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Jelani is...
He’s an award-winning speaker, emcee, writer, and musician, moonlighting as half of the hip-hop duo The Iccsters (pronounced ‘icksters’) and director of worship at Irvington Covenant Church.
When Good Intentions Just Aren’t Enough
November 30th, 2008
So here is the thing. For many reasons, I’m not the best person to be talking about this. Yet, I’m a blogger. So when it comes to spilling out my commentary on issues du jour, I haven’t let lack of qualification stop me before.I’m not a parent yet. I do plan to be one, though [...]
Kanye’s Cautionary Tale: Be Careful What You Wish For
November 26th, 2008
Kanye West808s and HeartbreakRoc-A-Fella I suppose it’s a sign of the times that a superstar rapper can release a throwback homage to a legendary drum machine and it can come off sounding more like a hybrid of new wave punk. Kanye West has done just that with his latest release, 808s and Heartbreak. What’s most [...]
These Portland Trail Blazers are making some noise
November 15th, 2008
I know their record is only 6-4, but a 3-1 road trip and a gut-it-out win against lowly Minnesota, where the Blazers only had their C game and still found a way to get it done, is heartening to Blazer fans everywhere. Quite a few talking heads (writing heads?) said that if they could end [...]
Obama’s In, So No More Business As Usual
November 13th, 2008
Well, he did it. My brother lost the bet that he and I made several months back, wherein he all but swore on a Bible that there was no way that Barack Obama could beat John McCain in a general election. I believe his quote was, “A brotha… in these times? Against a war hero? [...]
It Never Rains in Southern California (Unless the Iccsters Are In Town)
November 4th, 2008
In my book, any weekend spent rockin’ mics and reppin’ Christ is a great weekend. And despite my battles with an overcrowded schedule and a nasty chest cold, this weekend was no exception. Jaamar McKelvey (a.k.a. “J-MAC”) and I flew down to L.A. for two performance dates with Church of the Redeemer, a sister congregation [...]
Obama Effigy: By Colonel Mustard, With the Candlestick, In the Library
October 1st, 2008
With so much name-calling and blind accusations flying around in the wake of the Obama effigy incident at good old Gee Eff You (that still cracks me up), my expectations for thorough, nuanced reporting or analysis have remained pretty low, because most of the noise generated has been voiced in comments sections of articles where, [...]
Did you know Bruce Lee loved Soul Train?
September 26th, 2008
Jeff Yang did. In his column for the San Francisco Chronicle, he interviews Dan Kwong, who wrote a play called “Be Like Water,” in which the ghost of Bruce Lee befriends a young girl. Fascinating read, this article. I’d love to see the play if it came to Portland. In case you think I’m exaggerating [...]
Apparently Change Takes Longer in Rural Universities, Even Christian Ones
September 24th, 2008
Just when you think that White people have finally come to terms with an African-American candidate — dare I still say, front-runner — for the presidency, you see stuff like this. Hot off the Oregonlive newsfeed: Obama likeness found hanging at George Fox University. Considering that I know many George Fox alums (I’m related to [...]
REVIEW: G1C Sequel Party Music for ‘Dreamers’
September 22nd, 2008
Group 1 CrewOrdinary DreamersFervent Records2008 So here’s the thing. Astute readers of this blog know that I don’t do many reviews, and there are many reasons for that — lack of time, lack of interest, and reviewing other people’s junk takes away from time I could be investing in creating my own. But every once [...]
Help, My Church Has Been “Vandalized”…
September 20th, 2008
… by shadowy organization of neo-reconciliatory Christians. That’s just the term that I’ve given to the four guys pictured on the poster that was seen mysteriously taped to the sign of my church (and to the wall of one of our buildings). On the one hand, I agree with the overall sentiment of the poster. [...]