Eminem Is Not My Rap God

   This week about three different people told me Eminem is Top 5. Not Top 5 in 2018. Top 5 since Rap music existed. One person was a child who didn't even know who Rakim was so I shrugged my shoulders. The other two were adults. One of them mentioned Big L in the same sentence and the other person didn't even acknowledge The Notorious B.I.G.. Although Biggie wasn't one of my favorites I have enough sense to mention him as one of the greatest to ever touch a mic. I understood his brilliance and learning that he simply listened to the music and wrote in his head, it puts his almost peerless quality into perspective within such a competitive industry. Let me just say this right off of the rip, Eminem is not my Top 5, Top 10 or even Top 25. I've seen and experienced too much over the twenty plus years of experiencing Hip Hop culture, and its element of Rap, to think otherwise. In fact, Posdnuos from De La Soul is more lyrical, witty, conceptual and substantive than Em. Fight me. See, I came of age in the 1980s and mid-1990s during the Golden Era of Rap music. From that time onward I have witnessed some of the most diverse, creative and substantive music this genre has ever produced. I've also witnessed strait up trash. Now I wouldn't go as far as saying that Eminem is trash. I think he is quite good in terms of rhyming words. If Eminem played basketball and words were ball handling skills he'd be like The Professor. Yet he IS NOT NO Kyrie Irving, Zeke, A.I. God Shammgod, Kenny Anderson or Tim Hardaway. 

   Hearing debates like this often indicates to me how poorly educated people are about Hip Hop culture, its chronology and Rap music specifically. Artists that we personally like is a matter of opinion. When it comes down to critically analyzing and articulating the Artist's music, its content, delivery, social impact and creativity that's a strata above some people's intellectual pay grade. Unfortunately, it's often that opinionated demographic who has the acultural platform to share opinions veiled as facts. The above video of Shock Gee explaining the technique of some Artists is an excellent example of what some folks don't even perceive who have a very topical, generic, voyeuristic approach towards Rap music and Hip Hop culture. I'm talking about the kinda folks who will wear an NWA or Wu-Tang Clan t-shirt because it looks cool, but would not be caught dead, their pun intended, in these artists' communities or with its community members. Some may think this is pretty innocent. On a local, every day, "It's Hip" kind of way it may seem harmless. When you start talking about Hip Hop culture and the element of Rap music in the larger global context and the Who, What, Where, When and How its narrative is controlled, framed and interpreted it doesn't seem so harmless any more. 

   For example, Seatsmart.com, one of the biggest ticket brokers in the world published a study in 2016 that stated Country music is Most Intelligent genre in the last decade and yup you guessed it, Eminem is the Most Intelligent Hip Hop/RnB Artist in the last decade. Let that sink in. On the other hand you have a much more legitimate data driven study that determines the size of Rap artists vocabulary and not surprisingly the Wu-Tang Clan and Wu-Affiliate Killah Priest were at the top of the class. In fact the GZA, host of Liquid Science, was second only to Aesop Rock. You can check out the study here: Rap Artist's Vocabulary.

   Speaking of vocabulary, did you know that children 6 years old and under from impoverished communities may hear up to 30 million fewer words than their privileged counterparts? Did you also know that this vocabulary gap sets a cognitive, social emotional and economic trajectory that widens between impoverished and privileged children as they grow? Scientists in the area of Neurocognition, Psychology, Neonatology, Biostatistics and others have only recently concluded in their research that there is a direct link between potential mental and physical health outcomes and a child's language development, including disparities between communities and their access to resources. Ironically, people thought Ol Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan was crazy for interrupting the 1998 Grammys and announcing, "I don't know how ya'll see it but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children. We teach the children, know what I mean? Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best. O.K.? I want ya'll to know that this is O.D.B. and I love you all. Peace!" after losing in the Best Rap album category to Puff Daddy & The Family. Was he crazy or did he and other perceptive people understand what these Scientists and Rap Reporters had to verify about lyricism, access to vocabulary and why Wu-Tang Forever should have won Best Rap Album in 1998?

Although I was a teenager when the Wu-Tang Dynasty began, both of my Queens [daughters] experienced it during their early childhood development years; I took them to Wu-Tang concerts and sometimes had them on stage. The Wu expanded the vocabulary of every day people, and for those of us who had KOS [Knowledge of Self] it built upon a rich vocabulary and culturally coded language that existed in Rap music since its inception that we were fluently speaking in urban America for almost 3 decades. Although my Queens' Mother and I intentionally built upon their vocabulary and helped provide access to resources and developmentally appropriate practices to assist in their growth, their background music played a critical role in their cognitive journey. Today our eldest is a Forensic Psychologist and our youngest is a Chemist [Scientist]. Brain development is experiential and none of that was happenstance. 

   One of the most powerful inventions of this generation is the word "Hater." It's the forerunner of the Active Denial System (ADS) the U.S. military developed to stop protesters hundreds of over 3,000 feet, almost a mile, away. Yes some people strongly dislike who we are or what we do, and may have a legitimate reason why they think or feel that way. Calling a person a hater is often used to invalidate and not acknowledge their perspective, which may be right and exact. This empty expression can literally be worth the weight of the wind it's carried on out of someone's mouth, yet its effect can leave a person as toothless as an old tiger in captivity. Why am I sharing this? Welp, just to say that just because Eminem is not in mine or others Top whatever, it doesn't mean that we are hating on him. If he is not my Rap God.

Peace,

Saladin

"It's not you, it's me"

For those of you who didn't know, I facilitate a youth mentor program called STYA which is an acronym for Successfully Transitioning Youth to Adolescence. My demographic are nine to twelve year old's and we do everything from critically analyze cartoons, arts & crafts, cooking classes and etc. to encourage them to expand their consciousness, build self esteem and discover their purpose in life as they transition into their teenage years. What I love most about working with youth, which I've done with various programs and initiatives for over a decade, is learning ideas, attitudes and behavior adults have in their infancy. In other words, I see nine year old girls learning to play the "make a boy jealous" game that eventually becomes a fully functioning operating system I see thirty something year old's use every day. Some things don't change, people just get older and continue doing the same thing. And the same way jealousy games may not change among females, some male's level of sophistication to appropriately respond to these games doesn't change either. I can't tell you how many times I've had to talk a ten year old boy down from an emotional ledge because some little girl was playing with his emotions. His reaction is no different than seeing emotionally unstable men committing social media seppuku because of what some female is, or isn't, posting on Facebook. Some of us simply never matured intellectually or emotionally; we're just older versions of the same child.

Because my Ole Earth was a Psychologist/Sociologist I've been orientated to analyze human behavior my entire life, literally. Normal family outings were going to places just to people watch; my Ole Earth would find a public place to sit with some of my siblings and I and we would discuss what we see in people's body language, style of dress and etc. One of the games she would also play with us was the book of questions -which I discovered later in life was a psychology book, not a game at all. This kind of investment into my growth and development as a child, coupled with the cultural contributions of my Ole Dad, has helped in my successful transition from boy to man. Some males never had a mother invested in them in this way nor did they have a father around to teach him what it means to be a man. Because of this, some of us have manufactured our idea of manhood 'a la carte' and the emotions and intellect surrounding this lacking remain raw, immature and underdeveloped. This is not an excuse, it's an assessment of what I've witnessed in its infancy and what it has the potential to become when it's not responsibly addressed as an adult. Ladies, young boys may destroy toys when they don't get their way. The same boy who doesn't get his way as a grown male, will destroy you. There's a lot of truth in what Drake says about these days.

Like with any group or society of people, some of its members are going to be emotionally and intellectual immature. One of the challenges I've dealt with over the years are these same boys/girls, not yet men/women, referring to themselves as Gods/Earths. Thankfully this doesn't reflect the overall consciousness of Five Percenters I know, yet there are some of us who are like that -sometimes for reasons only known to them. This is the reason I wrote the book Explorations of God/Earth Mental Health; to empower my peers to recognize and address it. Because one of our cultural motto's is "Peace" or Positive Education Always Corrects Errors, we've always encouraged each other to grow and develop beyond whatever circumstance we've come from or are presently in. For any of us who are sincerely striving to elevate their consciousness and condition, it's a journey that involves removing the negative residue that comes along with seeing and believing ourselves to be inferior. All of us who have taken this step to gain KOS [Knowledge of Self] started out emotionally and intellectually immature. On many levels we're rewiring ourselves emotionally and intellectually and that takes work, sometimes a lifetime. Nothing happens over night, except the night -especially not the growth and development process.

In closing, I want to reiterate the importance of us men getting ourselves together. This is not to minimize the responsibility of grown females who need to grow up either. There are women I know who are successfully speaking from this perspective. As men, we can start getting ourselves together by being more vulnerable with one another by speaking honestly about our upbringing and emotions. I'm not talking about ranting, posturing or posting inappropriate stuff on social media under the guise of "keeping sh#t real"; that's immature and messy. I'm talking about investing the time to really examine the who, what, when, where, how and why we think/behave the way we do with each other and the opposite sex. That is one of the most integral parts of KOS. Females share and are vulnerable with each other all the time. That female-to-female Educator and Student relationship directly, or indirectly, has remained pretty much intact since we've been in this country. Males are the one's usually holding stuff in and back from one another. Some of us males were grown up before we had an open conversation with men about hurt, lost, frustration, insecurities, inadequacies, embarrassing situations and etc. Even though some of us aren't sharing these things with each other in a healthy way, it always come out in the most unhealthy of ways -whether that's throwing tantrums or shade, being abusive, gossiping, broadcasting how great we are, taking serial selfies, being a whore or etc. Additionally, there are some things we've experienced as boys that we decided to take with us to our grave. Part of the emotional frustration or indifference you see us express is us trying to live with that lifelong decision. So ladies, when some grown males tell you, "It's not you, it's me", believe it! Also believe the likelihood that they haven't said or done anything about it for over twenty something years and don't plan on saying or doing anything about it after telling you that. We got work to do in order to help get our families/communities back in order and emotional instability and intellectual immaturity won't get us there. As civilized men who advocate righteousness, as Five Percenters and definitely as Gods, we must expect more from ourselves, and each other, to get that job done.  

Peace,
Saladin

In Honor of Frankie Knuckles

In Episode 7 -Musicology Vol 2, Atlantis Build Talk Radio welcomes I-Born Allah, AKA DJ Godsillah, AKA DJ Philip Rothschild to host this house music tribute to celebrate the life and legacy of "The Godfather" of house music, Frankie Knuckles. 

You can catch the God I-Born on Live 95 Radio Saturdays at 12pm ‪on the #‎ThePressPassShow‬, Saturday nights at the Buffalo Supper Club, spinning at The District Nightclub and The Home Invasion House Mix on www.blackmartiniradio.com 2pm-4pm.

To listen to Episode 7 -Musicology Vol 2 click here: 

Frankie Knuckles Tribute

Marshawn "Lynch" 

and 

The Malcontent Game

In this video I talk about the recent Super Bowl XLIX, high profile sports and how I was able to predict the Marshawn Lynch sacrifice. Centrally, I also breakdown "The Malcontent Game." To view other videos, please subscribe to my channel by clicking on this link: A.S.I.A. TV. 

A Journey of Sight and Sound

Kontact is my third musical project; a concept album released through my company Quanaah Publishing. Reminiscent of the 1997 film, you are the album's lead character; a scientist listening to coded radio transmissions seeking evidence of HipHop's Extra Celestial life. You learn that each song contains lyrics of technical drawings that reveal a complex world of advanced civilizations, subterranean folklore and self exploration. Through this sequence of sound sent from a star light years away, you've been chosen to make first contact.

Official Track Listing

Kontact is now available globally and can be ordered through any store that sells music, here at this Amazon Link, my E-Store and my Quanaah Publishing Store.

Peace and Thanks for your Support!

Saladin

Jay Electronica

and

The Freshman Jinx

On Saturday July 12th at the annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, all eyes were on Rapper Jay Electonica, adorned in a Fruit of Islam [FOI] uniform and flanked with an entourage of Nation of Islam [NOI] believers. After bringing out J. Cole, Talib Kweli, Mac Miller, Jay Electronica finally brought out Jay Z and they performed four songs together before exiting the stage. Since this Festival, many have taken to social media to articulate what they believe to be the significance of this event, and today I want to share my perspective on this subject matter.

Heralding Jay Electronica's performance as an iconic return to take his throne, some have declared him as the rightful King of Hip Hop. Others are defining this demonstration with his Muslim entourage as an Islamic Renaissance of rap music; being led by Jay Electronica as a Farrakhan-like figure, reminiscent of the days when the God MC Rakim defined Hip Hop's Golden [Conscious] Era. Jay Electronica himself appears to echo many of these sentiments with the tweets/photos he's posted after the Festival: LINK

Whatever those sentiments may or may not be, I think that many people overlook the fact that Jay Electronica is a Rapper who has never put out an album before in a music industry he does not control. That in itself is a tremendous amount of pressure and level of expectations that a Rapper putting out a sophomore album doesn't even experience. A sophomore jinx is when artists prepares to drop their sophomore album after putting out a classic freshman album. Because their first album was classic, it's often believed that they jinxed themselves from creating a classic sophomore album because the first one was so good. Aside from A Tribe Called Quest, the Wu Tang Clan, and arguably others, there are not many artists who've been able to escape the sophomore jinx. Since Jay Electronica has only successfully recorded some classic verses as a lyricist, he has set a high mainstream bar to put out nothing less than a classic album, classic music production and classic features on his first long awaited album. This is equivalent to a freshman jinx.

You know, the music industry is a very fickle thing, and just as easy as the media loves you, they can hate you the very next day. Ask Chris Brown. So as I'm sitting back watching all of these Jay Electronica fans sharing pictures of him and his entourage on facebook/twitter and philosophizing about how this is a demonstration of Rap's Time and What Must Be Done, I'm wondering if these people realize they need to actually support him, financially. I wondering if they know what soundscan is, what first week albums sales means, if they understand what "merch" is, a HHQ [Hip Hop Quotable] and what a paradigm shift in an industry they don't control will require. Because if not, then all of this social media posturing will be all for not and this critical mass, or 85% of the people I see acting like they support him, will be one of the main reasons for his freshman jinx if it happens. Let me explain why.

Because Jay Electronica has shown himself to be a Muslim affiliated with the NOI under the leadership of Minister Louis Farrakhan, there are many Muslim believers and those whom are affiliated with the NOI, that have expressed their admiration and support of him via sharing pictures, links and comments on social media. Because he is a Rap Artist, in a music industry, that support is great yet it must be demonstrated in concrete quantifiable terms. In other words, unless this critical mass of people are actually supporting him by buying tickets to his concerts, downloading his album, buying his album in record stores and purchasing his "merch" [merchandise], it would be difficult for Jay Electronica to grow into the cultural arts leader some are declaring him to be. Worst than that, his resources to do more will be limited and you will give the media the means to actually destroy his career. I can see the headlines now: "Iggy Azalea goes Double Platinum, Jay Electronica goes Wood", "Rap's so-called King is Crucified", "Jay Elec-flop-ica's long awaited album is a dud", "Jay Electronica Concert cancelled because of low ticket sales" and etc. Most of my favorite Artists are not mainstream, yet in my opinion, they're some of the most lyrical and creative. In many ways, Jay Z publically knighted Jay Electronica into mainstream Hip Hop on July 12th. So the whole idea that "Jay Electronica makes music for the listeners" is no longer the driving force or marketing strategy of his music going forward. It's business and the bottom line is he must now appeal to the masses.

In closing, I want to encourage those of you who are watching this moment in time, and think/feel that it's truly a paradigm shift in rap music, to get involved. Don't just get involved by sharing pictures, links or commenting on statuses. I'm talking about supporting what you think/feel in concrete quantifiable terms. Just because Jay Electronica is giving Minister Farrakhan a shout out and you're feeling good because you're a registered Muslim in the NOI is not enough. Buy a ticket to his concert even if you don't go to rap concerts; gift it to someone who does! For those of you who are 5 Percenters and kith with Jay Electronica, rep his brand by purchasing his merchandise! And those of you who simply like his music, make sure you buy his album when he drops it. If there is any worthwhile demonstration in all of this, then this is what it needs to be demonstration; financially supporting any creative/performing artists whom we truly believe have something of substance and significance they're offering to this world. Chuck D and other artists have been advocating this for longer than I remember and its importance is still relevant and timely. All of the other empty posturing and "I'm affiliated" politics/pictures mean nothing if we're not invested in artists, or striving to encourage others to invest in them. On a personal level, I am not a fan of Jay Electronica although I do think he is lyrical and I like some of his songs. As an artist myself, artists that have more clarity in terms of their determined idea, a sense of consistency with their body of work and their art itself is what resonates more with me, regardless of the art form or genre I'm critiquing. As I've stated, Jay Electronica is still waiting to release his first album and willfully with his release he evolves to manifest a positive determined idea and body of work that inspires, empowers and educates people.

Peace,

Saladin 

Five Percenter Table Talks

Featuring: Artist Ramel Jasir

Anytime we have an opportunity to follow a career path that reaffirms our life's purpose, makes a positive contribution to society, and produces a legacy for our future generations, it is an important story to share with others. I recently sat down with Ramel Jasir, a successful self taught visual artist, to talk about his life's work, family, and how he balances it all during a time when a visual art renaissance is happening throughout the world. This interview is part of Ramel's journey that I've been more than excited to share with all of you. And I will that it inspires, empowers and educates others to pursue their passion, or continue pursuing their passion, in life. Enjoy!

Saladin:  Peace Ramel! First I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to interview you. Although we've recently began to build directly, we've known each other indirectly for many years now, via those who we've taught. I've been checking out some of things you've been doing for some time now and I wanted to expose my readership to works too. To get right into it, let my readers know who you are, where you're from, and a little about what you do?

Ramel:  Peace Brother and yes indeed we have been in tune with each other indirectly over the years and I must say have been a great admirer of the many things you have been doing over the years in regards to the growth and development of our mighty Nation.

My righteous name is Ramel Allah Mathematics and as a visual artist I am known as Ramel Jasir.  Jasir is actually a combination of two of my son's name.  My oldest son's middle name is Jamal and my next to the youngest son's name is Nasir.  So I combined the "Ja" and "sir" as tribute to two of my greatest inspirations; my children.  I have been an "active" member of the Nation of Gods and Earths since 1988 in which I have spoken at universities, radio stations, churches; organized conferences, founded our annual Family Day in which we will be having our 17th Annual Family Day this August in Victory Allah [Virginia].

In 2007 I was going through a lot of financial issues and the loss of a seed caused me to deal with a lot of anxiety for the first time of in my life.  There was an Earth on the west coast who was going through cancer for the 3rd time that recommended painting as a form of therapy and deal with the stress.  Needless to say, stress or depression untreated does not get better so decided to follow her suggestions.  All I can say is from the beginning I never looked back.  Art and creativity became my passion.

Saladin:  At what point in your life did you realize that being a creative artist was your path and purpose in life?

Ramel:  I think in 2009 is when I decided to focus on taking my art to the next level and actually make a living as an artist after losing a job that I was on for about 10 years.  The problems with anxiety was directly related to me losing the job but it was also a pinnacle point in regards to my healing, mentally.  I had a lot of money saved up so I was able to go about six months and focus on my craft before going back to work.  Within about one year I had developed enough to be offered a gallery exhibition from a very reputable gallery.

Saladin:  Some people look at the creative arts as a hobby and something people do on the side, not something as a career. As a creative artist yourself, what has been your biggest challenge when it comes to this being your actual career that produces income? For example, how long does it take to complete one of you art pieces?

Ramel:  I think one of the biggest challenges is balancing family life because being a creative artist or what I like to say "creative entrepreneur" is a 24/7 deal in order to really be successful.  If you're not represented by a good gallery, you not only have to spend time creating, but you have to spend a lot of time marketing and building your brand as well.  You are your brand.  You have to spend a lot of time not necessarily finding new collectors, but more importantly, retaining and following up with collectors you already have.  As we use to say back in the day "wisdom travels" so if you keep them happy they will show and tell others.  Yet this is very time consuming in which you also have to prioritize in regards to family time.  Of course the Earth and our seeds want as much time as possible.  Luckily, 99% of my work is done at home with my seeds in the same room I create so it is not very hard at times.  Yet you can only image what I go through to create with a 2 year old and a 4 year old in the same room.

In regards to how long it takes to make a painting, that varies.  Some paintings that may seem some what elaborate and time consuming may have only taken an hour or two.  On average though even one of my small paintings can take anywhere from two weeks to three months.  It really depends on how detailed it is.  I have a solo show coming up in the autumn of this year in Miami in which I have about four large pieces that will take me about two to three months to create. So I will be likely working on them right up to show time possibly.

Saladin:  As a writer and musician, one of the things I often consider is family, and how finding a companion who is compatible with our career is important. What advice would you give a creative artist who is considering a companionship, and what are some of things they should look for when it comes to compatibility?

Ramel:  Honestly I have to say that it has to be someone who is just as passionate as you about that particular craft or at least supportive.  Meaning if you are a sculptor, you may get a lot more understanding and patience from a companion who happens to be a sculptor as well because you share the same passion.  You can grow together, collaborate, learn from each other etc.  If your companion does not happen to be an artist, it helps if he/she is just as passionate and supportive of your craft as you.  Either way you have to find ways to support each other and be involved in the process, whether it is giving you the space and time to create or making calls, marketing, talking up your work and building rapport with potential collectors at exhibition.  I think it is like just being a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths [Five Percenters] and having a relationship with a devote Christian or Muslim etc.  Some find ways to make it work maybe but it will likely not work in the long run.  You don't share the same passion in regards to your said way of life and it will likely clash unless you just find ways to ignore the differences altogether, and focus on the things you have in common, but who wants to do that?  For me that is just settling; which does not work.  I learned a long time ago that the first time you settle for less, is when you get less than what you settled for in the first place.

Saladin:  Checking out some of your pieces, accessories, and etc. you create, I don't get the impression that you're doing "art for art's sake." Everything I've seen appears to have a cultural significance to it, whether it's a certain theme, the people you use, the patterns, or the vibrant colors. How important is culture to your work?

Ramel:  This is true, I do not create for "art's sake."  I don't create what I think people will like, I create what I have to say about Life.  Culture is very important.  When I started painting in 2008 I was also learning more about my multi-ethnic background that I was previously unaware of until after my mother passed away and then my older siblings/aunts started to reveal a lot of information about my mother and my real father that no one seemed to feel that I needed to know earlier in life... lol.  Everything comes in time and on time I guess so I took a lot of the information in and started to research a lot of things for my self.  As I researched more, the story started to spill out onto the canvas like hieroglyphics.  My background is very diverse that span several continents and the one thing I found in common regardless of the said race or continent is art.  There are cultures/people long gone and languages going extinct everyday, but the artwork and the stories they tell still survive.

I was heavily influenced by aboriginal art when I first started creating which also lead me to Northwest Indian art.  My Earth is of Dominican decent so you see a lot of African and Taino symbolism in my work as well.  You see Hip Hop, Asian, European, Native American influences and etc.  My goal is to introduces people and educate them to the different forms of art and cultures that they may have never learned about had they not came to one of my exhibitions.  You see, even though many seem to see the world through the lens of just Black and White, the world is so much more diverse if they would only take the time to see the world community for what it is, not just what they want it to be, or what someone told them it is or should be.  One of the must unfortunate things that seems to happen when some get "knowledge of self" is that early on they are given questions and answers yet never question the questions or the answers and recite them with no understanding.  That is why Allah gave us Supreme Mathematics and the Supreme Alphabet.  He gave us the Knowledge and the Wisdom so that when we become a "student enrolled" we can approach the lessons from the degree of Understanding and not take things on face value; always questioning, always be critical.  What understanding is there in knowing the price of everything yet the value of nothing.

Saladin:  Indeed Lord. As an active member of the Five Percenters [Nation of Gods and Earths] for over 25 years, I see that you also create various pieces and accessories that bear our symbol, the Universal Flag. Because its been customary not to just give/sell our flag to any or every one, what method do you use to insure you're not giving/selling your pieces that bear our symbol, to someone who doesn't represent it?

Ramel:  I think one thing I do that's different from others that may sell items that bear our Universal Flag is that I do very little to no marketing and it is normally spread word of mouth or photos via social networks.  This is usually from Earth to Earth.  The closest I may get to marketing is maybe telling an Earth to feel free to share with other Earths.  I do it that way because for one they are very time consuming to create and it is for those that are in the know.  There are sites out there now that do not ask any questions at all and you can just make a payment and your shirt or earrings are in the mail.  Another thing I do is when I see a purchase come through, I send the individual a message advising them that I create the item they purchased only for members of the Nation of Gods and Earths.  I let them know respectfully that I only sent them the message because I did not recognize their name or they did not have a righteous name.  It would be impossible to keep up with calling every God or Earth that purchases an item to make sure they are on point.  There is no way to be 100% sure that a person who may purchase one of my items truly represents our Nation.  One thing that is for sure, is that the Universal Flag is large and clearly seen and everyone that wears our flag is subject to examination.  Our peers are our greatest defense of those wearing something they do not truly represent.  Unfortunately, and as we have learned over the years, just because a person can quote 120 lessons or dress a certain way, that does mean for certain that they truly represent our culture.  It is up to us to examine all of those that we come across in our travels wearing our flag, even if we have known them for years.

Saladin:  In closing, do you have an art shows coming up and where can people go to check out and purchase some of your work?

Ramel:  Yes, I current have some of my work on display at the KROMA Gallery in Miami as part of a group show.  I am in the process of planning and creating pieces for a solo exhibition that I will be having in the fall at the same gallery so I may do a few small events over the summer but that will be my main focus.  You view some of my earring designs at Atabey Hand Creations on Etsy and you can check out some of my Paintings.  I just started updating that site and should have everything up over the next couple of days.  You will be able to see available works and links to my site for available prints.  If anyone is interested in commission request for paintings or earring designs feel free to contact me at: rameljasir@gmail.com.

Saladin:  Thanks again for taking this time to add-on, I appreciate what you've done and continue to do to make your contribution to this world, and look forward to all of the great things you have planned for our future. Peace Lord!

Ramel:  Peace and Thank You as well.  I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity you have given me to share some of my story and creations.  Your contributions to this world and this mighty Nation is very inspiring and I look forward to following more of your work in the future.  Peace!

Check out an interview with Ramel Jasir on Virginia Currents powered by PBS Video

Interview with Ramel Jasir at Superselected.com

Interview with Ramel Jasir at Futuristically Ancient 

Ramel Jasir sharing his Recycle Art Series

Jay Z and Wife Beyoncé at the Barclays Center

 

Open Letter to the NY Post

 

 

Good Morning Mr. Buiso,

First I would like to thank you for writing your article "Jay Z is blinging it black", and reaching out to me to lend my "expertise" about my culture -as you stated in your email. It's not often that Reporters demonstrate that degree of journalistic integrity by going directly to the source and I (we) appreciate you for taking that initiative. Because we only spoke briefly and didn't have an opportunity to discuss other areas of my culture in-depth, I wanted to take a moment to clarify some things in your article.

One of the commonly held misconceptions is that Mr. Knight, and the group that he comes from, can speak for and define the meaning of our symbols. We are psychologically different in outlook, and cannot speak for each other; Mr. Knight and us, The Nation of Gods and Earths [Five Percenters]. The fact that Jay Z and Carmelo Anthony have chosen to wear our symbol indicates that they want to be affiliated with the positive works they see us do in our communities.

Our movement is more concerned with issues addressing our esteem and self determination than we are at labeling others for their inequities done in American society. Our symbol -the Universal Flag- represents the sun, moon and star: our universal family, man, woman and child, period. And a unified family is the vital building block of any nation of people.

Thank you for your consideration and giving me the opportunity to clarify this. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me again.

 

Peace,

Saladin Allah

Email: atlantisbuild@gmail.com

 

Saladin Allah is a Therapeutic/Recreation major who attended Central State University in Wilberforce Ohio, a Region 6 Representative of The Nation of Gods and Earths [Five Percenters] in WNY/Southern Ontario, and founder of A.S.I.A. [Allah School In Atlantis]. Allah has written over two hundred social commentary articles for various national/international publications, self-published eleven books through his company Quanaah Publishing, and he presently works as a youth mentor and community organizer. You can also check out and subscribe to his popular Youtube Channel here: A.S.I.A. TV.