KAHN'S HIP-HOP TOY BOX 

What is "Kahn's hip-hop toy box?"  Well it's urban, pop toys, hip-hop action figures and vinyl figures that I decided to put in funny, political, and interesting situations.  Its really nothing more than toy photography with a hip-hop and urban twist.  Big up to my man's Valid for letting me use track "Validation" and "This Music" of your Reach High album.

Hip-Hop Toy Box Facebook page



Also, to check out the rest of photography from Kahn Santori - go to www.ksantori.com
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Parenting to your Strengths 


My grandfather had story for every situation & obstacle in life.  He constantly used his past experiences to help me (try to) avoid mistakes and guide me.  My grandmother never shared many personal stories.  Most of her parenting was through the muse of prayer and bible study.  My grandfather on the other hand rarely used religious teachings to get his point across to me.  For the most part he was a pretty proud Christian, but was also at his best when he used his own familiarities to relate to me…Read more

Entrepreneurship, Damon Dash, Guilt, and Understanding Your Personality  


Damon Dash made quite a buzz on the Breakfast Club when he challenged everyone to be their own boss.  Most of what he said was on point but it deeper than just, “not wanting to call another man boss.”



There are 3 big things I would like everyone to think about here.

1.     Don’t’ feel “guilty” if you aren’t the type to start and run your own business.  It doesn’t make you less of a man or a bad example for your children.  Millions of people have the mental stamina to push themselves through undergrad, post…Read more

A Glimpse at My Grandparents Marriage  

I remember vividly my pop’s words to a friend who tried to console him at my grandmother’s funeral, “It hurt bad having to burry my daughter but losing my wife is different.  I’ve never went through anything like this.” 
Growing up I had the pleasure to see the mechanics of their marriage but I greatly underappreciated how special it was.  It was a mixed bag of traditional roles and things that worked uniquely for them.
*Pop paid all the bills except for grand ma’s credit cards and the telephone bill.
*Grand…Read more

My Grandfather, Athletes, and Me  

    To say I wasn’t quite that athletic as a kid is like saying an elephant isn’t quite that big.  I wasn’t fast, didn’t have the best coordination, bad hands, and a little on the clumsy side.  But hey; I had a lot of heart! Lol  My grandfather knew this which is why my participation in sports was viewed as a recreational outlet at best. 
    Fast forward 20 years and now I’m an AAU dad whose 15 year-old and 11 year-old sons have more athletic ability than I could have ever dreamed of.  I talk to the dads of…Read more

Hip-Hop, Parenting, Grand Ma, 1986 to 2014 


   It’s hard to believe that in 1986 my grandmother found my RUN DMC Raising Hell tape, threw it away, and grounded me.  She was a Christian and anything titled Raising Hell haaad to be bad.  I remember several months later she walked in on me listening to EPMD and said, “I don’t know what they’re saying, but it all sounds bad.”  I was 10 years old then.  A time when hip-hop songs only came on the radio weekends after 8pm, a time when I would have a blank cassette paused in my Sanyo boom-box so I could…Read more

Saying, “No Thank You,” Grand Ma, and Integrity 













Growing up; once a month or so Mr. Martin would come by and check on his house and children next door to us.  He owned the 3 bedroom colonial but allowed his adult children to stay there.  He would pull up in his long Cadillac, visit all the neighbors, stop the ice-cream truck, and buy ice-cream for every kid who happened to be outside; except for me.  My grandparents never allowed me to accept ice-cream from Mr. Martin (though they did like him a lot). 
As I got a little older (11 years-old maybe), I would…Read more

African-American Nutrition and Disease - Where is the Leadership? 

















    The June 23, 2014 Time cover story says “Eat Butter”- Scientists labeled fat the enemy.  Why they were wrong.”   Though this is being presented as a new concept; it’s actually been discussed, lectured and written about by cardiologist Dr. William Davis, journalist Gary Taubes, Peter Attia, radio show host Carl Lenore, and a host of other rouge & underground nutritionists and homeopathic doctors.  The premise is simple to explain:  America’s reliance on carbohydrates, wheat, and sugar while blaming fat…Read more

Growing up in Detroit Pt. 1 Middle Eastern, Black, Hispanic, White, and Understanding Race Through Experiences  















           To say I grew up “sheltered” would be like saying an elephant is just a “little’ heavy.  My first 17 years on earth featured 10 grades of Catholic School, no riding my bike past the corner, streetlight curfews, more home cooked meals than B. King crowns, and a community of neighbors and friends to make sure I stayed in my lane.  It was understandable; my parents had died and my safety and future was taken very seriously.           
           I was also sheltered as it related to my interactions…Read more

White Pastor, Mixed Church, Malcom, Martin, & Mixed Results 

















I‘m almost certain that when my grandparents went looking for a church home in the late 1950s - it wasn’t a complicated process.  They probably visited a couple of churches that were walking distance or a short drive away. I’m sure they took into account the message, warmth of the congregation, and the overall “feel” of the church when it came to making their decision. 
Fast forward 60 plus years and looking for a church home is more comparable to looking for a new house.  There are 100 things you’re looking…Read more

Rusty Barbell/Loss/Passing/Fight& Endurance 


















Sometimes when you run into old acquaintances after a long absence; their appearance tells the story before their words do.  Today I ran into Steven.  A twentysometing year-old cat I used to share small talk with at the gym.  He looked awesome; as if he never missed a day at the gym when in reality he hadn’t been in over a year because of money issues. 
After the typical hand slaps and greetings were exchanged; he opened up about being separated from his wife, the problems he was having seeing his son…Read more

New Creativity, New Venture, New Road- 

New creativity, new venture, new road.

Looking back; I remember being 12 years-old writing poems in the back of math notebooks,  14 years -old using a GE Boombox, a Radio Shack mixer, and a cheap turntable to record my on raps.   I worked to navigate my way to and through the fields of journalism, stage & page poetics, and wedding photography. and Finally: there was the task of resculpting and reshaping my physique after being overweight for about 7 years , All I have ever wanted to do was create. Thats it.…Read more

Our Anniversary, Your Birthday, and My Rant. 



     Ok wifey, we are here again. Your birthday and our anniversary and I'm left stitching words together hoping they make sense. Hoping that they can somehow justify how I feel. So instead of writing a poem, letter, or something fancy. I'm just going to “rant” it out; and pray you can make sense out some of it.

     I don't how it works in other marriages but this husband still daydreams about making love to you as if I've never made love to you before. As if you're making me wait to make sure that I'm…

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Bullying, Being Broken, Makes Me Want to Holler 






 

 

By now the bullying situation between Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito of the Miami Dolphins has sparked an endless amount of conversations and debates. But the very first time I heard the story, I thought of a book I read when I was 22 years old. It was Nathan McCall's “Makes me want to Holler.” The book was a memoir of the author's life and one of the main underlying tones of the book was about “being mentally broken/weak.”

 

The author gave several types of examples of individuals that were…

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Domestic Violence in Review and Perspective 



If you know me or have read any of my earlier blog posts than you already know domestic violence has affected my life.  I lost both parents to a domestic violence situation that has never been officially comprehended.  But this not solely about me - lets look a layer deeper into domestic violence in this society. 
Historical Perspective
 
For hundreds of years in western culture; most cities/states and law makers refused to properly acknowledge domestic violence.  You could start as recent as 1920 through the…Read more

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