Essence of DOPE
Posts tagged Ethiopia
The Habesha Dream
Feb 22nd
I struggle with the idea of fulfilling that dream—whether I am doing it for my parents or for myself. I am torn between the two aspects because I am caught in between two dreams.
by Shiwet Kidane written: Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
Growing up our parents instilled a lot of nationalism for our countries for either Eritrea or Ethiopia. I can recall wearing itchy Eritrean sweaters that said freedom 1991. I remember growing up to be proud of where I come from and my parents used to tell me things about my history and said they wanted us to be leaders and go back and use our knowledge to build back in my mother country. I remember my mom touching her heart every time I tried speaking tigrinya as a child and my dad grabbing me from outside at Habesha parties to dance with him. I remember around my country people that I was allowed to feel really comfortable and that I felt a sense of community in the diaspora.
My mom would tell me that I had a bigger responsibility beyond myself—that I had the duty to help others. Some could say that my parents were instilling in me what some More >
Shhhhh Tsome
Feb 20th
I mean think about it, if God had Twitter and Facebook, do you think he would tweet or Facebook he saved a soul or listened to our prayers.
by Teddy Fikre written: Monday, February 20th, 2012
YO! Today is the first day of Tsome! I can’t wait to Facebook all about it. Man, I have been waiting all week for 12:00 AM Monday so that I can be the first person to tweet “I am beginning a 40 day Tsome”! This is great, when at 11:59 and 50 seconds, I already had my Facebook comment and my Tweet typed in! 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-TSOME! Click send! Yes, now all my friends and followers know I am tsoming! Oh glory on me, I am the center of the world, I am so religious with it eko:: Surely, God will bless me for Tsoming in public and letting the world know just how much sacrifice I am making in HIS name. Man, I might as well be Jesus Fikre aydel, I mean I am giving my one begotten kitfo up in order to glorify yene esgyaber::
Um, no Teddisho, you are not actually fasting nor Tsoming for Him. You see wendeme, when one fasts, it is a covenant More >
Picture Perfect
Feb 16th
Not everyone will see things my way, but when some do, cherish those people instead of fighting empty battles.
by Teddy Fikre written: Thursday, February 16th, 2012
Let me reveal a few things about me to you; let me paint a perfect picture for those who misunderstand me. You see, there are two sides to me: 1) the shining star that shines light on my people based on the theory of Hebret 2) the dark star that emits rays of odium on those who dare spit hatred my way. This seeming contradiction, a vacillation between love and odium, has served me well in terms of marketing and reaching a wide audience. After all, there is a reason why TMZ has a wider reach than CNN. However, the vacillation has also injured my soul and in the process served to lessen my credibility in the Ethiopian and Eritrean community.
Here is the thing. To be honest, off the break, I am a kind person. Yeah I know I can come across as a bit arrogant, but when it comes down to it, I give everyone a chance until they give me a reason to doubt them. I believe in Hebret deeply, shit when I More >
Tattoos and Taboos
Feb 15th
We are headed towards a cultural oblivion, yet we continue to write the story of our collective destruction one tattoo at a time.
by Teddy Fikre written: Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
This article was inspired by one of my boys, a DOPE artist, a DOPE poet, and a DOPE wendem overall. He is actually my conscience, behind the scenes he is always telling me to get my shit together and stop writing baseless and asinine articles about useless souls who attack me and instead focus my God given talents to write about humanity—its flaws and it’s beauty. I have a thousand consciences heeding me to lead Ethiopians down the path of redemption instead of invoking hatred and a vindictive nature to lead us down the path of damnation.
So today, I asked my conscience behind the scenes what I should write about on www.browncondor.com. Yeah I times I run split lick dry out of ideas and thus I turn to my friends to give me a topic to split open like a coconut and nourish the minds of Ethiopians with the milk of magnesia of that very coconut. Thus he told me to split open the coconut of the taboo that is tattoos More >
A Luped Out Fiasco
Feb 13th
We either stand at the precipice of the edge and jump without a parachute into a dark hole of self-hatred or take flight with Brown Condor to soar to our collective liberation.
by Teddy Fikre written: Monday, February 13th, 2012
Who to write about next? This I ponder over a cigs by the dozens and coffee by the cup loads. I mean my cortex can only produce so much DOPE text in any given moment and my synapses can only snap back so many times in any given day. Seriously, I have written about poets, politicians, artists, singers, and cowardly niggas without regard to bias. I wrote three lines of the Obama “Yes We Can” speech in 2008 only to end up in a ditch of depression from the outsized expectations. I travel to Venus and back bringing back asteroids of DOPE factoids only to be scorched by Earth’s ozone layers upon reentry. Maybe it is best I pump the breaks; maybe it is best that I slow down and look within first before I shine a light on some other deserving soul or an undeserving troll::
What the hell, you knew I was not going to do any such thing. I impeach More >
Fikre ena Whitney
Feb 12th
Woke up in distress, depressed and alone, I lost my father 10 years ago, last night I lost my nigist who always gave me good love.
by Teddy Fikre written: Sunday, February 12th, 2012
Had a dream of my father last night Woke up in a frenzied flight Last night I saw my father Fikre This morning I am on the brink Broken hearted and torn Maybe this is what happens When you lose Whitney I swear losing ONE is a bitch Puts one in a miserable ditch I look up and HE is gone Look down and she is done This is our story This is our history A collection of graves A gathering of slaves To be buried and entombed Left a bastard of the world I am a child of no one I am a son unloved I am bowed and bloodied I am lost and unmarried I am I am I am I am speechless The eulogy of nothingness I now reside in heart break hotel Room 7320 Third floor Flooded in blood Covered in blue I am I am am I am I Really left undone Rest in Peace Fikre Rest in Peace Whitney “Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies.” ~Elie Wiesel
[click to see Whitney give Good Love]
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Rest With Peace Whitney Houston
Feb 11th
I looked to you Whitney with sadness and love mixed with regret and misery, you made me smile, now you are gone, I remain crying in pain::
by Teddy Fikre written: Saturday, February 11th, 2012
Rest with Peace Whitney Houston
You are gone in one moment of my time You taught me to love unbendingly You lived to be the very best You had it all no time for less Yes now you are gone Filled me with sadness and regret You don’t understand how much I loved With you I was loved endlessly Now I have nothingness I am a dark soul in brightness You were my Queen my main Nigist Now a king resides in distress I sleep on my couch in a mess
You were the one who had it all Until you married that higga You know who That fucker Bobby He took your voice Had you cracked up with crack He left you in dust and ashes Your nose bleeding from white substance Bobby took an angel like you And clipped your wings Had you crash back to earth Robbed you of your halo Left singing hello without a cello Now I hear empty echoes A cacophony of endless nos
I miss you dearly Whitney I swear i hate writing this shit I did not want the last thing I write To be a eulogy of your last breath I More >
BC Puzzle
Feb 10th
This a DOPE Puzzle, way more DOPER than Google and harder to play than Atari. This is the inaugural Brown Condor puzzle, enechawet lijoch, let’s go Meto Gena in eko::
by Teddy Fikre written: Friday, February 10th, 2012
This the first ever Brown Condor puzzle. If you think, no scratch that, if you think this is DOPER than google, share it on your wall, email it to your friends, and mos def tweet about it on twitter using #BCPuzzle. Now, solve this puzzle, first person that solves this puzzle gets 4 bags of Kolo, 8 bags of Shembere, and 10 gallons of Atmit. Tolo tolo sewoch, enechawet ahun. Send the solved puzzle back to me (info@browncondor.com) to claim your prize.
Keep scrolling down to see rest of article!
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” ~Albert Einstein
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Seeker of Truth
Feb 8th
I appreciate your light, your essence; in your eyes I see freedom, justice, and most of all homage to 3,000,000 black folks dead in the Atlantic Ocean.
by Teddy Fikre written: Thursday, February 8th, 2012
Talib Kweli. Let me say that again. Talib Kweli. His first name Talib means “student” or “seeker” in Arabic and his last name in Swahili means “truth” or “true”. So let me say that again, a seeker of Truth. That is what my man Talib Kweli is, a student of true—a true revolutionary on a jihad of self awareness who is educating along the way the masses who live in dark lit corners. He is a prophet who is in essence profiting me and my people, one nod heading beat and bar at a time.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Kweli grew up in a highly educated household in Park Slope. His mother, Brenda Greene, is an English professor at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York and his father an administrator at Adelphi University. His younger brother, Jamal Greene, is a professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School, and former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. As a youth, More >
Habesha Mailbag
Feb 3rd
Welcome back for Habesha Mailbag 2.0
This is the second edition of the Habesha Mailbag; last week’s mailbag was a smashing success, time to build on the success.
by Teddy Fikre written: Friday, January 3rd, 2012
This is the second edition of the Habesha Mailbag; last week’s mailbag was a smashing success, time to build on the success.
Alright sewoch, endet nachew? Melkam Arb, Happy Friday, I bet you are ready to get the weekend popping after a long week of working. I feel you boo boos (yeah I know that is a bit feminine, but I am making it masculine). Anyway, it’s that time of the week where I interact with my readers and see what we come up with together. I am sure to laugh my Qit off while reading their questions and comments and then laugh my Qit off again while responding—what can I say, I know how to make myself laugh.
Now before we get to the emails. Since this is an article inspired by Bill Simmons, let me take a quick attempt to be a sports pundit. My prediction for the Super Bowl is that the little blue giants (aka the New York Viagra) will lose to the New England More >