In my not-too-extensive journalistic career, there is a man who — some seven years later — still registers as the most impactful and memorable subject I have ever had the pleasure to interview.
You'd have to know hip hop music fairly well to know and remember John Forte. Perhaps you'd remember his club hit "99" which — teamed with underground songstress Jeni Fujita — looped German one-hitter Nena's "99 Luft Balloons" into a likable, if not pop-y track that highlighted his debut solo album Poly Sci. Maybe you remember a smooth verse on Wyclef Jean's "Stayin Alive" or his production work on The Fugees ground-breaking The Score.
A name you may forget, a voice you'd remember.
I interviewed Forte for my student newspaper in the spring of 1998, a feather in my cap to do a one-on-one phoner with someone who had such an impressive resume in the hip hop industry despite not having been in it very long. In retrospect I have no idea what my expectations of the conversation were going to be but I know that afterwards I could not speak enough about the experience.
I kept the tape of that interview for years — unfortunately I no longer have it — and would frequently listen to it not to hear my voice engaging with a famous hip hop artist, but because I was taken with Forte's knowledge, his passion and, most importantly, his desire to treat the genre with respect, also respecting the importance of what the music holds. Few artists do that and I, a hip hop lifer, gladly took it all in.
Forte's first effort put up disappointing numbers in sales, more the product of poor promotion and a hip hop consuming public that seems all too unwilling to take in anything outside the pop realm. He really couldn't find a niche and his uneagerness to use his Fugee's background as a springboard left him without name power in an industry that craves it.
Fast forward to 2005 and a random internet search has me stumble across Wyclef's latest single "The Industry," (.wmv file), (lyrics) a bob-your-head winner that pines for the good old days of hip hop and sings with a melancholy for the death, incarcerations and beefs gone too far.
Imagine Refugees never needin a passport/And John Forte never at Newark Airport"
I had no idea what that lyric meant. I found out, though. I'll save the details and let you read Rolling Stone's thoughtful piece from August, 2002..
Peter Wilkinson's note that it "floored the hip hop community" is to say the least. I'm not sure if I'm more floored by the fact it occurred or the fact it took me four years to hear about it.
Regardless, the news of Forte's arrest was disheartening to say the least, but not in the "role model gone bad" sort of way. That's not what is at work here. I think the most distressing thing to me is the circumstances that dragged down a man who graduated from the presitigious Phillip Exeter Academy to the point he finds himself now.
I had a bunch of friends who used to love to party/When them dark days hit, I suddenly lost everybody.
The lyric, from "Been There, Done That" off Forte's second release I, John is perhaps not in reference to the slide Forte suffered before releasing that album in 2001, one month before his trial — after all it is actually a love song to a woman pledging his devotion to leaving the run-around life behind. Still, it is foolish to suggest that the lyric — and numerous others on that album — aren't a ballad to his life which plays like a tear-jerking movie script.
Hearing of Forte's incarceration was a depressing end to my day. There are a myriad rappers, artists and musicians who bring nothing to the table, who use their privilege to do nothing more than advance a self-serving and uninspired career. Meanwhile, one who took a high road of lyricism is locked away and balked at by the consuming public. Hardly seems fair.
Forte's circumstance was shocking, to say the least. As ludicrous as it sounds, because of that one interview seven years ago, I felt like it was a friend or family member whom I had just heard about.
I have likely interviewed more than 2,000 people in roughly 10 years of writing and radio and expectedly it's rare if any of them hold any sort of impression through 24 hours. If Forte in fact serves his full term, to 2013, when he's released I will still remember that interview from 1998 and still remember the feeling I got for weeks and months following when I listened over and over to that tape. I wish more people had gotten to hear that interview, heard the introspection and heard the wisdom of a guy who had nothing but good to bring to hip hop and music as a whole.
You'd then understand why I just spent two hours writing this letter to no one about a cassette tape that no longer exists.
And how I wish I had it with me now.
Lyric of the Day:
Lyric of the day is a link, to each lyric of Forte's I, John. Not all hip hop, but all of it worth the read.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Down
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Remembrance
Remembering a day when I used to have energy to do this thing...
In honour of Remembrance Day in Canada, and my mom's birthday as well, I've gotten back on this horse that continues to buck me off and decided to blog like the wind....
With that, I bring you "Since You Asked..."
Tagline: When opinions are a dime a dozen, two men will be worth their two cents.
A David Larkins and Julio Garasa Production.
Since You Asked: CFL Coaching Vacancies
"Garasa, Julio: OPS"
To: "David Larkins \(E-mail\)"
Subject: A visit and a rant
Date: Thu 11/10/05 08:16 AM
DL,
Have you visited your own blog lately? That's some audience you have there. Is it the product of extensive focus group research or are you just one of the lucky ones?
I thought I should let you know that I'll be in Winnipeg from Tuesday afternoon and leaving Wednesday. If there's a shot that you'll be in the Capital, let's hook up. If not, to Hell with you.
I hear Joe Paopao is entertaining the idea of interviewing for the recently vacant Bomber head coaching position. Thoughts? Here, the circus is in town. How the league could possibly accept letting the Gliebermans try to run a second team in this town after running a long storied franchise into the ground is beyond me. These guys have absolutely no clue what it takes to build a team. At the press conference introducing the new head coach (which in itself was fraught with controversy), they spent more time talking about how they were not "politically correct" and "different". In a list of things they assured people they were focussed on, "winning football games" was relegated to the fourth and final item (after "getting people out", "having fun" and "having a good atmosphere"). These are the same guys who tried to institute "Mardi Gras Night" every night of the season where females could win $1000 if they collected the most beads, which were distributed to males as they entered the stadium (and only in one section: the upper level of the stadium.). Guess how the ladies tried to get men to give them beads? Just shameful. To the point where the league put a stop to it. It's an adolescent, frat boy atmosphere for a PROFESSIONAL football team. And they still never got anywhere near a sell-out. Maybe if they actually focussed their energies on putting a winning product on the field would more people come out. There's a novel concept. After all, this is the CFL. Unless you're Saskatchewan do you put up with mediocrity year in and year out.
And that's my rant. There. I feel better.
JG
-----Original Message-----
From: David Larkins [dlarkins@steelersfan.org]
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 3:04 PM
To: Garasa, Julio: OPS
Subject: Re: A visit and a rant
Upper deck eh? Mardi Gras Night eh? Maybe I will come to Ottawa after all.
I can't add anything more to your rant because it wouldn't bring anything to the table, you're obviously right.
As for the Blue situation, I rejoiced at the firing of Daley, a man who infuriated me week in and week out with interviews that honestly — no joke — made me question his knowledge of football. He sounded more like a man who was coaching Pop Warner ball — "we played hard"/"that was a knock-down drag out game" — when we got blown out or blew a chance at a
victory. I don't want to hear that stuff from a pro coach of my team. As for Paopao I'm not convinced of his ability to coach either, but he's never really been given a wealth of tools to work with there. Yes, I'm aware he's a classy guy and how Ottawa played that scene was an abomination. Still, we just got through firing a "class guy" so let's bring in someone who craps fireballs and make this thing work NOW. The Bombers are not a franchise that should be wallowing like this.
djl.
From: "Garasa, Julio: OPS"
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 09:16:41 -0500
To: "David Larkins \(E-mail\)"
Subject: A visit and a rant
Oh God. You instil even more fear in me (re: Pop Warner). Here are two examples. On the local cable call in show (it was clearly a slow, cold and rainy evening) Coach Jenkins was fielding calls. When asked how he would get the most out of his players he said "I like characters" (not "character") and on a 40 man roster, "I'll have 40 different expectations". I don't think the word "team" was used once in his answer. Second, when asked about free agents, he said that a number of
players had be re-signed since he took over. Problem was, it was up to the host to not only tell him 4 were signed, but he also gave us their names. The coach looked stunned.
Lord help this franchise.
On the plus side, in order to get us suckers to part with our money before we see a product, there is a one-day only, 2 for 1 season ticket sale. Very tempting since this time the good sections will be offered (as opposed to the $100 season tickets I bought in the junk sections). I just wonder if I can make my purchase in protest. I don't trust these guys but what the hell: it's football.
JG
-----Original Message-----
From: David Larkins [dlarkins@steelersfan.org]
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 5:38 PM
To: Garasa, Julio: OPS
Subject: RE: A visit and a rant
The most glaring thing you left out of your email is that you didn't
even mention Jenkins' suit.
I have often said that there is certain dress that black people can pull off that white people can't. Jenkins suit was one of those things although I'd never truly experienced it before, I wasn't sure what the phenomenon was like because most white people know their limits in that category. My theory, if Michael Irvin won't wear it, John Jenkins probably shouldn't either.
From: "Garasa, Julio: OPS"
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 09:16:41 -0500
To: "David Larkins \(E-mail\)"
Subject: A visit and a rant
I didn't want to mention the suit because I try not to judge the book by its cover. However ... with that suit ... and those red alligator skin boots ... and the bleach-blond hair ... and that soon-to-be-annoying Texas drawl ... yeah, 'nuff said. Did I mention it's going to be a loooong year for the Renegades?
JG
A few quick hits here...
• The Bombers restored faith in me not just after the firing of Jim Daley but his entire staff as well. While the exuses piled on about the league's worst-ever defence that the loss of coordinator Rod Rust to sickness early in the year hurt that unit, the fact is there was nothing good about the Blue this year and as abysmal as the offence was, the defence was worse. The problems stemmed from atrocious play-calling on the offensive side — the highlight being Wade Miller being called in for a one-yard plunge in Regina — which stretched over to the defensive side because our offence couldn't stay on the field.
But that's not to let the D off the hook. Flat out, every quarterback who faced Winnipeg had large success against its Pop Warner secondary. That's what troubles me. Get yourself a whole new staff, fine, but there's still major issues in terms of personnel. Hey you can get Xzibit to pimp your '75 Volare but if you install a 3.5 HP John Deere engine in it, the results are still the same.
And it will take a gigantic overhaul to cure this defence which has so few bright spots to it. Gavin Walls should be the league's rookie of the year unquestionably, Tom Canada still has life, Sean Woodson has the ability to be a playmaker and we'll see what someone like Joseph Tuiapala can do in training camp next year. But you will find it difficult to highlight a quality cover man on this team and that's where they get scorched. Think about it, a year ago the team couldn't get a sack to save its life, this year the Bombers are in the top half of the league in QB kills and instead they give up the most yards in the history of the league. That's on the secondary, plain and simple.
I've been deathly silent on the Cornhuskers because I'm trying to figure out how a team that was rolling along so well and just one fumble away from breaking into the Top 25 can crumble so quickly. They've lost three in a row and, with just two games left, are still trying to get that one win that will make them bowl eligible.
I'm not going to suggest that LeKevin Smith's fumble in Week 5 was the turning point to the season for this team, but it has started the three-losses-in-four-games downfall.
Bill Callahan's job is safe. This university won't cut off the experiment that quickly but I'm sure I'm not the only fan who is angered and frustrated over the streaks that have come to an end since he took over to start the 2004 season. Now virtually every mark which had been established in Husker history has been eliminated all because UNL — specifically AD Steve Pederson — wasn't happy with the "mediocre" 9-3 bowl-winning season of 2003 and then-coach Frank Solich.
Two straight losses at home have soured the pot of what was a potentially very good season and now Nebraska must go and beat K-State Saturday in Lincoln because setting up a must-win situation against Colorado in the season-closer the following week could very well be way more than this team can handle.