In case you have not heard the great news, the internet may soon undergo changes which would effectively give control to major corporations. This happy event can be summed up with one acronym (because there’s always an acronym isn’t there?) S.O.P.A.

The Stop Online Piracy Act is being touted by “those who know better than you” as an effective measure in the fight against internet piracy and illegal downloading. What it REALLY is…. will have you singing corporate jingles to your children at night, will see to it that only “sanctioned” versions of art and history will be made public. S.O.P.A. will have you bowing your heads in prayer… to Mickey Mouse (and his wholly owned subsidiaries)..

On the surface, the protection of intellectual property that the S.O.P.A. bill is promising sounds…, well…, promising! The catch, however is who will be blamed once an infringement takes place. According to the latest Wikipedia update (as of this writing) “Rights-holders see intermediaries… as the only accessible defendants”. This means the people who actually create illegal uploads may be LIABLE, but their ISPs and hosting services will be held RESPONSIBLE.

Next time Prince’s attorney sees a baby on YouTube singing “Purple Rain” and decides that Heads MUST Roll… Not only can he seek removal of said content.  With the new legislation he can also assess… “damages”; because they now have a culprit with deep enough pockets to get something out of it! After Comcast and Google are made to pay money in court because of your irresponsible use of Prince’s intellectual property, do you think their next course of action will be to simply suspend your YouTube account? Even for LINKING to it you could ultimately be imprisoned for up to 5 years.

DNS Blocking was another amusing aspect of the bill. That is essentially the “blacklisting” of a website… (usually done if spyware is found), but under the bill, allegations of “piracy” could land your site on the list. A DNS blocking is easy enough to get around, but authors of S.O.P.A. were seeking to make it illegal to do so. Ultimately that measure was stricken from the bill. I am quite sure that was strategic, so we gladly accept what’s left. Regardless, it does show you exactly how far lawmakers are willing to take things.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

I have a theory that no politician is to be trusted, but the corporate slave, lackey responsible for introducing this handy piece of legislature is Congressman Lamar Smith – (R) Texas. He has plenty of support from the Democratic side as well, lest you think they can do no wrong. The bill is actually an extension of the Protect IP Act (PIPA) brought to you by Senator Patrick Leahy – (D) of Vermont. If you would at least like to read the Wikipedia entry on the bill, this is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act

Those of you who would like to read the bill summary in its entirety: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.3261:

Recently in the way of evil acronyms… President Obama passed the National Defense Authorization Act (N.D.A.A.), which comes up for review every fiscal year. This year’s version however, included a clause that allows for the indefinite imprisonment of anyone SUSPECTED of being a terrorist. Further it makes no provisions against the torture of said suspects.

Obama’s signing statement: “I have signed the Act chiefly because it authorizes funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, crucial services for service members and their families, and vital national security programs that must be renewed…I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.”

In other words “Someone’s got me by the balls” .

During the medieval dark ages, there was an unholy alignment with CHURCH and STATE, which allowed for interesting measures to be taken… (like The Spanish Inquisition) to ensure the public cooperated with “The Powers That Be”. The modern-day dark ages are being ushered in due to an alignment with CORPORATIONS and STATE. We have entered an era of Neo-Fascism, the likes of which the world has never seen. Of course NOW there is widespread protest; (http://sopastrike.com)  but once the information is controlled by the right people… we’ll be singing their praises.

Hello 2012!! )
I am very thankful for another year lived well, and I would like to show you some of the highlights.

#10 Burning Man
I always say my faith in humanity is renewed when I go there. There is always something to be said for beautiful naked ladies giving hugs and saying they love you, but it is deeper than that. It is a gathering in the desert devoted to the PARTY… and although attendees seem to push their OWN limits they remain very respectful of everyone else’s.

#09 Timeless With Liquid Stranger
I am hoping that one day people will start reading lyrics. This is a song that I feel speaks to what I am about. I know the dance music market is fickle, I know promises don’t mean a thing… yet I endure. When they’re done right, the vibes and the words are timeless.
Liquid Stranger – Timeless feat Mc Zulu by interchill

#8 Club Popozuda In London
This is a party in the same area that gave rise to Dubstep’s top producers, but it’s devoted to Brazilian music Club Popozuda is becoming a global brand run by The Bumps, Joao Brazil and James Hurrell.. Just watch the video to see why it made the top ten.

#7 The FreakEasy..! Our Chicago Party Collective With DJ Radiohiro
Radiohiro and his Heathen delegation is comprised of all colors, races, religions, walks of life… and YES sexual orientations; and there are NO PROBLEMS. This is a Chicago party collective that has run close to a decade without major drama. It’s also the only party where many genres of music are accepted. Freakeasy started in a loft (Radiohiro’s house), and the authorities required that we move it to a proper venue because of how it grew. This is why I wrote the song “Outlaw Speakerbox”.

#6 National Public Radio – 8:48 With Alison Cuddy
I have been listening to Alison Cuddy for quite a while… I have been listening to WBEZ for even longer. That’s why the opportunity to actually GO on the show really made me happy, and I was in Switzerland when I read the message, still all geeked..lol Anyway BIG thanks to Searchl1te, who went to DJ for me on very short notice.

http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/2011-04-08/dj-series-mc-zulu-controls-crowd-behind-mic-84916

#5 BadMan Bounce with FSTZ
Something about people in Kansas City… They do their THING and forget the rest of the world. The results are usually stunning, and leave you wondering how the HELL they did it. Tech9ne and Mac Lethal are two such examples. Well FSTZ is another. Dubstep did not just ‘happen’ in the USA like some think. It was due in part to independent DJ / Promoters pushing the sound. FSTZ’s “Kablammo” parties were THE Midwest launching pad for every Dubstep act that came from the UK during the late 2000′s. He’s not too shoddy of a producer either. He created a hybrid of Dubstep/Dance and named it “BadMan Bounce”… after the guy who he got to do the vocals for it. (who?? BadMan Zulu, Dammit) FSTZ is a BadMan as well. Bigup.

#4 No Freedom with J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science and Afrolicious
J Boogie invited me to do his radio show in 2006, when I was REALLY REALLY underground. I guess he was that forward thinking, even back then… or maybe just considerate. Either way I did not forget and when he asked me to guest on his album I jumped at the chance. So I got this Afrobeat sounding track from Afrilocious, and had to research The Man himself… FELA. That was a musical journey in its own right which has opened my eyes to things far beyond Dancehall, Reggae and Pop influences. I have to thank J-Boog for that. I noticed tho, that the distribution is limited in the USA (as of this writing). Maybe it has to do with the message.
No Freedom f. Afrolicious And MC ZULU by mczulu

#3 Higher Velocity with BIONIK for PUMA Fass / Usain Bolt Commercial
Was this song written specifically for PUMA?… I’ll never tell, but anyone who has worked with me knows I am no longer in the business of selling songs outright. Anyway Bionik has done all this work with artists like Sting, R Kelly, John Martin, Aceyalona, Far East Movement, etc. Every so often he comes thru with a great opportunity for yours truly. It usually requires me to stop what I’m doing and come up with something on the spot. So this song was written in about 10 hrs, then verses were cut out to make space for Aceyalone. There is also a version with Jah Orah. ..Soundgun Crew Bizzness…!

#2 Pitchfork Festival With Chrissy Murderbot / Impromptu Appearance Of My Youngest Kid
Here I was, minding my own business, screaming to a crowd of people and wondering if they understood anything. All of a sudden this kid comes up… Actually I don’t like going for the “cuteness factor”. Working kids into the act when they don’t belong there is kinda cheap..lol but I had my two youngest involved, throwing Murderbot’s crazy azz party favors to the crowd (so I wouldn’t have to do it.) When the 9 yr old was done, he started telling me.. only problem.. I’m workin’ here!….. Actually, this made my summer. I’d love to do a thousand more shows like this.

#1 Millenium Park Performance With DJ Radiohiro & My Daughter On Stage
The big difference between this and the previous entry is that my daughter was performing in a professional capacity. She has studied classical Indian dance for years (Under Hema Rajagopalan). Radiohiro mentioned how he would love to have someone dance during our sets, so I gave that suggestion. Chicago’s Millenium park crowds are dispersed and random, sitting on the grass, walking around the bean sculpture and not at all intimidating. Perfect place for a 13 yr old to make a professional, solo debut. It was a dream come true for me…

Great, kid. Now go be a doctor, lawyer or engineer dammit )

2011 was a great year for music. I am hoping that in 2012 I can reach out to more of you and we can make even bigger things happen together.