really real talk

Street Kings: Martin & Common

2008-04-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

“Hold the same fight that made Martin Luther the King”
(Common – “A Dream”)

Two years ago, about.com had a poll asking which emcee is the hip hop equivalent of Martin Luther King Jr.

The list was a who’s who of true lyricists, artists that have each in their own way spoken out against systems of oppression in a potent mix of poetry and politics. As a whole, they’re not the most popular rappers in the game, but they are by far the most focused on making a statement and spitting about what it is they stand for. Unapologetically. Undeniably. Each of the following names stands on its own as a force of revolution to be reckoned with:

Chuck D. Common. Talib Kweli. Pharoahe Monch. Lauryn Hill. Black Thought. Nas. KRS-One. Mos Def.

There were 371 votes cast when the poll closed and with 79 votes or 21 percent, Chi-town rapper Common was crowned as the most Kingly emcee. In a close second was god’s son Nas with 20 percent and Public Enemy frontman Chuck D. came in third with 12 percent of the votes. Lauryn Hill had 11 percent and the rest of the rappers had percentages under 10 including Other.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest orators of all time who could freestyle with the best of them. I wonder what he would think of the poll. Would he want to add anyone to the list? Take someone off of it? Would he vote for Common as the emcee that is his equivalent? Perhaps he would put out an album featuring his favorite rappers a la Cornel West. Or maybe he wouldn’t listen to hip hop at all.

It doesn't surprise me that Common -- who will be seen in the racially charged movie Street Kings one week from today -- would get the most votes in the public poll. He has been expressing messages that resonate with inspiration and consciousness from day one, attracting fans from all creeds and colors. He’s more modern that Chuck D. and KRS-One, less aggressive than Black Thought and Pharoahe Monch, more masculine than Ms. Hill and less controversial than Nas.

At the end of 2006, Common and will.i.am released “A Dream,” the lead single from the Freedom Writers movie soundtrack:

"Will had the beat pretty much hooked up, but once he started putting the Dr. Martin Luther King sample on there, it took me to a whole spiritual high level," Common told MTV. "The movie was already inspiring, but to be on a song with Martin Luther King, I had to write to the best of my ability. Ain't no playing when you have Martin Luther King on there."

"I think that hip-hop is part of that Martin Luther King dream. Hip-hop is a bridge to bring people together. ... At my concerts it's white kids, Latino kids, Asian kids sharing the same experience. I think hip-hop is bringing people together."

But let’s be real. It’s difficult to compare King to any modern-day emcee. First of all, it is a different day and age, where prejudice exists behind the scenes in subtleties and erupts ever so often in the forms of blind rants (Richards, Imus, Dobbs).

And rappers don’t march. They lean and rock with it. They have concerts. For cash. And they develop a following based on beats before beliefs. This is, of course, a generalization because at its core, hip hop is meant to represent everything King spoke about: social change, unity and progress.

But I do believe that every name on that poll above lives up to that standard in some way. And hip hop, at its best, will continue to grow out of Dr. King’s undying legacy. Just ask Barack Obama.

Don’t Worry If He Writes Rhymes, He Writes Texts

2008-03-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

They call Kwame Kilpatrick the “Hip Hop Mayor.”

If you asked me why a few months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you why and truth be told, I can’t even tell you who “they” are. Not only is he the mayor of America’s most dangerous city, but he’s the son of Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and was elected when he was 31 as the youngest mayor in the city’s history. But now he is caught up so deep in this case that by the end of this year, he might himself be history. And it’s no LOL matter.

But why is Kilpatrick considered hip hop? Is it ‘cause he’s black?

Ok. He did host Russell Simmons and rappers during Hip Hop Summit at Cobo Arena in 2003 and again at Wayne State University in 2006. But that’s played out. He does have a myspace. He's stylish. I suppose his wild stripper party at the Mayor’s mansion in 2002 and the lap dance he was getting from a stripper when his wife walked in might mirror some low-budget Rap City videos. (btw, the stripper, Tamara Greene, was killed the next year in a case that remains unresolved and in some crazy way is linked to all his current drama. More on that later.) But, as we all know, a real life BET video hardly makes anyone hip hop.

I didn’t get it at first, but with all that’s going on with dude nowadays, it’s starting to make some sense. Earlier this year, the Detroit Free Press found some 14,000 salacious text messages exchanged between Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, a chick he knew since high school. The text messages were from five years ago on city issued pagers, but when he wrote messages like "That's the first time I couldn't fully seduce you! My game is off. LOL!" he wasn’t talking about failure to push legislation. They were both married with children at the time of the affair. Beatty has since divorced and resigned. Carlita Kilpatrick is standing by her man.

It all came to an exploding head last week when Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced a 12-count criminal indictment against Kilpatrick and Beatty. Kilpatrick was charged with eight felonies including perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice. Apparently, the text messages also revealed that he was also lying during a whistle-blower lawsuit about the firing of Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown, who before he was “fired” was investigating the aforementioned stripper party where the mayor’s wife may or may not have attacked Tamara Greene. Drama right? (Not to mention Beatty’s former husband and Kilpatrick supposedly were boys.) It does have some sort of Jay-Z/Nas beef ring to it and his shady under-the-table dealings do appear Wire-esque. But still, all this makes Kilpatrick seem more Bill Clinton than Beanie Sigel.

But by the end of last week, I became a convert. Kilpatrick is hip hop. I’m not talking the alive and kicking version that became a global phenomenon linking cultures and customs in one empowering and emancipating language of art. I’m talking about today’s hip hop. The dead one.

Kilpatrick is yet another version of what happens when keeping it real goes wrong, when you slack on your pimpin’. First off, why in the world would you broadcast your undercover escapades on city-issued anything? And to my knowledge, he was the who re-authorized the city directive that said all electronic communication sent on city equipment should be “used in an honest, ethical, and legal manner,” not for personal or private use. But that’s not why he’s hip hop.

His hip hop status comes not from his actions, but his swagger, as misguided as it might be. On Thursday, he told hundreds of people that authorities are trying to “lock me up forever” over the messages.

"I have the opportunity right now to go prison, not jail, for text messages," Kilpatrick said during a 40-minute speech. "There's been no evidence. No facts presented. Get out of office and go to prison."

"I will humbly serve you till the day I die," he said from the pulpit.

In classic rapper fashion, Kilpatrick said he ain’t going nowhere. Despite what he’s up against, he sounds convinced that he is impervious to punishment. But really, if you peel away the layers of his bloated bravado, all you see is a power figure trembling like a sandbox bully who just hit a teacher. Just ask Remy Ma. It doesn’t get real until the prison sentence is given.

Not only that, but Kilpatrick seems bent on blaming everybody but himself. That sounds like a few modern-day emcees I know. Whether it’s LL Cool J or Method Man blaming Def Jam for their album sales numbers or rappers in general blaming the press for negative reviews and criticism. There should come a point where you own up to your part in the issue. (This goes for America at large too which of course blames rap for all of its ills.) But like rappers, Kilpatrick is in a position of authority. What he does and says matters and with that comes responsibility. Kilpatrick might know responsibility. They might have even been cool at one point. But right now, it doesn’t look like Kilpatrick has been kicking it much with responsibility. At least not in public. (Maybe he hooked up with his wife on the low.)

Kilpatrick is definitely trying to save face, which is standard procedure in hip hop. David Patterson, New York’s new governor came clean about his extramarital affairs and drug use so I guess that makes him the Rock n Roll Governor. Or is that R&B? In any case, I’ve been thinking about Kilpatrick’s attachment to technology and in this age of ringtone rap, I wondered what he might have on his phone when a certain somebody dials his number.
So here’s my list of Kilpatrick’s top five ringtones:

“Can’t Let You Go” by Fabolous (for Christine Beatty)
We been creepin and sneakin/Just to keep it from leakin/We so deep in our freakin/That we don't sleep on the weekend
Need I say more?

“Song Cry” by Jay-Z (for Carlita Kilpatrick)
It was out of this and Jigga’s “03 Bonnie and Clyde” but with that “me and my girlfriend” hook, Kilpatrick didn’t want to risk getting confused and answering the phone with the wrong name on his tongue.

“Cleaning Out My Closet” by Eminem (for Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick)
2Pac’s Dear Mama would have been too obvious, especially if it rings in a city budget meeting. Plus, it is more earnest than Detroit’s mayor seems to be. But with this Eminem cut as a polyphonic ringtone, Kilpatrick can nod his head while knowing in the back of it that he’s about to get it.

“Playa Hata” by the Luniz (for the Detroit Free Press)
In 1995, along with “I Got 5 On It,” this track was the other classic from the Oakland rap duo and I’m sure big pimpin’ Kilpatrick is feeling this one right about now.

“Bad Boy For Life” by Diddy (for all other callers)
Kilpatrick could have quoted directly from this track last week as he vowed to remain in office. Residents are torn. Some say he should stay. Others say he should go. The saga continues…

The Correlation of Church and State

2008-03-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, when this country was the so-called “New World,” everybody and they mama was coming this way to get away from religious persecution.

Nevermind the fact the Native American tribes been here. Chillin. Or that this country was billed as the place to be if you wanted to get your own religion on.

Religious tolerance, they called it. And ever since then, public officials have been hammering the “separation of church and state” idea over our heads, which meant the church and government should mind their own businesses. Thomas Jefferson linked the phrase to the First Amendment in a letter to a religious minority group in Connecticut, stating that the government power would be limited to actions, not opinions and natural rights.

But, as we all know, that “wall of separation” between church and state might as well be the Wall of Jericho. Nevermind the fact that church and state were shacking up at the time the Constitution was written. Or that there are religious references in official contexts such as the Declaration of Independence and that the national motto is “In God We Trust.”

American sociologist Robert N. Bellah argued the point that just because there is supposed to be that separation doesn’t mean there can’t be religiousness in political spheres. In his analysis of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech, he wrote this:

"Considering the separation of church and state, how is a president justified in using the word 'God' at all? The answer is that the separation of church and state has not denied the political realm a religious dimension.”

Which brings me to now (I’m done with the history lesson), with the drama surrounding Presidential hopeful Barack Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. Wright married Obama and his wife Michelle, baptized their children and the Obama family has attended Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ for more than 20 years. Wright retired in early 2008 but in the past few weeks, he has become mainstream media’s latest target for his comments from previous years:

"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people," he said in a 2003 sermon. "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."

Now, maybe I'm crazy, but this sounds spot on to me. The media snatched random quotes and video clips, by the way, but what part of this is false? And even if you take issue with the rhetoric, what does Obama have to do with what this man chooses to say? Unlike some candidates, he has his own mind. After staying silent on the issue for a few days, Sen. Hillary Clinton told reporters and editors at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, as she interviewed for the paper’s editorial endorsement, that she would have not attended Wright’s church:

“He would not have been my pastor. You don’t choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend.”

Errr? Obama has already said that to him, Wright is like that “old uncle” that you don’t always agree with. That should be the end of it. Next thing you know, they'll be interviewing some friend of a second cousin whose babymama used to work with the neighbor of the man that once delivered mail to Obama and was overheard saying "the government is full of crap." And guess who will get the blame for that. It doesn’t make a difference if you choose your church or family because at a point, they become one in the same. There is nobody on this planet that has the exact same perspectives that you do and as the cliché goes, that’s what makes people unique.

Bet, there are people in Clinton’s campaign who don’t agree with everything she says and does, but that does not mean they’re wrong or she's wrong for associating with them. And if this country was “founded” on those very ideals of open opinions, why is this such a big deal? And it seems to be a big deal only with Obama. The media, Clinton and the Republican machine seem jointly bent on forcing the Senator from Chicago to address his faith for some odd reason. Before the Wright commotion, the big question was whether or not Obama was a Muslim. And it was all about Farrakhan before that.

Obama, being the smooth operator that he is, did not reject Wright. He did denunciate the comments but more importantly, Obama used the opportunity to open a discussion on race in America.

And Chi-town rapper Common, who supports Obama and rapped at the megachurch on New Year’s Eve, came forward to defend his former pastor:

"He never really was against white people or another race," says Common. "It was more against an establishment that was oppressing people. I think we all can see that this country has problems and a lot of it starts in the political system."

As the wall of separation between church and state continues to crumble before our eyes (as if it ever existed), we will continue to see more of this religious smearing. But there is some good to it: At least T.I. -- who's currently under house arrest and facing serious time on weapons charges -- got to go to church on Easter Sunday.

The Wire: A Final Farewell

2008-03-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

"...life is made of ever so many partings welded together..."
-- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I feel like Bubbles.

Not the fifth season, top-floor resurrected, clean-shaven Bubbles. I’m talking pre-stair climb, cart-pushing, vacant room resident Bubbles. It has been one week since HBO's definitive urban drama The Wire ended its powerful five-year indictment of America’s war on drugs and I need a fix.

For the past week, I kept holding my breath, hoping that somehow some way, David Simon and Ed Burns, co-creators of The Wire, would return, finding another murky crevice of Baltimore to explore. But now, seven days later, the fact that The Wire is truly over is starting to feel as real as the show felt when it was on.

It feels odd now, almost post-apocalyptic, like the world ended when The Wire went off and I was one of the unlucky ones who got left behind to the brain poisoning of shows like Flavor of Love 3. In that case, I guess I’m more like Dukie. Everything else on TV seems lifeless but alternatives don’t seem to exist. And not only that but, as weird as it sounds, characters from the incredible show have been making cameos in my dreams. Two nights ago, I dreamt I was talking to Michael about his turning point scene with Snoop in this last season:

"How my hair look?"

"You look good, girl."

And now when I watch movies, I draw connections between characters like how the ice-cold kingpin Marlo could easily embody the Coen Brothers’ "unstoppable evil" archetype most recently seen in "No Country For Old Men" with Anton Chirgurh, the heartless hitman played immaculately by Javier Bardem.

That is how it happens. The Wire creeps into your subconscious and stays there for good. It keeps you hooked long after it's over. That is part of the genius of Simon and Co. But it is so much more than that. The Wire found a way to connect worlds that, in real life, mainstream media aims to compartmentalize. There are no good guys or bad guys. There are only people with problems and potential and pain. Often, it has been said that The Wire can be compared to the fiction of Charles Dickens with its vast cast sprawled across socioeconomic levels, political spheres and the institutions that make the world go round and, too often, go wrong. Simon himself has often said that it is a novel.

This year, in its fifth and final season, The Wire -- with its compelling cast, interwoven plotlines and unflinching dialogue – reached critical mass. Every 10 minutes, some critic or blogger would post another entry rightly praising the genuine genius of the show (despite a common distaste for this season’s journalism angle). You could catch the back and forth dialogue at the TV Club at Slate, where Jacob Weisberg famously called it "The Best Show On Television." Or read the regular Wire commentary on Salon, which awarded the show its first-ever "Buffy" award. I even found a site that answered one of my original questions: why do white people like The Wire so much? My personal favorite was a New York Times’ Freakonomics blog called "What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? by Sudhir Venkatesh, author of "Gang Leader for a Day." And also Alan Sepinwall’s excellent Q&A with Simon. Or you could read this 6,000-word piece breaking down the first two seasons and urging us all to tune in.

Like all other Wire addicts, I too have become a private PR rep, pushing the show toward anyone in range, calling out like a corner boy. (“I got that new Wire DVD box set. Season Four.”) I got my girl on it, too. And when I’m out and I run into a fellow fanatic, it instantly becomes a point of connection. But for all the other millions who say “what’s The Wire?” or “so and so was telling me about it, but I never got into it,” all I can say is you’re missing out on a crucial part of life. But like “The Matrix,” no one can truly be told what The Wire is. You really do have to see it for yourself. And like the last film in “The Matrix” trilogy, The Wire ends with a system reboot: Michael is the new Omar and Dukie the new Bubbles. Sydnor is the new McNulty and Carver the new Daniels. And little Kenard is a Marlo-in-the-Making. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

The Wire has made such a poignant societal statement. And Cheese (rapper Method Man) summed it up best as he delivered the show’s five season epitaph: "There ain't no back in the day. Ain't no nostalgia. Just the street and the game…"

There are so many pieces of the series that you could extrapolate and spend forever writing about, analyzing the subtle symbolism or examining the parallels of certain story arcs. You could write about the indelible mark it has made on hip hop. Felicia Pearsons, the callous killer known as Snoop, and Michael K. Williams, everyone’s favorite old-school homo stick-up king with a code, Omar, supposedly have rap projects on the way. Or try to figure out why The Wire, with its predominately black cast, has been disgracefully ignored by Emmy voters.

But it is over now. And so I too bid a final farewell to the greatest show to ever be shown on the box, flip through the TV menu in vain and let Mr. Simon and Co. do the honors of concluding this eulogy with this excerpt from their thought-provoking TIME Magazine piece:

We write a television show. Measured against more thoughtful and meaningful occupations, this is not the best seat from which to argue public policy or social justice. Still, those viewers who followed The Wire — our HBO drama that tried to portray all sides of inner-city collapse, including the drug war, with as much detail and as little judgment as we could muster — tell us they've invested in the fates of our characters…

These viewers, admittedly a small shard of the TV universe, deluge us with one question: What can we do? If there are two Americas — separate and unequal — and if the drug war has helped produce a psychic chasm between them, how can well-meaning, well-intentioned people begin to bridge those worlds?

And to this question, they propose the following, not as a complete solution, but as an effective form of dissent:

If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented. Save for a prosecution in which acts of violence or intended violence are alleged, we will — to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun's manifesto against the death penalty — no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government that uses nonviolent drug offenses to fill prisons with its poorest, most damaged and most desperate citizens.

'Kristen' Is Blowing Up. What Are Youuu Doing?

2008-03-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

Rappers could learn a thing or two from Eliot Spitzer’s hooker.

More than a week ago, Ashley Alexandra Dupre was just another random 22-year-old aspiring pop singer from Jersey, an average nobody with a dream. But this week, the world met “Kristen,” Dupre’s alter ego as a high-priced escort and now she's (in)famous. In a matter of moments, she has become pop culture’s woman of the moment. This may not have been the type of stardom she has been searching for, but for Dupre’s feature role in the dramatic downfall of disgraced former New York Gov. Spitzer, she has been thrust into the mainstream. And, as she is finding out no doubt, the mainstream is muddy.

"I just don’t want to be thought of as a monster," she told the New York Times.

Dupre has been subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury investigation and all the while, her myspace page is hotter than the red-hot Houston Rockets, generating 5,000 visitors a minute. Her song, "What We Want," has been played more than three million times and counting. It has been playing on Z100 and 103.5 KTU, according to recent comments on her page. She added another track, "Move Ya Body," to her Amie Street profile and apparently an album is supposed to be coming out May 5. She was already a video chick. Now they’re talking possible book deals, photo shoots. This is the type of free publicity that all you up and coming e-rappers can only dream of.

It must suck. All Dupre had to do was get caught up in some illegal Mayflower Hotel hook-up, a career-crushing romp with a high official and now she’s rich.

And where are you Lil So and So? What kind of publicity have you gotten lately? A few comments from friends in your rap group telling you “that joint was hot”? A download or two in a day? Some rapper somewhere right now is probably plotting some scandalous scheme to get Condi Rice to come out the pocket for a deep tissue massage. I mean I know you’ve got to be asking yourself: what does "Kristen" have that I don’t?

She grew up rough too, at least according to her myspace profile, where her motto is “what destroys me, strengthens me.”

"But my path has not been easy. When I was 17, I left home. It was my decision and I've never looked back. Left my hometown. Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Left and learned what it was like to have everything, and lose it, again and again."

Even though the LA Times wrote a piece questioning the authenticity of her origin story: "It's a tough image to reconcile with the wealthy surroundings of a childhood spent with her mother, older brother and stepfather, an oral surgeon. The white brick home in an upscale development near the Jersey Shore, is bordered with manicured shrubs and a wide, curved driveway. Large brass letters spell "PEACE" above the polished, auburn wood door."

But so what if she’s making stuff up. It doesn’t matter to you, Lil So and So does it? You’ve embellished your bootstraps tale too, haven’t you? You’ve peppered it with some choice Scarface clips too, didn’t you? You can’t be mad at her. It’s all in the game. Just another hustle, right? But then again, you’ve been hustling hard too and it only seems to get you negative attention or worse, none at all, as you get stuffed into the back seat of a squad car for trying to fill in the lies of your backstory.

Nowadays, anyone with computer access can make a myspace page and claim to be the next big thing. But of course you know that. You already have your own myspace profile and no, you don't have 7 million and some odd views but you're the real deal, remember? You're not an average nobody.

"Kristen" is not your competition. She is your false idol, proving America's creed once again that crime does pay. Big time. But when it's all said and done, you can rest assured that Dupre's album will most likely go nowhere. She already peaked.

Yes, rappers, you could learn from Eliot Spitzer's hooker. You could learn how to compromise your aspirations in music for money and poor publicity and court drama. You could learn how to capitalize on scandal. You could learn how to sink to new lows to come up.

But I wouldn't recommend it. The sacrifice isn't worth it. Just ask her. And, to be fair, Ashley Alexandra Dupre is no monster, but she is a beast. Dupre, like Spitzer, is a symptom of this system. And hip hop has nothing to do with that.

***
P.S. I got an e-mail the other day from blogged.com telling me that they rated really real talk an 8.5 out of 10 in their entertainment/pop culture category.

We evaluated your blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style. After carefully reviewing each of these criteria, your site was given its 8.5 score.

That's a good look.

Erykah Badu’s New AmErykah Part One (4th World War): The Revolution Will Not Be Categorized

2008-03-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

"this year I turn 36/damn it seems it came so quick/my ass and legs have gotten thick, it's all me..."
(ME, New AmErykah Part One)

If you pick through Erykah Badu’s afro, you’ll find handcuffs, dice, turntables, a tree among smoke stacks, a syringe, and a baby with a barcode on his bald head, a computer with a brain on the screen, the all-seeing eye, a big truck on big rims, dollar signs, peace signs, a DNA double helix, guns, the medical symbol in a toilet and a tank. And much more.

These images form a collage on the incredible cover of her latest album, New AmErykah Part One (4th World War). So from the look of things, Ms. Badu has a lot on her mind. And it sounds that way too, which stands to reason since she has been away for five years.

On this 11-track album (which includes the 9th Wonder-produced bonus cut “Honey”), Badu talks about everything from politics to drug addiction, from the system to the everyday struggles of just living. She urges folks to hold on and not give up in the tribal, Madlib-produced “My People” and spits a message of empowerment over a soaring melody on “Soldier”: to my girls on prescription pills/I know how you feel/to my folks in Iraqi fields/this ain’t no time to kill. On “The Cell” and “Twinkle,” Badu delves deeper into the grim realities of society, painting a picture that seems even bleaker against its lush musical backdrop.

Whether she is showing vocal range or melodiously speaking, the album is an earnest opus of expression yet sonically nondescript. As a whole, it cannot be categorized. It opens with a 70s-funk inspired introduction called Amerykahn Promise, dabbles in Asian funk (The Healer, a J Dilla dedication with chimes and chants produced by Madlib) and the instrumentation switches up from one track to the next. It is a whirlwind otherworldly tour through Erykah Badu’s afro, a cosmic concoction of hip hop, jazz and ethereal funk that somehow fits together to form one undeniable declaration: She’s back.

And that’s a big statement. It has been more than 10 years since the release of her classic debut, Baduizm, which went triple platinum, earned her some Grammy Awards and became a pivotal touchstone of the so-called Neo-soul movement. Now for any “conscious” artist, it is at that point where the road gets rocky and a choice must be made. Commercial success can turn true artists into corporate pawns, who try to replicate, reformat and reproduce what they’ve already done for dollars. The pressure of living up to your own public persona causes many to crack. Just look at Lauryn, ahem, Ms. Hill. She would be on the other end of this spectrum, representing what happens when that pressure proves to be too powerful.

But remember, Badu and Ms. Hill helped usher in the Afrocentric fashion phase, the time at the turn-of-the-century when it became cool again to where ankhs and head wraps and anything of African origin. And, of course, when something becomes trendy, it typically loses value and meaning so it would have been no surprise if Badu switched up her style to please the masses out of fear of getting played out.

She did not. She stayed true to herself and contrarily moved farther away from the mainstream, sounding more organic with each subsequent album. And still, she is trying to prove nothing. And she offers no apologies about it. Through all the media speculation, through her public relationships with rappers Andre 3000 of Outkast and Common, through giving birth to two kids, Badu has emerged more aware, it seems, than ever. That is why the standout track of the album is "Me," a breezy jazz record produced by Shafiq Husayn (Sa-Ra) that sounds like it could have been an entry from her diary:

Everything around you see/the Ankhs the wraps the plus degrees/and yes even the mystery…it’s all me…

Sometimes it’s hard to move you see/when you’re growing publicly/but if I have to chose between, I choose me…

It is this type of sincerity, which resonates in the souls of listeners, that has kept Badu around all this time and will continue to make her relevant regardless of the decade. Like each of her prior albums, this one ain’t for everybody. Badu takes you places unexpected to see sights in a new light. But it’s her defiance of clichés and diverse mixtures that make the whole trip worth it and an album that has been worth the wait.

[This album is actually one of two installments and the second part, New AmErykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), is expected this July.]

Hip Hop & Politics: Barack Obama's The Cool

2008-03-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

In the past quarter century, Def Jam Recordings has been a weapon of mass projection. Founded in 1984 by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, the music label, owned by Universal Music Group, has launched a number of artists into the pop culture’s stratosphere from LL Cool J to Jay-Z to DMX. Hip hop gave a voice to the voiceless, a power to transcend race, gender and generations.

In 1999, Simmons, the so-called godfather of hip hop, sold his stake in the company for $100 million to develop the other arms of his corporation, Rush Communications, which included a management company, clothing line and anything else with Def on it. And of course you have his Hip Hop Summit Action Network, which is all about expanding the cultural relevance of hip hop music and empowering the youth through initiatives that encourage high quality public education and literacy, economic advancement and leadership development.

But also on the top of Simmons’ things-to-do list was “get the youth to vote.” It has been a focal point of his network since the beginning with him touring, talking and trying to inform the youth that they too have a voice. And that voice needs to be heard. It is a simple message, one that resonates in the realm of music as anybody with a beat and mouth believes they can and should rap nowadays. Myspace is littered with music pages of artists from all over claiming to be the next this or that or the first somebody you’ve never heard of.

But for years, that same authority hasn’t been as prominent during election seasons. There hasn’t been a clear cut method of driving people from the recording booth into the voting booth. Until now. But it had nothing to do with Russell Simmons or anyone else. The youth, it would seem, were just waiting for the right candidate. Scratch that. The youth were waiting for the buzz about the right candidate, in the tradition of so many hip hop fads. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has done what no other candidate has done in history: He has made it "uncool" not to participate in the process. (Take note Lupe.)

Now, so and so from around the way might ask “who you got in the election?” just as easily as he would ask you your pick to win the NBA Finals (fyi, the Lakers got this year). The answers may not be the same. Rap legend Darryl McDaniels, D.M.C. of Run D.M.C. told the New York Observer that “he was thinking about backing Mrs. Clinton ‘because it’s gangsta. I ain’t doing what everybody else is doing.’” The hip hop intellectual himself Michael Eric Dyson is even going head to head with his wife over who should win. Will.i.am has been dropping celebrity heavy videos for months supporting the Chi-town Senator and Common gave him a shout out on his most recent album when he said “My raps ignite the people like Obama.” In this exceptional piece in The American Prospect, writer Latoya Peterson illustrates why Barack Obama is the “first hip-hop presidential candidate” in even broader terms:

Like hip-hop, Obama rose from long-shot hopeful to fierce contender. But it is more than just his political style that is rooted within hip-hop culture. Forget the money-cash-hoes bacchanal showing in an endless loop on MTV and BET. Ignore the thousand and one variations on "Superman" floating around YouTube. Hip-hop culture is a unifying force, a potent combination of entrepreneurship, community activism, creativity, and innovation that appeals to youth across the globe. Barack Obama is the hip-hop candidate, not because of his racial identity or his oratory skills, but because his policies and approach to politics demonstrate that he understands the needs and desires of the hip-hop community.

So with Barack Obama’s campaign standing for itself, where does that leave Russ? He’s still active. In January, he along with Deepak Chopra and Dr. Benjamin Chavis sent a letter to the candidates.(Check it out here.) And they responded.

And Sunday, Simmons endorsed Barack Obama after months of apparently going back and forth, given that he has done a lot of political work in New York and all. In the endorsement he wrote, "I have great respect for the accomplishments of Senator Clinton and I have personally worked with Senator Clinton successfully on issues concerning education, prison reform and poverty."

So on this day, another big Tuesday, Simmons does deserve props for his work, but more than that, the real champion is Obama for being the candidate with a voice that can transcend race, gender and generations. There is nothing more hip hop than that.

[See Russell Simmons' full statement here.]

The Roots - 75 Bars [video]

2008-02-29T18:48:00.001-08:00

will.i.am & Celebs - We Are The Ones [video]

2008-02-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

will.i.am just dropped another star-studded video supporting Presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The video features cameos from Regina King, Zoe Kravitz, Tichina Arnold and a lot more. Check it out. (See also: "Yes We Can")

Blu & Exile - Dancing in the Rain [video]

2008-02-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

Blu - Dancing in the Rain
by itsshake

[courtesy of crash.tv/props to shake]

Here's the boy Blu again. I still can't get enough of this album. And this here is one of my favorite joints.

Kidz in the Hall - Geniuses Need Love Too

2008-02-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

I need to cop this. And you need to too if you haven't already. (props to 2dopeboyz)

01 Intro
02 Dreamin’ (Baby I’m the Shit)
03 What Up Wit Me (If It Isn’t Love)
04 Do What Grown Folks Do
05 Littlest Things f. Lily Allen
06 Sweet 16 (All My Ladies)
07 Mi Amor f. Kes
08 Make It Last
09 Drivin’ Down the Block
10 Blackout (Snippet)
11 Work to Do (Obama08)

And peep this video below of the Making of Kidz in the Hall's Sweet 16. (see also: The Way We Campaign.)

Kidz - Sweet 16 (Making of)
by skaybn

[via nah right]

Long Live Omar Little

2008-02-26T18:49:00.000-08:00

Anybody who knows me knows that I breathe and bleed The Wire.

Since day one, I have been hooked to this amazing HBO show with an amazingly talented cast, compelling plotlines and the authenticity of Inner City, USA which in this case happens to be the industrial city of Baltimore. It is now in its fifth and final season, a few episodes from concluding forever. It has become cliche for critics to call The Wire the best show on TV and because there's so many magazines and blogs that have delved deep into the creases of the show (Sudhir Venkatesh's NY Times freakonomics blog is my personal favorite), I haven't felt the need to post anything. Until the most recent episode.

Even though overall, this season might rank No. 4 in order from the greatest to the still great but not as great list, it is undeniable that the show's creator David Simon is a genius and his team is too. I don't want to spoil anything if you're one of the millions that still haven't experienced the brilliance of the show, but I did want to link to this moving post on my second-favorite Wire character (second only to shrewd business gangster Russell "Stringer" Bell).

Jay-Z - I Know [video]

2008-02-26T18:44:00.001-08:00

Superman Saves All-Star Weekend. Sort Of.

2008-02-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

I remember there was a time when All-Star Weekend used to be a big deal.

Now, I’ve never actually been to one, but I’m talking about at least on TV. Unlike the NFL’s Pro Bowl, this NBA extravaganza came in the middle of the season and included some classic events such as the 3-point shootout, the dunk contest and some newer events like the rookie game and the skills challenge. But, of course, the highlight was always the game which brought the best of the best from both conferences to battle it out in a first-class pick-up game. It was the main time where you could showboat without getting benched and forwards over 7 feet could attempt three-point shots and you could toss nonstop alley-oops to high flyers like it’s NBA Street. I mean, I’m talking about Jordan, Barkley, Dominique Wilkins, Magic, Bird, Malone, Clyde Drexler, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and all of them all on the floor at the same time. But that was 20 years ago, in 1988, at a time when All-Star Weekend was a big deal.

Don’t get me wrong. It has had its moments since then throughout the 1990s, with Jordan still around, Iverson and Kobe and then in 2000 when Vince Carter brought the arena down. But it’s seems like it peaked long ago. Nowadays, players sit out due to injury or past dunk contest winners refuse to play for the risk of losing their crown or the actual game itself has highlights that you can count on one hand, with the focus now so much on winning. It just doesn’t seem as fun as it used to.

Maybe it’s me. Maybe as you get older, All-Star Weekend becomes a treasure of nostalgia, a long-gone fantasy hyped up by distorted childhood memories. But all of the announcers over the weekend kept talking about how many have said the weekend has become dull, especially in the past few years. So what’s missing? What’s changed? Last year’s actual NBA season was more exciting than it has been in a long time.

If you ask Kansas City sportswriter, Jason Whitlock, he’ll blame it on the league’s “dysfunctional relationship with hip hop/gangsta culture” and the turmoil that ensued last year in Las Vegas. In his second ASW article on the scene, he points out that unlike last year, the 2008 crowd was minimal at best:

This All-Star Weekend crowd is the tamest and thinnest I’ve ever seen. Friday night, as I strolled the French Quarter a little past midnight, a cop on horseback estimated the crowd was one-fourth of what the Quarter gets for the Bayou Classic, a traditional football game between Grambling and Southern.

“Nobody came,” said my buddy Branson Wright, who covers the Cavaliers for the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

“My only regret,” Players Association president Billy Hunter said, summarizing his All-Star feelings, “is we don’t have the kind of crowds we usually get.”

There’s a theory that people skipped this weekend because they feared post-Katrina New Orleans, its exacerbated economic crisis and desperate citizen survivors. The theory doesn’t hold up when you consider the relatively strong crowds that attended the 2007 Bayou Classic and Essence Festival.

People were afraid of the kind of crowd ASW attracts. That fear multiplied after Las Vegas last year. It’s a terrible, factual generalization, but Vegas’ proximity to Los Angeles made it way too easy for LA gang members to drive to The Strip and hang out in hotel lobbies for three straight days.

At first it was hard to say why no one showed up. But after I watched the game, it all became clear. It was just too boring.

And you can’t blame everything on hip hop, but you can definitely see its massive influence. Dwight Howard, who seemed to be the only one having fun this weekend, made it a show on Saturday night in the 2008 Dunk Contest. In his second dunk of the night, he takes off his jersey revealing an undershirt with the Superman logo. Then he breaks out a red cape and ties it around his neck. He jumped so high off the crowd that he threw the ball down into the hoop. It was needless to say, a spectacular moment and his performance was the highlight of the weekend. And when he was asked were the inspiration came from, he of course said it came from his favorite song Crank Dat by Soulja Boy. But that's another story.

The Top 5 Romantic Rap Tracks

2008-02-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah, romantic rap sounds like an oxymoron, but as much as the market seems saturated with gun-talk and crush-a-lot rhetoric, even the so-called "realest" gangsters can't drop an album nowadays without slipping in some sappy track about matters of the heart.

So -- even though I think this holiday is the most annoying and blatantly commercial of them all -- on this Valentine's Day, I decided to pick the Top 5 Romantic Rap Tracks and thanks to a little known invention called the internet, I was able to find the videos for each of these joints. Now as catchy and arguably dope some of the more recent tracks that come quickly to mind might be (you know you still be getting down to that 21 Questions by 50 Cent), there's something about these others that take it a step further.

Not the gimmicky stuff like Diddy's Last Night (even though I can't front, I still bump that, too) or any random Fabolous song. I'm talking about those tracks where you could actually feel the raw emotion in the lyrics. And so, reallyrealtalk presents The Top 5 Romantic Rap Tracks.

5. You Got Me - The Roots ft. Erykah Badu (The Philly crew came with it on this one and the video is still one of the illest videos ever.)

4. Bonita Applebum - A Tribe Called Quest (This is real hip hop. Period.)

3. The Light - Common (A rap framed as a love letter with Ms. Erykah Badu in the video. This is vintage Com.)

2. You're All I Need - Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige (Classic.)

1. I Need Love - LL Cool J (Was there any doubt? Mr. Smith is most definitely the love-rap king.)

Kanye West - Flashing Lights [video]

2008-02-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

Finally. I've been waiting a long time for this. Here is Yeezy's video for Flashing Lights ft. Dwele, my personal favorite joint off his third LP, Graduation. Kanye West debuted the video at the Entertainment Weekly Grammy afterparty [via MTV]:

While Grammy night's big winner, Winehouse, was a globe-trot away, Kanye was at the party and was really only interested in the reception he got while debuting his long-awaited video for "Flashing Lights."

"I feel like a brand-new artist that just signed yesterday," West said before playing his video on a large wall via projector. West, who co-directed the clip with Spike Jonze, said that "every piece of the video is me, what I represent now."

The video is a hodgepodge of sex appeal, brashness, grace and humorous storytelling. Basically, the short revolves around a lady taking out her frustrations on a bound-and-gagged West in the harshest way.

Let's just say that in the part where Kanye raps about his girl saying, "Where are you, Yeezy?," he apparently didn't have a good enough answer.

"The video is f---ing incredible!" Nas said. "Nobody wants to be different. Everybody wants to be the same, and Kanye always comes with some other sh--. He's not afraid to be different."

David Shuster Gets Pimp Slapped by Clinton Tag Team

2008-02-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

MSNBC reporter David Shuster is a classic case of what happens when keeping it real goes wrong.

On Thursday, Shuster said Chelsea Clinton was sort of being "pimped out," making calls to superdelegates on behalf of her mother Senator Hillary Clinton. Mother and daughter Clinton quickly responded, slapping the company with a blistering letter.

"Nothing justifies the kind of debasing language that David Shuster used and no temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient," she wrote.

Shuster has since been suspended for his comments and despite his apology, the Clintons have threatened to boycott MSNBC debates.

“In describing this effort, I used a phrase that was inappropriate and I apologize to the Clinton family, the Clinton campaign and all of you who were justifiably offended,” Mr. Shuster said. “As I said this morning on MSNBC, all Americans should be proud of Chelsea Clinton and I’m particularly sorry that my language diminished the regard and respect she has earned from all of us and the respect her parents have earned in how they raised her.”

But if anything, this whole ordeal is another example of why mainstream reporters should only do what they know and know what they do. Whenever mainstream press is trying to report on youth or young adults or hip hop or other cultures, they consistently try to prove they're "down" by using some played-out slang such as "bling bling" or "ride." It's not that they use it in the wrong context, but the swagger is missing, the confidence lacking. Play back Shuster's video and you'll see that there's no conviction behind his question. He seasons it with kind-of, sort-of uncertainty and even though you can hear a laugh in the background, the hestitation made the comment all the more blatant and there was no doubt that he would get called out on it.

To his credit, Shuster was right. It shouldn't even be a question that Chelsea is being pimped out, but not literally in the way that her mom took it. She's being pimped out in the sense that she has no choice in the matter of helping out with the campaign on behalf of her mother. She's going out to make Mama Clinton some money or to get her some support. I doubt she has much of a say. I mean, she's 27 years old living in New York so can you really think she wants to travel to states like Iowa and Nebraska and Utah to talk to random people? And she has a reputation of being extremely shy.

But even though they both apparently took Shuster's comments literally, I still blame Shuster. He should have known better. This political race is way too tense and tight for someone like him to be tossing out slang like that and expecting it not to come back in a full-on barrage. So to Shuster and all your big media cronies: Unless you've had official anchor training from SportsCenter slang king Stuart Scott, stick to the teleprompter.

Common's Video Journal

2008-02-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

[via nah right]

The 50th Grammy Awards: 'There are no losers in this category, Kanye'

2008-02-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday's Grammy Awards was one of things like a doctor's appointment or a first day of school. Meaning that in an ideal world, I would have stayed as far away as possible from the show, knowing that it would be dull, drawn-out and restlessly redundant. But it's not an ideal world -- plus, ignoring a music show kind of defeats the purpose of a music blog -- so last night I tuned in to CBS and wasted two hours of my life. (I say two hours because at 10, Silence of the Lambs came on, and I found my worthy excuse.)

Let me be honest. The only reason I -- and most people, I would assume -- watched the show last night was for the main event: the Album of the Year battle between Kanye West and Amy Winehouse. Despite the fact that I did believe Winehouse's Back to Black was 2007's best album, I theorized that Kanye's Graduation would take the top prize. Boy was I -- and most people, I would assume -- completely off on that one.

The final and highest award of the night, presented by Quincy Jones and Usher -- who said "There are no losers in this category, Kanye" before announcing the winner -- went to veteran jazz veteran player Herbie Hancock for his album River: The Joni Letters. It was such an upset, it should have been obvious.

All the websites that I read prior to Sunday had predicted that the Grammy would go to Kanye, who did pull four, including Rap Album of the Year. But like I stated earlier, this is the Year of the Underdog, so it was only natural that the award would go to someone other than Winehouse, who was the big winner with five trophies, and West, who is now 0-3 in the big category.

Ever since he slayed 50 Cent in September, you can't really call Kanye an underdog anymore. He's on top. Despite his no-win record, he was the favorite and you can just ask the New England Patriots how that works out in these big contests.

Now, to state my disclaimer, I haven't heard Hancock's album and he actually looked just as surprised as everyone else was when his name was called. Some of the other wins worthy of mentioning:

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
WINNER: "Daydreamin' "
Lupe Fiasco (featuring Jill Scott)
Track from: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
WINNER: "Southside"
Common (featuring Kanye West)
Track from: Finding Forever

And Kanye did at least beat Soulja Boy for Best Rap Song with Good Life.
See complete winners list here. Kanye also dedicated one of his awards to his mother in this acceptance speech as the Grammy people tried to hurry him up by playing some music.

But as much as the Grammys proved again why these formulaic multi-hour awards shows should be completely overhauled, here are my favorite three moments of the night:

Nas and Kelis arrive at the awards show in true plug fashion and discuss his upcoming album, Nigger, and hip hop's alleged death with CNN.

Even though he lost the big one, there is no doubt that Kanye West is the hands-down best when he's doing his thing on stage. Here he is in a futuristic performance with Stronger.

Amy Winehouse was broadcasting from London because her visa request was denied. Her performance was on point but even better than that was her response after she won Record of the Year for Rehab.

'Super Tuesday is Upon Us'

2008-02-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

It is officially Super Tuesday so if that means it's your time, make sure you go out and get your vote on. This day will go down as a landmark in history. But don't take my word for it...

Diddy's Message to Young America

Super Tuesday - Doug E. Fresh

Vote Hope: Obama Cipher

Voting 4 Dummies w/ Talib Kweli

Vote Hope: Common for Barack Obama

Missy Elliott's 3-D Video

2008-02-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

ME - C-A-L + SYPP [ALi]
Uploaded by Alisvideo

See what I mean.

Here's the lowdown from Billboard:

Walt Disney Studios has created a stereoscopic 3-D music video combining two of her songs featured in the studio's upcoming "Step Up 2 the Streets," which opens Feb. 14. MTV will premiere the video in 3-D on Monday (Feb. 4) during "TRL." Glasses for home viewing will be distributed via various promotions.

The video combines Elliott's songs "Ching-a-ling" and "Shake Your Pom Pom" and was directed by Dave Meyers, who helmed music videos for Elliott including "Work It," "Loose Control," and "Get Ur Freak On." Pace and Fotokem worked on the 3-D; they companies worked on production and post, respectively, for Disney's "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour," which opens Friday in 3-D digital.

The Year of the Underdog

2008-02-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

The New England Patriots must be feeling real 50 Cent-ish right about now.

Yesterday, the New York Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, defeating the Pats 17-14, and now it seems that Fiddy and Kanye West's topdog-underdog battle for Billboard glory back in September was some sort of eerie foreshadowing. So, let it be known that I am proclaiming 2008 as the Year of the Underdog.

It seems that we are witnessing a coup in this country. You can feel the energy, the electricity. Grass roots movements are growing and those who have been voiceless for far too long are rising up and taking the microphone to speak out. Expectations will be shattered. New leaders will emerge. David will stand victorious over the proud mound of an establishment giant.

And, now more than ever, hip hop needs to be on the frontlines of this war.

With his Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Russell Simmons is calling on youth to come out strong to vote at the polls tomorrow (Feb. 5) for the Super Tuesday primary election.

“The 2008 Presidential Election is the most important of our lifetime,” he said in a statement. “I am so proud that young voters are already weighing in, in record numbers. But tomorrow, on Super Tuesday, it is now clear that young voters will make the critical difference. That is why today we are using every single resource at our disposal via radio, television, Global Grind and the internet to mobilize the consciousness and the actions of young people to ensure their voice is heard tomorrow.”

This is a time when up and comers will upset the status quo, when historic partnerships will rattle veteran dynasties. This is a time when the rules of the game will get rewritten. A time when size and strength and experience matters less and the highest reward goes to the group or the individual with the most heart:

And as far as Kanye West goes, we'll just have to see if this trend holds true come Friday.

Barack Obama - Yes We Can Obama Song by will.i.am [video]

2008-02-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Doctor's Recommendation: Get To Know Blu

2008-01-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

There's not enough I can say about the kid Blu. Just press play.

Just Another Day

Blu - Just Another Day
Uploaded by itsshake

[good look itsshake]

So(ul) Amazing

[via nah right]

Music's Dynamic Duo Gnarls Barkley Returns With 'Odd Couple'

2008-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

Super Tuesday is right around the corner, some campaigns are picking up speed while others are falling off the track, Subway is beefing with Quiznos, and who in the world knows what's going on with the troops overseas. So that leaves me with one question, in the famous words of the Dark Knight's Joker (RIP Heath Ledger): Why so serious?

This April, no matter what is going on in the world, I will (and I hope you will too) be going to the record store to cop the Odd Couple, the sophomore LP from the unified genius of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green known as Gnarls Barkley. The album is not complete yet, but according to their website gnarlsbarkley.com, the follow-up to their incredible debut St. Elsewhere will drop on April 15. This track Run is apparently the first single and it has the similar soulful, funky feel that propelled them into the stratosphere two years ago. Here's Rolling Stone's preview piece:

The new Gnarls Barkley disc won’t be released until April, but we got the chance to hear a few new cuts early. The verdict: Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse have produced another album of super-catchy tunes that veer between retro-soul shakedowns, tricked-out psychedelic rock and trunk-rattling hip-hop. While nothing sounds as indelible as “Crazy,” the first two tracks that the pair are considering for a lead single are pretty ace: one is a funked-up organ groove complemented by French horns, a chorus of “la la la”s and Cee-Lo crooning in his throaty rasp, “Here it comes/Say it loud!” The other track, which we’re told is the duo’s favorite, is drastically different: a sinister ballad featuring intricately strummed acoustic guitar chords. Cee-Lo’s mood turns dark as he repeats over and over, “Who’s gonna save my soul?/I know I’m out of control.” It’s a stylish, spooky take on Robert Johnson’s delta blues—and even that suits them just fine.

Peep their myspace page too.

Erykah Badu - Honey [video]

2008-01-29T20:51:00.001-08:00

And here's the video from Ms. Badu's first single, Honey, off her upcoming LP, New AmErykah. Make sure you cop this album on Feb. 26.

Erykah Badu's Dope Album Cover And More

2008-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

I know this came out a few days back, but I've been away. Anyway, here is Ms. Badu's ill cover [via okayplayer] from her upcoming album New AmErykah designed by this dope artist Emek. I mean, the cover alone is worth the purchase. (I can't wait to "comb" through the picture and analyze each of the images, which without a doubt will resonate all the more given the political climate of the country.)

Her album drops Feb. 26 and I am definitely looking for this one. It's been too long and although Baduizm, Mama's Gun and Worldwide Underground remain timeless classics, I do want to see what Ms. Badu has been cooking up. And judging from the new track that hit the internet produced by Madlib called The Healer, it definitely sounds like she's turned her back on the mainstream completely and I am anxious to experience the end result. But that's not all Badu has coming this year, according to this article from the Jamaica Observer.

"I have three albums coming out this year, the first one will be released on February 26 (her birthday) and it's gonna be called New Amerykah," Badu says, adding that the next, Return Of The Ankh is scheduled for a July release.

"The other one's gonna be called New Amerykah II and it's gonna be a totally digital experience."

Removing an ebony puff of her larger-than-life afro from her face, Badu explains the meaning of "totally digital experience".

"You'll purchase (instead of a CD) a USB stick, each will come with a specific code that you punch in. That way you'll get to upload a new song every month for the next 10 months."
Her digital ideas, however, don't stop there!

"I'll also be starting a magazine called Freaq, it's gonna be dedicated to arts, politics, beauty, fashion, photography and technology," shares the 36-year-old, adding that she also manages her own Myspace page.

Badu, who has done some acting and directing as well, sees branching out as a chance to ensure that artistes like her are well represented in the entertainment industry.Still, she is somewhat peeved about the neo-soul labelling she has received over the years.

"I don't even know what that term means, I mean, I know what the individual words mean but together?" Badu says, explaining that Kedar Massenburg of Universal Records had ascribed the name to the type of sound she and fellow singer D'Angelo employed when they were still burgeoning artistes.

"I guess to Kedar it was a new wave of underground sound. I don't reject it, but I feel like it's just one part of me and my music."

While she doesn't completely reject the neo-soul categorisation, she rejects the view that hip hop is dead.

"Hip Hop lives because people live, it's more than just music, it's a lifestyle," she says, "you,re looking at a product of rhymes and beats; boom boxes and headphones; break dancing and graffiti. I'm from that tribe. Maybe what they mean is that it has become boring and [unimaginative] but it's alive in the people."

Marching Band Plays Kanye's Flashing Lights [video]

2008-01-28T17:00:00.001-08:00

Flashing Lights Atlanta Georgia Dome Battle of the Bands 1/26

Add to My Profile | More Videos

You should already know that the Marching 100 from Florida A&M University is the really real deal, but peep this band play Kanye West's Flashing Lights at the Georgia Dome for the Battle of the Bands.

Long Live the King: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2008-01-20T17:20:00.000-08:00

All this week and for the rest of the year, you will read stories linking the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King to the incredible campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (other than the controversy surrounding the remarks of his rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton). You will read stories with headlines that read "The Dream Realized" or something like that say Dr. King would be proud of the Democratic Senator from Chicago and that this is the day King spoke about in his famous speech. And maybe it is. But as we celebrate the legend and legacy of the man who dared to stand up for what he believed, let us look beyond the immortalized words of his text book biography. Because what Dr. King really is is a part of each of us, at our greatest potential. Indeed, we have come a long way. But from this point forward, let us dig deeper into ourselves to see the manifestations of everything Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said and stood for.

With that said, I present reallyrealtalk's guest essayist, Jamilla Webb, who wrote a poignant letter titled "For Martin...." about her own personal experience understanding King and put together the following package of references and links. Read it. Absorb it. And live it.

I can still remember being a little girl…growing up and hearing Stevie’s song celebrating MLK’s birthday. He was like this perfect man, this Idol, this figure that should be revered, but yet so distant that I still could not understand how his existence affected my life. As I grew older, I found myself beginning to dislike some of Dr. King’s practices. Seeing “Eyes on the Prize” and watching my elders learn how to crouch and duck during a police beating and other horrific assaults was not my idea of what the fight for justice should look like.

I found myself thinking that he was a passive idealist. It was not until college that I began to become fascinated with who he really was and I began to do my own independent research. From there I found tons of books, speeches and articles about Dr. King. I found his complexity, his militancy and his growing disdain with American Politics (especially during the Vietnam War). It was the vastness of his Dream that was hidden from me as a little girl. It was more than little white girls and boys holding hands with people that looked like me. It was a man who was brave enough to call out a country that dishonored the very principles it was built upon. As we can see, America has yet to answer his call or even attempt to come up with a worthy response.

One night I had a long conversation with one of my friends and I was telling him how I admired Brother Malcolm much more than Martin because he went from a pimp, hustler and thief to becoming one of the most upstanding and outspoken leaders of his time. However, my friend asked me, which quality was more admirable, someone who was at the bottom and found the strength to change his ways, or someone who was born into a middle class family, had a legacy and heritage of leadership, a strong education and family and still among his fortune was empathetic and giving enough to put that all on the line, to see that all men were able to be free and seen as equal no matter what color, situation or economic background they were born into.

It was at that point that I truly appreciated Dr. King and what he stood for. I pray that as we all continue to seek a life of financial comfort and stability, higher education, and build or continue a proud family legacy, that we never forget to reach out to our other brothers and sisters and not be consumed by the selfishness, greed, and coldness that permeates the inner core of this country. Let us celebrate and remember our great elder by remembering what he stood for, living a good life, providing service to others, and leaving our children and future generations with a proud legacy, something to look forward to, and someone to look up to. I love you Brother Martin and I thank you for your life and legacy.

Here are some literary, audio, and other resources for you to delve into if should choose to do so. Peace and love everybody. Sankofa! (and may we never forget!)

With sincerity always,

Jamilla

Music (Songs)

Eddie Kendricks – people (hold on)
The Temptations - A message from a black man
Curtis Mayfield – we the people who are darker than blue
Curtis Mayfield – move on up
The Impressions – Choice of colors
James Brown – Say it Loud!

(I’m Black and I’m Proud)
Stevie Wonder – Happy Birthday (of course)
Chi-lites – Yes I’m Ready
Donny Hathaway – Someday we’ll all be free
Spinners – Ghetto Child
Marvin Gaye – What’s going on
Temptations – Take a look around
Aretha Franklin – Wholly holy

(if you take the time to listen, you will be amazed, as I, that these songs are still just as relevant today – can this fact be used to measure our so called “progress,” regression, or stagnation?)

Books

Strength to Love by Martin Luther, Jr. King

I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World, Special 75th Anniversary Edition (Martin Luther King, Jr., born January 15, 1929) by Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with Documents (The Bedford Series in History and Culture) by David Howard-Pitney

An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King, New and Updated Edition by William F. Pepper

Other Links, etc….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr..
http://www.thekingcenter.org/
http://www.martinlutherking.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT0yfnbpfc8&feature=related
http://www.mlkonline.net/
http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches.html

Doctor's Note: Lupe Fiasco's Gonna Really Confuse You On This One

2008-01-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

In this Entertainment Weekly Q&A with Lupe Fiasco, the Chi-town emcee talks about his parents, his skateboard fans, the Grammy nods, LUPEnd (his alleged final album) and how he would rather pay Atlantic to get out of his contract than do anymore albums. But therapup.rawkus.com pointed out this "gem" later down in interview when Margeaux Watson asks Lupe this question: Did you get picked on a lot when you were a kid?

When the gangbangers would try to pull it, I was like, ''Yo, I will f--- you up. And if you wanna call your cousin, call him. I'll call me! I'll call me right now.'' We were shooting TEC-9s when we were babies, so the whole gangsta image, that ain't nothing. When I was growing up, there was a crack house next door to us and they were trying to expand. My father was like, Are you serious? He took his gun, walked next door, and said, ''You're done,'' while I aimed my gun out of the window. I was 13 or 14 and to see that, a lot of the facade and the upkeep [of trying] to impress people was eliminated very early for me.

Hip Hop Is In The Building (Let's Keep It That Way)

2008-01-16T15:59:00.000-08:00

The house that hip hop built (or, more accurately, built from) may fall into the wrong hands.

At least according to the tenants of 1520 Sedgwick Ave., the apartment building on the outskirts of the Bronx where hip hop is said to have started with Clive Campbell aka D.J. Kool Herc spinning records at parties back in 1973. The future of the working-class building remains a mystery and a fitting metaphor for the music industry.

Picture this: an apartment building that has maintained its position all these years, not by chance, but by tenants who have worked hard and lived for about $1,000 under the state’s Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program, according to this story from NY Times' cityroom blog (thanks TC!).

The building has 100 units rent for an average of $1,000 a month under the state’s Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program, in which private landlords receive tax breaks and subsidized mortgages and, in turn, agree to limit their return on equity and rent to people who meet modest income limits. The landlords are allowed to leave their contracts after 20 years, and the rate of those choosing to do so has accelerated since 2001. Last February, tenants were told that the owners planned to leave the program.

All of a sudden in comes some big-time real estate mogul, Mark Karasick, and no one really knows what he's up to. But it can't be good. This is the guy that flipped the Bank of America Center in San Francisco and sold it for $1.05 billion to Donald Trump an' nem.

So we can bet big money that he's not coming in with the intention of helping out a brotha or two. And if he does get it, he definitely won't be turning it into some kind of hip hop landmark as D.J. Kool Herc wants. According to the Times blog, "Mr. Karasick has said his interest in the building has nothing to do with the building’s status as the birthplace of hip-hop."

So the tenant group (which has setup a website at save1520.org), with support from United States Senator Charles E. Schumer, are looking at buying the building themselves. But the asking price is a whooping $14 million, even though advocates say it is "way beyond the $5 million or $6 million they have calculated based on the future rent stream." And what would they do with it you ask?

Mr. Campbell thinks the building should be declared a landmark in recognition of its role in American popular culture. Its residents agree, but for more practical reasons. They want to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places so that it might be protected from any change that would affect its character — in this case, a building for poor and working-class families.

So let us hope that this building, the birthplace of hip hop, doesn't suffer the same fate of so many music industry artists and fall victim to ravenous capitalists willing to flip and sell our culture for cold, hard cash.

Making the Band 4 - Season 2 [preview]

2008-01-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

You can't keep Diddy down for long.

So of course, in his relative absence, you knew he was cooking up something new, or should I say reheating the leftovers. This time around, he's taking the dudes he picked for the band from Season 4, that one cat Donnie who he gave a solo deal and the Making the Band 3 female group Danity Kane and putting them in one house in Miami to make their respective albums. I can't lie, MTB, as recycled as it is, has its moments and despite Diddy tendency to overdo everything, the show does bring in some talented people. But of course, we probably won't ever see any rappers on the show again. I guess he learned that lesson a few seasons back.

MTB 4 Season 2 premieres on MTV January 28th @ 10 p.m.

Soulja Boy: Download King or Downright Disgrace?

2008-01-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

As far as history books go, Soulja Boy is up there with Randy Moss an' nem.

On a much smaller scale, of course, but still a record is a record. And as the New England Patriots continue their pursuit toward perfection with Tom Brady and Randy Moss stuffing the league's offensive record books down the trash compactor, Soulja Boy became the first artist ever to rack up 3 million digital downloads with his ubiquitous Crank Dat (Soulja Boy). (The track also earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song.)

But the comparison is unjust. The Patriots are an undisputable dynasty whereas Soulja Boy is a lesson in minstelity, a one-hit wonder who will be forgotten by this time next year. And he's already biting the bullets of stardom. He recently flashed on mediatakeout and a few other sites via his myspace page for spreading a rumor about a woman claiming he got her pregnant:

Wuz hannan dis ya folk Soulja Boy I just wanna let all my fans know that rumor about me having a baby on the way is not true.. So FUCK that site Mediatakeout And FUCK Bet Black carpet for lying on me! lol

And Oh yeah this is my only Myspace page all the others is fake. And FUCK D.O.B. for lying and saying im joccin them I never heard of them in my life if I leave a comment on ya page and say yo music tight u should take that shit as i compliment DUMBASS! And when I come to Ohio I wish yall niggaz would try some shit I will beat the shit out of yall niggaz myself

I look around and see alot of haters.. Even famous people who don’t know me. Steve Harvey hating? I mean Damn.. STEVE HARVEY? wtf I grew up watchin this nig*a on TV and he wanna get on radio saying my songs are vulgar and trying to stop me from gettin my paper. I mean damn dude if yo son was out here trying to provide from his family you wouldn’t wont someone trying to stop his success and making up shit.

How you gone say some shit on Radio where ALOT of people will believe just because of who you are leave your mouth if you didnt make sure it was true? I got old ass niggaz from Wu-Tang dissin me. Some dude named GZA from Wu-Tang Clan dat was born in 66′ lol, who I never met in my life.. I’m like wow..

Don’t hate. INHALE IT IN NIGGA BREATHE IT IN! BASK IN IT!

Don't ask. In any case, his shine time should be over with any day now. It seems they've already got somebody lined up to fill his spot anyway. Flo Rida, whose smash hit Low, just set a single week digital sales record with 470,000 looks to be right on time. And with this Travis Barker co-sign on Low, Soulja Boy will be out of the game like the Dallas Cowboys in no time.

[via nah right]

Pump It Up

2008-01-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

You have probably heard about the Albany-based steroid investigation by now. You know, the one story, which was published yesterday in the Times Union citing unnamed sources and stating that 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Timbaland, Wyclef Jean and award-winning producer Tyler Perry have received or used performance-enhancing drugs.

Blige’s camp has denied the claims and other entertainers have declined to comment. The report claims that these big names are just the tip of the iceberg, a handful among the tens of thousands of people who in recent years may have used or received prescribed shipments of steroids and human growth hormone (HGH). It’s a strange story that seems too premature to print because “law enforcement officials said they don't have evidence that musicians and other customers violated any laws.” (None are actually accused of breaking the law. Investigators are taking aim at the clinics and doctors that provide the drugs.) But, of course, anytime you have black people making serious moves, there always has to be someone trying to flush them down like Evilene with bad news.

But it also is a sign of how big the entertainment industry has become. As you read this, the steroid scandal is sweeping through the ranks of America’s pastime. Barry Bonds, the new homerun king, will be clouded by controversy over the matter for the rest of his life, no matter what you believe. Of course, you could look at Fitty and Timbo and could easily claim they’ve been popping those ‘roids. But Wyclef could use an extra veggie burger or two. And the alleged anti-aging benefits wouldn't do much for Mary because black don’t crack. (Plus, there is no evidence that says steroids make you look younger.) And I don’t know what to say about Mr. Medea.

But let’s examine another underlying fact about the stars mentioned in the report: Each of them have had big projects come out in the recent months. Mary J. had the No. 1 album in the country with Growing Pains and Wyclef just released Carnival II. Timbo’s pop collaborations have been constant chart-toppers and his groundbreaking album Shock Value is still going strong, especially Down Under. And Fitty released Curtis and was everywhere in 2007. Not to mention Tyler Perry. He’s a millionaire, cranking out bestsellers, plays and movies like it’s nothing and it has recently been confirmed that he will appear in JJ Abrams’ new Star Trek movie.

These aren’t random black celebs that wouldn’t even recognize the limelight if it hit them in the eye. These people are at the top of their respective games right now so the report comes as no surprise. Not to dismiss the seriousness of the investigation (disclaimer: steroids are bad for you), but without cold, hard facts, it’s difficult to see it as anything more than an attempt to wreck a few relatively good reputations.

Obama: Hip Hop is an Educational Tool

2008-01-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

Peep this [via exclaim]:

Senator Barack Obama plans to make use of hip-hop artists to educate the American people if he manages to win the Democratic candidacy and become President.

Obama, who lost to Hillary Clinton in yesterday’s New Hampshire primary, says he is a huge fan of hip-hop and has already talked with two of his favourite artists, Jay-Z and Kanye West, regarding ways in how to use their music and the genre in a positive way.

"I’ve met with Jay-Z; I’ve met with Kanye. And I’ve talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking (is massive)," Obama told Jeff Johnson during and interview on What’s In It For Us?.

The Democrat showed he was also aware of hip-hop’s negative side too, acknowledging the themes that tend to hinder the music’s message at times.

"There are times, even on the artists I’ve named, the artists that I love, that there is a message that’s sometimes degrading to women, uses the N-word a little too frequently. But also something that I’m really concerned about is (they’re) always talking about material things about how I can get something; more money, more cars.”

Lupe Fiasco on Tavis Smiley [video]

2008-01-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

[via nah right]

Common Trinity Freestyle

2008-01-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I missed this. My homie Sheema just sent me this video of Common doing his this at Trinity's Night Watch Service in Chi-town. This is how you bring in the New Year.

Lupe Fiasco vs. Rhymefest On Election 2008

2008-01-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

It's officially on now.

With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton defeating Sen. Barack Obama yesterday in the New Hampshire Democratic primary by a nose (or a tear, depending on your angle), the race for president just got real.

This is the stuff that hip hop eats up: beef. So it comes as no surprise that the debate over which Democratic hopeful should win the nomination would seep into the realms of rap music.

On one side, we have Mr. Fiascogate himself, who has said, in this SOHH interview, he won’t vote and even if he did, it wouldn’t be for the junior United States Senator from Illinois, Obama.

"I'm not voting for anybody," Lupe told SOHH. "I don't believe in voting on that level. But I want Hillary [Clinton] to win. Obama doesn't really impress me like that. It's not a shot at him but some of his agendas, the bombing of Iran and all that stuff. He ain't gonna do nothing but perpetuate the nonsense that all the Presidents before have done, and what Bush is doing now. It's to the point now where the world is so twisted and so messed up that we need somebody to come in."

On the other side, we have fellow Chi-town emcee Rhymefest who jumped in the ring quick to give his opinion on the matter via his myspace blog. If you don’t yet have a clue who he is supporting, just check the title of the post: Don’t Let Your Arrogance Fuel Your Ignorance (SUPPORT BARACK!):

"Now, I'm not one to judge a person's political, religious or [even] artistic views; however, the reasons that this artist gave were so fucking erroneous and outrageous that it compels me to speak out, even if only to give fans the right information so that we are not following uninformed-ass rappers down the hole of 'abstract nothingness.'"

Then Fest goes into the facts about Obama's political views, never exactly calling Lupe by name, but it's obvious who the post is about. The debate has gone back and forth with Lupe claiming he would call Fest to settle it and Fest denying that Lupe even had his number on the Okayplayer message boards on the thread titled And furthermore nigga!!!!...:

I'm responding to your post because you don't have my number.

Please fam...don't let some of these people on the boards get the situation twisted for you. I'm not dissing or coming at you on any level. In fact, I love the song "Go Go Gadget Flow" off of your new album, and I encourage everyone to purchase The Cool. Chitown is on the rise! However, Barack Obama also lives in Chicago, and at the very least we have to not put out information that is wrong or can be misconstrued by people on the outside OR the fans that love, listen, and follow what we say.

As a brother, all I'm asking you to do is tell the people that you really don't know what Barack Obama's position is on Iran, or at least not when you did the SOHH interview.

Lupe goes on to say that he wasn't Obama bashing, but that his issue is with the Democratic process as a whole as...

"A system that he said "has shi**ed on us for over 400 years using principles that our precious politicians and candidates still hold dear to this very day ... a contract of social equality written by slave owners...that deserves so many 'f--k outta here's' it ain't even funny.

"I have no faith in it...never have, never will..."

Peep the whole exhange here.

This is the second time in just a few months that a hip hop artist has gone out of his way to blast Lupe's "arrogance as ignorance." There's no love lost between the two Chicago rappers, but I believe this is good. This is what it's all about, artists debating about the issues that (whether they believe it or not) affect them. And as the presidential hopefuls battle on across the country, I hope to see more of this because hip hop has a voice too and it goes way beyond 16 bars.

Estelle - American Boy ft. Kanye West [audio]

2008-01-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

Download American Boy here.

This new chick Estelle is sick.

Well, she's not new, per se. She's been down with Kanye and 'nem for a minute. She's an English singer, producer, hip hop artist. She had an album, The 18th Day, that dropped back on 04 and her follow-up LP, Shine, is supposed to come out this year (it was just pushed back to May). She also popped up in John Legend's Save Room video, which makes sense because she was eventually signed to Legend's label, Homeschool Records, through Atlantic Records. Watch for her. I'm predicting she'll be a breakout artist of 2008 given UK's heavy recent influx of good music and both Kanye and Legend on top of their games. Last year, according to the label's site, "Music Week cited her as the one UK rapper most likely to challenge the mainstream."

Even though, she's not spitting on this track (definitely peep the myspace for the other two joints), I am feeling its vibe and her voice drifts kite-like over the melody in the celestial tradition of English R&B soul duo Floetry.

Don't know about that Yeezy accent though.

Oh, For The Good Ol' Days

2008-01-08T14:37:00.000-08:00

Planning Jay-Z and Beyonce's Wedding Is No Piece Of Cake

2008-01-08T14:35:00.001-08:00

XXL Editor-In-Chief Gets The Boot

2008-01-08T14:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Elliot Wilson, the long time XXL editor-in-chief, was fired yesterday. The deputy editor, Vanessa Satten, has been appointed interim EIC, according to SOHH.

Wilson started out his career doing freelance journalism for independent rap publications. He helped start Ego Trip Magazine in 1994 and joined The Source two years later. Then, of course, there was all that beef between Boston-rapper Benzino and David Mays and the rest of them (James Bernard, Robert Marriott and Reginald Dennis) and a rival was born in XXL, which, at least in my opinion, has far surpassed The Source as hip hop's magazine.

No one has said yet why he was fired, but of course, gossip giant, mediatakeout, has (someone to say) something about it and a more disheartening rumor about the future of hip hop print journalism. Only time will reveal the real.

Sidebar: Here's a cover shot of XXL's 100th issue (March 2008):

Nas Previews N*gger Lyrics [video]

2008-01-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

Marriage Rumor: Jigga & Jobs

2008-01-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

This rumor that Jay-Z will be starting a new record label with Steve Jobs' Apple has been swirling for some months now. But with Jay-Z officially out of that Def Jam corner office, it is looking more and more like it might become something real.

And that would be a really really big deal.

Boy Genius Report revived the old rumor, stating that a "high-up person attached to Jay" said it's official. According to 247wallst.com, iTunes currently represents 70 percent of music downloads and the industry figure hit 844 million in 2007 with revenues that make sales of most music store chains look like peanuts. A number of sources have been reporting that the new label could be announced as early as Macworld Expo. Here's the CNBC report:

5ED2-TC-ApplesMusicalAmbitions
Uploaded by skaybn

A separate CNBC post by Jim Goldman broke it down like this:

While the deal is interesting, it faces some extremely steep hurdles, not the least of which is how other traditional recording labels would view Apple's move onto their turf. The company's relationship with them is already tenuous. Steve Jobs has been a vocal critic of digital rights management and the labels' traditional role as music-material gatekeeper.

Still, if Jobs can figure out a way to control content AND distribution, artists could flood his way and he might find himself in the catbird seat. Again.

Apple already assumes many of the roles enjoyed by traditional labels, most notably distribution. And that's why this becomes so interesting: big name artists with a strong fan base don't need "development." They need distribution. Look at Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Madonna.

Traditional labels would cry foul but it's not clear they'd be able to do anything about it. Apple would be in the unusual position of using established acts from established labels to attract customers to iTunes, as it does already today, and then leverage all those eyeballs to sell its own music from its own artists. That'd be a neat trick, but it would sure anger some Hollywood heavyweights.

When Jay-Z stepped down as the Def Jam prez, he said "it's time for me to take on new challenges." Well...

CRS - Us Placers [video]

2008-01-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

I should have put this video up a while ago but I wanted to wait and see if there would be an official word on this supergroup. The song, with its Thom Yorke sample, was No. 43 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

CRS (Child Rebel Soldier) is perhaps the best idea since Andre 3000 decided to do his own thing on the Love Below/Speakerboxxx joint. Consider this: Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Lupe Fiasco in one group. It is a creative tour de force, which has the potential to take hip hop even higher as a collective than they've done individually. Maybe.

The thing is, they're all busy and there has not been any word that CRS will have any more material outside of Us Placers, which appeared on Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape.

Who knows what is to come of CRS? But imagine the possibilities.

The Return of Yeezy

2008-01-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ye is back with his first blog post on his website KanyeUniverseCity.com since early November when his mother passed from cosmetic-surgery complications. In the past few months, he hasn't made very many public appearances. But yesterday, he put up a post thanking everyone for their support and co-signs Beyonce's undisputed Connect 4 Queen status:

When I was in Europe I would play this game for hours and hours... it helped me zone out. Everybody would get envolved... Derrick Dudley (Common's manager) and Consequence were the best other than me... I beat Lexi... Don C beat Jay... Tony Williams beat Common... but every now and then people would speak of this legendary connect 4 champion........... BEYONCE!!! I had 2 play her!...so last night at Jay's new 40/40 club in Las Vegas (which is sidebar, crazy big w/ 24krt gold flooring, Black Jack tables, $500 slot machines,the biggest projection screen in the universe and the best turkey burgers I've ever had in my life) she beat me 9 times in a row! (and I didn't even spaz lol) here's a photo of the only game I won!

DMX Goes Gospel?

2008-01-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

Let me take your hand/Guide me, I walk slow, but stay right beside me/The devil’s trying to find me, hide me/Hold up, I take that back/Protect me and give me the strength to fight back. --DMX, "Lord Give Me a Sign"

The Dog looks to be turning it around and going to God.

DMX’s next album will be gospel album, according to MTV. Well, partly. The double-disc project, his seventh studio album, will be called Walk with Me Now and You’ll Fly with Me Later and is set to be released this year through the independent label Bodog Music. The Walk with Me Now side is raw raps while the Fly with Me Later will be all gospel and will be released some time in 2008.

It sounds like a step in the right direction for one of rap’s biggest names. He has said the album will be a response to how much the game has changed and how he doesn’t want to associate anymore with what it has become. In the article, X says the gospel side will be completely clean. (“how 'bout that one? No songs about b----es, no songs about robbing, just straight 'Give God the glory.'")

Real talk, it’s not that hard to believe. For much of his career, X has put his conflicted soul on display, dousing his verses in thuggish imagery and then spending at least one track on his knee asking for forgiveness. "I want to leave a mark/But it won't be the mark of the devil," he rapped on One More Road to Cross. He has walked and stumbled on that line between his own rage and redemption.

"It's a war," he told MTV back in May 2006. "It's always a war going on between good and bad, you know. I've said it on one of my songs: 'Deep inside I've got something that's working against everything I know is right/ ... That's when God replies to me, "That's why you got to fight/ Harder than you ever fought before/ That's what you got going on inside you, that's a war/ Between good and evil, be careful of those who want to be you/ They smile but they're not really happy when they see you/ Be careful of the ones that always want to get you high/ Because when the time comes, that one will let you die." ' "

So personally, I think it’s positive. Here is a man who is the 6th highest selling rapper of all time and the only rapper to have five consecutive number one albums on the Billboard 200 Album chart. He has one of the most recognizable voices in music (frequently imitated by comics ironically in ministerial roles.) Of course, some might look at this and say, "he’s only doing this for publicity since he’s been falling off in the past year or two" and I can’t really call it. I don’t know him. What I do know is that X has always come across as a bruised and battle-tested veteran, fresh from the trenches of life and nearly dying of thirst. So whether his motive is legit or not, I believe the ends could help him turn it all around regardless.

Kanye West & John Mayer - Bittersweet [noncommissioned video]

2008-01-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

peep this pretty good noncommissioned video (where artists had nada to do with the production) directed by Kamal Robinson & Jameel Saleem of roguelionfilms.

The Day-Late 07 Rap-Up Video

2008-01-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Official New Year!

I know it's 2008 and anything from before today is old news but soveryfresh.com just released this 07 Rap Up video from Skillz so here you go.

Dr. Mike Check's Album of the Year Award Goes To...

2007-12-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

I was going to write a whole long list ranking the illest track of 2007 or the most valuable verse or the most improved spitter, etc. None of it really matters. One tight puzzle piece doesn’t mean much if the puzzle isn’t a work of art. I can give props all day to Talib Kweli’s lyricism in the third verse on Eardrum’s Say Something or Jigga’s marketing scheme, tying in his album with Denzel Washington’s gangster flick. I can hand out official unofficial awards to Kanye dethroning Fitty or the comic relief of Little Brother’s Good Clothes off the GetBack LP. I can write a whole post about the grand majesty of International Players Anthem by UGK ft. Outkast, the record and the video. I could clown Lil Weezy for being the most overrated rapper of all time.

I could. But I won’t.

As we close the door on 2007, I only want to cast my vote for the year’s greatest album. Now, when people talk about classics, a key factor is an album’s impact, meaning the effect the album had on artists and albums and on society as a whole. You take albums like The Chronic and Reasonable Doubt and their ranks on hip hop’s highest shelves seem obvious. That’s why it is slightly inaccurate to call Common’s Be a classic (even though that remains my personal favorite album of the past three years): it didn’t alter hip hop’s landscape.

But that’s neither here nor there because I can’t say there has been a true classic that has come out this year. That is not to say that there haven’t been excellent albums. In fact, this year (especially in the fourth quarter), we have seen some really good hip hop music come out (We still have ways to go before I would call it a resurrection with Soulja Boy still on dominating the scene.) So here is my picks for the top five albums of 2007:

Honorable Mention:

Getback- Little Brother
What is Little Brother without resident producer 9th Wonder? Still ill, it turns out. When it comes to everyman comedy, this rapping duo from North Carolina is your ticket. On Getback, Rapper Big Pooh steps up his game and Phonte has to be among the most consistent in the game. Part of what kept out of the top five is that their previous albums were so good. This album doesn’t have the package deal like the others had. (Sidebar: Minstrel Show is my second favorite hip hop album of the past three years after Be).
Standout Tracks: Sirens, Good Clothes, Two Step Blues

5. Eardrum – Talib Kweli
After putting out superior mixtapes Right About Now and Liberation with Madlib, Kweli returns with this infectious studio album. With this underrated LP, Kweli proved he could do a little bit of everything. The album opens with the legendary Sonia Sanchez and then moves into back-to-back bangers with some of the illest producers giving Kweli the soulful arrangements that fit best with his voice. Ever since Liberation, I have felt that Madlib is the best match for Kweli. His lush production allows Kweli to fall into the sounds rather than try to force his precise rhyme scheme into the crevices. Hi-Tek, Kanye and will.i.am do excellent work too, but Madlib stands out as Kweli’s best bet. But throughout the album, Kweli sounds hungry. It’s a good sound too, especially on tracks like Say Something where he and Blacksmith labelmate Jean Grae trade-off flawless verses on this will.i.am produced track: “We not falling for your tricks/’cause your image is like a gimic/forget it, every rhyme is bitten/you like a mimic/I’m callin on the lord and I’m askin him for forgiveness/just for kickin niggas out the club like Michael Richards.” Like I wrote in this post, the only bad thing about this album is the fact that there’s no overarching theme, no net that holds all of the tracks together. It might have been a problem from the beginning with the name Eardrum itself. Unlike Finding Forever or The Cool, Eardrum doesn’t lend itself to any type of narrative. Regardless, this is the album that grows on you over time and the production allows Kweli to get his preach on without you feeling like you’re sitting in a pew.
Standout Tracks: Say Something, Eat To Live, In The Mood, New Day

4. Graduation – Kanye West
This album is up for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year and it will probably win. I call Graduation a “masterpiece of minimalism.” It is the third in his academic trilogy and you can easily see how much Ye has grown and how far he has come. I love that the album is only 14 tracks instead of his typical 21 and that he has limited guest appearances this time around and no skits (I loved the skits on College Dropout but I can’t stand them on Late Registration.) He really has come of age as a producer and the feel of the able is consistent, seemingly connected with a thread of synths. Actually, some years ago, people probably wouldn’t even call this a hip hop album. It is so far left that seems to be something else entirely, not quite hip hop, not quite pop, but an electronic fusion of what the future of music looks like. That’s Yeezy. Always created, always forward-thinking. From his website to his Stronger video, you can see that this man is out of this world creative-wise, standing at the forefront of possibility and crossing over into facet of culture like Will Smith. With that said, this is his best album, but my least favorite of his albums. Compared to his previous two LPs, Graduation finds Kanye less humorous, less political, less versatile, less personal and less hungry. It’s not his fault. He’s only rapping about where he is in life, which is basking in his superstardom (Good Life). Lil Wayne brings down the whole project with his uninspired verse on Barry Bonds and Drunk and Hot Girls is nowhere near as funny or timely or utterly ubiquitous as Golddigger. But all in all, Graduation is still a great album. He deserves that degree.
Standout Tracks: Flashing Lights, Champion, Glory

3. American Gangster – Jay-Z
American Gangster put Jay-Z back on track. There’s not much more to say that I haven’t said already. The soul samples and the feel of the album work with Jay’s voice and flow and make this one of the year’s best LPs. He took it back to Blueprint with this one and created the third best album of his career. It debuted at No. 1 tying him with Elvis for the second most No. 1 debuts in history after The Beatles. And the album tied into the movie, which made it even more appealing, even though it was a completely separate project. I put this album should be higher than Graduation because Jay is, quite simply, a better rapper and this time around (rather than Kingdom Come), he chose production that was complementary to him. He doesn’t have Beyonce singing some forced hook (although she is speaking on Pray, but it sounds right). He doesn’t have a lot of heavy drums that push his voice around. It’s the lush instrumentation that holds his rhymes up in the air and let’s you all know that the ruler’s back. “Push/money over broads you got it F**k Bush/Chef, guess what I cooked/Baked a lot of bread/And kept it off the books/Rockstars/Look/Way before the bars my picture was getting took/Feds, they like wack rappers/Try as they may they couldn’t get me on the hook.” (Blue Magic)
What more can I say?
Standout Tracks: Roc Boys, No Hook, Ignorant Sh*t, Blue Magic

2. The Cool – Lupe Fiasco
I didn’t think much of it at first. But the more I hear it, the more it seeps into my subconscious. Listening to The Cool (or any of Lupe’s records for that matter) is like mining for gold, or watching a classic film noir or shopping at Black Thursday: you know there’s good stuff there somewhere but it’s going to take some work to find it. I find myself picking apart his verses, coming up with my own theories to his meanings and double entendres. The album, which elaborates on the Kanye West-produced track The Cool off of Food & Liquor is supposed to be a concept album that revolves around three characters. The main character is Michael Young History and then you have The Streets (a chick with dollar signs in his eyes) and The Game. I do think this album surpasses his previous effort Food & Liquor (although I might have a different opinion if the leaked version of F&L was the released version because that Theme Music To A Drive By is still one of the best tracks I ever heard from Lupe.) He can’t do whatever he wants lyrically, switching up his flow at the drop of a beat and going from talking about rape to spitting about one of the greatest Super Nintendo games of all time in Gold Watch: “I love Street Fighter 2/I just really hate Zangeif/Only Ken and Ryu/I find it hard to beat Blanka.” The downside is that the album is too long and there are too many skippable songs like Hi-Definition. He always doesn’t even start rapping until track 3, which just feels like a forced attempt to do something different. But when Lupe is on, he is on and his lyrics speak for themselves: And from a throne of their bones, I rule/These fools are my fuel so I make them cool/Baptize em in the water out of Scarface pool/And feed em from the table that held the Corleone's Food/If you die tell em that you played my game/I hope your bullet holes become mouths that say my name/Cause I'm the {*gunshot*} (Put You On Game). It’s a shame he’s allegedly hanging up the mic after his next one.
Standout Tracks: The Coolest, Intruder Alert, Streets on Fire, Little Weapon, Gotta Eat, Dumb It Down

And the winner is….

1. Below The Heavens – Blu & Exile
There’s not much to say. This album has it all: Lyrics, music, theme. Blu is a beast. He has all the makings of a top notch emcee. His delivery is on point and his rhyme scheme never fails and unlike a lot of rappers in this era, Blu is not afraid to speak candidly. He talks about his father beating his mom and what it was like when he first found out his girl was pregnant. Blu gets deeply personal and the album almost comes off like his own lyrical bibliography, which makes me curious to see what he’ll come back with the next time around. He’s skilled when it comes to storytelling and has the comedic punches to match. On top of all that is producer Exile whose soulful beats are versatile so that the album never becomes redundant but each one is specific to the emotion of the track. But Exile’s production never goes over the top so much to outshine the emcee. But they vibe off of each other. On tracks like Cold Heated, Blu plays hopscotch with the beat, jumping back and forth across the repetitive drum pattern effortlessly. This album actually caught me off guard. I had been skimming over some boards online and some heads were going on and on about Blu & Exile’s Below the Heavens. One poster even claimed that he would refund the purchase price if someone bought it and didn’t like it. I went to his myspace page to check out some samples and by the time the intro was a quarter of the way through, I was already sold. At the underground music store I go to, there were only three copies (not because it was sold out but they only ordered a handful.) so I got it, peeled off the plastic and I’ve been bumping this ever since. Blu is a unique talent in a world that has gone commercial. And he’s only a rookie so just imagine what he’ll be doing at this time next year.
Standout Tracks: All of them (and if you don't have this album, go cop it.)

and that's all for 2007 folks. happy new year! see you on the flip side.

peace.

Lupe Fiasco's Cool Intentions

2007-12-29T22:09:00.000-08:00

“God, it’s gonna get ugly, man. They’re gonna buy you drinks. You’re gonna meet girls, they’re gonna try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs. I know it sounds great, but these people are not you’re friends. These are people who want you to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of rock stars. And they will ruin rock ‘n’ roll and strangle everything we love about it, right? And then it just becomes an industry of cool.”
(Lester Bangs, Almost Famous)

So I just happened to be watching Almost Famous last night and I heard this line.

It came in an early scene when rock journalist Lester Bangs (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) was spouting advice to William Miller, a fledgling, adolescent rock reporter ready to hatch. I know this Cameron Crowe classic was released in 2000 and set in the 1970s. And I know Bangs is speaking specifically of the rock star lifestyle and the impending demise of the musical genre, but his words seem to resonate in this current climate of hip hop.

This is an era of snap music and Soulja Boy, devoid, many would say, of any real substance. Hip hop has become an "industry of cool." Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool is an examination of that very industry and, truth be told, nobody is better suited for the inspection job. His goal? To make the cool uncool and visa versa.

Lupe actually reminds of young William Miller in the movie, a fresh-faced breath of fresh air, who knows the rules and understands the game, but somehow remains immune to it, untouched and untainted by the trappings of mainstream coolness. But on his second album, that detachment is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.

When I first read about the The Cool being a concept album with recurring characters, I thought it was a good idea, a way to comment on the ills of society via caricatures a la Aaron McGruder. But the characters make guest appearances at best and tend to get lost in the shuffle. You don’t miss them much because, as always, Lupe’s lyricism steals the show. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Lupe is unmatched lyrically. His verses are mummified in metaphors that may take years to unwrap and unravel. And the wordplay is way too dense to digest in a single sitting. Case-in-point: Dumb It Down.

Verse 2

And I'm mouthless, which means I'm soundlessNow as far as the hearing, I've found itIt was as far as the distance from the earring to the ground isBut the doorknockers on the ear of a stewardess in a LearShe fine and she flyin, I feel I'm flying by 'em'cause my mind's on cloud nine and I’m a mime at the same timePimps see the wings on the underground kingWho's also Klingon, to infinity and beyondSomething really stinks, but I Sphinx like Leonor lying(lion) in the desertI'm flying on Pegasus, you're flying on the pheasantRider of the white powder, picker of the fire flowersSpit "hot fyah" like Dylan on Chappelle's skitYeah, smell it on my unicornSnort the white horse, but toot my own horn - sleep

Or this verse from the fast-food metaphor friendly track Gotta Eat (which on the surface has all the signs of being contrived ridiculousness, but let’s not forget that Lupe is in a league of his own):

Hey he had a whole lotta cheese/plus he was a mac had a whole lotta seedsMade a lot of niggas fat gave a whole lotta G's/grams man, he had a whole lotta these/And he would let you hold like a whole lotta keys/even if u lose some he would give you new ones/Twice the bread like he had two buns/and he had a whole lotta seeds/even his kids had meals (mills)/For reals some rich small fries wrapped in paper since they was lil, catch up nigga

He is a rapper’s rapper, who refuses to sand down his delivery or surrender his depth. This kid is a beast. He raps about rape on Intruder Alert and from the point of view of a rebel soldier overseas on Little Weapon, showcasing his superior storytelling ability. He can speed it up (Go Go Gadget Flow) or slow it down like on the Tribe Called Quest-esque Paris, Tokyo (which is even more confusing considering Fiascogate). The high point of the album comes with six tracks in the middle from Hip Hop Saved My Life up to Dumb It Down. Put You On Game is dope but, once again, Lupe flubs on his album closer, this time with the obnoxious Go Baby. The Cool’s standout track is Streets on Fire, produced by Chris & Drop, where he portrays the streets as an infectious virus.

But like the writer noted in this Village Voice article, Lupe could use a guide, a mentor, a veteran Lester Bangs type who might help him hone his creativity. Somebody should’ve told him that the album was too long. Somebody should have told him that Snoop Dogg doesn’t belong on Hi-Definition, the arguable low-point of the LP this side of Hello/Goodbye (Uncool). Somebody should have told him to stop it already with singing his own hooks. And somebody should have told him that Soundtrakk isn’t quite the “genius” that Lupe makes him out to be.

Just like on Food & Liquor, Soundtrakk is his producer of choice from his 1st and 15th crew. Unfortunately, most of the beats don’t really grab you and maybe that’s for the best. Now, you have no choice but to give Lupe your undivided attention rather than losing your mind in the complexity of the production. (But just imagine for a moment what it would sound like if Lupe’s words were buoyed by the lush production of a producer like Madlib.) Yes, the buddy-buddy guest spots and bland production make the LP a testament to Lupe’s unfailing loyalty but it is also why The Cool can’t be anything more than an almost classic.

Skillz - 2007 Rap-Up

2007-12-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

It's that time again.

Behind the Scenes at the video shoot:

Jay-Z Steps Down As Def Jam Prez

2007-12-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

I'm still "out of the office" if you will, but I had to put up this news bulletin. [via Billboard]

"It's time for me to take on new challenges. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to build upon the Def Jam legacy, helping to move the company into a new era of artistic success."

So it's official. We'll just have to wait and see what tricks Boss Hova has up his sleeves. Peace and love people.

Go Cop Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

2007-12-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

I remember I had just bought Lupe Fiasco's debut Food & Liquor from my regular music spot back when it came out. Then my girl, Gabby, hit me up and was telling me about some bonus cuts off of the Best Buy version. I was mad at that. My album ended after that ridiculous outro where he shouts out everybody who he has ever ran into in his life. To this day, I still haven't heard those bonus tracks, but I told myself that I would make sure to check Best Buy's version first. So I copped The Cool today from Best Buy and now I guess this track Blackout is a bonus off the Circuit City version of the album. I can't win.

Anyway, it's going to take a few days for me to sift through the complexities of this album, but be on the lookout for the official really real talk review soon. I'm going to be in and out over the next few days, doing the whole holiday thing. And most def, I still plan to post a 2007 In Review post highlighting the highs and lows of the past year.

I hope everyone has a good holiday and safe travels and stay tuned as hip hop continues to show subtle signs of recovery with albums like The Cool. peace.

Dave Chappelle On Def Poetry Jam

2007-12-17T22:38:00.000-08:00

Y'all didn't know dude could spit? This is classic comedy. (Warning: You might want to watch this with the volume down if you're at work.)

Crooked I vs. Jay-Z: Part 2

2007-12-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

[via nahright]

Lil Wayne = The Anti-Real

2007-12-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

Lil Wayne is the sum of overrated and ignorant, which means he’s overignorant or ignorated.

Either way, Weezy’s missing some key brain cells and getting way too much props for it. In the December 2007 issue of the hip hop publication Ozone Magazine, the 5th Annual Sex Issue, the half-pint croaker went on this rambling rant:

"If you are talking about rap and beef, I'm the wrong person to talk to. I am from New Orleans. Cut your televisions on. You know where I'm from. I'm from the murder capital, ma. Beef is a different thing there. I have four teardrops on my face and I have to look my mom in her eye every day. I can't lie to her. Fuck what they think and fuck what the world thinks, we real. My mom is real. The first day I got a teardrop I lied. I called her and asked her can I get a teardrop tattoo, but I had already got it." She said, "When you get it, come by me so I can see how you look with it, cause I was thinking about getting one my fuckin' self." "We don't play. No, I'm not gonna rap about you man, I will murder you, your family, your child, a newborn, I don't give a fuck. I could never go to hell cause I'ma take over, bitch."

I can’t say much about it. The stupidity speaks for itself. But Charlamagne The God, the radio personality from The Wendy Williams Experience recently put out this response that is spot on:

This ladies and ghetto men is one of the most socially irresponsible things I have ever heard spoken by a public figure in my life. To keep it one hundred, this fake blood, want-a-be gangster, scream murder but I don't believe you, pill popping piece of pig shit has lost his muthafucking mind. Please tell him to back away from that triple stack of Styrofoam cups he walks around with. This young man that is contributing to the degradation of our culture has had to much Hawaiian Punch and Promethezyne.

First of all to say, "I have four teardrops on my face" and "I come from the murder capital", is implying that you have indeed killed someone in your life. In case you people didn't know, a teardrop tattoo is a symbol of having committed at least one murder; well in North America it is. In Australia a teardrop tattoo has an entirely different meaning. It is forcibly marked on convicts who are accused child molesters! Now if I listen to Gillie the Kid, I guess that is why Baby, CEO of Cash Money, has his teardrop tattoos. It was said by Gillie that Baby used to touch on Wayne when he was a child. Like father, like son? They say the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, but let's just stick to what Wayne was implying.

He was implying that he has killed someone and so has his mother. Imagine that I work for the FEDS and I'm reading this. I'm like okay; I think this is an admission of guilt. Then I keep reading and see this idiot has relinquished all doubt because he says, "I will murder you"! Not just you, but "your family, your child, a newborn." Could somebody get this Fisher Price, my first red bandanna wearing kid a publicist, or has he already said too much? I think the City of New Orleans should charge Wayne with some of the city's unsolved murder cases. He is glorifying murder and admitting, even though I don't believe him, that he has killed someone. "I will murder you" should be taken seriously in a court of law!

Have you ever seen "Minority Report" starring Tom Cruise, where a special police department called "pre-crime" apprehended criminals based on foreknowledge? Well we have the foreknowledge and the confession before the crime! Lil Wayne said he will "murder your family, your child, and a newborn"! Someone save this guy from his self! Usually when someone snitches on you to the FEDS and says that you did something or were involved in some way, the FEDS come and arrest you on what they call a conspiracy charge. Lil Wayne dry snitched on himself. No I take that back, he didn't dry snitch he flat out snitched on himself and his mother. I think they need to be picked up and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. I just want him to be charged so I can hear him tell the truth and say, "I never killed anyone, I'm just a rapper! I need to sound tough to sell records! I got these teardrop tattoos because it looked cute on Baby!"

This dude ladies and gentlemen is a fraud, a phony, a fake, and those comments he made to Ozone Magazine are detrimental to society. Do you know how many kids this guy psychologically influences? Watch how many people you start to see walking around with Styrofoam cups; watch how many kids start drinking his Hawaiian Punch and promethezyne concoction; watch how many kids will get that thought branded into their brains that they "will murder you, your family, a child, and a newborn"!

Has anybody read the new study that shows most teenagers will indulge in risk taking behaviors because of poor brain development? Even if they know right from wrong, good from bad, positive from negative, God from the Devil, they will still ignore it because that is what they have been programmed to learn. The study by Temple University Professor of Psychology, Laurence Steinberg, PhD, concludes from newly emerging research on adolescent brain development, that "Teenagers seek out risk-taking behaviors because the brain systems involved in decision making mature at different times. The section of the brain most involved in emotion and social interaction becomes very active during puberty, while the section most critical for regulating behavior is still maturing into early adulthood."

"This explains" Steinberg says, "why teens are so susceptible to peer pressure and why education and prevention efforts designed to keep teens from engaging in risk-taking behaviors don't work all that well. We have tried to prevent these behaviors by educating kids about the dangers of things like smoking, drinking, taking drugs, and unprotected sex," he tells WebMD. "The thinking has been, if they know about the dangers they won't do these things, but that is clearly not true."

Damn right it's not true because if I'm a teenager whose brain is not fully developed and I'm listening and following a jackass like Lil Wayne, that means I'm going to want to join a gang (and kids you will get jumped in, you're not going to pay your way in like Lil Wayne). Wayne, if you wanted to be an honorary member of an organization and pay dues you should of pledged A.K.A. I'm sure those fine women would have accepted you as one of their own. It would have made more sense because pussy knows pussy.

I call him pussy because only a pussy, during an interview with a national publication, would say he would kill a child or a newborn baby! Let me refocus, if I'm a teenager whose brain is not fully developed and I'm following a jackass like Lil Wayne, I'm going to want to join a gang. I'm going to drink my syrup all day and I'm going to look for someone to kill for no reason, possibly a newborn baby because Wayne said he would and he's the best rapper alive (allegedly)!

The problem with this is the judge does not want to hear that a 17-year-old's brain is not fully developed. By the time this not fully developed brain under the influence of drugs goes out and really kills someone and is arrested, then sentenced to life in prison, it's too late. Case in point,the four young men, who broke into Washington Redskins player, Sean Taylor's home looking to steal. When Sean popped out, they shot him and now he is dead. Now those kids are going to jail forever!

What influenced those kids to do that? I'm not going to blame that on Lil Wayne, but comments like those made by Wayne don't help. If my brain is not fully developed and this drugged out, fake gang banger, possible baby killer is the closest thing I have to an influence then what the fuck? Lil Wayne said, "Fuck what the world thinks, we real." I hate that word because the definition of what real is in hip hop is not real at all. Real is not pulling into the parking lot of Walgreen's in ATL, in the middle of a Saturday afternoon and allegedly trying to purchase machine guns. Real is not being 38 years old and now pledging your allegiance to the Bloods and flagging at award shows. Real is not being on DVDs pointing guns at the camera and licking shots in the air. Why incriminate yourself like that? Lastly, real is most certainly not interviewing with a national publication and saying that you will kill children and newborn babies.

As a matter of fact, going into 2008, I don't want any rappers to say that they are keeping it real. The dictionary defines real as being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not an illusion. You rappers like Lil Wayne are about as real as the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny. Poverty and unemployment are real. 40 million people with little to no healthcare in America is real. The war in Iraq is real. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is real. Pedophilia is real. Incarceration is real. Our people, continuously dying at the hands of one another, for no reason is real.

With all these problems going on in the world, the only thing Lil Wayne can think to have come out of his mouth is, "I will kill you, your family, your child, a newborn baby"? Charlamagne Tha Gods says fuck Lil Wayne. I say fuck him because I say fuck the devil every day. When you proclaim that you "can't go to hell because you will take over," what you are really saying is you are worse than Satan. You are saying you are worse than God's mortal enemy. Fuck Wayne and any rapper or person that thinks like him. Praise to be ALLAH!! Death to all Devils!

P.S. When I hear statements like those made by Lil Wayne, I realize people's value of life is at an all time low. I would hope the tragic and untimely passing of the legendary Pimp C, (who I am sure was an influence to Wayne) touched him in a way that makes him value and appreciate his life. Not just his, but his daughters lives and newborn babies everywhere. R.I.P. Pimp C

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The Way We Campaign: Kidz In The Hall Rep For Obama

2007-12-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

Work To Do (Obama 08)

and the making of...

Crooked I vs. Jay-Z: Who You Got?

2007-12-13T21:32:00.000-08:00

I grew up on the Wake Up Show so I know they always getting real. So the question for all you lyricism junkies is who you got out of crucial West Coast emcee Crooked I and Boss Hova?

Mic Sessions: Talib Kweli

2007-12-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

American Godfather Trailer

2007-12-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

classic material.

Preview: Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

2007-12-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

As much as I might sound like I'm knocking Lupe Fiasco, I do got a lot of respect for dude.

I have said often that I believe he is one of the dopest lyricists (if not the dopest) in the game right now. His upcoming LP, The Cool, is going to be hip hop's potent punctuation following such a crazy year. You all know I prefer to wait until the album actually drops before I listen to tracks, but for my impatient people, you can preview the album via mtv here. And the kid is breaking down his second album in this complex interview.

And in true end-of-the-year fashion, Lupe shares some of the year's highs and lows and the future:

The Year of the Ye?

2007-12-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

Let the campaigning begin.

The nominations for the 50th annual Grammy Awards are in and Mr. Kanye West is on top, scoring eight nominations including the coveted Album of the Year. It is no secret that the highest Grammy honor has been Ye’s top target since the beginning. He’s pouted and preached and huffed and puffed about why he should win the award every year.

“If I don't win Album of the Year, I'm gonna really have a problem with that,” West told MTV in 2005 about his second album Late Registration. “I can never talk myself out of [winning], you know why? Because I put in the work. I don't care if I jumped up and down right now on the couch like Tom Cruise. I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt — you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. So I don't wanna hear all of that politically correct stuff. You put the camera in front of me, I'm gonna tell you like this. I worked hard to get here. I put my love, I put my heart, I put my money [into Late Registration]. I'm $600,000 in the hole right now on that album and you tell me about being politically incorrect?”

He lost to U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb that year. The year before that, he lost to Ray Charles’ Genius Loves Company.

Truth be told, as good as Graduation is, let me just go on the record and say that I believe Amy Winehouse’s incredible LP Back to Black is the undisputed album of 2007. It is a nearly flawless masterwork that came seemingly out of nowhere. This is the album that is most likely to upset the Louis Vuitton Don. If Grammy voters are anything like Oscar voters, they might decide to hold out on giving the top award to Winehouse (six nominations) because she is a newcomer with enough talent to win the Album of the Year later in life.

So in that case, this year just might be Yeezy’s year. Winning the award would make Ye only the second hip hop artist to ever win it after Outkast made history in 2004 taking the honors with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. All the signs point to Kanye taking home top honors. Graduation was a huge album that went nearly platinum in one week, dismantling the atomic bomb that is 50 Cent. The LP wraps up his academic trilogy, pushing the bounds of his musicality and raising hip hop’s crossover bar with epic singles like Stronger.

He’s been on magazine covers, published a book and launched his website, kanyeuniversecity.com and his mother, Donda West, recently passed away. It has definitely been one crazy year for the Chi-town artist. Who knows whether these things factor into the equation when it comes down to voting? But it is safe to say that 2007 was Kanye West’s year and the Album of the Year award would be the perfect punctuation.

Here’s the other relevant categories via Rolling Stone [see full list here]:

Album of the Year

Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Vince Gill, These Days

Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters

Kanye West, Graduation

Amy Winehouse, Back to Black

Record of the Year

Beyoncé, “Irreplaceable”

Foo Fighters, “The Pretender”

Rihanna feat. Jay-Z, “Umbrella”

Justin Timberlake, “What Goes Around … / … Comes Around”

Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”

Song of the Year

Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats”

Plain White T’s, “Hey There Delilah”

Corinne Bailey Rae, “Like a Star”

Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”

Rihanna feat. Jay-Z, “Umbrella”

Best Rap Album

Common, Finding Forever

Jay-Z, Kingdom Come

Nas, Hip Hop Is Dead

T.I., T.I. Vs. TIP

Kanye West, Graduation

Best Rap Song

50 Cent feat. Justin Timberlake, “Ayo Technology”

T.I., “Big Things Poppin’”

Kanye West, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”

Soulja Boy Tell’Em, “Crank That”

Kanye West feat. T-Pain, “Good Life”

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

Common feat. Kanye West, “Southside”

Fat Joe feat. Lil Wayne, “Make It Rain”

Shop Boyz, “Party Like a Rockstar”

UGK feat. OutKast, “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)”

Kanye West, Nas & KRS-One, “Better Than I’ve Ever Been”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Akon feat. Snoop, “I Want to Love You”

Chris Brown feat. T-Pain, “Kiss Kiss”

Keyshia Cole feat,. Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliott, “Let It Go”

Rihanna feat. Jay-Z, “Umbrella”

Kanye West feat. T-Pain, “Good Life”

R.I.P. Pimp C

2007-12-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You) - UGK ft. Outkast

Artist Site

Rapper Pimp C of UGK Found Dead in LA Hotel

2007-12-04T13:13:00.001-08:00

[my homie jw just hit me with the news. condolensces to his family and friends.]

Rapper Pimp C from Houston group UGK found dead in LA hotel
© 2007 The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Pimp C, one-half of the veteran Houston rap group UGK, was found dead in an upscale hotel on Tuesday. "It is with great regret that I must confirm that Chad Butler aka Pimp C, one half of the legendary UGK, was in fact discovered dead this morning," his publicist, Nancy Byron, said in a statement. "Manager Rick Martin is asking that everyone please respect his family and those close to him at this time and refrain from rumors and innuendo." Pimp C and partner Bun B were pioneers of Southern rap, and hit the mainstream with their cameo on Jay-Z's hit "Big Pimpin'."

Video: Kid Sister's Pro Nails

2007-12-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

So this video by Chicago rapper Kid Sister was making rounds Monday and, according to mtv, it was made for only $3,000 and directed by Ruben Fleischer (M.I.A., Dizzee Rascal). Mr. Kanye West even comes through to give his Chi-town homie a crucial co-sign with a guest verse. Thoughts?

Sean Taylor And The Inevitable 'Thug' Label

2007-12-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

[Shaffer/Reuters]

Thousands of mourners gathered in Miami today for the funeral of 24-year-old Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor, who was shot and killed in his home last week. I was reading this oh-so-true Newsweek piece by Raina Kelley when I came across this:

In a survey performed last month by the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of African-Americans said that rap had a negative impact, while 54 percent of young black adults believed that portrayals of African-Americans in movies and TV had a negative impact on society's view of black people.

As the battle rages on between rappers who, for the most part, claim what they do is merely “entertainment” and mainstream America that has made hip hop society’s scapegoat, what do you make of surveys like these?

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate

2007-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

"So f*ck De-Haven for cavin’/that’s why we don’t speak/made men ain’t supposed to make statements/end of the story, I followed the code, cracked the safe/other niggas ain’t in the game so they practice hate."(Jay-Z No Hook, American Gangster)

You know Jay-Z is serious when he starts calling you out by name.

That means you hit a nerve. It doesn’t happen too often. In most of his diss records, Jigga will tuck not-so-thinly veiled references behind barb-wired bars. He will talk about your sloppy sales, your insufficient funds or your adopted style. But if he doesn’t say your name, he is basically saying you’re a nobody; a tiny, annoying but squashable ant in the grand scheme of his full-course existence.

Kingdom Come is a prime example. For months and months before Jay released that out-of-retirement LP, Cam’ron and Jim Jones among others had been spitting darts his way. The industry waited to see if Jay would come back with some career-ending verbal assault. He didn’t. He basically ignored them. On the album, he fired a few shots back, most of them on the track Dig A Hole: "Real niggas like, ‘why Hov talkin to dude’/He's sellin’ low 2s/Only time you went plat/My chain was on ya neck, that’s an actual fact." Everybody knew he was talking about Cam. But Jay never says his name. And that’s even a special case. Most of the time, Jay just flings a wide net of insult out there, where it can apply to just about anyone.

But there are those times when Jay means business and names get called. Of course, the most notable example is on The Blueprint LP on the severe diss record, Takeover, where he personalizes his attacks against Mobb Deep and Nas.

So in No Hook when Jay dedicates six menacing bars to former partner-in-crime De-Haven, you already know it's serious. Earlier this year, De-Haven posted a series of Youtube videos “Jay-Z Exposed.” The videos (see above) look bootleg with De-Haven saying he has all this dirt on Jay-Z and threatening to expose Jigga as a fraud. He doesn’t give details or back up his claims. It’s supposed to be an appetizer of sorts that will get people anxious to buy his DVD and his book when they come out. New York Magazine writer Ben Westhoff recently spoke to De-Haven about all the controversy:

Did you and Jay sell drugs together?
No, he ain’t do much selling drugs. I did all that work. He was just a good dude to be around. He was one of my best friends. I taught him some things, but I mainly kept him from being out on the street a lot. Whatever was mine was his. So, we shared clothes, we shared a whole bunch of stuff. We had sex with the same women plenty of times. We both got burnt! We had the drip. My mom took him to the clinic. My mom also got him out of jail.

Does Jay exaggerate his drug-dealing in his songs? I’m telling you he overexaggerates. He was there to see things, but doing some big-time Frank Lucas–type thing? No. He nickled and dimed, but nothing on a major scale. He definitely didn’t sell nothin’ in Marcy. Spanish Jose, who he mentions a lot [in his songs], was a friend of mine. Jay didn’t have no affiliation to Spanish Jose.

When did the two of you have a falling-out? We never really had a falling-out, that’s the problem. This is why I’m so confused. There was no argument, there was none of that. I don’t want an apology [from him], I want a reason. What happened? When my case [a federal drug-conspiracy charge] came in 1998, I never seen him again too much anymore. The case had nothing to do with him, his name never came up, so I’d like to ask him, “What happened?” Where did his departure come from?

When he talks about you on “No Hook,” is he accusing you of snitching? I think he’s talking about the way I went about this YouTube project [and not about snitching]. But he’s into subliminal messages, so [I think] he’s trying to get me hurt. That goes beyond disrespect. He’s getting my safety involved. I can’t believe my own daughter’s godfather is trying to get me hurt. But it won’t work. Being that I’ve been in prison a lot of times, a lot of people know my credibility. They know I went all the way to trial with my federal case, and I won.

The real question is why now? He could have done all this years ago if it mattered that much to him. With Karrine Steffans a.k.a. Superhead "blowin’ up" after releasing her tell-all book, Confessions of a Video Vixen, it seems that everybody has something they want to say about somebody else. Anything to make a dollar.

De-Haven is most likely telling the truth about Hov. Let’s be real. If Jay, or any other self-proclaimed drug kingpin rapper for that matter, was as big a drug dealer as they claim, they’d either be dead, in jail or still in the game. It’s not the type of gig you just walk away from all willy nilly just because you realize it doesn’t come with health benefits. Will the validity of Jay-Z’s story affect his prominence? No. Plenty of people have made money or attained position based on lies. Our president, for instance. It is the American Way; fake it till you make it.

But what do y'all think? Is De-Haven relevant? Is his quest to reveal Jay-Z’s true origin a righteous one? Or is he just trying to make a few bucks on the back of someone that was close to him back in the day?

MiJac Returns With Thriller Remixed

2007-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson sure has touched a lot of people.

No, not like that. I’m talking music. I was kicking it with my brother this past weekend and he was reading that new Ebony exclusive story on the King of Pop. I haven’t read it yet, but he told me one thing I forgot about: 104 million. That’s how many copies MiJac’s iconic album Thriller has sold. 104 million. With all the courtroom drama and transformation chamber questions, you forget that this man holds the definite record, one that no artist will touch. Ever.

He went one-hundred times platinum and he’s still selling records. Nowadays, artists get all excited about going one time platinum and in hip hop, selling 104,000 is a feat in itself. Needless to say, you can’t really compare Michael Jackson to anyone that has been out before or after him. He is in a league all his own. He doesn’t have massive crossover appeal. He is the crossover. And Thriller is the definitive classic.

Which of course means one thing: Reeeemmmixxxxx! For the 25th anniversary of Thriller, MiJac is coming with a new edition of the album set to drop in February via Epic/Legacy Recordings. It will include unreleased material and remixes by Kanye West, Akon and will.i.am.

West remixes "Billie Jean," while will.i.am has revamped "The Girl Is Mine" and "P.Y.T." The album also features a new version of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with both Akon and will.i.am.

Truth be told, I don’t know if I can really get behind this idea. I might have to hear some tracks before I cast my vote, but it doesn’t feel right. Quincy Jones is a legend and to take the album’s groundbreaking production and give it to today’s overexposed producers seems like a marketing scheme that will only water down the original project. Don’t get me wrong, I think Ye, will.i.am and Akon represent what “crossover” means in today’s market, but still. It’s like getting the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix) to direct a remake of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather. (Maybe not that extreme, but you get the point.)

Here is the track list for "Thriller -- 25th Anniversary Edition" [via Billboard]:

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"

"Baby Be Mine"

"The Girl Is Mine"

"Thriller"

"Beat It"

"Billie Jean"

"Human Nature"

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

"The Lady in My Life"

"Carousel"

"Someone in the Dark"

"Billie Jean" (demo)

"The Girl Is Mine 2008" with will.i.am

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008" with Michael Jackson and will.i.am

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" with Michael Jackson, Akon and will.i.am

"Billie Jean 2008" with Kanye West

"For All Time"

'Nigger' Talk From Nas

2007-11-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

"What I stand for speaks for itself/they don't understand or wanna see me on top, too egotistical"
(Nas, One Mic)

Oh, you thought it was a game?

Nas has never been good at the whole people-pleasing thing and he never has been one to tiptoe around hot-button topics. Rapping, as he sees it, is his way to fight. And with his upcoming controversial LP, Nigger, it looks as if all gloves are off.

"I have a song called 'The Fear,' " he told MTV News. "The full title of the record is 'The Fear of the Black Man's D---.' That's some sh-- you can get comedy [from], or you can get some seriousness from it when you talk about the barbaric castrations that happened in our past — which is very serious, nothing to laugh at."

In this MTV interview, Nas sheds some light on his upcoming album, which has been pushed to February. He has the support of his label and industry peeps like Alicia Keys, Method Man and Russell Simmons, but of course he has his vocal opponents. He explains that the album is “not an attack on any race” and that the LP will be a balanced one that “takes negatives and makes them good.”

"It's about the attacks that have happened to blacks, whites, all ethnicities," he continued. " 'Mick' niggers, 'guinea' niggers, 'kike' niggers. I have a song called 'You a Nigger Too.' "

That man is not playing.

Promo: Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood

2007-11-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

So Snoop D-O-double-G has another batch of straight ridiculousness coming this way. This time it's a reality show called Snoop Dogg's Father Hood on the E Network. Like I said about Irv Gotti's show, it doesn't look like it'll be anything more than worn-out cliches, dumb jokes and bad acting (despite the fact that it is a reality show). The show premieres Dec. 9 @ 10:30/9:30c.

I mean, it's not like I'm against reality tv or even yesterday's rappers putting their after-hip hop home life on display. Run's House is my show.

Kidz In The Hall - Trailer for New Album 'The In Crowd'

2007-11-27T21:45:00.000-08:00

i never did cop their first album even though my girl gabby told me these dudes was ill. i'm slackin, i know. but here's the trailer for the new album, The In Crowd, their first on Duck Down with the lead single, Drivin Down The Block.

How To Handle A Leak (And The Winner Is...)

2007-11-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

"On the internet, they like you should spit it/I'm like you should buy it nigga that's good business."

(Jay-Z - The Prelude, Kingdom Come)

Nowadays, it seems that every rapper’s most dangerous foe is not another rapper, or the critics or even the paparazzi. But the infamous adversary known as the leak.

The leak is a gangster. A vicious one. He can bump albums back, hurt record sales, spoil surprises and crush up-and-coming artists in one swift blow. Nobody is safe. In this internet age, a leak at the right time can turn a highly anticipated album into an anticlimactic afterthought before it even comes out.

Just ask Lupe Fiasco. His debut album Food & Liquor was the talk of the net last year. He had built a buzz solely on his Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape series and had legendary emcees like Jay-Z hailing him as the future of hip hop. Then the album leaked. Twice. He threw one of those trademark tantrums and considered giving up: “Lotta time and money and bullshit went into creating that album. Over the years I’ve had my people die, get locked up, my company get shut down, weak ass niggas in my own crew turn against me and just when things are starting to look good… [and] later learn that everything I worked for just got leaked all over the internet kinda had me fucked up.”

The latest leak victim is the god’s son himself, Nas. In the past few months, he has been making rounds in the headlines with his controversial album, Nigger, slated for a December release. Over the weekend, his track What It Is leaked to the web. And this afternoon, according to MTV, Nas’ people said the song definitely would not be on the album and that the album has been pushed to February, Black History Month.

The leak ain’t no punk neither. You can’t murder him on a diss record or put a hit on him. He calls the shots and takes no prisoners. Rappers have been trying all sorts of strategies trying to find their footing in the battle against the web. Everybody and they mama has a myspace page. Many artists such as Little Brother’s Phonte and Rhymefest have applied the whole “if you can’t beat them, join them” adage and have started blogging. Kanye West just recently launched his own futuristic site, kanyeuniversecity.com, which includes a blog and a plethora of all things Ye. But others choose to go a different route on the Information Superhighway. Jay-Z pulled American Gangster from iTunes. (XXL’s Bol recently wrote a decent post about ownership here.) And Talib Kweli and others have released material via the internet for free.

But of all the tactics, I have to give the Best Way To Fix A Leak Award to Lil Wayne. (Write down this moment because it’ll be the first and last time I give props to dude). After his anticipated album Tha Carter III leaked to the Internet, Weezy fought back and decided that on Dec. 18, the original release date, he would release another album called Tha Carter III: The Leak and the real version would be pushed back to February 2008.

Everybody can’t do that. Wayne is a big enough rapper and the expectancy of his album is high enough that The Leak will sell and so will the real version. I still say Lil Wayne is the most overrated rapper of all time, but I have to give him his credit. As other artists like The Game have intentionally leaked certain songs to get people interested in buying the album like food samplers at Costco, Weezy flipped the leak completely and turned the attack into another business opportunity. Now that’s gangsta.

Kanye West Speaks On The Passing Of His Mother

2007-11-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

[On stage during a concert in Belgium, Kanye talks about how his music now has new meaning]

Jadakiss Locks New Deal With The Roc

2007-11-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

Does this deal really mean anything?

Don’t get me confused. I think Jadakiss was one of the grimiest gangsta rappers of his day, but it seems that day is long gone. In this era of repetitive ringtone rap, it’s hard to say that his raspy tough talk and straight-to-the-gut punchlines will have any relevance or resonance. (You won't see dude doing the Soulja Boy dance.)

The Lox rapper from Yonkers plans to put out his third solo album some time next year under this Roc-A-Fella/Ruff Ryders deal after his previous albums were worked through Interscope. Kiss has been hanging with The Roc family for a while but now it's official. Maybe that doesn’t even matter. Maybe the real news is the fact that the deal will put Kiss in the same circle as his former rap rival Beanie Sigel. The quarter-pound beef started some years ago with the two gritty rappers going back and forth and even chucking a truce set up by Russell Simmons. It all finally ended in 2002 when they performed together at a show before Beans went to jail. Maybe that doesn’t matter either. I mean, if Jay-Z and Nas can be best friends, so can they, right?

Jadakiss has seen more limelight than his other D-Block partners-in-rhyme Styles P and Sheek Louch. After they released Money, Power and Respect in the late 1990s, it was hard to keep that momentum as a group and individually. His solo debut album Kiss tha Game Goodbye dropped in 2001 and didn’t go much of anywhere (Even though that We Gonna Make It single definitely stayed on repeat). But it was only when he stepped out of his comfort zone to comment on current affairs that he caught a real glimpse of mainstream success. That moment came in 2004 when he released Why featuring Anthony Hamilton from his second album Kiss of Death. It was a simple track, a lyrical survey of rhetorical questions that catapulted him to his pop culture peak. Nas, Common and Styles P even hopped on the remix. The track was censored in some areas, but Kiss, for the first time in a long time, sounded inspired and proved his versatility. And the passion in his raspy voice only made each question that much more poignant.

"Why do niggas push pounds of powder? Why did Bush knock down the towers?"

That was three years ago and yet the questions still have meaning today. That’s hip hop. So whether he is past his prime or not, Kiss could use Jigga and The Roc’s loyal roster in his hardcore corner. Truth be told, he fits right in there with them. Like Beans and Freeway, Kiss himself is one of those rappers who is actually good at this whole rapping thing, but still he remains in this day and age largely underrated, underrepresented, a portrait of hip hop’s potential that never fully developed.

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool Tracklisting

2007-11-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

"Lupe Fiasco's The Cool" Tracklisting [via Billboard]:

"Iesha Poem"
"Free Chilly"
"Go Go Gadget Flow"
"The Coolest"
"Superstar" featuring Mathew Santos
"Paris Tokyo"
"High Definition" featuring Snoop Dogg and Pooh Bear
"Little Weapon"
"Hip-Hop Saved My Life" featuring Nikki Jean
"Gold Watch"
"Street on Fire" featuring Mathew Santos
"Hello Goodbye"
"Gotta Eat"
"Dumb It Down" featuring Gemini and Graham Burris
"The Die" featuring Gemini
"Put You on Game"
"Fighters" featuring Mathew Santos
"Go Baby Go"

I think Lupe Fiasco has a Lauryn Hill complex.

For real. I think he struggles to be himself while trying to maintain an image of what he thinks people want him to be. It is an impossible balance (where is Lauryn, excuse me Ms. Hill, now anyway?) and hence you get such random episodes from him following any public criticism. But at the same time, as I have said before, I think Lupe is also one of the illest lyricists to hit the scene in the last few years. He can paint pictures and create mammoth metaphors that almost get lost in translation. Lyrics have never been his issue. The Village Voice’s Tom Breihan says here that “Lupe remains sadly attached to longtime cronies like Santos and Soundtrakk, who produced both tracks, when he really should be looking for collaborators who know how to get the best out of him. All the fluid verbal gymnastics in the world don't mean a thing if they don't come attached to songs that work.”

True. But in light of all of Food & Liquor’s flaws and my personal observations (as if what I see from afar means anything) of what looks like a dope rapper in search of identity, I have high hopes in The Cool, his sophomore album set to drop Dec. 18. Why? Because Lupe thinks in concepts. While other rappers stay concerned with putting out a club jam or some random singles that have no overarching theme, Lupe tends to see his songs as pieces of proverbial pie without needing the inspiration of a movie. This Billboard article states that this new album will include a number of “characters.”

Among the characters are Michael Young History, the Game (described as "a male
personification of a hustler's damaging influences") and the Streets ("a female
embodiment of an urban area's corrupt allure").

Let’s just hope that the real Lupe, whoever he is, doesn’t get lost among them.

50 Cent Gives His Two Cents On American Gangster

2007-11-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

Allhiphop interviewed 50 Cent about Jay-Z's newest album, which by the way was No. 1 on the charts, tying Jigga with Elvis for the second most No. 1 albums after the Beatles. Watching Fitty speak on American Gangster is hilarious considering I Get Money was the only song off of Curtis that anyone cares about.

A Few Words On Talib Kweli's Eardrum

2007-11-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

“I believe scratch that I know this ain’t my full potential/Only using 10 percent of my mental on instrumentals.”
(Talib Kweli)

It seems like Eardrum went in one ear and out the other.

This is one of year’s best hip hop albums and somehow it got lost in the shuffle between Common’s Finding Forever and Kanye West’s Graduation. It is unfortunate because Talib Kweli's Eardrum tops both of these albums lyrically and possibly (I said possibly) even in terms of production (The track Ye produced, In the Mood, surpasses everything he did on Graduation). But Eardrum fails to measure up to the other two albums in one crucial area: package. It is nearly twice as long (20 tracks including three bonus tracks) and while each track is exceptional by itself -- with the help of superproducers like Pete Rock, will.i.am, Hi-Tek and Madlib among others -- there is nothing that brings them together under one cohesive umbrella. It comes off sounding like the best mixtape you never heard.

It doesn’t matter. Even Kweli acknowledges on Everything Man (see below), the album’s opening track, that “you can’t please everybody.” And yet, contrary to most emcees out there, he’s still making real music that you can feel.

Video: Talib Kweli's Everything Man

2007-11-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

Kanye West's Mother Dies

2007-11-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

my chi-town homie boog just passed this to me from the wire. prayers and condolences go out to Kanye West and his family.

------------------------------
Rapper Kanye West's Mother Dies
By JACOB ADELMAN – 24 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Donda West, mother of Kanye West and former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English department, has died, a spokesman for the rapper said. Donda West died Saturday night in Los Angeles, said the spokesman, who asked for anonymity because not all family members had been notified. Her age was not immediately known.

"The family respectfully asks for privacy during this time of grief," the spokesman said.

A cause of death has not been released. Donda West was known for the strong bond she shared with her son, by whose side she was often seen at parties and award shows.
Kanye West often spoke of his close relationship with his mother, who raised him alone after her husband left when Kanye was 3.

She was the inspiration for the song, "Hey Mama," on Kanye West's 2005 album "Late Registration," in which he sings: "Hey Mama, I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I'm so proud of you ... I appreciate what you allowed for me. I just want you to be proud of me."

Donda West frequently defended her son against critics who accused him of penning misogynistic lyrics and other purported transgressions.

"I support my baby," she said in a Chicago Sun-Times interview. "He is telling how he feels and he is speaking the truth as he sees it."

In May, she published the book "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Star," in which she paid homage to her famous son.

Donda West served as chief executive of West Brands LLC, the parent company of her son's business enterprises, and as chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, an educational nonprofit that works to decrease dropout rates and improve literacy.

Kanye West told the Associated Press in August that he and his mother worked together to devise the foundation's first program, "Loop Dreams," which helps public school students get involved in music.

"Me and my mother were discussing ways to give back and came up with the concept," he said.

Donda West worked in higher education for 31 years, before leaving academia in 2004 to help manage her son's career, according to a biography on the Kanye West Foundation's Web site.

She began working at Chicago State University in 1980 and eventually chaired the school's English department, according to the site. She started her teaching career in the early 1970s as an instructor at Brown College in Atlanta.

Kanye West's writing partner Rhymefest lamented Donda West's death Sunday in an appearance on Chicago radio station WCGI.

"She was everyone's mom," Rhymefest said. "A spirit never dies, a spirit lasts forever."

Associated Press Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody in New York and AP writer Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.this report.

The Unreleased Video For Hustlers - Nas ft. The Game

2007-11-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

[via nahright]

Frank Lucas: American Don't-Call-Me-A-Gangster

2007-11-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

“Please don’t compare me to other rappers/compare me to trappers/I’m more Frank Lucas than Ludacris/And Luda’s my dude I ain’t trying to diss/Like Frank Lucas is cool but I ain’t trying to snitch.”
(Jay-Z, No Hook – American Gangster)

As American Gangster week comes to a close, I want to end with this allhiphop interview with the real Frank Lucas. It is a very casual yet in-depth interview where Lucas discusses his son’s rapping career, the legitimacy of Nicky Barnes’ Council and the movie based on his life, where Frank Lucas is played by Denzel Washington.

The interview fills in many of the gaps and questions about the man himself that the movie and the album both titled American Gangster left behind. Why didn’t he stop while he was "ahead"? What were some of those prejudices he faced and how did that affect him? Did he regret his life as a drug lord? What about Jay-Z?

It all comes out like in this segment where he recalls his cousin getting killed by the Ku Klux Klan:

Frank Lucas: When you are a kid and you see something like that, you can’t help but affect your life. You can’t help but think that the whole world is trying to tear you down and rip you off. When you are six years old and you see something like a Ku Klux Klan knock your cousin’s teeth out with handle
of a shotgun and turn around and put it in his mouth and pull the trigger… I mean, his face looked good, but you could put a cantaloupe in the back of his head [because the hole was so big]. That can’t help but affect you. I’m speaking to you now, but a little while ago I was feeling sick. Brains …brains…bone…blood…teeth…was all over the yard.
AllHipHop.com: Wow.
Frank Lucas: Did you read about why he got that?
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, for looking at a White woman – “reckless
eyeballing.”
Frank Lucas: Yeah, you got it. Reckless eyeballing. I don’t even
think that was in the movie, but that’s what it was. All that was for reckless
eyeballing and that’s a damn shame.

And this one, where he addresses the Jay-Z’s widely referenced bars from No Hook:

AllHipHop.com: He says, “I’m more Frank Lucas than Ludacris” and Ludacris is a rapper. Then he says, “Frank Lucas is cool, but I ain’t trying to snitch.” Now, I know that you on record have addressed that situation, but…
Frank Lucas: Tell that young man to watch his mouth. Please watch his mouth. Tell that young man to please watch his mouth. Mr. Jay-Z, tell him to please watch his mouth. You saw the movie?
AllHipHop.com: I sure did. [In the movie, Frank provides information that leads to the conviction of crooked cops and Italian drug dealers. Critics say he offered information on others, a charge he
denies.]
Frank Lucas: Then you know what I did. You know exactly what I did. It was all in there. And if that’s what you call a snitch, then so be it.

And then, Frank Lucas shares his reflections on what it all means and how he would take it all back:

AllHipHop.com: What do you think about this? In real life, you were considered a gangster, but…
Frank Lucas: I hope not.
AllHipHop.com: What? You don’t want to be considered a gangster?
Frank Lucas: No sir.
AllHipHop.com: Why not?
Frank Lucas: I went that route and it didn’t get me nothing. It got me a whole lot of clout and I hurt a lot of people. I don’t want to hurt people no more. I’m very remorseful for what I did. I don’t want to go through that road…I don’t want to do that again.

Jay-Z's American Gangster: Return of the King

2007-11-09T11:57:00.001-08:00

“This is black superhero music right here, baby!”

Remember back in the day when you first saw Christopher Reeve in blue and red tights walking forward into a hail of gunfire, busting up some bank robbery or saving Air Force One from crashing? And then, as soon as the movie was over, you got a towel from the closet, tied it around your neck with a pin and declared with undeniable authority, “I’m Superman.”

That’s Jay-Z.

Except now he has moved on from his Superman phase (read: his comeback CD Kingdom Come) to return to his roots by way of a drug lord named Frank Lucas, who would say he too stands for truth, justice and the American Way.

Jay-Z caught an early screening of Ridley Scott’s American Gangster in the late summer and the movie ignited something inside of him. Denzel Washington’s stone-cold portrayal of the Harlem heroin kingpin inspired Boss Hova, rekindling moments and memories from his own life as a drug dealer from Brooklyn’s infamous Marcy Projects. He hooked up with Diddy’s revamped production team The Hitmen, who had a stash of old 70s soul beats and weeks later saw the birth of his highly anticipated, possibly record tying tenth studio album, American Gangster.

It is not a soundtrack per se but an album inspired by the movie with tracks influenced by specific scenes. The album is 15 tracks long, including two bonus tracks (Blue Magic and American Gangster). Nas spits a guest verse on Success (“Google Earth Nas/I got flats in other continents”) and Beanie Sigel drops by for a quick eight bars on the mixtape old, but still incredibly sick track Ignorant Sh*t (Just Blaze’s crazy loop of The Isley Brothers’ Between the Sheets which finally found the perfect home after ending up the Black Album’s cutting room floor).

The album has more highs than lows, but the lows make the highs feel less high. The first low point comes at track 4, Hello Brooklyn 2.0, where Bigg D samples the classic Beastie Boys scream. The contrived track throws the whole mood off (especially after the smooth Marvin Gaye-sampled American Dreamin) and it is obvious that Lil Wayne has no business here at all. The other problem track is The Party Life produced by The Hitmen. It sounds amazing musically with its Little Beaver disco sample, but Jay sounds too awkward right on top of the beat as he begins with “ordered some patreezy while talking to this breezy.” The album, like the movie that inspired it, also doesn’t delve too deeply into the raw emotion of life as a rising drug lord, which takes away from its impact. But these glares in the screen don’t ruin the movie and overall American Gangster puts “the ruler” back in his zone.

Part of what makes American Gangster such a fulfilling album is because Kingdom Come had Jigga so far removed from the element that got him to the place where he could even celebrate. He became rap’s kingpin by rapping mostly about his days as a hustler. When the conversation changed to his current affairs (running Def Jam and taking his superfamous girlfriend, Beyonce, on trips to tropical locales), everybody thought he fell off. Thus, Kingdom Come received mixed reviews and in retrospect, even Jay said it was “too sophisticated.”

In contrast, American Gangster gave Jay-Z three crucial things: It allowed him to get back to talking about the narcotic topics he is known for without sounding forced or fake. It gave him an overarching theme and feel to build from. And, with Frank Lucas’ 70s saga as a starting point, it gave him the opportunity to use blaxploitation, old-school soul for his entire production backdrop.

First the words. On this album, the lyricism is definitely ill, almost reaching Blueprint levels. Of course, he shouts out gangster flick icons like De Niro and Pacino, but he also drops gems like “Survive the droughts/I wish you well/How sick am I?/I wish you health/I wish you wheels/I wish you wealth/I wish you insight so you can see for yourself” on American Dreamin or on Roc Boys (And the Winner Is…), he spits “Pink rose, think O.J./I get away with murder when I sling ye/Heron got less steps than Britney/that means it ain’t stepped on, dig me?” It’s not like Jay doesn’t know how to string metaphors together but this is the same cat that has said he had to “dumb down” post-Reasonable Doubt to double his dollars so when he does drop dope lines, it’s a sudden smack in the face.

American Gangster is also a whole package. (Jay even had it taken off of iTunes so people would not buy songs individually.) Jigga is known for going into the booth with no pen or pad and pouring his stream of consciousness into the microphone. Who knows where those thoughts could end up on any given song? He countered his ramblings with what has become a heavily imitated formula. Neptunes beat? Check. Radio hit? Check. One for the ladies? Check. Except for the horrendous idea of putting Weezy as a guest croaker on Hello Brooklyn 2.0, nothing about American Gangster feels influenced by the current culture. None of the tracks on American Gangster would even fit on today’s radio. That’s a good thing. Jay isn’t here to impress or to conform or to convince anyone anything this time around. The movie gave him that foundation, a frame where he could paint at his own will but within the borders of being a period drug lord.

But more than anything, it is the music that makes this album complete. With the Hitmen and contributions from Just Blaze, Jermaine Dupri, DJ Toomp and No I.D., American Gangster is a lush environment of instrumentation and pure soul of the 1970s. It puts you there, the mellow deep grooves, tumbling congas and falsetto howls. Jay sounds completely comfortable as his voice sinks into the cushion of sounds. It works because it has always worked. It worked on Reasonable Doubt, the Blueprint and on Black Album tracks like Encore. It is also why the intro is Kingdom Come’s best track because the heavy throbs of bass and strings that Dr. Dre is known for don’t suit Jay’s high voice and hustler’s swagger like a good soul sample. It just feels right when Jigga goes retro.

VH1's Storytellers: Jay-Z

2007-11-08T23:22:00.000-08:00

[American Dreamin]

[I Know}

[Fallin]

Video: Jay-Z Interview With Charlie Rose

2007-11-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

[via nahright]

Video: The Real Frank Lucas Interview With Miss Jones

2007-11-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

[via nahright]

Video: Jay-Z's Roc Boys

2007-11-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

[via onsmash]

American Gangster: To Floss Or Not To Floss

2007-11-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

(Nicky Barnes played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in American Gangster)

American Gangster is a movie bloated with dichotomy: black and white, good and bad, quick and dead. But perhaps the most important one is the difference between wealthy and rich.

This debate plays out throughout the movie in subtle ways but takes center stage in one scene where Frank Lucas’ brother, Huey, comes to the club in a gaudy designer suit. Frankie despises flamboyance. He hates the way his rival Nicky Barnes dresses with the big coats and big chains. He believes a person that is wealthy has no need to show off because it only attracts unwanted attention. He takes his brother to a back room and explains to him that flashiness is a sign of weakness.

It is the most profound statement in the movie mainly because Frank Lucas’ own downfall begins when he goes against his own belief. His wife buys him an extravagant fur coat that he decides to wear to a boxing match. With the coat and matching hat, Lucas is no longer inconspicuous and Robert Richie observes the Harlem drug lord for the first time. Suddenly the police investigation, which had been one big question mark before that night, starts to grow some legs.

But in the rap world -- where everyone claims to be gangsta -- the common philosophy is just the opposite. More is much more. Showing off is standard procedure and status is defined by depreciating possessions like cars with giant rims and humungous chains. Granted, there is the argument that the rules may change regarding the legitimacy of the money. Maybe. But in any case, Frank Lucas’ less is more philosophy will probably be one of the ideas that these rappers just choose to downplay. Right up there with snitching.

Frank Lucas: The New American Gangster Idol

2007-11-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

"See, ya are what ya are in this world. That's either one of two things: Either you're somebody, or you ain't nobody."
(Frank Lucas, American Gangster)

Tony Montana, say hello to Frank Lucas. And say goodbye to the rap world that once was yours.

From this day forward, that world will belong to Lucas, the Harlem drug lord from the 1960s and 70s immortalized by Denzel Washington in American Gangster. But that world is a brave new one, where the star reveals no regrets, second thoughts or deep-rooted fears and actually stays alive; a world where the main man is not quite human.

Indeed, Lucas is a character, but so is Jay-Z, whose tenth studio album titled American Gangster drops today. And so is 50 Cent and every other rapper that claims to be so hard they hardly feel anything. They’re all characters playing a role, acting on a stage where only money matters and drugs do no damage and bullets bounce off of them like sunflower seeds.

And Lucas is a perfected reflection of these rappers, a man in an iron mask. Like them, he acts as if he is bad to the bone and absolutely, positively bulletproof. He personifies cool, which will inevitably place American Gangster on the top shelf of your favorite rapper’s movie library. It makes logical sense for three main reasons:

1) Frank Lucas is a black man unlike Tony Montana so of course that gives American Gangster something extra for rappers to relate to.
2) AG is brand new, whereas Scarface was released in 1983, nearly 25 years ago.
3) Lucas doesn’t die at the end but lives on to make more money.

It's ironic. The very thing that the movie is missing is what will make it a perennial rap classic. The idea of being unaffected, unmoved and untouchable has come to be gangsta rap’s standard ethos. But there’s only one issue with that: it’s unreal. Despite those ubiquitous bootlegs, American Gangster still smuggled in $46.3 million this weekend at the box office, making it the biggest opening for both Washington and Russell Crowe. But even the movie’s real-life characters have come out to say that most of American Gangster is a fabricated account, according to sohh.com.

"They claim it's based on a true story," New York-based Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Sullivan told the New York Post. The officer was at a raid on Lucas' Teaneck, N.J., home after two members of the Mafia ratted the drug lord out. "His name is Frank Lucas and he was a drug dealer - that's where the truth in this movie ends."

The real Frank Lucas himself even admitted that “only 20 percent of the film is true.” But then you have these young’ns who don’t know the difference between what is real and what is embellished or exaggerated. They only see the capitalistic creed, the commanding swagger and the stacks and stacks of big bills. In Gangster, you don’t even see the dire consequences of life as a drug kingpin. There’s no prison scenes; no bloody, bullets-blazing shootout in the final sequence.

As the Village Voice’s Tom Breihan pointed out, American Gangster was already a rap movie with a cast that includes rappers Common and T.I. as part of Lucas’ family and RZA as a frazzled cop working with Richie Roberts played by Crowe (check out allhiphop’s American Gangster Movie Special). And Jay-Z's co-sign only made that official. Boss Hova, who supposedly had the movie on loop while working on his new album, was “inspired” by Lucas’ story. He said some of the scenes rekindled old feelings and memories from his own life as a drug dealer. But Jay is just the beginning.

Jim Jones already put out a Jay-Z diss, American Gangsta, and his new mixtape called Harlem’s American Gangsta -- hosted by Jigga’s former business partner Dame Dash -- also drops today. And believe you me, there will be plenty more where that came from as the name Frank Lucas continues to seep into mainstream consciousness and takes the throne as gangsta rap's new heavily referenced hardcore archetype. But of course, that doesn't mean Tony Montana will go down quietly.

American Gangster Movie Review: A Crime Masterpiece That Slightly Misses The Mark

2007-11-05T00:57:00.000-08:00

Denzel Washington could have played Frank Lucas with his eyes closed.

In American Gangster, which killed at the weekend box office, Washington portrays the 1970s Harlem heroin kingpin as a cold-blooded killer, a smooth, slick-talking seducer of power and paper. He refuses to answer to anyone, trusts only family and runs his smack operation like a shrewd businessman. He doesn’t see dying dope fiends or the other drug lords he put out of business or the boys in blue with the badges. He sees only green. And why not? This is America, isn’t it? The land of opportunity where anyone can pursue happiness and cut a piece of the pie, even if using a knife the size of New York?

But on the other end of that rhetorical question is Richie Roberts, played with worn earnestness by Russell Crowe. Roberts is the good cop, the one who would turn in say $1 million unmarked dollars if he found them randomly in the trunk of a car. Roberts plays the game by the book. Lucas plays his own game by a book he wrote himself. And there you have the basis of American Gangster, which scored the highest opening for an R-rated crime drama in history: Two Tinseltown titans on the opposite ends of the relative moral spectrum, slugging it out for two hours and 37 minutes.

The film tracks the rise and fall of Lucas, whose story was told in an article in New York magazine by Mark Jacobson, roughly adapted into a brilliant screenplay by Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and directed in serious tones and stark shadows by Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Black Hawk Down). Early announcements hailed this film as the “The Black Godfather.” It has all the makings of a masterpiece and, by most standards (the performances, the feel and plot of the movie), it is.

But something is missing.

American Gangster tells two parallel narratives of Lucas and Roberts. It is necessary to see both sides of the story or else there would be no struggle, but that approach is also the movie’s main problem. You can’t get to know Lucas too well when he’s sharing so much screen time with his chief adversary. You know Lucas is the definition of capitalism, that he makes his own rules and will fly to southeast Asia to deal directly with a drug supplier at the source. You know he will light a man on fire and shoot a rival in broad daylight. But it is hard to figure out what he is feeling and in turn, it is harder to feel for him.

The best villain is the conflicted villain, the one who is ruthless and reckless but who struggles internally with something, anything (death in the family, unstable friendships, inferiority complex, suicidal thoughts). In the classic gangster flicks, directors reveal the inner workings of their bad guys in various ways. Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino) uses voice-over narration so we get into the heads of his characters. Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather trilogies) makes multiple three-hour long epics so we grow to understand his characters. Brian De Palma in Scarface just zeroes in on one character, Tony Montana, and tracks him from hardscrabble beginning to bloody end.

We don’t see any of that with Lucas. He more or less inherited his empire from crime boss Bumpy Johnson so we don’t really see him rise from nothing. And everything after that comes pretty easy: He has a cousin overseas who sets up the drug trade meeting, he sees a pretty woman (Carla Gugino) in the club and marries her, he undercuts the Mafia and even keeps his cool when he’s caught in the end. But what’s going on in his head? You never know. You don't see him with his family enough. You don’t see him interacting with his wife enough to care when she is almost killed in a drive-by shooting. As soon as the movie has any opportunity to examine how Lucas is handling the death of his boss or the paranoia of being a kingpin, Scott has to cut over to Richie, whose story is slightly more personal with his unpopularity in the police department and his bitter ex-wife trying to keep him from seeing his son.

Frank Lucas is actually too cold for his own bad.

There are some isolated moments, brief glimpses of Lucas' vulnerability, which Washington handles like a veteran. But not enough. The scene with the most potential comes when Lucas’ mother played immaculately by legendary actress Ruby Dee confronts him about the cons of retaliating against crooked cops. It is a powerful scene, but the camera can’t linger long enough to see its effect on Lucas. Richie Roberts has an ongoing investigation that Scott needs to get back to.

Don’t blame the actor. Denzel Washington can do that whole inner turmoil thing like the best of them as he did masterfully in movies like Crimson Tide and John Q. Even his vicious portrayal of Alonzo Harris in Training Day had more tortured soul substance that could stick to the ribs. But with limited time, shared camera space and an underdeveloped backstory, he can only work with what he is, which is a gangster too cold to crack and too rock-solid to see into.

'American Gangster Week'

2007-11-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 'American Gangster Week' presented by dr. mike check. Every day this week, I will be posting and discussing any and everything related to American Gangster: reviews, video clips, articles, etc. If you've seen the movie and have any thoughts or find any good pieces on the internet, drop me a line. (Read Entertainment Weekly's Q&A with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe here.) If you haven't seen it, you need to. This movie is already making history and taking no prisoners along the way.

Also, Jay-Z's album also called American Gangster and inspired by the crime movie drops tomorrow. Read Entertainment Weekly's preview here and Noz over at xxlmag.com put up a good post yesterday about Jigga's so-called concept album here.

Jay-Z on the Late Show with David Letterman

2007-11-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

"The Roc Boys in the building tonight."

American Gangster: 'Nobody Owns Me Though'

2007-11-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

The time has come.

the critics are digging this one. check here for a recent press conference Q&A with the two Hollywood heavyweights.

and next week is dr. mike check's official American Gangster Week so stay tuned for the movie review, Jay-Z's album analysis and more social commentary to come.

Little Brother Gets Back To Business

2007-11-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

“They ask me if the Minstrel Show means I’m ashamed of them/Well I can’t say that I’m proud/ But on the same can’t say that I’m allowed/To judge, I’m just glad to see you/ Cuz truth be told, if my records never sold and I wasn’t raised as bold/ Ni**a, I would probably be you…” (Phonte, Dreams -- Little Brother’s Getback)

All this talk about Kanye’s Big Brother almost made me forget about Little Brother.

In the past few weeks, Jay-Z has been the big story. American Gangster has become the contagious phrase of the moment as both the movie and the album have leaked to the internet for all to see and hear. Me personally, I have resisted the urge to download either of them because anticipation is, after all, 77.25 percent of the experience.

But to hold me over, I have been hooked on Little Brother’s new album, Getback. First of all, it took me two Best Buys, a Target and a Walmart, before I finally found it at a local underground music shop. That’s what I get for trying to be cheap. At Best Buy, I asked the rep if they had that new Little Brother after poring over the shelf of New Releases. She goes to a computer to look it up.

“Actually, we’re all sold out,” she tells me.

“For real?” I ask. I thought it that was good thing actually. I hadn’t seen that much on the marketing side so for them to be sold out was definitely a dope thing. But she killed that energy with, “Well, we only had 10 copies.”

I walked out. By the time I made it to the underground spot, I was sick of seeing stacks and stacks of Soulja Boy and I still didn’t see it in the New Releases area. I asked an employee and he led me back to the area with albums that had been out for years. I got to the cashier and he asked me if I heard it yet. I said no and told him how I’ve been looking everywhere for it. He tells me the album is tight, even better than Minstrel Show. Better than Minstrel Show? I have to hear it. Right now.

If you’ve heard the Minstrel Show, you know that album is a critically acclaimed hip hop classic. It received a XL rating from XXL and 4.5 Mics from The Source (if that means anything anymore). Released in 2005, it was that album that put me on to LB and made me go back and cop 2003’s The Listening. Hailing from North Carolina, this hip hop group that consists of rappers Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh (and once upon a time producer 9th Wonder) is A Tribe Called Quest 2.0.

You should also know that these cats have a track record for making “albums.” Not just CDs with really good lyrics over really good beats, but albums, in the real sense, with a thematic thread and an actual concept that makes it a complete package. On The Listening, it was a radio show on WJLR and on Minstrel Show, it was a satirical television program on the UBN (U Black Niggas) network.

So coming into 11-track Getback, I wasn’t sure what expect. There is no cohesive concept like their first two full-length albums and resident producer 9th Wonder has left the building (although he did produce the infectious Breakin My Heart). Phonte is probably the most consistently ill lyricist in the game so it goes without saying that he’s coming correct [pause]. But perhaps the best thing about Getback is that Big Pooh is finally more than Phonte’s inferior opening act. Before this, Pooh was the more basic rapper, the one you would fast forward to get to Tay’s verse or skip over after Tay finished. But on Getback, Pooh holds his own, mature in his flow and able to stand alongside his partner-in-crime rather than in his shadow. He handles his business on the political intro Sirens and the old-school soul bounce track Two-Step Blues.

You might read reviews or hear people say Getback doesn’t compare to their earlier albums and Little Brother’s different without 9th Wonder and they’re wack for putting Lil Wayne on the album (btw, Weezy’s guest spot on Breakin My Heart only confirms that he is the most overrated rapper of all time. I will admit that his voice sounds cool on the hook but his verse is vomit: “So I play fair like roller coasters and clowns.” Ugh.)

But listen to the album. Seriously. Little Brother still has the soul-searching earnestness of two emcees too real to sell out (Can’t Win For Losing, When Everything is New). They still have the comedic flair and the ability to poke fun at social behavior a la Chris Rock like no other artists in the game (Good Clothes, After the Party). They still have really good lyrics over really good beats (ExtraHard). With the help of underground soul-sampling maestros like Nottz, Hi-Tek, Illmind, Denaun Porter and Khrysis, the rap duo still sounds secure and hungry and completely, utterly hip hop. I can’t say if this will be my vote for feel-good album of the year, but so far, it’s looking pretty good, right up there with Blu & Exile’s Below The Heavens. Sorry Kanye.

Rappers-Turnt-Writers

2007-10-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

I feel like Samuel L. Jackson.

Remember a few years ago when loud-mouth Sam had issues with all these rappers thinking they could come into Hollywood and become stars just because? Like they had some sort of entitlement to be on the big screen just because they could hold a microphone? He was mad. (I guess he’s gotten over it, seeing as though Home of the Brave, where he stars alongside 50 Cent was just released on DVD).

Expressing oneself through a different artistic medium is nothing new or wrong, but you just can’t go switching up all willy-nilly, translating one skill to the other without hard work. I have to give props to cats like Mos Def and Luda though. They have demonstrated a real commitment to show biz and have the work ethic and talent to back it up. But you have these other rappers – a list way too long to name – that have been cast solely because of their star power and can’t act for nothing (which should have been obvious since most of them can’t rap either).

So it looks like books are the new movies. It seems that a book is the latest item on the requirement list for rappers (and producers) in the game, the bullet point right under a clothing line, a movie credit and smellgood.

Curtis is racking up points. Along with the DVD release, he just dropped a new book, 50x50: 50 Cent in His Own Words. The book is co-written with Complex magazine editor Noah Callahan-Bever and recaps Fitty’s life story (again?) in the style of a full-color scrapbook that includes handwritten lyrics and mixtape covers.

And of course, nowadays no Fitty release would be complete without the kid Kanye dropping something. According to his website, Yeezy will drop Thank You and You’re Welcome on Dec. 15. The book is co-written by J. Sakiya Sandifer who wrote Think, Think and Think Again: The Power of Ideas Designed to Spark Change. It is a volume of Kanye-isms, which his site describes as “the creative, humorous and insightful philosophies and anecdotes used in creating his path to success. It captures the same wit, playful irony, and piercing insight found abundant in his lyrics.” The first 500 books sold will be autographed by authors and you can pre-order your copy here.

I’m not hating on these dudes. I respect what they’re trying to do business-wise. I think it’s real good that they’re promoting writing and reading so maybe some of these young bucks will start thinking it’s cool to carry books. Reading, for your information, is fundamental and all that. But I’m not giving them an automatic pass. They need to bring something to the page just like they need to bring something to the big screen just like they need to bring something to the stage.

Does Blender Got Beef With Common?

2007-10-25T15:37:00.001-07:00

The magazine bills itself as the “ultimate guide to music and more.” That should mean it is the end-all, be-all music expert, the supreme source on beats and notes. But it turns out that “more” only means more crap.

For years Blender magazine has been putting together these “best of” and “worst of” lists of albums, artists or songs. It has compiled the 10 Songs You Were Probably Conceived To (If You’re Between 25 and 35), 20 Songs You Should Download, and The Filthiest Lyrics Of All Time, a list which included Lil Kim’s How Many Licks and Ying Yang Twins’ Wait (The Whisper Song). It even teamed up with VH1 for the 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs segment, where “We Built This City” by Starship took the top honors.

The lists are put together most likely by a bootleg committee of some sort. For what it’s worth, I guess it does help to have that niche when you’re up against music magazine heavyweights like Rolling Stone and XXL (Does anybody actually read Blender?). But I’ve noticed in the past two years that Blender seems to have an issue with Common. I’m not sure if he played them on an interview one time or if a bitter ex of his works in the editorial department but there’s something up.
Last year, Blender put together a list of the 25 Biggest Wusses Ever. And Common comes in at No. 18. I mean I admit, the whole crocheted sweaters and everything was a little off, but it was a phase. Let’s stick to facts: Back in the mid-1990s, after Common dropped the classic I Used to Love H.E.R., Ice Cube got all offended and released the diss track Westside Slaughterhouse. Common didn’t back down. He came back hard [pause] with The Bitch In Yoo, which is one of the dopest diss records ever. I mean, Com dissected Cube’s whole career in four minutes.

That list was last year. I let it go. But now, Blender releases its list of The 40 Worst Lyricists In Rock and guess who made the list? That’s right, boxed in by Bryan Adams and Dashboard Confessional is Common at No. 36 (see full list below).

36 • Common: Never trust a rapper in a sweater-vest.
Common wasn’t above dissing Ice Cube on “The Bitch in Yoo” (“I heard a ho say you her favorite rapper/So I had to slap her”), but don’t be fooled—he’s also a self-righteous hippie. The principled rhymer’s earnest neo-soul thoughts touch on abortion (“Turning this woman’s womb into a tomb”), social injustice and his own vegetarianism. Worst lyric: “I’m your worst nightmare squared/That’s double for niggas who ain’t mathematically aware” (“Making a Name for Ourselves”)

I don’t know how and I don’t know why. (They included the Cube diss in this breakdown probably realizing they missed it with the previous list). I Used To Love H.E.R. alone should be enough to keep him off this list. The only other hip hop names to make the list are will.i.am. at No. 14, KRS-One at No. 25 (which is just as disgraceful) and Mr. Take That, Take That Diddy at No. 33 (somewhat understandable but not really since it has been known that he supposedly uses some ill ghostwriters such as Pharoach Monche to the pen his verses.)

This list comes out when Soulja Boy is still No. 1 on the Top 100 for the seventh straight week and in the past few years we have seen god-awful rappers like Jibbs and Mims and Dem Franchize Boyz butcher the whole genre even more. Not to mention the hugely overrated Weezy, the swagger-only snowman Jeezy and the repetitive nursery rapper Cam’ron. If we’re talking about a lack of lyricism, Common shouldn’t even be a thought. He has been dropping gems consistently since the early 1990s. And he just won Lyricist of the Year on the BET Hip Hop Awards and the MTV Brain Trust placed him in the top 10 of the hottest in the game right now. Even Jay-Z, the god-emcee, cosigned Common’s lyricism on the Black Album’s Moment of Clarity.

Not to say that Common doesn’t have his fumbles (“You fake like a smile/like a hug I’m tight” – Hungry, One Day It’ll Al Make Sense), but he recovers with rewind-heavy lines like this (also on Hungry): “I hold mics like a second nut until the second coming.” Read it again if you have to. But that’s the point, most of his metaphors and wordplay you just can’t catch the first time around. In the grand scheme, I guess it doesn’t matter. One month from now, this list will be long gone and forgotten and Common will still be spitting lyrics that stand the test of time and criticism.

1. Sting
2. Neil Peart
3. Scott Stapp
4. Noel Gallagher
5. Dan Fogelberg
6. Tom Marshall
7. Paul Stanley
8. Dianne Warren
9. Donovan
10. Jim Morrison
11. Larry Henley & Jeff Silbar
12. David Crosby
13. Pete Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett & Phil Collins
14. Will.I.Am
15. Bernie Taupin
16. Ben Gibbard
17. Jon Anderson
18. Ian Anderson
19. Queensyche
20. Ryan Ross
21. Alanis Morisette
22. Jon Bon Jovi
23. Robert Plant
24. Fred Durst
25. KRS-One
26. Simon Le Bon
27. Will Jennings
28. Greg Graffin
29. Timbaland
30. Kevin Federline
31. Carli Simon
32. Matisyahu
33. Diddy
34. Henry Rollins
35. Dashboard Confessional
36. Common
37. Bryan Adams
38. Paul McCartney
39. Billy Corgan
40. Anthony Kiedis

Preview: Jay-Z's American Gangster

2007-10-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

No more words from me on the album until Nov. 6. Meanwhile you can feast your ears on this.

MC Niecy? Let It Go

2007-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

After one episode of Celebrity Rap Superstar, I already knew Niecy would win.

The show, which premiered back in August on MTV, took these random acts from all over and paired them up with rap coaches to try to make them rap stars. Like it’s that easy. Big Boy, Da Brat (who has been making serious rounds lately) and DMC did the judging while pint-size comic Kevin Hart did the hosting duties.

There were eight episodes and I stopped watching it after two. I don’t know why I even thought it would be anything worthwhile. Jamal Anderson, the former Atlanta Falcons Running Back with zero swagger, got booted in the first episode. Some loser named Jason from MTV’s The Hills completely butchered Chamillionaire’s Ridin.

Truth be told, I was surprised to see how many real rap stars agreed to be a part of the show. Too $hort (who else?) was the mentor of one of Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson, Redman coached Anderson, Warren G (he’s been making rounds too) coached Countess Vaughn and MC Lyte did her thing with Shar Jackson, Niecy from Moesha if you didn’t know. You did have your washed up mentors like Bubba Sparxxx and D12’s Bizarre, but their trainees -- Jason and Pedro Sanchez from Napoleon Dynamite -- were in the top three to get voted off anyway.

To me, the show got old real quick. I think it underscores the fallacy that anybody can rap, that anybody should rap. That’s the problem with hip hop today. You got these disposable clowns who think just because they can open their mouths, they should have a microphone and a record deal. But it takes more than a few weeks of watching Rap City to become an emcee.

Which makes it even more depressing that Niecy (even though she thoroughly man-handled the competition) might be getting a major deal. She is supposedly working with Mr. Collipark (who is already on my wack list for co-signing Soulja Boy). Don’t get me wrong, she can rap circles around her babydaddy K-Fed. She had the swagger, the style, took shots at besieged pop star Britney Spears and added her own flavor to each performance:

I'm all for female emcees getting put on in the game, but for real? Niecy should get a major record deal when real lyricists like Jean Grae have been doing their thing for years? How obvious is it that these lazy execs just want to pimp whatever washed-up celebrity is in the spotlight for the moment? How desperate has the music biz become that it needs to pick from the litter of dated-sitcom-turned-reality-show fodder? In an ideal world, moguls would be cleaning up the trash in the industry, not adding recycled piles of garbage to it.

Video: Common's I Want You

2007-10-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

[via onsmash/nahright]

Wyclef Jean: Beyond Borders

2007-10-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Wyclef Jean is all over the map.

That’s the dope thing about him. You can try if you want to, but you can’t really label that man when it comes to music, you can’t put him in any box. He’s a Haitian-American rapper, producer, guitarist who could go conscious, spitting about politics and what it would be like if he were president. He can go pop or reggae or even Latin with Shakira (Hips Don’t Lie). He might get his acoustic ballad on like he did on Gone Till November.

His collaborations list is out of control. He might vouch for T.I., comparing dude to Pac or a modern-day Malcolm X (that’s kind of pushing it though) or hop in the BET Hip Hop Awards cipher (see below). He might put together a single called Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) with Weezy, Akon and a newcomer named Niia or he might turn around and get awarded a diplomatic passport and a goodwill ambassadorship from Haitian ambassadors (Now that’s hip hop!). You can’t call it.

For any other artist, being that nondescript would have been a marketing nightmare for label execs, too difficult for simple, single-minded fans to swallow. But if you were part of one of the illest hip hop groups ever with one of the illest hip hop albums ever made (read: The Score), you’d get a pass too. Then again, the Fugees broke up. Clef seems to be the only one that even matters anymore nowadays. Praz, like always, pops up every now and then and according to Clef, Ms. Hill “needs psychiatric help.”

So the show – or the Carnival in Clef’s case – must go on. Wyclef Jean’s new album "The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant" is slated to drop on Dec. 4. As usual he works with a diverse group from Paul Simon to Mary J. to reggae artist Sizzla. In this Billboard article, he had this to say:

“I always write music first and then I see who will fit perfectly. I don't know who will be on it until the very end," Jean tells Billboard.com. “I've got T.I. rhyming against acoustic guitars. I have Paul Simon on a dark hip-hop beat. I have Chamillionaire against a Bollywood orchestra. I'm just influenced by different songs and beats in the world.”

He has a track with T.I. that addresses society’s ills including the war, Katrina, Jena 6 and gangs. He has another track called “Selena,” a tribute to the late Mexican-American singer and he even samples her hit single “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” Also according to Billboard.com, anyone who purchases his CD will automatically be entered into a raffle to win one of Clef’s cars, a $500,000 1932 Zebra.

You can tell that Wyclef Jean comes from that old school of thought with the ideals that reject labels and rebel against taxonomy. Will this current generation that seems to buy into sameness and simplicity feel him? I can’t call it.

But I will continue to give Wyclef Jean much respect for the simple fact that where most artists are too scared (or controlled) to think outside their box, Clef has no comfort zone.