Grandmaster Flash and Sasha Fierce

Above: The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel. Music would never be the same . . .

I'm focused on writing & class prep, but as usual my breaks have been equally rich with fascinating stuff. First, on my way back from the events yesterday morning I came across the autobiography of Grandmaster Flash at ye olde NYPL. Music, business, the public good and the higher self--his story brings 'em all together in a poignant and compelling mix.

Do-gooders who ridicule rap and hip hop really should pay more attention, because these communities have done more for social improvement than fifty social enterprise bakeries put together. Don't get me wrong--bakeries and such have their place, but to make such ventures the limit of social enterprise is just another way of saying "Let them eat cookies."

Ever since watching last week's Saturday Night Live, I've also been paying more attention to Beyonce's creation of an alter ego, Sasha Fierce. It's the latest in a long line of pop other selves, winding back through Prince, David Bowie and James Brown to--as this wonderful new bio notes--the pathbreaking professional wrestler Gorgeous George.

As with Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five--along with a host of other noted rap, hip hop and pop artists--Beyonce's Sasha Fierce blends synchronized action with an ethical sense. Consider "Single Ladies," the video below, and how it links marriage and enlightened transformation. There's little sense of marriage as servitude evident in this nineteenth century folk song.