You may or not know about Rodney Smith, aka Roots Manuva. Speaking as a Yorkshire DJ, with the opinion that not only does this man know what he's talking about, but i feel he's a modern day hero. In a time and place where heros may be perceived to be in short supply you may listen to this music and be inspired whether you understand or not. Like Braintax, who is another hip hop hero, there's little ego and lots of substance. Music like art can be a compromise between the aesthetic and conceptual, i.e. sounding good/saying something important. Some people are heros because they can do both. Some people are also heros because they've fallen, been trodden into the floor, bloodied bruised, picked themselves back up, cleaned themselves off, pulled themselves together then shared their experience for the good of the world.Experience from the experienced, isn't that what it's is all about?
As for me China has been hard, but because of things beyond my control, and often things unrelated to China. I spent 6 weeks in Beijing, a place with such high air pollution exercise was actually making me less healthy, i paid £900 for a TEFL course which taught me nothing, but a lesson in unethical business practice, and that a TEFL certificate is not necessary to teach English in China. Now i've spent 2 weeks in Changchun where it's so cold moisture and snot freezes to your face. These are both big cities, i don't care for big cities.
i want a holiday, i want a beach that looks like paradise on a postcard, close your eyes and you can see it, mine has a palm tree on the left diving down into the middle with white sand and clear blue sea. paradise is a state of mind, for me it's also a beach in Fiji:
"If the system ain't workin' you betta' think about desertin' or bringin' in some higher learnin'" (mc covert, track: 'are you on it?' album: skitz countryman)
