations, or elliptical machines), what frosts my cupcakes about the Godvertising is that these banners loom over a huge block along Newport Avenue - a very popular and pretty walk/bike/drive. For those yet to experience these hulking morality memos, they are reminiscent of other innocuous ("Happy Holidays!" - city of Bend) or interesting ("You Can't Not Think" OPB), or informative ("0% Financing Until Your Children Graduate College!") except that 1) the signs are not voted on by representatives of the area, and 2) they are not displayed to the enrichment/education/entertainment of the population that views them regularly. I am not familiar with ordinances addressing such advertising on the business' own property, but legalities aside, how about a little consideration for those who just want to get from point A to point B without a graphic lecture?
Other businesses along this stretch have modest, informative, often humorous signage and are respectful of all the different sensibilities to be found on the west side. When the Westside Church complex completed building, we were excited to see evidence of a good neighbor: lovely landscaping with waterfall feature, an open volleyball court, and unobtrusive religious iconography on the property. I encourage them to be considerate of their diverse neighbors and keep the morality memos inside.
Liz Nahnsen

Posted inOpinion

Mountain Biking Trails

Intern

This letter is concerning the state of trail building and mountain bike development in the region and, most likely, will strike some nerves. For that, I apologize.
For many years, the COTA (Central Oregon Trail Alliance) has done an incredible job of building, maintaining and promoting the mountain bike trails in this region. This is the work of a handful of very dedicated people and the volunteers they have been able to mobilize. The area would not be the excellent biking destination it is today without these folks, and as a former cross country racer and dedicated rider, my hat is off to these people. There is no doubt that their efforts have directly influenced the economy of Bend.
That said, there is an issue on the horizon which is starting to cause grumbling and dissention among riders where it doesn't have to exist. And that is in the developing freeride style of biking. I am also a freerider and trail builder. While freeride mountain biking has been around for some time now (one look at the photos in any bike magazine will make that obvious,) it is a relatively new phenomenon to the Bend area. There are, however, a growing number of very accomplished riders in this area. This type of riding is growing in popularity, and while it has taken some time, the local riders are beginning to become organized. This type of riding, which can be available to all ability levels, does take a large amount of construction work to become sustainable. And the riders are willing to do this work: Witness the Lair, the Whoops trails, the Slalom Loop at Phil's trailhead, the now-defunct Powers Road area and several "hidden stashes" including the upcoming inclusion of the Cline Buttes downhill and dirt jump trails. These riders are also willing to travel to ride new exciting locations. That means there is the potential for this style of riding to be a benefit to the entire community.

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article