Hey there, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you? Do you know what 2020 is? It's the blind date that showed up and turned out to be your cousin. Hahaha. If you have the opportunity to surround yourself with good people and get involved, I hope you seize that. Not everyone is blessed with the opportunity to have a great community around them, but it could not be more clear what a community can do when coming together to help someone out. In San Jose, California, a certain neighborhood came together to really support their usual postal worker. Nanh, a postal employee with the United States Postal Service (USPS) is familiar to this San Jose neighborhood as the honorary mail carrier who delivers their pieces of mail. And they obviously really appreciate her parcel delivery skills. So what did they do? There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has shut down, halted, and cancelled essentially everything. But you know what you can’t postpone? Having a baby. And that’s why staying involved with your community is so important. Nanh, this U.S. postal service employee, was just carrying out her mail delivery as usual, seeing that many essential workers like her are still working through the pandemic. However, not only is Nanh delivering mail, but she’s also pregnant with her 4th child. Can you imagine being pregnant during a global pandemic while delivering mail in this hot summer? Not exactly ideal conditions for this mama. But her community did the sweetest thing for her and threw her a baby shower. So how did they pull this off in the midst of this madness? They all decorated their front yards with baby decorations and gifts so that Nanh could enjoy her baby shower while on her mail route. Karen Mettler, one of the people from the community, told Good New Movement, “Nanh worked extra during the pandemic as there were so many deliveries.” Check it out...
Yikes, look at how creepy this fish looks.
A fisherman in Malaysia recently shared his latest catch which has a surprisingly human-like set of teeth. The photo was posted to Twitter by user @raff_nasir on July 2nd. The picture quickly went viral on social media as people began to comment on the lips and human-like teeth of the specimen. According to experts, the fish has been identified as a tigerfish, of which there are 40 other different types. Tigerfish are reportedly very territorial and aggressive, charging at intruders and using their teeth to battle sea urchins and crabs. According to National Geographic, the odd-looking creature is known as ikan jebong or ayam laut. The bizarre fish is said to be highly sought for the aquarium trade which leads to fishermen gathering the threatened species. These funny and creepy looking fish live in tropical and subtropical waters. Males are mostly known to be territorial and aggressive, charging at any intruder if they feel threatened. The species can grow to be around 3.3 ft, the largest being the ‘stone tigerfish’ which is found in the Eastern Pacific from Chile to Mexico. Usually, these fish are “attractive animals” and have become “too popular for their own good.” Because well, just look at those creepy chompers! Experts at the World Wildlife Fund confirmed the fish as a Blackpatch tigerfish (Rhinecanthus verrucosus) because of its very distinctive orange side stripes. A Spokesperson for the WWF started, ‘It’s a well-known species with a wide distribution from Seychelles to the Great Barrier Reef, which would include Malaysia.” I guess this goes to show us that we really don’t know what is down in the deep, deep parts of the ocean. If there are other fish like this… I think I’ll stay out of the water for a bit. This is just scary and gross at the same time. What’s next, fish with hands and feet? Nah, not today! We have enough with piranhas.
Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients, as Miami area authorities began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement... echoing efforts in many parts of the world to contain surging infections. In California, military doctors, nurses and other health care specialists were being deployed to eight hospitals facing staffing shortages amid a record-breaking case numbers. In Houston, an 86-person Army medical team worked to take over a wing of United Memorial Medical Center. Several states have been reporting record numbers, contributing to a surge in the national death rate. The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths has risen 34% from two weeks ago, while the case count in that period shot up 43%. Florida reported 128 new deaths Friday and 11,345 new cases. Texas reported 10,000 new cases for the third straight day Thursday and 129 additional deaths. California reported its largest two-day total of confirmed cases, nearly 20,000, along with 258 deaths over 48 hours. There were signs across the Sunbelt that the virus was stretching authorities’ capacity to respond. The medical examiner’s office in metro Phoenix has gotten portable storage coolers and ordered more to handle an influx of bodies... reminiscent of New York City at the height of the pandemic there earlier this year. In Florida’s Miami-Dade County, the county commission unanimously approved an emergency order giving all code and fire inspectors authority to issue tickets of up to $100 for individuals and $500 for businesses not complying with guidelines to wear masks and practice social distancing. Police officers already had this enforcement power. “We’re going to put a heck of a lot of people out there,” said Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “Our people are going to go everywhere.” Gimenez said that too few people, especially younger people, have been following the “new normal” guidelines, so the county needed another enforcement tool. Meanwhile, a Florida state legislator, Republican Rep. Anthony Sabatini, filed a lawsuit Friday against a mask ordinance in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg and Clearwater. About 100 people in support of his stance rallied in front of the county courthouse, some holding signs saying mask requirements are unconstitutional. At least half of the 50 states have adopted requirements for wearing masks or other facial coverings. But in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp has banned cities and counties from requiring face coverings. He sued Atlanta late Thursday to prevent it from defying his order, but Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she was prepared to go to court to maintain the local mask requirement. Worldwide, governments are frantically trying to prevent and put down fresh outbreaks and keep their economies running as the pandemic accelerates in some regions and threatens to come roaring back in others. Globally, confirmed cases numbered more than 13.8 million Friday and COVID-19 deaths totaled more than 590,000. To cope with the pandemic’s fallout, the United Nations said it is increasing to $10.3 billion its appeal for humanitarian aid funding. Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in Geneva that the number of people who need humanitarian assistance has more than doubled during the pandemic... from around 110 million to about 250 million. India’s total confirmed cases surpassed 1 million, the third-highest number behind the United States and Brazil, and its death toll reached more than 25,000. That followed Brazil’s announcement Thursday evening that its confirmed cases exceeded 2 million, including 76,000 deaths. The continuing surge of new cases in India... where experts believe the vast majority of cases are still being missed... drove home concerns over the readiness of some countries to cope with outbreaks that could overwhelm hospitals and test feeble health care systems. The government ordered a weeklong lockdown in the technology hub of Bangalore after confirmed cases there increased exponentially. In sub-Saharan Africa, which already had the world’s greatest shortage of medical personnel, nearly 10,000 health workers in 40 countries have been infected with the coronavirus, the World Health Organization said. More than half of infected workers are in South Africa, where most of the continent’s infections are as well. Israel on Friday reimposed sweeping restrictions to tackle a new surge in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “interim steps” to avoid another general lockdown. Stores, malls, barber shops, beauty salons, beaches and tourist sites will also be closed on weekends. Public gatherings will be limited to 10 people indoors or 20 outside. New virus cases have soared in Israel since restrictions were lifted in late May. The country reported around 1,900 new cases on Thursday. Japan’s capital recorded a single-day record number of new coronavirus cases for a second straight day on Friday with 293. Tokyo was taken off a list of places around the country where discounts are offered under a government scheme to encourage domestic tourism. Spain, which earlier in the pandemic was one of the world’s hardest hit countries, was grappling with more than 150 active outbreaks, most of them in the northern Aragon and Catalonia regions. Health authorities asked the 5.5 million residents of Barcelona, the regional capital of Catalonia, to stay at home as much as possible to stem the virus’ spread. They also announced a local ban on social gatherings over 10 people, and nightclub and gym closures. Spain reported 580 new cases Thursday, the highest daily number since May 10th. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson charted a different course, announcing that as of August 1st the government was no longer asking people to avoid public transit and would stop advising workers in England to work from home. Keen to reinvigorate the economy, Johnson wants to see struggling businesses that rely on office workers rebound. The U.K.’s official death toll, which stood at more than 45,000 as of Friday, has for several weeks been the highest in Europe.
A 6-year-old Wyoming boy is being hailed as a hero for getting in between his younger sister and a charging dog and nearly losing his life in the process. The hero of the hour, Bridger, was with his sister when another family’s dog charged at the pair. Bridger acted immediately, jumping between his sister and dog. The dog lunged at Bridger and began biting him on the face and head repeatedly. Still conscious and somehow with his wits about him, Bridger then grabbed his little sister by the hand and ran from the dog to keep the pair safe. As Bridger’s aunt Nikki Walker tells it on her now-viral Instagram post, if it weren’t for her nephew, whose bravery well exceeds his years and size, her little niece would be dead. When asked why he jumped in front of his sister to protect her from the dog, Bridger said, “If someone had to die, I thought it should be me.” After Nikki’s post about her unbelievably heroic nephew blew the Internet up. Word of Bridger’s incredible heroism eventually reached Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. Bridger got a video from Captain America himself, Chris Evans, congratulating him on doing whatever it took to protect his sister. And not only that, Cap is sending Bridger an official, legit Captain America shield. Cap might have been outdone by the youngest Avenger, however. Actor Tom Holland aka Peter Parker aka Spider-Man gave Bridger a call as well. According to Bridger, Spider-Man is his favorite Avenger. So, to reward Bridger for his bravery, Tom Holland invited the pint-sized hero to the set of Spider-Man 3 when they start filming... whenever that will be.
A Michigan man was killed in an officer-involved shooting after he allegedly stabbed a person during a dispute over wearing a face mask inside a convenience store. According to Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich, 43-year-old Sean Ernest Ruis wasn’t wearing a mask inside the Quality Dairy store when he got into a heavy confrontation with a customer who was wearing one. When confronted by a 77-year-old customer who was wearing a mask, Ruis got angry and allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the man, seriously injuring him. An Eaton County Deputy then pulled Ruis over in Delta Township, near Lansing, a half an hour later. That’s when Ruis jumped out of the car and then aggressively approached the deputy while wielding two knives and a screwdriver. Afraid for her safety, the deputy shot Ruis as she backed away from the suspect. The incident was captured on the deputy’s body camera. The video shows the officer is repeatedly heard asking the man to drop the knives before she opens fire. The deputy involved was not injured and has been placed on administrative leave and the police department is conducting a review. The Michigan State Police is also conducting a separate independent investigation, citing deadly force, and is leading the investigation into the stabbing incident. Through a statement, Sheriff Tom Reich stated he believed Ruis intended to violently attack the deputy during the traffic stop. The deputy was seen backing away from the man, repeatedly ordering him to drop the weapon, but he “continued to advance and attack.” According to Reich, the woman acted in defense of her own life. Ruis was transported to a hospital where he died. As far as the 77-year-old man, he was hospitalized and treated for his stab wounds and is in stable condition. Authorities have yet to release the name of the 22-year veteran with the sheriff’s department. The incident occurred one day after the governor’s executive order making wearing a mask mandatory in all indoor public places came into effect, due to the rising COVID-19 cases. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order requires any business to deny the entry or service of those who refuse to wear a mask covering “with limited exceptions.”
Instead of doing this blog thing I should be listening to this album...
Ummmm... maybe not. This is odd, Ivanka Trump posted another pic holding a can of Goya beans.
What's the difference between a garbanzo bean and a chickpea? Daddy never had a garbanzo bean on
his face. Haha. Her dad also seems to love Goya...
Trump 2020: Black Beans Matter. You know that's what he's thinking. At least he has been wearing mask's lately...
I have no idea what he wants to do here though...
It doesn't look good. So, the Washington Redskins have changed their logo and name. Check it out...
What do you think? Okay, so, most of you know my normal "costume" is a t-shirt, shorts and either sneakers or flip-flops, right? Well, I'm thinking of going for a new look. How about this one?
Ummm... maybe not. There's some sad food items no one wants to buy even while shopping for a pandemic.
Even in the apocalypse nobody wants ham and pineapple. I, myself, love ham and pineapple pizza.
No working parent has an easy time separating their career from their home life, and this dad is no exception.
A man emailed the Phile looking for advice about whether he was in the wrong after he refused to cut a work trip short to visit his daughter in the hospital. She was suffering from anorexia and he isn't sure whether she was being "destructive" for "attention" or not. Yeesh.
The dad spoke to his daughter shortly after the hospitalization.
"I get a call yesterday from my wife that my daughter has been hospitalized for anorexia. She fainted while hiking with her boyfriend. My wife says that our daughter wanted to talk to me, so she hands over the phone to our daughter and we talk for a bit." But he explained that his business trip would keep him out of town until August. "My daughter asks that I come to the hospital, but I happen to be on business trip, and was scheduled to be in that city until August. The associate that accompanied me from my office is relatively new to the firm, and I feel like I need to be there should questions come up on her end. So I tell my daughter that I had work stuff I couldn’t miss, and that she needed to focus solely on herself." His daughter was seemingly devastated. "She starts bawling and that sneaking feeling comes up once again that a lot of the destructive things she does is a ploy to get attention. My wife accuses me of wanting to spend time with the new office hires, and for being part of our daughter’s problem." He turned the tables on his wife. "Yet from where I’m sitting, my wife is the one who has been losing significant amounts of weight in the last couple of years to the point that she’s pale. Yet I keep my mouth shut about that while she continues yelling at me. I finally have enough and hang up before I say something I’ll regret." Now he's looking for validation. "Am I wrong for not cutting my work trip short? I feel like if I did, I wouldn’t be much help in my daughter’s problem and if she is doing this for attention, it will only encourage her in the future." Sir, there's no room for debate. You are wrong. Your daughter needs you. She has a life-threatening illness and you consider it a "ploy to get attention"? Oh. My. GOD. "That sneaking feeling comes up once again that a lot of the destructive things she does is a ploy to get attention." I can't help but wonder what other trauma this poor girl has already survived, that was dismissed by you as a grab for attention. If she ends up in hospital for "wanting attention," she PROBABLY NEEDS ATTENTION. You could just legitimately love your job more than your family, it would explain why your daughter has a life threatening illness, and your wife is desperately trying to lose weight so you might pay attention to her. No less wrong for it, but it isn't always the young women that's the attraction. Anorexia kills people and your daughter is starving herself. Your insinuation that you need to deprive your daughter of attention in a critical moment in her life to teach her some sort of lesson is awful and wrong. Your daughter is literally in the hospital during a global pandemic. She’s not doing this for attention, this shit is SERIOUS. You’re supposed to be away until August? Cool, take four days off. You’ve still got time to come back and put out fires at work... AFTER you go and take care of your daughter. People think that it is wrong to need attention. Like news flash, everyone needs attention. Especially growing adolescents. So in this case, clearly, I think you should cut your work trip short. Being a workaholic isn't cool! If you have a problem you'd like my advice on email me at thepeverettphile.blogspot.com.
If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, you know I live in Florida, right? Here's another story from this messed up state.
In Royal Palm Beach, Florida, an apparent confrontation over a face mask dispute on one Saturday afternoon caused an unmasked man to threaten to kill an actually masked shopper by pulling a handgun on him at a Florida Walmart store. Big sigh. According to sheriff’s officials, the Royal Palm Beach store’s security video shows the maskless man pushing an older man in a wheelchair through the Walmart, but even the older man in the wheelchair pulls a red neckerchief over his mouth. Nevertheless, another shopper wearing a mask approaches the two, and that’s when things get sticky. Suddenly, after a few words were exchanged, the unmasked man gives the masked shopper the middle finger. And soon enough, the video also shows how the unmasked man proceeds to pull a handgun from his waistband and make a death threat before leaving the store. According to News 4 Jax, the video then goes to show how “a young girl reaches for the masked man’s hand to pull him away.” Even someone else is seen trying to help de-escalate the situation. The unmasked man pushes the older man to the parking lot, and they finally leave in a white Chevrolet Equinox SUV. In a Facebook post, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced they were looking for the gunman, obviously irritated by the ignorance here. “You think you’re big and bad because you pull out a gun? Palm Beach County, we need your help to find this individual wanted for Assault with a Firearm at a local Walmart in Royal Palm Beach. He left the store in a white Chevy Equinox. This took place on July 12th, 2020. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.” Although no one was injured, I have to say I hate these kinds of situations. If you think being forced to wear a face mask is an “infringement on your rights,” I’m sorry, but I have to politely disagree. Wearing a mask is a sign of respect for others in hopes that we can prevent the spread of COVID-19. This coronavirus pandemic is not going to get any better with situations like these. And those who are working who have to go up to those disrespectful ones without face masks? Please be careful. People are crazy.
If Goldilocks tried three beds, then Momma Bear and Daddy Bear slept separately. Baby Bear is probably the only thing keeping the family together.
Hahaha. That's funny. Oka, let's take a live look at Port Jeff, shall we?
Looks like another nice day there. By the way, I found this pic on the Internet...
It's Port Jeff in the 50s... 1955 I believe. I thought I's share it, I think it's pretty cool. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, here is...
Top Phive Things Said By Dads About Parenting
5. Welcome to parenthood. You've taken silence for granted your whole life.
4. My 4-year-old daughter asked my 2-year-old son if it was time to fight. Two checked the calendar and said, "No, not yet." Well, at least they are organized.
3. On a road trip passing a billboard that says "Live Girls Dancing Daily" my daughter's voice from the backseat said, "Wow, that's a lot of recitals."
2. Dear parents of toddlers, how many limbs do you have to pin down so you can brush their teeth? Tonight was only seven.
And the number one thing said by a dad about parenting was...
1. My 6-year-old said, "Can I have ice cream?" I said, "It's too early." He said, "Ice cream can't tell time."
February 21st, 1940 — July 17th, 2020
Talk about #BlackLivesMatter.
The 132nd book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Phile Alum Alicia Keys will be on the Phile this Monday... a week from today. Hey, wanna play a game?
"I bet I can eat nachos and go to the bathroom at the same time!" Who said it? Trump or Bender? I will let you know Wednesday.
Me: Hey, Robert, welcome to the Phile, man. How are you?
Robert: Hello, hello. I feel crazy.
Me: Ummm... I guess that's good. So, where are you from, Robert?
Robert: Houston, Texas.
Me: So, you have a new mixtape, provocatively titled "Fuck Yo Feelings." Haha. You have a lot of people on the album with you but one name that I knew was Herbie Hancock. Was little Robert Glasper inside you screaming, "It's Herbie Hancock!!!"
Robert: Little Robert Glasper inside and outside screaming. I'm a fan way out every time I'm around Herbie. I'm proud hi quite often and it never fails I'm fanning out. he's artist, yo, he's literally like my favorite artist ever.
Me: So, you know most sites won't say the name of the mixtape, Robert. iTunes, Amazon all use asterisk. So, what is with this name?
Robert: It's basically about understanding about other people's plight or struggles even when they don't have those same struggles. It's like fuck your feelings, put your feelings out of this and just understand what someone else is going through. It goes as far as talking about sexism or racism or being gay or being in the LGBTQ community or being whatever it is. Like leave people alone. Take their feelings out of it and just understand who they are and what they're going through. And those people who are going through the things, this is what I'm gong through, fuck your feelings about it, this is my fight and this is what I'm going through. I just need them to understand it. Leave us alone or help.
Me: Do you think that happens a lot of the time with the current climate we're living in?
Robert: Most of the time. Vocal fight for equality on so many levels.
Me: So, why talk about it now?
Robert: I felt like now I feel that this time period that we're in everybody is fed up, you know what I mean. Everybody is speaking out and everybody is we've had enough. This particular record I pretty much gave females, particularly African-American females the platform to speak the issues that they are going through. That people are got through in general, that women are going through, black and brown women are going through, a lot of specific things on here. Like I said there's sexuality things going on here, stuff about abortion, all the things that people are talking about right now and what they're fighting for. That's kinda what this record was speaking on.
Me: Do you think it's important to always make music of the time we're living in?
Robert: How can you be an artist and not reflect the times? That's what we're here for, that's why we have history. We mark the time period we're in. If everybody keeps chasing history we're also erase it at the same time. We can't chase history and be of now. We also have to understand the history. The problem is people get held back by it. We're supposed to learn from history, not get held back by history. We learn from it then we can make new history. That's literally what we're supposed to do.
Me: So, I really have no idea still what "mixtape" means, Robert, and I have interviewed artist who had mixtapes out. I thought mixtapes was a hip hop thing but you're a jazz artist, so what am I missing?
Robert: Well, the thing is I always say that black music is a big house. I like to go room to room. I have the keys to those rooms. And so I love hip hop, I love mixtapes, I love how much mixtapes give me the feeling. I love how conventional mixtapes can be. I love that I don't know what happens next and how random things can be. I get to do the random things because it's called a mixtape. If I called it an EP or an album there's some kind of expectancy put on it. I want people to listen to it with the ear of a mixtape. Most of the stuff on the album is hip hop.
Me: It's hip hop and not jazz?
Robert: It's hip hop with a nice mixture of hip hop and jazz and there's some R&B on there. That's where come from, those particular things so I feel like I can serve those lanes pretty smoothly.
Me: Being a jazz musician do you feel that you talk through the world relating to time different?
Robert: Totally. I have a song on my album called "Expectations" with Baby Rose and Rapsody that talks about that exact thing. I very much move through the universe closely. I'm very much in tune with that. Even when I make my albums I always say the universe co-produces my albums all the time. Things that I want to happen don't always happen most of the time. Half of the stuff I want to happen happens so I go into that with things already in mind. This is kinda what will happen but I know the universe will make something happen well, but I'm okay with that, lets see what that brings us and it brought me amazing situations. When you think about it, was is time.
Me: You recorded an album of Miles Davis songs. Are you a big Miles Davis fan?
Robert: I always say Miles Davis is the walking middle finger of jazz. He's the epitome of "fuck yo feelings." It literally wasn't about what we thought, it was always about this is who he is. This is what it is, and he loved music and he loved the evolution of music and he loved the young musicians and loved changing sounds. He always knew how to find young musicians who were on a brink of finding new sounds and he knew how to cultivate that and make it something. He allowed the cats to have a voice. He's Miles Davis but at the same time he knew that he didn't know everything. There was things he could learn as well and so he was always relevant. He was never one of those old guys who said that's not jazz, that's not jazz. What? Jazz is a mutt to begin with. It was never music that out of the blue happened. It's a mixture of a bunch of things. That's what all music does because we get influenced by new genres of music that pops up. Now it sounds different.
Me: What do you think of young jazz musicians now?
Robert: No one should be a young jazz musician now playing the jazz language of someone that is 90. I'm not saying it's wrong to play that language but when we have an issue with people who are taking the language and changing it and making it relevant then that's an issue for me. Because that's what it's supposed to do. Even less just say someone loves jazz from 1959, let's go with "Kinda Blue," that's arguably the greatest jazz album ever made. It's the best seller of jazz. Most "jazz police" will say they agree with me. But that's not the origin of jazz, jazz came out way before that. That "Kinda Blue" album is something that happened over time. People got influenced by music before that and that's something that ended up in 1959. It's literally the same concept because probably people who were playing jazz music in 1915 probably thought "Kinda Blue" ain't jazz. Jazz evolved in what they heard in "Kinda Blue" and evolved into what John Coltrane was doing in 1964 then it evolved into free jazz and evolved into electronic music and then there was fusion. That's literally what we're supposed to do unless we walk around with our ears plugged. Not being influenced just doesn't make sense.
Me: Would you say it's less of the musicians side of jazz than the consumption side of jazz?
Robert: It's both. On the musicians side of jazz they don't feel like they could keep up with what's happening, what's changing. So they try to pigeonhole it so they could be relevant. Because if we keep it moving they don't feel relevant anymore. They don't even have to like what's changing and what's new. They just have to acknowledge and appreciate the fact that it's changing. That it's growing. They can't tell their kids to be 5-years-old for the rest of their life. There's gonna be stages with the kid when he was badder at this stage. No, they're gonna grow and they're going to do somethings they won't like. That's life and they have to love them regardless. That's what music is, it's gonna change, it's gonna move, its gonna do stuff we don't like. The fact is it's gonna change and move so just acknowledge the move and changing of it. We should be a person that wants it to move and change. If someone is a person that doesn't want it to move and change they better check themselves.
Me: What do you think about hip hop nowadays compared to the jazz world?
Robert: Hip hop has always been relevant. They always welcomed the new hip hop. Even now, the scene of hip hop and the business of hip hop embraces all the younger people. All the "Lils." Lil Baby This and Lil Baby That, everybody wants to be Lil. But the hip hop scene itself, the engine, the business of it represents those people and back them. The jazz world doesn't do that. The engine doesn't necessary represent and push and really help and support in a real way. But now what's happening is long jazz musicians are having their own voice. Their like hey, this is my influence and they're bringing other influences in because we have more music to be influenced by then our elders did. That's a fact. So we're supposed to be influenced by these things.
Me: Who were you influenced by?
Robert: I was influenced by Roy Hargrove. He came to my high school and I never seen a young black jazz músician wearing jeans and t-shirt's. How whole band looked like me and my friends.
Me: What did you expect?
Robert: I expected someone to look like my principal. When I was in high school or junior high I was a kid and looked at an average jazz musician it didn't excite me, it made me think I have to wear a suit because for the most partial jazz musicians all wore suits that was the dress code to that genre of music. It's very rare that we find people with actual personalities and they show it through how they dress, how they talk, how they live. When we have that in jazz they stuck out like a sore thumb most of the time.
Me: So, with all the shit in the world is your priority to make music that makes people feel good?
Robert: That's always the priority. There's nothing better than when I go to places and people tell me what music has done for them. That's why I do it, it's literally for that. I don't play for other musicians. I used to when I first started. I wanted to impress all the cats. The most important part is to make people feel good with the music. If I make music that makes people feel good then that's all that matters to me.
Me: Robert, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope this was fun. Stay safe and please come back again.
Robert: Thank you so much.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Robert Glasper for a cool interview. So, my book Blaphaus Maximus and the New Galaxy Day is now available on Kindle as well as paperback. You can purchase it here...
amazon.com/gp/product/B08CPNPLMD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Okay, the Phile will be back on Wednesday with musician
T Bone Burnett. I'm pretty excited. Spread the word, not the turd... or virus. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Mask it or casket.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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