Photo and design by Donald Andrew Agarrat, 2004.
Use “LDJ” to describe your personality, one word for each letter.
Ah, it's LdJ, lowercase d. You did know that, right? But anyway, that's a good question. I never thought about it as an acronym. I had been using the lowercase d for some time, and then a friend designed a biz card with the logo LdJ and it looked so cool, and everybody started calling me that. Then when I began to DJ professionally it became EL d j, you know, The DJ. Like I'm the only one and there is no other. LOL. But seriously, if I had to come up with an acronym for it, I'd guess I'd go for something over-the-top and self-serving like "lyrically divine juggernaut." And that probably sounds like I'm trying to be a rapper. I'm not even sure it's grammatically correct. But you asked, didn't you?
How does blogging heal you?
Well I started this whole blogging thing, without really knowing there were blogs or what I was doing. I put up a website in the summer of 2001, after being laid off from my gig at BlackPlanet.com. I primarily put it up as a resource for job-hunting, and mainly freelance writing. So it was my online biz card. But I had decided from the outset that I'd include a diary. I needed an outlet for my voice, when I wasn't doing any professional writing. Through time, I met other bloggers like George at allaboutgeorge.com and Cecily at formica.ca, and they helped me to find other bloggers and to really understand what a blog or online journal could become. At times, I've used it just to deal with my day-to-day, and other times I've used it to share my day-to-day, and even other times as some sort of cultural criticism space. I guess overall, I'd have to say it's similar to any other type of journal, it helps you work through your shit and deal with self, and also to know self and bond with self.
Talk about the state of R&B music.
Is there really an R&B today? I mean I know the history of the term. Some dude over at Billboard came up with it in the late '40s to encompass blues and soul music, so basically at some point all black music became defined as R&B. That was until you got pop and hip-hop. Most of the time I'm annoyed with today's R&B, it tries to be too much like hip-hop and not enough like itself. It's not creating a lot of newness within it's own foundation. I'm overly skeptical of the categorizations to begin with, it's too boxed in. But on the other hand, over the past decade we have seen some really creative artists coming out of what is typically referred to as R&B. Though often too much imitations, duplications, and artists who cover past hits, or put their own lyrics over old soul tones. I love Mary J. to def, 'cuz to me, though not the best singer in the world, she's emotive. She brings those gutturals deep down from the depths of her pussy. That's right, I said it. But I didn't coin it myself. I think I first heard a statement like that when Karen R. Good put it down writing about Mary J. in the Village Voice awhile back. And when I read it, I was like yeah, that's it. But her latest efforts are much like the stuff I was talking about being disappointed with. I do feel what artists like Erykah Badu put out there, because you either gotta' love her or hate her, and there is no in between. She's doing that real artist shit just like Prince did, and now that's the same thing that Andre 3000 of Outkast is attempting to do.
Basically, I feel there are a lot of people who can really sing, but most of the time their lyrics aren't saying anything and they're not pushing boundaries with the music. If you asked me about the state of hip-hop, you would've gotten a dissertation. Funny thing is everyone thinks I'm this big hip-hop head, when I actually listen to all genres of music. What's been classified as electronica and acid jazz is what I really like. Those folks do something different. Those folks push boundaries. And of course, I love my straight-ahead jazz and house/dance music will always be a favorite.
Technology and black folks. What are we/could we/should be doing?
During the 3rd Annual National Black Family Technology Week, held Feb. 2-10, 2001, in New York City, I sat on this panel called the "Digital Divide," and I was quoted as saying "Too many people think entertainment and basketball are the way out of their existence rather than starting a business. I blame the low interest in computers on the many entertainers and sports figures who glorify only quick money and flashy clothes," in the Final Call's online edition. I still believe this to a certain extent. Granted, I see lots of us building community online, making these very creative Websites, and creating this online identities, and by extension branding ourselves. I've even written about the potential for increasing positive communication between black males and females called "Imagining a Gender Neutral Black Male/Female Relationship," for drylongso.com's special edition on "Gender Issues in Sepia Space." But technology isn't just about the Web and being online. I see so many of us black folx as being consumers of technology, more than creators of technology, and by extension I suppose that means entrepreneurs. There is no black Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. How come?? There very well could be. When I worked at BlackPlanet.com, I had a mission that was twofold. To dispel the myth of the digital divide, and to show that blacks were utilizing technology in novel ways.
But what should we be doing? Sharing our knowledge. Making sure youth really understand that this is really the information era, and that traditional skills are not going to be enough to be successful in this society. That math and science studies are still not stressed for black youth upsets me. That many schools are not wired upsets me. Or you have these wired schools where the kids know more about computers than their teachers, and that's bad. That's not education. And education with computers is not just making presentations and doing research on the Web. It's working with math, science, and other educational applications, and writing hard core programs. I see a lot going on in educational technology, but not enough of it is coming through the public school systems at the lowest economic levels in our society.
IT has changed our lives in myriad ways, but what will we do to become innovators in this IT age and to push IT further? That's what we should be thinking about.
Name seven places that you are likely to be seen in New York, and why.
I don't hang out much nowadays, but I'll give this a whirl. I think it's going to be pretty basic.
1. Co-op City in the Bronx - it's the foundation and where the fam still resides.
2. College Park in ATL - that's where the significant other is living right now.
3. Fort Green in Brooklyn - that's the 'hood for me, though I don't exactly live there. I'm in walking distance, and have been living in the area for many years now. BAM, The Brooklyn Moon Cafe, Frank's Place, Fulton St. ‹ those spots are home. When I walk down Fulton St. with someone else, they're always amazed at how many people I know, but damn as I'm answering this I'm realizing that I've been here for nearly 12 years now so it makes sense that I know lots of people in the 'hood..
4. Union Square - because Zen Palate is there (yummy yummy veggie food), and a branch of my bank HSBC, and a Barnes and Noble, and a movie theater are also there. Besides it's on the way home, and I like to walk there from the office, which is about 20 blocks away. I do that when I don't make it to number 5, because the kid needs to exercise.
5. Crunch on Lafayette - I have a membership, it's open 24 hours, and this year I vowed I'd get my money's worth.
6. SOBs - they have the best artist line up when it comes to concerts and it's so intimate. I really prefer small spaces to those large concert venues.
7. New York City Parks, specifically Prospect Park, Fort Green Park, and Central Park - They all have off-the-hook events in the summer, and I really love watching the drummers in Prospect Park. But I'll go to Prospect Park anytime of year to walk or bike ride, or just to commune with nature when I'm feeling overwhelmed by the stresses of the daily and I need to get in touch with reality.
What can’t LdJ do?
Hmm, would you believe me if I said there ain't nothing I can't do? Nah, you probably won't.
OK, here we go, I suck at shooting pool and bowling, though I love to do both. And I'm not the greatest roller skater, but I'm not bad on the roller blades. That's not deep enough though, probably, right? Hmmm....
Ok, here we go. Often, I can not be patient. I need to learn to practice patience with folx. I think it's because I spend a lot of time communicating in real time, that when it comes to other aspects of my life, I get a little irritated by having to wait for things. So perhaps I can't be patient. But that might be a lie, because I've worked with both children and seniors.
Damn! I'm stuck. What can't I do? I got it. I can't answer this question.
What does LdJ love to do when nobody is looking?
Pick her nose. We all do that. Though no one wants to admit it. You feel that blockage, or that little bit of crust right there on the tip, and your finger just itches to touch and dig it out.
Nah, seriously, there's probably a couple of things I do when nobody is looking. I talk to myself a lot, and that's because I spend a lot of time alone. It helps me get ish into perspective.
And I guess masturbating would be one of the biggest things I do when nobody is looking, though I'm not against having someone look. But it kind of happens a lot when your relationship becomes long distance, and you're not getting it like you're used to it. Though I know it's something that probably like 99.5% of us do, though some won't admit it, and many are even doing it when we are getting it often.