The Hiphop crew Plan Beats formed in Miami in the mid 90s.  Originally formed to push the Hiphop trio Plan Be.  Plan Be’s core members were Brimstone, Raganese, and Hattrick.  The Plan Be studio aka The Beehive was located in the heart of Kendal on 127th street.  The Plan Be family quickly outgrew the three original members of Plan Be, and the extended Plan Beats was formed.

We fast forward to 2012 to the bursting art scene in the Wynwood section of Miami where the Plan Beats crew has been reuniting to bring the music to the streets. I attended the March 10th Art Walk event.   The Brass King sums up the Plan Beats vibe when he said, “there are no velvet ropes, so leave your attitudes at home!”  Which was so true when I made it to the Plan Beats block party.

There were 4 turntables set up  and maned by The Brass King on the ones and twos, and Silverfoxx on the threes and fours.  Soulchild was armed with a mic and getting the crowd hyped.  And Choppy Blades of Hiphop News Miami was getting UP as much as he cold get down.

For me, it was a real reunion.  I got to see so many peeps that I haven’t seen for a long time.  Trek Six rolled through (actually an original member of the group Plan Be).  I got to see my sista from another mother Soulflower who came through with her daughter in hand.  Seeing Soulflower always brings a smile to my heart!  The Rumba King came though adding a free live bongo to the street jam.  Artists, musicians, even Chor Boogie  in town from San Francisco exclaimed that “this is the real REAL Hiphop!”

The Miami Chapter of Zulu Nation came out to support.  They added their own flavor with some old school popping and locking.  We also had Bebe of Ground Zero crew rock some b-boying out on the concrete.  It was great to see my extended Plan Beats family come out and support the real, in the streets, Hiphop.

There was so much happening at the Plan Beats Street Party.  The crowd was loving the tunes being spun by Silverfoxx and The Brass king.  Old school Hiphop, Salsa, Jamaican Dancehall, and only a Plan Beats Jam could finish off their four hour plus set with Ray Charles Let Me See You Shake Your Tail Feathers, and Hit the Road Jack.  Now those jams are the original Old School.

I was overjoyed to spend such precious time with my Plan Beats family.  It brings a bit of the old mixed in with the fresh new vibes.  I love my Plan Beats crew.

In order to keep up to date with what the Plan Beats crew is doing check out

Hip Hop News Miami for exclusive mixes, and events.

I got to give an extra special shout out to Brimstone127, my brother and PATH founder, who was there only in the spirit, but will be out at the next jam

Lets see what a real block party looks like.

It has been one year sine the March 11th triple disasters of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.  So many lives have, including my own, have forever been changed.

I could tell you those changes point by point in all of the technical details, but I won’t.  I much rather put some sound-image-power energies into the world.  For many of Japan’s inhabitants the emotions of March 11, 2011 haven’t settled.

I invite all of lucid communication to give thanks for each moment we allowed to spend in connection with the world and more importantly our loved ones.  These precious moments with loved ones should be reflected upon.

My heart goes out to my very extended Japanese community.  The land where I lay my head to rest.  The land that I walk. The inspiration for my photography.

Miami Loves Japan Too !

P-doe Luna, of Luna Empire is a powerhouse of positive urban energy among the heat and palm trees of Miami.  I first met P-doe while working on a KRS ONE documentary and I was completely blown away both by his talent and as down to earth attitude.  He has worked with KRS ONE, Fat Joe, Kool and the Gang and many others.

I was fortunate to link up with P-doe for a whirlwind day of photo shooting in Miami.  The temperatures have been rising and with P-doe on the town it got real heated.

Our first stop was a Cuban Cafe downtown to stop off for a colada. For those of you who don’t know, colada is a shot in the arm in the form of super espresso and sugar.  We sipped the coffee as P-doe called out to all the people that he knew in the neighborhood.  It was a great start to the shooting.

After we got our caffeine on we headed to the Venetian building to take some shots waterside.  It was such a blast working with P-doe.  He just loved having a good time, and making some fantastic photographs in the process.

A good photo shoot is a collaboration between the photographer and the subject.  Both need each other in order to create art.  With my eye, and P-does larger than life personality we could do now wrong.

There were so many good images from today’s session I had to narrow it down to only one.  I choose this one because it speaks to me both as representative of P-doe’s humbleness but his roots in the Miami community.  I know that big things are in the future for P-doe and Luna Empire.

check some of P-doe’s music on myspace

follow him on Facebook

check his videos on youtube

for more info on P-doe and Luna Empire  check www.thelunaempire.com

As always there is more to come from the Lucid Communication between myself and P-doe.

“Brooklyn is the Planet,” Guru once said in a rhyme.  And I would have to agree.  Even though I just barely scratched the surface of the planet a.k.a. Brooklyn, I felt comfortable among the buildings that only reached a few stories into the sky.

In some ways the island of Manhattan has grown and landed a beachhead on the former rough docks of Brooklyn.  Something must end so that others can begin.  Neighborhoods change.  Some parts decline.  The hipsters move in, families build condos where sugar was once loaded on to docks.

It is all past of the flux of human culture.  Nothing stays the same.  Nothing ever really changes.

Sometime I (we) just have to go to the other side of the river.

Most peoples’s image of central park are like that of the movies.  A romantic getaway with in New York’s concrete jungle, or the view runs the other way in which it is a place where you will get jumped after dark.

For me it lies somewhere between the two.  It is an amazing place to wander around and forget that you are in one of the worlds largest metropolises.  There are castles, lakes, fields, rambling hills.  The list is endless what one can find with in Central Park.

I did a photo shoot of the Allies there yesterday, but I need more time to go through them and sort out the top shots.  So, for now this image one the park will inspire.

As always, more to come.

The weather was warmer on Saturday.  The rain fell from the skies making all the asphalt glisten in the muted light.  The sun finally managed to come out to warm the hearts of New York.

I spent just about the whole day inside but I had an errand to do.  I passed by Thompson Square Park in the West Village on my way back.  The sunshine had finally come out and the weather had warmed up.  It had become a beautiful day.

Just to sit on a park bench with my best girl. Watching all the lives pass on by.  All those lives that I could imagine but never will be a part of.  Just to be still, if even for a few minutes, and just be.

Sunshine

Love

Park

Home

well, at least my other home!

Everyone knows the I HEART NY campaign and logo.  It is inescapable.  They are everywhere, but where is the logo that says NY LOVES ME?  That is what I am feeling over the last 24 hours since I arrived in the city.  NY in it bricks, mortar and people has love for me too.

Sometimes that love might be in a man shouting to others on the subway to get out of his way.  A subway preacher reading scriptures to the riders, or homeless quietly looking for love so they can eat.  It is an honest love.  NY’s love for me is raw and unashamed.  NYC knows that no matter what may happen the love is mutual.  The city is never afraid to show it’s emotions to me.

I would not be able to see NYC’s love for me without my lens.  My lens creates a mystic bond between the pavement that I pound in my Sauconys and the light traveling though the aperture my optical appendage. The camera lets me seamlessly enter into it’s domain.

NYC sometimes shows that love in ways I can’t imagine right before my flesh.  The city wants to show me something that I have never seen before.  I need to be in tune with New York’s vibrations in order to feel that love.

I know that NYC will never disappoint. The city will always enlighten a piece of my heart.  The patter of the rain soaked traffic is calling me.

The skies of south Florida are amazing.  I do not have to venture far to be in complete amazement of the fluffs and puffs of those Miami skies.  In fact, I usually only have to walk outside of my home.

Look up!  See those blues fill up my heart as far as I can see.  The colors the hues, those setting sun golden moments.  I could be at the shopping mall, I look up and watch the clouds.  I can be in the middle of downtown industrial side of 305, and there is the constant reminder of the beauty that The Creator shows us.

Look up!  See!  Feel!

PATH visited The Haven “Home to Our Boys” in Boca Raton Florida on Monday evening.  PATH is an organization founded by Brimstone127 that teaches about Hiphop culture.  PATH stands for Preserving, Archiving, and Teaching Hiphop.  The Haven is a nationally accredited group home for boys,who have been removed from abusive and neglectful homes and placed in protective care by the state of Florida, ages 9-17,that  is dedicated to providing a safe, loving and stable environment that fosters the development of self-esteem and independence while empowering each young man to reach his full potential.

We arrived at dinner time to watch them feast on a well balanced meal of fried chicken, potatoes, bread, rice and peas, salad and vegetables.  While they were eating a gentleman from The Haven gave out cash bonuses for the youths that achieved improving grade point averages.  Some of the youth had 4.0 averages.  It was amazing to see all the boys clap and support each other’s achievements.

It was so fresh to watch the boys of  The Haven open up to the PATH mentors.  Each PATH mentor taught one of the four elements of Hip hop:  emceeing, deejaying, urban art, and b-boying.

Brimstone taught two mini workshops on deejaying.  It was beautiful to see the youth smile as they got to play with the equipment.  A few of the youth tried to challenge him to see how large his music library was, but he was able to pull up any artist that they threw at him, thus gaining their respect.

Sekajipo taught emceeing.  He got all of the boys to group around him in a cypher (rapper’s circle) and proceeded to get them to try kicking some rhymes.  Again, it was so fresh to see the youth light up by having Sekajipo teach them some of the tricks of writing and kicking rhymes.

Sicks, taught the ways of urban art, got the boys to work on a small piece using their name as the foundation. She told each group “You can do whatever you want!  There are no rules in art!”  I loved that.  There are no rules!  Only getting to expressive yourself through the medium of your choice.

NewCre taught of b-boying (Hiphop dancing).  He got their bodies moving, and even some of The Haven staff joined .

It was a great day to be out with the PATH team.  They got to share their passion for Hiphop with the youth, the future of Hiphop.  To see The Haven boys sitting around and focusing their energies into a positive direction was beautiful.  One of The Haven staff commented that the Boys never stay focused for more than a few minutes, but today PATH had their full attention.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of the PATH team.  At the end of the workshop Brimstone answered questions from the Haven boys and staff.

The PATH workshop concluded with all the youth and staff gathering around Sekajipo as he rocked Hardtimes.  A song the youth could relate too.  In fact I was so moved listening to the song, and the youth chanting the chorus “hard times” that It brought a tear to my eye.

Pure emotion.  Pure love from all the PATH workshop teachers for the boys of The Haven.

Hiphop!  Ya don’t Stop.

For more information about The Haven please visit their website.

To check out more about PATH check www.pathtohiphop.org

One note about the pictures.  I needed to protect the identities of the youth; therefore, sometimes faces have been blurred and framing done to intentionally keep their identities.  I wish I could have shown their smiling faces!

Miami is definitely not a walking city.  In fact walking in this city can be down right hazardous to your health.  Miami is a city that was designed for car use.  Even if that use frustrates most as they get stuck on 1-95 in the most horrendous traffic imaginable.

I still like to take walks.  Even if those walks are just around my neighborhood and all I get to see are house, strip malls and some landscaping.  Its my home.  Miami is where I grew up and all these sights and sounds are beautiful to me.

The skies are unforgettable.  The skies in the late afternoon yesterday were a blessing.  To look up into the limitless skies that adorn my neighborhood just helps to put life into perspective.  I can never truly capture the beauty that the Creator performs for us.  I will try to interpret and give my view on that beauty through my lens, but it will never be able to fully capture the personal experience.

It is the Most High’s cinema!  Observed by this lucid communicator for the first time in the cinematic 16:9 ratio.  Love, beauty and life is all around us.  I want to keep my heart open so I can let it flow through me.