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What Does It Mean To Be A Woman?

By Liz Belilovskaya

As a child I pondered the meaning and the implications of my sex since I was already being told that certain behaviors and interests were for boys and that I should align my own with those of girls. I thought that was shitty right from the beginning; while I liked my dolls and my dresses I also liked my construction set and magnets.

It occurred to me early on that in many children’s books, princesses were helpless creatures who had to have men come and whisk them away to a life of utter boredom and overly emphasized civility and eventually they would be turned into birthing machines that probably would be stoned to death if a male heir was not produced. The fact that most of these princesses were idiots was also disconcerting.

Depending on men was something that was almost cheered on; servitude on the part of the woman was implied. It also dawned on me that if women didn’t comply, they would be ostracized by their society. So far, being a woman was less than appealing.

I have had the recent pleasure of interviewing Mx. Justin Vivian Bond who is a writer, singer and performance artist. Bond doesn’t associate with terms like male or female, Ms. or Mr., opting for Mx. instead. Born male, Justin did not feel like all the other boys, even before he was able to truly understand the underlying separation. His outward maleness was not part of his identity.

While this article is not about Mx. Bond, our conversation got me thinking. Being a man or being a woman is mainly associated with our genitalia. Based on our organs, we send people out to live their lives. It certainly works out for most of us but there are many people who get trapped by that initial distribution and are unable to play the role they were given. Mx. Bond was born a man but lived as more than just that.

Those born with both male and female sex organs are often subjected to gender assignment. In many cases, the decision is made on medical grounds; what is easier to clean up or shape is what you get to live with. If the case is 50/50, then the parents give their two cents and the sex of the person is decided that way. Meanwhile, all of these decisions are being made without the child, despite how that decision affects every aspect of the child’s existence.

Of course there are cases when the made “decision” is an accurate representation of the person’s internal perception of themselves. Other times, the decision is a wrong one, forcing the person to change their sex when their identity dissonance gets to be to much. Such a transformation is not only physically taxing but ultimately emotionally and mentally difficult, never mind the social factors.

What about medical accidents that turn would-be sons into engineered daughters and vise versa. Accidents happen. Botched circumcisions, other types genitalia mutilations and the solutions for rectifying these conditions carry risks and implications that are serious – some people adjust to their reassigned sex while others do not. The latter group then face the same identity as the hermaphrodites, that is, the need to look the same as they feel.

What about women who can not have children? If womanliness is dependent on the ability to carry a child, do these women become slightly less than? What about the pregnant man? Would we consider him a woman despite his sex reassignment surgery? Recent studies have shown that the brain of homosexual men resembles that of a woman and the brain of a homosexual woman resembles that of a straight man- what are we to make of these results? Clearly the question of what it means to be a woman or man is not an easy one.

I think there is no clear definition of what it means to be a man or a woman. To me, womanhood is independent of sexual organs, sexual orientation or gender roles. I think it really boils down to the individuals wiring of the brain and everything else is what society places on us.

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Donny Goines: Top Of The World

By Odeisel

During the early to mid-20^th Century, millions of Black people migrated north with the promise of jobs and the chance to see a new world of opportunity. In the 21^st century, with urban overcrowding, dwindling opportunity and just the hustle and bustle, that trend has reversed and people from those northern population centers are moving back to the south.Planet Ill has been riding with Harlem emcee Donny Goines since almost the very beginning. After his Minute After Midnight album, we reviewed his Breakfast Club album almost 3 years to the week ago. It was one of the first records we reviewed here on Planet Ill, and it was aiiight, but not the raw. He took our advice to heart and came back with 20X, in another weight class.

We support the independent artist here at the Planet and our honest but real relationship with Donny is real evidence of that. I made my move south and when I learned he did, I decided to take the trip to the ATL to see what was going on with our brother. Gone is the concrete; in its place is a whole lot of trees, a hell of a view, the promise of business, the sting of betrayal, and the fresh start that migration can bring. He’s got a new company, Ink Different, a new outlook on life and a new diet. We bring you Donny Goines: Top of the World.

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Rick Ross Feat. Meek Mill: So Sophisticated

By Odeisel

The overblown press conference was strike one. A lackluster Dreamchasers 2 mixtape by Meek Mill was strike two. Strike three came with the second release pairing Rozay with Usher. That “Touch N You” song was a dud and everyone not sucking on Maybach exhaust knew it. Was the mighty Maybach Music beginning to show signs of slippage?  It was a nice run, but everybody comes to a halt sooner or later. Not now though. The Bauce got something to say about that and his release “So Sophisticated” not only backs up the haters, but replaces a bit of the sheen lost by homie Meek and sets the movement back on course.On Rich Forever’s “Swear To God,” Mr. Roberts declared “three new flows, that’s off top.” This track may be where he chose to unleash one of them. The slick rhyme scheme displayed on “So Sophisticated” is tough shit. It won’t change the world or anything, but it’s clear that Rick Ross is still enamored of the art involved in Hip-Hop and is not just satisfied coasting. he’s still experimenting with his music and his delivery.

The beat is more of that hard shit that we’ve become accustomed to hearing Ross rhyme over. Again, nothing revolutionary, but hard-charging, yet normal enough for Meek Mill to handle.

It’s been a wobbly few weeks but a track like this is sufficient to pull the movement back center. More of this, less of Maybach O. More of this Meek and less of the flossing chick chaser that slept walked through Dreamchasers 2. Clink those bottles. Maybach Music is back to basics. “So Sophisticated.” Enjoy.

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Wiz Khalifa: Work Hard Play Hard (Video)

And The Beat Goes On: Crank Up The Rotisserie And Tell Us How It Feels

By shelz.

Before we get into all these remixes, I have to comment on D’Angelo’s return to form and I don’t mean musically. Mr. Brown Sugar told someone years ago that he didn’t really appreciate being hot.  He’s an artist and he likes to invite people into his creative realm. He wants you to hear and feel his music.  You can’t do that if you’re shouting, “Take It Off!” from the front row.  It’s not a Black Stallion and the 4 Sexy Horsemen show ladies.  Have some decorum.

Anyway, after complaining about being treated like a piece of meat by the screaming ninnies that used to show up at his concerts every night, D’Angelo headed back to KFC or wherever his favorite fried chicken resided and the rest was WTF-has-D’Angelo-been-eating history.

That was then though, and this is now. D’Angelo has been touring abroad and those shows came complete with pretty shitty cell phone footage but through the pixels, you could see he shed some pounds.  These new GQ shots though.  Someone has been on the treadmill with a sense of purpose.

His “Untitled” glory seems to be back.  He isn’t naked in his GQ pictorial, but all of him fits on one page and that foreshadows lovely things under his suit.  So check him out and if you plan on copping some tickets for his upcoming US performance for gawd sakes ladies, try to act like you have some home training.  D’Angelo wants you to hear him croon, not see him strip and we don’t want him drowning his sorrows in a family-sized bucket of crispy.  On with the show.

I haven’t written this column in a second and I spent so much time talking about D’Angelo’s body, that I’m going to let this music speak for itself instead of babbling on about it.  This week we have remixes, covers and freestyles so get ready to press play… a lot.

The Portland Cello Project take my least favorite song from The Throne and ..well… don’t make it any better.

I don’t know.  I think Jeezy is in here somewhere.

Mustard Pimp puts in work.  The result is remixalicious.

I think I like this better than the Sleigh Bells original.

This song has been following me around lately and all of the remixes are awesome.

Lola Monroe – Flexin

Everything this chick says is cliche, but don’t hate.  You’ve heard worse.

M83 has an album full of remixes on the way.  Should be dope. P.S. I really hate my neighbors dog.

Don’t ask. I have no idea.

Follow shelz. on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/shelzp

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Yasin Bey (Mos Def): Bey

FAWN: No Wave (Video)

Theophilus London: Tour De Roses

Theophilus London – Tour De Roses

Album Review: OhNo – Ohnomite

 I’ll, fj loveBy TJ Love

Creating something original by flipping existing artistic elements in society is endemic to Hip-Hop as an art form and culture.  Music isn’t the only thing that’s been sampled from the world at large, however; imagery, attitude, and style have inspired innumerable artists.  Rudy Ray Moore’s iconic character Dolemite is arguably peerless in this respect and belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of bad asses imprinted on the culture’s collective conscience.  Disenfranchised people will always look up to someone that will go for theirs without capitulating to the morals and values of mainstream society, and Dolemite’s brash, I-don’t-give-a fuck  lineage can be seen in everybody from NWA to Eminem and Odd Future.  Producer/Rapper Oh No was granted access to Rudy Ray Moore’s entire filmography and record catalogue,  resulting in the thoroughly entertaining Ohnomite.

Although the album is full of guest spots ( MF Doom, The Alchemist, Evidence, Sticky Fingaz, and Phife Dawg, among others), there isn’t a single misstep. Oh No, Evidence, and The Alchemist, team up for the opening salvo “Real Serious.”  If Jason Bourne smoked blunts, this is what he would listen to.  All three producer/emcees get off on a malevolent yet understated banger, spitting the type of rhymes that only someone who makes beats come up with. Dissing wack emcees and figuratively eviscerating folks is always cool but it’s nice to hear some verses out of left field sometimes and right now Oh No is one of the few beatsmiths whose bars can measure up to the brilliance of his production.

For any doubters of Oh No’s ability to spit, there is the second single from Ohnomite, “3 Dollars” featuring the inimitable MF Doom.  Doom brings his typical top notch wordplay and surprisingly Oh No holds his own.  Maybe it’s only because the song clocks in at 1:28 but in that time Oh No manages to get busier on the mic than your neighborhood Applebees on a Friday night.

…In the balances of haters they act tight/ and these drunk ass niggas always tryna piss fightin’/ain’t no wrong, tell em/ they blow more smoke than a motorbikes tailpipe/seen the villain chillin’ had to pay a visit superhuman shit/raise the ceiling while I raise a million while I’m in the building/bitches sittin catchin’ major  feelings/like a bad case of intervention straight ventin’/cat fights still appeal to my inner vision…

On “Touch it” Frank Nitt adds another solid chapter to the already fruitful Detroit/Oxnard, CA creative connection originated by J Dilla and Madlib.  Over a bouncy track complemented with swinging, rhythmic horn blasts, Nitt’s Dolemite-like musings about the joys of horizontal mambo is the best not-corny sex rap of the year. Chino XL comes out from the rock he’s been hiding under lately and blesses “Time” featuring Roc C with a blistering sixteen that serves as a reminder as to why his name’s been mentioned in the rarefied air of Elzhi, Canibus, Pharoahe Monch, and Eminem in any best lyricist conversation.  As an emcee Chino XL can spit with so much intricacy and ferocity that he overpowers some of the tracks he gets on.  Not here though.  Oh No meets his end of the bargain with a relentless, frenetic harpsichord (yes harpsichord) laced banger perfectly tailored to Chino XL’s skill set.

That ability is what makes Ohnomite one of the better compilations in a long ass minute.  It falls somewhere in between Soundbombing I and II on the dopeness meter.  For Oh No, crate digging is practically a family institution and ultimately, crate digging makes this ambitious project a success.  Things couldn’t have come together any better.  From every emcee bringing their A game, to the diverse but uniformly funky production all the way down to the audible treats for interludes, Ohnomite is an inspired tribute to Rudy Ray Moore and his legacy.  After his death in 2009 the New York Daily News stated “Many of his fans never wanted him to become a gruff, lovable old codger on a TV show, because so much of his appeal stemmed from the fact he was never acceptable in polite society.”  Oh No’s creation is the same in a way.

Ohnomite won’t get any radio play but with folks blatantly making disposable music for a fast buck, a project like this has that much more value.  The memory of Rudy Ray Moore is in safe and highly capable hands for the time being.

 Out of 5

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Chester French: Interesting Times

Chester French – “Interesting Times”