From the time I was a child, I’d always heard adults say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” And I’ve taken that to heart, for the mostpart. So when I attended my aunt’s boyfriend’s birthday party over the weekend, I saw the pastor (who had the church demolished and who hung up on me when I tried to have a civil conversation with him about saving the church) and his wife stop by to wish my aunt’s boyfriend a Happy Birthday, I was shocked.

He walked over to me and said, “Hi, Sister Nikki,” and I kept it moving. Didn’t say one word to him. I mean, the last time I talked to him he hung up on me and felt no remorse. This coming from a man of the cloth. So when he called himself trying to pass the peace, so to speak, by talking to me, I had nothing to say to him.

He knows my phone number and could have apologized to me at any time, but he thinks he’s going to speak to me over a month later since the demolition of the church? He had nothing to say to me then, so why speak now? And I damn sure didn’t have anything to say to him, because he’d talked about my family in the pulpit for going against him and trying to save a 100 year old church.

So when he sauntered over to me, I didn’t say squat. I sipped on my punch, then walked off. My mother had the nerve to say to me, “Nikki, why didn’t you speak back?” I said, “Had I said what I wanted to say, I would have cursed him out. And I wouldn’t feel right cursing out a minister. So I held my peace.”

Now maybe I was wrong, being just as stubborn as he was when he didn’t listen to the community who wanted to save the church, but at that time, I felt it was best for me not to say anything. And Lord, if I was wrong, forgive me, but I don’t think you wanted me to spout obsenities at that party. It would have been another kind of party had I done so.

This is a reminder for everyone to tune in to VH1 tonight at 8pm CST/9pm EST to watch the 2006 Hip Hop Honors. Ice-T is the host this year and the honorees are Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan, Afrika Bambaataa, Russell Simmons, MC Lyte, Rakim, The Beastie Boys and Eazy E.

Look for performances from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Bootsy Collins, Shawnna, Lil Eazy-E, Black Ice, Lil Kim, Diddy, Fat Joe, Lil Jon, Da Brat, Xzibit, Talib Kweli, Remy Ma, Q-Tip, Common, The Roots, George Clinton, Young Jeezy, Erykah Badu and KRS-One.

If you miss tonight’s show, never fear because you know VH1 is going to rerun that mugh fifty-eleven times before the end of the month.

It’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these lists, but seeing as how the 2006 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors will be airing next week, I figured I’d honor a few of the conscious cuties of hip hop. And as always, these are my choices:

1. Common - This Windy City brotha first caught my eye with the release of his debut album, Can I Borrow A Dollar? But it was his album, Resurrection, which dropped the single, I Used To Love H.E.R. that kept me wanting more of H.I.M. Many albums later, I’m still a fan. Look for Common to release his 7th album, Finding Forever, in March of 2007 with appearances from D’Angelo and production work by Kanye West, Dr. Dre and the late J Dilla. Also Common will make his big screen debut in the film, Smokin’ Aces, in early 2007.

2. Black Thought - Born Tariq Trotter and better known as the MC and co-founder of The Roots, Black Thought is probably one of the most political rappers in the game today. With or without locs, I luvs me some Tariq! At one point, Black Thought was set to release a solo album, but the album was shelved due to The Roots departure from MCA. But be on the lookout for a project in the future called Dangerous Thoughts with Black and Danger Mouse, who is one half of Gnarles Barkley. But in the meantime and in between time, check out Black Thought on The Roots latest album, Game Theory.

3. Ali Shaheed Muhammad - While most sistas were diggin’ on Q-Tip, I was diggin’ on Ali Shaheed Muhammad, the DJ and member of A Tribe Called Quest. After ATCQ disbanded, Ali went on to form the group Lucy Pearl with Raphael Saadiq and Dawn Robinson, who was later replaced with Joi. And in 2004, Ali went released a solo album called, Shaheedullah and Stereotypes, which is actually a pretty good album. It’s a mix of Hip Hop and R&B. Check it out if you’re looking for something different.

4. Talib Kweli - His name means student of truth in Arabic, so you know this brotha is bad! Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good. Talib was one half of the rap duo, Black Star, which also featured Mos Def. After releasing 2 critically acclaimed solo albums, Talib is set to drop another gem on November 7, 2006 entitled Eardrum, with apperances from Jadakiss, Raekwon, Lloyd Banks, Musiq, Rakim, Sizzla and UGK. Producers will include Hi-Tek, Kwame (yes, the Polka Dot Kid himself), Rick Rubin, Kanye West and DJ Khalil.

5. Pharoahe Monch - I first noticed Pharoahe as a member of the hip hop group, Organized Konfusion in the early 90’s. Pharoahe was a bit on the chubby side back then, but I didn’t care, there was something about him that made me take notice. Was it the gap in between his teeth? Could be, but I think it was his rhyme style that made me stop and pause. When he returned as a solo artist in the late 90’s, Pharoahe was no longer chubby, but a slim and slightly buffed rapper. He was still rockin’ the gap toothed smile, and that made me love him even more. Pharoahe had marginal success with his debut album, Internal Affairs, but it was his single Simon Says from that same album which sampled a Godzilla beat, that got major airplay. Pharoahe is set to drop his sophomore album entitled, Desire, on November 28, 2006.

This post is strictly for discussions regarding the HBO series The Wire. Luke Cage and I are avid fans of the show and wanted to have open discussions with other bloggers who love the show as well.

The Wire is currently in it’s 4th season and has recently been renewed for a 5th and final season. This season’s focus in on political corruption and education. So far, 5 episodes have aired this season, 6 if you’re counting the ones that run on HBO On Demand.

Episode 42, Alliances, aired on Sunday, October 8, 2006, at 9pm CST/10pm EST. If you missed it, it will air again during the week. Or, if you want to play catchup, check out the summary online: Episode 42: Alliances

So without further ado, let the discussions begin….

I went to the bank at lunchtime. My plan was to go to the bank, then pick up a bite to eat for lunch. Now the particular bank that I go to is in a White neighborhood and it hasn’t been robbed since the early 90’s (at least that’s what I was told), which is why I chose to go to this bank in the first place.

The tellers are so nice to me. “How are you doing Nikki? Good to see you today, Nikki.” You know, very friendly. In other words, I feel at home with this bank and those tellers. So as I’m standing at the deposit slip station, filling out a deposit slip, in walks some White guy wearing a jacket, a fake beard, a wig and a cap. Oh, and did I forget to tell you that he had a gun?

I shoulda known something was up when this dude walked in wearing a jacket. It’s like 86 degrees outside. Not exactly jacket type of weather. Now, my first instinct was to run out of the bank. But I thought to self, “What if he shoots me in the back?” So I just stood still at the station.

The robber points the gun into the face of a loan officer, then walks over to the tellers and proceeds to yell to the 5 tellers in the bank, “Gimme all of your 50’s and 100’s!” They all comply, except this White male teller. He reaches into his drawer and gives the robber a stack of 20’s. The robber says to him, “Un uh, this ain’t enough.” So the teller then gives him a stack of 50’s.

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