" I want to hear more of the Kanye who used to hang out with Common and Talib Kweli, not the new Kanye who hangs out with Lil' Wayne and T-Pain. " --

" I want to hear more of the Kanye who used to hang out with Common and Talib Kweli, not the new Kanye who hangs out with Lil' Wayne and T-Pain. " --
http://jupitersghosts.blogspot.com/

I read this on a blog, and I realized that I agree.

A lot of factors go into good hip-hop music, but there is one necessary, universal condition for great hip-hop (or great art of any sort)

Hunger.

Kanye West doesn't have it anymore. Kanye thinks that he's transcended rap or something, so he's putting out this half-assed auto-tune electronic bullshit. On Kanye's first album, he was spitting some cold technical shit. He always had that "I'm God" mentality, but you can tell he was humbling himself to the game on his first album. He actually tried to write hot lyrics with dope rhyme schemes and interesting concepts. His second and third albums slipped past, despite their clearly inferior lyrics, because of the catchy hooks and amazing production, but I'm not so sure that's its going to work again, especially since T-Pain has shown Kanye the ways of the Vocoder and he feels like he should sing on half his tracks now.

Anyway, we will definitely see. Kanye is good enough at crate digging that his albums have been very entertaining, but we'll see what he can do when his album drops on November 25.

Kickin It With Janet Jackson - A Fan Review

I almost died three times on Sunday. Seriously. I'm glad I didn't though because it would have gone down in history as the most unusual death ever. Can you imagine picking up a newspaper with the headline: "Young Woman Perished: Death By Janet Jackson"? Yeah I didn't think so. How did Janet Jackson almost kill me? It's simple really. She granted an almost life-long wish of mine to see her live. I freely admit I stan, and stan hard, for Miss Jackson. I can't ever remember a time not knowing who she was. I've known of her existence longer than some of my closest family members. It all started when I was about four years old. It was the first time I saw the video for "Pleasure Principle". I remember seeing this beautiful black lady dancing around in an abandoned warehouse. Nobody else, just her. Although it's simple, the video was truly enthralling. Since then, I've been on the JJ bandwagon. Through the janet. heydays and even through "nipplegate" I was and still am a staunch supporter. So you can imagine how much of a big deal this concert was to me.

Somehow Candice (who stans equally for all things Jackson) and I ended up with sixth row seats for the October 5 show. Well, it was more like I had to pay an obscene amount of money and promise my first unborn child for the tickets (not really) but you get the point. So we get our tickets and count the months and days till the show. Fast forward to the week of the show. Janet gets sick and starts cancelling shows. Trying to forever to be the optimist, I'm worried but refused to believe the show is cancelled. The night before the show, we make our way to Atlanta. At this point anticipation is in the air and we're both cheesing like the Sunshine Kid. But all the good vibrations and celebration comes to a screeching halt. While passing by Six Flags, one of the dj's on some ATL radio station says the show is postponed for two weeks. The car is completely silent besides Candice gasping for air and it stayed that way for a good twenty minutes. Our faces get stuck looking something like this:

Too far to turn back, we decided to slum around ATL for the weekend. In the weeks to come Janet keeps canceling shows left and right and we begin to think it'll never happen. But the unbelievable happened, Janet recovers and gets back on the road! So with renewed hope we get back on the road to see the show. The drive took forever but eventually we got to Atlanta picked up the tickets from a friend and headed to the venue. Once we got there and paid the waaay over-priced parking fees we settled into our seats. We promptly make friends with the folks sitting around us. We trade stories about how we took the postponement news and all that jazz. This nice couple in front of us made an awesome sign about how Janet's music saved their lives. One guy talked about how refreshing it was to be around fellow fans who felt the same way he does about her. One of the best parts of concerts is meeting and interacting with fellow fans. It's almost like you form a temporary family. I love it.

Anyway, after an hour of twiddling thumbs, nervously shaking legs and grooving to the sounds of the dj, the show starts. All of a sudden, the stage is awash with bright lights and dancers. Almost miraculously Janet appears through the fog singing "Pleasure Principle" and it was like I was my four year old former self all over again. The stage was the most interesting I've seen thus far. Instead of a traditional stage that's set up at the front end of the arena, this one extended into a runway out into the audience. Meaning that Janet and her dancers could actually come out into the crowd. That was definitely a treat, especially for those not right up there by the stage on the floor. She hit all the moves like it was still the 80's. After that she hit us over the head with hits like "Control", "Nasty" and her newest "Feedback". All of this took like 10 minutes and by the end I was already exhausted. Then after a quick costume change she continued her walk down memory lane with all the songs any Janet fan ever wanted to her life. The crowd was so into it. Folks, including me, were breaking out in spontaneous fits of jubilation with choreography included. One particular song that stands out to me is "Miss You Much" where not only were her moves crisp and strong but she even broke out the chair routine from the long form video of the song. I was in heaven by then. Her energy was unbelievable. She slowed things down with a slow jam from her latest and one of my all time favorites: "Come Back To Me" which I'm happy to report was bust it baby free. And for her super fans she even threw in some songs from her pre Control days that she had never performed on any of her other tours.

Then came what I like to refer to as the freak shit portion of the show. This is the part that every man in the audience, gay or straight, waits for. It's where some unprepared dude gets pulled out the audience and Janet commences to strap them down and perform some Ph D. level of freaky activity on them. Before the show started Candice, me and our newly found friends decided to get the guy to our left on the stage. We tried hard but it didn't work out like we planned. Some lame dude got up there instead and tried to run game on our girl J like that was really gonna work out in his favor. It was beyond entertaining.

Overall the show was unbelievable. Over the top is an understatement. The costumes are futuristic. The first is a goldenish body suit deal with a HUGE metallic belt. The next sequence features Janet and the dancers in sailor attire. Each set of costumes increases in levels of extravagance as the the show went on. There was no empty space on the stage. Somebody was somewhere doing something at all times. Everything was huge, even the pyro. Spurts of fire and explosives went off like Independence Day in there. I was so close I literally overheated when the fire went off. The dancers were great. The choreography was so intricate and involved but everybody killed it. But let's just focus on Janet for a minute. She looked awesome. While most people are trying to count her out because she's 42, let's just focus on the fact that she still looks like she's in her 20's. Like seriously. The hair was a little crazy but it worked within the context of the show. Like I said before she was killing the dancing thing as well. While some artists get lost in the sauce when it comes to dancing, she outshines her dancers and almost has more energy than they do. She never appeared tired or winded. I know I was and I wasn't even on the stage! Her voice was amazing as well. Most people like to harp on the fact that she whispers too much on her songs. She sounded clear as a bell to me. No shakiness or breathiness. She's the consummate show woman I can tell you that.

She even had guest performers such as Q-Tip, Nelly and her beau J.D. They performed on the huge screen suspended on the stage which fit in well with the futuristic theme of the show. It was an innovative way to ensure that all concert attenders got the same show. This was truly a show for the fans. Crowd participation was as equal and integral part of the show as the set pieces. After the show was over and everyone was leaving the venue I made it a point to look at the faces of my fellow concert goers. Looks of amazement abound. Everyone's voice had a hint of disbelief as if they couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. If anyone needed proof that Janet still reigns supreme, if they were in attendance they damn sure got it.

Beyonce gives seventh-grade girls more unwarranted validation

Beyonce is a excellent stage-performer with absolutely extraordinary singing ability. This, supplemented by the fact that she often works with some of the best and most innovative producers around, (note, I said "often" works with talented producers; occasionally she strays *cough* Swizz Beatz *cough*) causes Beyonce to definitely stand apart from most of her mainstream counterparts. Fortunately for her (and most successful artists), however, mainstream music is rarely, if ever, judged by its actual lyrics or message; or else someone may have taken her to task for her lyrical doggerel or, more importantly, her career-long barrage of sassy sexism disguised as feminist uplift.

Her latest man-bash is the most overt yet; the sweetly sung "If I Were A Boy", in which she--much like in many of her songs--reduces the entire male species to an innately inconsiderate, womanizing, emotionally-impaired collection of cavemen.

Q. Perhaps she's referring to a specific situation, and not incriminating the entire male species?
A. Nope. The song is called "If I Were a Boy", not "If I Were [insert name of trifling negro]". The song, by the title lyric alone, is specifically attempting to associate certain negative behaviors with being a "Boy", while at the same time painting women as being ever-grateful, helpful, forgiving, compassionate, and logical (especially in the music video).

The appeal of "If I Were A Boy" is the same allure that draws teenage girls to romantic drama films: the exaggerated Lifetime-esque victimization of women by the big bad wolf called the "man"; specifically crafted to appeal to the modern American woman, which further widens the emotional gap between men and women when men don't seem to "get it". Well of course we don't get it, it's not made for us to get. Much like how many women don't "get" why men enjoy watching uniformed men throw each other around. The difference is, we don't let the results of football games dictate our life's decisions. Well, most of us, anyway.

Q. Well, what about male rappers? Don't they say sexist stuff all the time?
A. Rappers consistently objectify women (which is not necessarily sexist), but they almost never literally say, or even imply "Women are bad and men are good" (the vice-versa of which Beyonce does in "If I Were a Boy").


I've even heard comments in praise of the track saying that the song succeeds in touching on something that every woman in a relationship has to deal with. Really. Every one? Really? I'm going to burst a big bubble here so be prepared: Guess what? Men aren't inherently inconsiderate. Not even a majority. Not even close. What's happening is something that's been documented and theorized by sociologists and psychologists alike. Society, and American society in general has remarkably unrealistic expectations of its people, and interestingly enough; a lot of these expectations are promoted by women. Even the ones on other women. That whole "gotta look exactly like a model" business? That's all women. Men don't give a shit if you've got a little cellulite or whether your a B cup or a D cup. We mostly care that A. you're not psycho. B. you're not diseased or otherwise fucked up. and C. you have a vagina.

Complimenting that is the "Prince Charming" expecations in place for men in relationships (which, not surprisingly, is mainly reenforced--and possibly invented--by the entertainment industry). You're expected to score a perfect A plus on the Matthew Mcconaughey quiz for male-worthiness, lest you be the subject of your woman's next social therapy session with her friends. This i.e unrealistic expectations, if I had to guess, is probably the seond leading cause of break-ups (not really knowing the person you're getting involved with is probably number one).

The situation described in "If I Were A Boy" doesn't happen most of the time. It does in the movies, of course, but most men--and most people in general-- are honest, hard-working, imperfect human beings that don't find pleasure in trampling on other people's emotions. I think humans often substitute Hollywood for our real lives when we nod our heads to songs like this one. But in many ways, that is understandable, because, after all, Prince Charming exists in Hollywood.

In This Case Imitation is the Highest Form of Hilarity

Sometimes I hate the internet for bringing fuckery into my world. So, some dude decided completely swaggerjack Prince. This fool even reworked the music from the Purple One's song "Automatic." Somebody please stop the madness! I almost died when I saw the bootleg Apollonia. I'm all for creative freedom and paying homage but this right here was never a good idea. At first I thought it was a big joke, but my soul wept when I realized he was serious.

Kanye West Gets Arrested? But I'm on Kanye's Side (For a Change)

Click here to watch the video.

Kanye West was recently arrested and presumably jailed for vandalism after destroying a paparazzi camera. He really trashes that shit too, as you can see in the video. I love how he casually walks back in line afterwards as if he didn't just get maniacal on someone's ass a few seconds ago.

Kanye's is a man of many antics, and many people think he's just a publicity whore, which is probably true. But in this case--and probably any case where it's papparrazzi versus celebrity--I've got to vote against the camera-man. Sure, taking someone's property and going Incredible Hulk on it is definitely illegal; but following a human being around against their will with a fucking camera SHOULD be illegal.

Wait a minute. It IS. It's called stalking.

How the papparrazi have continuously gotten away with breaking the law even to the point of trespassing, invading privacy, and even, at times, breaking and entering; is beyond my comprehension. I guess the celebrities just don't have the time to pursue legal action.

And I know the video doesn't show what happens prior to 'Ye's outburst, but it's the papparazzi. I guarantee you they were fucking with him. And honestly, following him around while he's trying to handle his business, is bullshit enough.

People are taking the side of the cameraman, presumable just because its Kanye, and we all know Kanye's a huge crybaby and a self-admitted asshole, and maybe we want to see him get a little comeuppance. In this case, however, I see just another case of the paparazzi abusing their inexplicable immunity to the law and another celebrity that didn't want to take it anymore.

The Milk Carton Files

Anybody remember this dude? Well, here's a little refresher course. His name is Glenn Lewis. Back in 2002, the Canada native released his debut album World Outside My Window. Due to an uncanny voice similarity, he was often compared to soul legend Stevie Wonder. Quickly lumped into the Neo Soul sub-genre, his debut proved to be successful by reaching #4 on the Billboard charts. In 2003, Lewis prepped for his second release Back for More and even released a single by the same name. After that, however, he pretty much disappeared. No album ever materialized.

I must admit up until a few months ago I had pretty much forgotten about him. That's really unfortunate because an artist with his caliber of talent should never be forgotten. In the earlier part of the year something compelled me to pull out my copy of Window. After having it on repeat for about three days I remembered why I liked him in the first place. Yes, he sounded like Stevie, but it was more than that. He made beautiful music. Most of his debut had that throwback sound of most "neo-soul" artist of the day, but there was something about his songs that were almost timeless. The fact that I can listen to it almost six years later and see a place for him and his music in today's market is a testament to that fact. Lets be real, this six year old album is better than about 60% of the R&B out now. After thinking about all this I was left wonder what happened to Glenn Lewis. So being the inquisitve (nosy) person I am, I decided to look him up. Boy did I find him!

Apparently, he's not signed to a major label anymore and he's still recording songs. His new stuff sounds much better than his first album. Which says a lot. He dropped the soul-man schtick,which I assume was forced on him in the first place by his label. His newer music seems a lot more comfortable to me. More like he's in his zone. It's definitely a lot sexier. One new song "House On A Beach" samples Marvin Gaye's classic "Sexual Healing", but still comes into its own as a smooth groove worthy of anybody's quiet storm mix.

Another new one titled "Remember Me" showcases his vocal ability. The simplistic track definitely plays up his vocals and the harmonies are to die for.He doesn't sound so much like Stevie anymore. And that's a good thing. All this new music had definitely gotten me excited, but I'm also a little worried. While I was on my Glenn Lewis search mission, I came across an interview he did last year. In it he said something to the effect of the artist with the most heart often get lost in the shuffle. And it appears that is very much what happened in his case. It sucks for him. It really does. It also sucks for the fans. I'm a sucker for a quality R&B track. Especially ones devoid of autotune and other trendy/what's hot in the streets qualities. So giving me access to this great material is like putting a kid's Christmas toys on display in a big glass box but not letting them actually touch them until the day after Christmas. Sounds crazy, but that's exactly how this feels. Which is why I sincerely hope he gets to put out another album. Either way, you can check out what Mr. Lewis has been up to these days at: www.myspace.com/glnumuzk and www.myspace.com/wwwglennlewismusiccom

"Most of my music is entertainment, stuff I've never done in my life," --Fat Joe

Obviously there is a distinction between art and entertainment; entertainment is almost totally geared toward the audience's desires. Entertainers do what the audience wants to hear. Art, on the other hand is as much for the artist and the art as it is the audience. Not to say that an artist would never make up a separate life, or tell falsehoods in his work, but if he/she did, it would always be for an artistic purpose, and not just to entertain someone. Considering this, I want to pose a question to you all. Where's the line between art and entertainment as it relates to the music industry? Does this line need to be drawn at all? Does it matter? it is okay for something to look like art, but be merely entertainment? Is it just for entertainers to make more money than artists, as they almost always do?

Farewell compact disc, I shall miss thee...

For most girls things like purses, shoes, and other such items hold a very special place in their hearts. Some like these items probably way more than they should even to the point where it might not be healthy (trust me, I've seen it before.) Well, I'm not like most girls. Don't get me wrong I count purses and jewelry as some of my vices. But there's one item in this world I can say I'm truly addicted to. It's a little piece of technology we like to call a compact disc. It all started when I was around eight. In fact, I can tell you the first cd I ever got my hands on: SWV's debut album. To say I was amazed is an understatement. After spending my few years dealing with tapes (remember those?!), I had grown tired of all the rewinding and fast forwarding involved. It was just a hassle. So when cds came into my life I felt like I was really doing something. The ability to skip to your favorite track with one push of the button you are freaking kidding me?! This is better than sliced bread!

This amazement quickly progressed into a full blown addiction. When something new came out, whether I really wanted it or not, I had to have it. Not just eventually, but the same day it came out. Hell, for the most part it's still like that. My mom was kind enough (or that much of an enabler) to take me to the music store anytime I wanted to go before I could drive. Once I got that license though it was over with. I went to great lengths to expand my cd collection and even surrounded myself with other addicts. Our lovely podcast contributor Candice has often accompanied me on these trips. Like me, she too has a problem. A prime example of how bad things got is how I came to own Kanye West's Late Registration. This release happened to coincide with one of the worst natural disasters in history: Hurricane Katrina. While the damage pales in comparison to that of New Orleans, Birmingham got its ass handed to it. Well, after coming to school only to find that classes were canceled (which for UAB can be compared to an Elvis sighting) Candice and I decided this was the perfect time to cop that new Kanye. So we traveled all the way to the other side of town through downed power lines and no working traffic lights till we found an open music store. We might have been in danger and so what we didn't have electricity at the house. We had some good music to listen to when the lights came back on!

We've even been known to scheme to get cds including lying to the people at Walmart about traveling from another city to pick up a copy of Beyonce's Bday at 2 a.m. Don't judge us because it worked (both times)! My love affair with the compact disc has been one wild and crazy ride. So you can imagine my sadness now that it's dying.

Yeah I know folks have been saying that for a while but I've been in denial. That was until I got my hands on the devil's instrument: the iPod. Now don't get me wrong, I love my slice of mp3 heaven. It gives one great freedom to know their entire music collection is available at any time and anywhere. But this invention is slowly fading out my beloved cds and that's not cool. There's a sort of ritual that comes with buying cds. First, there is the anticipation involved in waiting on it to hit the shelves. Then, there's the liner notes. I love being able to read who produced the track, where it was recorded, what it samples and the thank you notes. Its one of my favorite things about owning cds. My major gripe with iTunes and other online music stores is that you lose that. Even with the drawbacks, I find myself relying on iTunes to fulfill my music buying needs. It's certainly more convenient than waiting on a store to open up and driving there to pick it up. They never sell out which is a big plus. But it still makes me sad because I feel like I'm losing an old friend or something. But I guess everything changes with the times. It's going to feel mighty funny trying to explain to my future children what a cd was.

"Swagger Like Us" T.I., Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Kanye West (Yes you read that correctly)

Let's see how long this link lasts.

T.I. featuring Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West--"Swagger Like Us"

One in a million truly

Today marks the seventh year anniversary of the death of Aaliyah. The hip-hop community has had a few tragic deaths in its history, but this one marks me as truly shocking. She wasn't embroiled in beef or doing something she shouldn't have been. She was simply living her dream and doing her life's work when she was tragicallly killed in a plane crash. I read somewhere on the internet today that Aaliyah fans, or just music fans in general, could remember exactly where they were when they heard the news. I know I do. It was the beginning of my junior year of high school on Saturday August 25 and I had just come back home from hanging with my friends when one of them called me and told me the news. I didn't want to believe it, partly because my mom had mixed up her name with Brandy while trying to give me the message, but I was shocked when I learned the news. My friends and I stayed on the phone until early in the morning trying to find out if it was true. It was really strange because I remember that day specifically being on an Aaliyah kick. Her third album Aaliyah had just come out that summer and after giving it a break I decided for some reason to put it back into rotation that day.

Now listening to that album I see just how before her time she actually was. Aaliyah was so refreshing when it came out. Maybe it was because she hadn't put out a full album since 1996, but it still feels new even seven years after its release. It was just something about her. She had beauty, swagger, style, relatability and talent to boot. What is especially tragic is that she was just beginning to take off. Sure the urban audience knew who she was and she was already a super star in our eyes, but with all the big budget movies and the new music she had on deck you could tell she was getting ready to reach a completely new stratosphere. She was a pioneer for all the new R&B chanteuses of our day. Without her there would definitely be no Ciaras, Cassies, Rihannas or the like. Her death affected all us from the fans, her family and the people who worked closely with her. No one can deny that after her passing Timbaland, Missy and the Superfriends crew as a whole all lost a little of their swag. Sometimes I wonder just how big she would have gotten had it not been for her tragic departure. I guess it's best to just remember as the phenomenal talent that she was in her short lifetime. Rest in peace, Babygirl.

Self destruction? Hell yeah

I ran across this on Friday on Crunk & Disorderly. Meet Detroit's finest, ladies and gentlemen. It's so much wrong with this foolishness it's not even funny. First of all, all that cussing, talk of murking people, and bangin totally contradicts the message. Then there's the backup singers/folks with nothing else to do with their time. Homegirl in the crop jacket is dancing waaaaayyyy off the beat. And shouldn't that little boy be doing some type of homework? Lastly, apparently Tbaby took a page from the Silkk the Shocker book of off beat rhyming. Let's not even go into the pictures at the end. Everybody involved in this needs to be shamed. Real shamed. This project = EPIC FAIL. This is our future y'all and if you know like I know you'd be trying to holla at some property on that space station. Because if this is even a small representation of who's gonna be running the joint down here, we're all screwed.

What's Worse: Pop, Lock, and Drop It

So I've come up with a new feature to the blog, and this is one where you readers can get involved. Every now and then I will post up two related things, and you comment and tell me which one you think is more ridiculous, more of a shame, more unattractive or whatever criteria you decide; and why. So let's try this out.

What's Worse?

This white boy Pop Locking and Dropping it?



Or This 3 year old Pop Locking and Dropping it?



I don't think either of these are very appropriate, but you decide What's Worse!

Omar Gooding drops a Rap Album?

Yes, that man holding the huge Cuban cigar with the photoshopped smoke is none other than actor Omar Gooding.

Younger children, and older adults only know him as Cuba Gooding Jr.'s little brother. But us eighties babies practically grew up watching this man.

Over a decade ago we watched a thirteen-year old Omar Gooding on Nickelodeon's Wild and Crazy Kids. Later we saw him on Hanging with Mr. Cooper and Smart Guy, and he had solidified his image as a clean-cut family-oriented actor. He played a much more mature role as "Sweetpea" in John Singleton's street film Baby Boy, an unprecedented switch that indicated that Gooding was ready for more adult endeavors.

Soon after, we saw him in more mature parts on shows such as CSI: Miami and the short-lived ESPN drama Playmakers.

But even playing a thug in Baby Boy didn't prepare us for this--Omar Gooding, or "Big O" is releasing an album with West Coast gangsta rapper, C-Bo. Now it wouldn't be as shocking if he were releasing an album with someone like, say, Will Smith or Rev Run. It wouldn't even be that bad if it were someone like Ja Rule or Jay-Z. But C-Bo? The guy who writes lyrics like "I'm a mobster/killin' make my dick hard" is creating an album with Stuart from Ghost Dad.

I haven't heard any tracks yet, but I'll let you know what I think when I do.

I guess we all grow up, but could "Big-O" have possibly found a rapper whose lyrics weren't so horrific they got him arrested?

Hip-Hop (and music in general) needs a legitimate awards show

In my quest to finally figure out why mainstream hip-hop and music in general has gone down the shitter, I stumbled upon an interesting theory.

While the mainstream entertainment industry as a whole generally amounts to a huge cluster-fuck of bankable cliches, there are always the exceptions.

That is, in film and television there are. In music the only exceptions are, quite generally, the people who don't get any airplay. In film and television, however, these exceptions are noted by major players in the respective fields, put on a pedestal, and nominated for prestigious awards, like Emmys, Oscars, or Golden Globes.

You may be saying, "Well, what about the Grammys? That's the most prestigious music award there is, right?!"

Well, it is, but only by default; especially when referring to hip-hop. The Grammys, unlike the AMA's or Billboard Awards--whose winners are chosen based on their popularity--are awarded to those deemed worthy by a panel of old white dudes. Even so, the hip-hop/r&b playing field among all three events is generally populated with the same names. You know, the regulars: Justin, Beyonce, Usher, etc. Not to say that any of these three are untalented or uncreative, but they are definitely not the best in their field by any measure except popularity.

What about the BET awards?
Now I've really got to hand it to BET. A hugely bootleg television network has managed to produce a series of surprisingly un-bootleg awards ceremonies. But be honest, is that award really worth anything? At most, the music section of the BET awards is just a expanded version of the "urban" sections of the Billboard Awards (albeit with the respectable addition of a "Gospel" category).

Quite sadly, if we really look at it, the closest thing we have ever had to a pure hip-hop award's show is the Source Awards; and do I really need to get started on that shit?

Unlike musicians and record executives; filmmakers, theatre and television producers, and actors actually have a motivation other than money: the prestige of being recognized by critics, fans, enthusiasts, and experts as "the best" for that year. Not "the most popular" or "the most successful", but "the best". That phrase actually means something in film, theatre, and television. Perhaps this is part of the reason why hip-hop has become so dry and predictable.

It's just a guess, but maybe we need a prestigious hip-hop awards ceremony. How about the Can I Kick it Awards...? What do you think Mia? Hey we're not the Oscars but it's a start.

Yet another reason why Outkast is pretty much better than everybody

The members of Outkast are what I like to refer as the O.G.'s of Southern hip-hop. Sure, there are other groups that might fit the description better. They may have been around longer or even been more influential, but none did what Outkast managed to do in my book. With Big Boi's forthcoming solo effort and Andre 3000 popping up randomly with no album in sight, it leaves me reminiscing on a time when it wasn't an earth shattering event to see both members in the same place and on the same stage.

Now, they've consistently put out hits since their debut but there is something you absolutely have to understand about this group. It doesn't end and begin with songs like "Hey, Ya!" Some of their best works were never singles. Their sound is distinctly southern with a twist: catchy, fun but far more cerebral than songs that ask you to simply lean and rock with it.

The best example I can think of is the song "Liberation" off of their Aquemini album (a classic that every hip-hop lover needs to own, no excuses.) I'll always remember the first time I heard it. I was in middle school and my older cousin brought over a tape and told me to listen to it. Now I may sound a little dramatic, but this song changed how I viewed music as a whole. I can honestly say I had never heard any other rap song like it. In fact, the most unique thing about it is that there's no rapping in it. It's one part confessional, two parts gospel and an equal part opera and spoken word. Basically everything the typical rap song isn't.

It features some of the Dungeon Family's shining stars like Ceel-lo and Big Rube along with Erykah Badu and tackles everything from the drawbacks of fame to family issues. It's probably one of the most thought provoking pieces of music I've ever heard in my life. Imagine that coming from the South. Don't believe me, I implore you to take a listen:

Talent Schmalent. They're hitmakers!

I would never make it as a music industry executive. I just don't have the knack for finding the next big hit or the next big artists. You'd think it'd be an easy task, right? Just find the person who's the best at what they do and give 'em a record contract. But it's not so simple. You see, talent is a sufficient condition for a successful artist, but it is in no way a necessary one. We've witnessed in recent years, in hip-hop/R&B alone; musical acts that defy logic by smashing the charts wide-open despite haven been forsaken in the talent department. I'm not hating, I'm just marveling at the irony.

Rihanna

Source: http://www.camacho.com.mx/

Rihanna is the direct inverse of a one-hit-wonder. So much so, that I think she utterly lacks the ability to not make a hit record. Despite the fact that her performances leave something to be desired; and that, when singing, she sounds like she's mimicking Tarzan, each one of her records seems to top the charts.

T-Pain

Photo by: Richard Alexander Caraballo

On the rare occasion that T-Pain decides (for whatever strange reason) not to remedy his tone-deafness with pitch-adjustment software, his singing is just slightly better than squeaky chalk. Nevertheless, the man (in whose presence, according to Kanye West, we should be honored to be) was involved in over half of the biggest hits of the last few decades. I just made that statistic up, but it's probably true. T-Pain has made himself the go-to guy for instant hit status.


Plies

When Plies raps, he sounds incredibly similar to a mentally handicapped person. I'm serious, go listen to one of his tracks. He's got an overly extended "deh deh deh" drawl. It's a stretch, even, to call it "rapping", as he's mainly just shouting sentences over a beat. Even more unusual is Plies's insistence to juxtapose his barely-comprehendible sex talk alongside other artists, such as Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo, and Keyshia Cole; who are actually easy on the ears. Fans have proven to love his Southern swagger, however, and have made his album sales and radio plays absolutely skyrocket.


Trina

Trina is a special case in that she doesn't even have to keep herself in the spotlight to remain relevant. All she has to do is come out with an album, even if it's been three years since the last one. Trina's albums are all 2 or 3 years apart, and they've all been hits. Fans don't seem to mind her lack of skill as a rapper or lyricist. Perhaps it's her confidence. Whatever it is, it's working.

Some will say it's a good thing, some will disagree, but whether or not you find any of these artists to be particularly talented at the technial aspects of their trade, we call agree that they all definitely share one talent: hit making.

Since I have nothing to say today...

For the first time in my life I'm sort of speechless. But because I want to keep things rolling around this joint, I'll leave you with something funny to get you through the day.



And just for the hell of it here's an oldie but goody:

Can I Kick It endorses Barack Obama! This is serious business!

Let's take a break from hip-hop and talk politics.

In case anyone was wondering who the folks down at Can I Kick It endorse for the upcoming Presidential election, we'd like to make it perfectly clear that the answer to that inquiry is unequivocally Barack Obama. It's quite simple. It's not because he's black, or because he's "different." It's because there are two candidates to choose from and one is leagues ahead of the other in pretty much every category.

Dubya has been in office for two terms and even for people who don't have a clue about politics or economics, its obvious that someone in that administration missed something somewhere. The economy is in shambles, even to the point of being called a "recession", gas prices are roughly the price of the car you're putting the gas in (meanwhile all of the oil companies are recording 11 billion dollar profits), the national debt is so high it sounds like a made up number, and thousands of Americans are losing their lives overseas in a war that lacks a forseeable end, not to mention a logical purpose. Yeah, someone fucked up.

It is the duty of the American voters to make sure this shit doesn't continue, and McCain has continuously shown himself to be, in many important (though not every) ways, a clone of the man who let all this dumb shit happen in this country.

Even in spite of the fact that Obama is clearly more likeable, if you break down each candidate's basic policies, the choice is a no-brainer for anyone who isn't a douchebag (or rich, but in that case you'd still be kind of a douchebag because you're being selfish).

The list of positions that make Obama a superior candidate to McCain is incredibly exhaustive, but let's point out a few things.

Foreign Policy
John McCain has been quoted as saying "We nations of like values and principles and belief in democracy and freedom should make efforts to modify the behavior of other nations."

What does this even mean? Who are we to tell other leaders how to run their countries? This is heavily reminiscent of 1800s era "manifest destiny", McCain and the Republican camp think they have found some ultimate truth about "freedom" and subsequently have the God-given right to go around the world on a political missionary trip. It wouldn't be half as bad if we didn't know that McCain's method of "making and effort to modify behavior" likely involves tanks and bombs.

Barack Obama, while still relatively hawkish when it comes to foreign policy (by comparison to many Democrats) has a much more practical and less violent position. Obama wants to end uncecessary wars, such as the one in Iraq. He states that he will direct his attention to people who have actually shown themselves to be enemies of America, like Al Qaeda. (Remember them?) Instead of randomly attacking nations who don't agree with the American way of life, Obama will, instead, focus on nations that are actually posing a threat, nuclear or otherwise. And in most cases, Obama has strongly supported diplomatic meetings with the leaders of other countries, and not the juvenile, stubborn turn-your-nose-up indignation John McCain advocates.

Health Care
This category is really simple. One guy (Obama) wants every single citizen of the United States to have access to health care, and the other guy doesn't mind if a few million Americans are left behind. It makes no sense whatsoever that every working American is taxed for health programs, yet still about 1/8th of the population is uninsured.

Taxes
In 2004, McCain voted against Bush's ridiculous tax cuts, stating "I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportional amount that went to the wealthiest Americans. I would clearly support not extending those tax cuts in order to help address the deficit." Score +1 for McCain? Nope, just two years later he changed his mind and voted to extend Bush's tax cuts, and has stated that he wants to make them permanent. The tax cuts...for the rich. Firstly, it's clear and obvious bullshit that the more money you make the less taxes you have to pay relatively. Help me out here, am I the only one that think that's ridiculous? Secondly, that's a terrible economic strategy. Giving tax cuts to a group of people encourages them to spend more money. When people spend more money, the economy thrives. The total number of low to middle income families in America far outweighs the number of high-income families. Therefore, more low and middle class people are spending money in America. So it would make sense, then, TO GIVE THEM THE TAX CUTS!

Obama realizes this and proposes a tax cut specifically for low and middle income families. On top of them he want to repeal the retarded tax cuts for the rich. So I imagine, if you are rich, you might like McCain's tax plan, but in that case you're somewhat of an asshole.


This list can go on and on, but it boggles the mind how McCain has so much support. The only possible reason that I can fathom for how a person could think McCain is the better candidate is if they don't give a shit about the economy, the environment, or their fellow Americans; or they just don't understand any of those three things. You have got to either be ignorant or an asshole.
Unfortunately this world is full of people who have both of those qualities.

I know I sound really harsh, but this is serious business. There are lots of things at stake here, the economy, the environment, civil rights, and even lives. I'm not skirting around this issue or trying to be nice. We at Can I Kick It implore you, the six people who read this blog, with all of our very inner beings to make the vote for Barack Obama this November.

Now, back to your regular scheduled hip-hop programming.

The case for Diddy's Day26

I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for some R&B and an even bigger sucker for reality television. And according to one of the communication theories I studied in college, if something is the product of both of these things mixed together I should also like said product (Hey I gotta use that degree somewhere.).

Well I can't say that's always the case. I don't particularly dig most American Idol contestants and I couldn't get with Diddy first batch of banders outside of the downright foolishness/coonery they provided me with every week. But somehow I still found myself tuning in every time Puff Daddy Poppa Diddy Pop announced the search for a new batch of cheesecake walking fools.

So the last season focused on Diddy's girl group Danity Kane and his newest musical confection Day26 basically locked in a house together competing to make an album. (There was also a dude there named Danny but he was on the whole season for like 10 minutes total, hey somebody's got to be the Cheri Dennis of Making the Band. Sorry it had to be you buddy.) After watching this season super faithfully and being the gullible consumer I am, I was beyond excited to hear the finished products. I was pretty underwhelmed by what Danity Kane had to offer but I was surprisingly impressed with Day26.

Most people get on them because they're manufactured, may have a been the sole reason for the creation of the term "bitchassness", have had a gang of dates from their summer tour cancelled and etc. But I think that these folks are ignoring one major positive. These dudes can sing. Yeah, I didn't want to believe it either until I actually listened to the album. Even though it may have been all about the on-camera antics at first they managed to turn out a pretty good debut album. They got some heavy hitting producers including Brian Michael Cox and The Runners to crank out some good old fashion R&B of the New Edition variety. Now they're not as smooth as Ronnie, Bobby, Rickey, Mike and Johnny but given some decent promotion and a bit more conditioning they could be well on their way.

Which is why I feel bad for them. Because fooling with Diddy's non-promoting and album shelving ass these dudes don't stand a chance. The show is great promotion for both groups but that's just not gonna do it. Albums don't sell themselves and he's too busy pushing Whoopers among other things these days to put out the music Bad Boy was known for. Both of his acts going #1 when they come out was a good look for the new Bad Boy but if you paid attention it took almost six months for both groups to release a second single. Consumers are a fickle sort. Just because you were relevant back in like January doesn't mean folks will give two craps about you in July. I really like these guys and hope they have a successful run in the music industry becuase I think they've really got something good going. Here's hoping they make it a sophomore album.

Not that it's any of my business...

but I'd bet a couple of stacks (which I don't have, we in a recession man) that ol Rihanna is on that S&M shit.

Throwback Video Swag

Erykah Badu - Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip Hop)
Uploaded by Erykah-Badu

Ok, so it's not exactly a throwback but it's still a great video in my opinion. Released in 2002 as the lead single off the Brown Sugar soundtrack, this video shows the different stages of this thing we love called Hip-Hop. It was a pretty cool concept plus it had great appearances from some pioneers like Fab Five Freddy, Chuck D., Kool Herc, Crazy Legs as well as others. Besides, Erykah Badu is just fresh. I know I'm not supposed to force opinions on others but c'mon you know you like her too.

LMFAO @ Young Jeezy

Why do rich celebrities so often make fools of themselves?

So, apparently, yesterday Young Jeezy was arrested for DUI.

He was driving down I-85 in Atlanta in a white Corvette. First of all Jeezy, you're rich. Why are you riding in a Corvette!? Dude, I can afford a Corvette. Anyway, I digress.

According to the Atlanta police, as well as being under the influence, he was speeding, reckless driving, was missing tags, and had no insurance.

What the fuck, Jeezy! Did you borrow one of your homies' stolen whips from his backyard?

Here's what burns my cheese about this whole Robert "Pissin" Kelly thing...

It seems as if everybody in the blogosphere has weighed in on this topic, and I'm a go with the flow type chick so I have to add my two cents.

First of all, just in case the title of this post didn't give it away, I think he guilty, GUILTY, GUILTY,GUILTY! I don't care what the verdict was. HE DID THAT SHIT! Now I'm no expert or no forensics person but I saw enough of the tape to know it was him. No moles or lack there of will change my mind.

In fact, some jurors even said they knew it was him but because the "alleged" victim didn't step forward they couldn't convict. What kind of whacked out logic is that? Not only did he have sex with a child and urinate on said child, he had the balls to tape that shit. If that ain't convincing enough evidence I obviously don't know what the hell is. To add insult to injury he has a history of this type of behavior and doesn't even try to hide it. He married Aaliyah when she was 15 for goodness sake!

For the record, I think he's a disgusting excuse for a human. He pretty much sucks at life. How he can do this especially when he has daughters of his own is beyond me. I also think he's about as dumb as a box of rocks. Who videotapes themselves blatantly committing a crime?! I mean that's just asking for it. When I heard about this verdict I got so angry. I was talking entirely way too loud and had to stop myself from cursing and, mind you, I was at work. I really forgot where I was. The sad part about this whole situation is that the pisser isn't the only one to blame. I also blame the girl's sorry ass parents.

Now I don't know what it's like to have kids but I can tell right now it's no way I would let somebody molest my child and then pay me off. In fact, I would have been the one on trial because I probably would have tried to kill that momosucka. Them taking the money is just like them saying, "I know you took sexual advantage of our child and you even added some advance freak shit in the equation by peeing on her, but it's okay Robert cuz this money makes everything all better!" BULLSHIT! You just whored your daughter out for some measly payday. At least, she's grown now because if I was the prosecution I would have tried to put her in some kind of protective services.

And another thing, all those fans that are still gonna support him after this mess you need to be ashamed of yourselves. I remember last year when he came here on his last tour and I ask one girl why she was going. She said, "Because I love me some R. Kelly." I responded,"But he pees on children, you understand that right?" She said, "But he still fine!" I was dumbfounded to say the least. I mean if the justice system won't stand up for children, somebody needs to. What he did was not okay just because he makes good music. Don't let him lure you in with some hot beats. Don't be that easily won over. Don't get me wrong , I used to love some of his music. While I wouldn't classify myself as a fan I definitely appreciated what he was bringing to the table. But at this point I have to stand up for my beliefs. I refuse to support pedophilia.

What really pisses me off is that I can't even enjoy music that I used to love without throwing up in my mouth a little bit every time I here ol Pissy Mcpisserson sing. Biggie's song "Unbelievable" just came on the radio and even though Pisser is only sampled on the song, it just ruined the whole thing for me to hear his voice. As a music lover really makes my blood boil. Not only did this dude ruin somebody's childhood behind this mess, he ruined some of my favorite songs. I know that sounds selfish, but that's only a small piece of my argument.

I could go on and on about this topic but who really whats to read that. All I know is he had a close call this time, but I doubt that's going to change how he operates. He's probably gonna to it again and this time I dare him to tape it. I double dog dare his ass! And the next time I hope they lock him under the jail and throw away the key.

Really Now....

So apparently Soulja Boy Tell 'Em and company have a new dance. Well, at least new to me since I don't keep up with what folks are crankin these days. As far as this video is concerned, I have some good things and some bad things to say.

Good thing: While his lyrical dexterity leaves much do be desired, this kid can make up a dance. I don't know about anyone else but it would take me an obscene amount of time to even come up with a concept for my own dance let alone the steps. So props to him for being creative with the footwork.

Bad thing: I have to wonder do Soulja Boy and others of his ilk know that they are fulfilling about 86.5% of stereotypes about black people by doing stuff like this? And to add insult to injury they put this on the internet for all the world to see. So to all black folks just take time out of your day to make sure you do at least one thing to counteract this kind of foolishness. Just go in the middle of the biggest mall you can find and read a book. Ride through the nearest suburb you can find bumping some Mozart or something. You get the picture.

And finally, I think it's safe to say that there is nothing left to crank so please stop. He can get away with this because he's still a kid but a 35 year old has no business cranking anything except a full time job. This PSA has been brought to you by Mia and the good folks at Can I Kick It. Thank you and goodnight.

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Anyway, if you look at the RSS feed version of the site, you'll noticed there are several links beneath each post. There is a link that enables you to email the blog to all of your friends and family. Then there is the Digg link and deli.cio.us link.

If you aren't familiar with these websites, they are sites where you basically tell people, "Hey, I think this is a cool article". So obviously the more people who click those links, the more word spreads about the site. So I encourage you to, if you find the blog interesting, Digg any/all of our posts, and also save them to deli.ci.ous. (You have to register at these sites, but it's quick, free, and painless to do so).

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The First Ever Can I Kick It? Podcast

Our First Podcast!

Featuring me, (Kevin) and introducing our newest contributor, Candice! We discuss Nas, Michelle Williams, MTV and R. Kelly.

Check it out!

Note: For some reason we discuss 2007's MTV list of Greatest MC's rather than 2008's. Maybe we discuss the right list in the next one.

Try clicking on the links, or right-clicking and hitting "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" to download the podcast to your hard drive.

UPDATE: You can now subscribe to our podcast using Itunes. To do so, open your itunes application, and go to "Advanced/Subscribe to Podcast" and enter http://feeds.feedburners.com/canikickit and it should automatically begin downloading the podcast.

Coming Soon: CIKI Podcast

Yes, that's right, coming very soon will be the Can I Kick It Podcast where we will chat about hip-hop news and music. Look out for it in the next week or so!

Throwback Video Swag

This is one of my favorite songs of all time.A definite classic. I never get tired of it. It's 100% about sex but not at all in a vulgar or offensive way. Note to all rappers: you can definitely find a way to talk about the obligatory subjects in rap without every other word having to be bleeped out for radio play. Ask Tribe.

Lil' Mama doesn't rap about her head game OR her ass size

In 2007, "Lip Gloss" was released, and as fans of hip hop music, we were kind of thrown off-guard. There was this rapper on the radio with this rugged flow, and despite the fact that she grew up in Brooklyn she didn't make a record about hustling on the streets. Despite the fact that she was a young, female rapper, she didn't make a record about how good she was at oral sex or how fat her ass was. Instead, she made a fun record about lip gloss.

This deviation from what we're used to hearing raised some of our eyebrows in anticipation of her debut album to be released a year later, VYP: Voice of the Young People; and for the most part, it delivers on the promise of a positive, fun album executed with style.

The album opens with the aforementioned lead single, the percussion-only "Lip Gloss" which is successfully minimalist in a way reminiscent of of The Clipse's "Grindin'". When I first heard of this track, I immediately began imagining what kind of sexual double-entendre must be at work from this new female rapper. After hearing the song and watching the video, however I quickly dismissed that notion and began wondering if the titular "lip gloss" was a metaphor for having good character or maybe it represented the silly things that kids place value on. In the end, I think Lil' Mama literally just made a song about her lip gloss. And to be honest, I can dig it; it's fun, and Lil' Mama's flow is not too shabby.

T-Pain makes his obligatory appearance twice on the album; first on "Shawty Get Loose" which also features Chris Brown on the chorus, and then on the very next track, "What It Is (Strike a Pose)". Unlike the other albums T-Pain appears on, however, VYP doesn't particularly need T-Pain's undeniable charisma, and his presence doesn't place him at the role of "album-saver" as it often does. He's limited to being a "guest appearance", which is kind of the way it's supposed to be, even T-Pain drops a surprisingly hot rap verse on "Shawty Get Loose".

Seven tracks in, you begin to wonder. Every track has been a braggadocios party track so far, and that could work if you had the spectacular production of a Missy album or the butter flow and witty lyrics of a Luda album. Lil' Mama has proved that she can rap, and her production isn't half bad, but I don't think she's on the level where she can pull off an album about nothing without getting negative reviews.

Fortunately, as the "Gotta Go Deeper" skit on track 8 implies, Lil' Mama has saved her meaningful tracks for the last half of the album. Immediately next is "Stand Up", my favorite track on the album. It sports a neo-soul sound mixed with a classical twist of flute that is made harder by a combination of a thumping kick and an ominous tuba that commands the track. The track is a tribute to her birthplace of Harlem and hometown of Brooklyn, advising the youth there to "Stand Up" despite the hardships they face. The fourth single for the album, "L.I.F.E." is a track that promotes a similar message of hope in the midst of impossible situations, told from from the point of view of a foster child and a pregnant teenager.

There are a couple more serious songs, and you start to think, 'is this the same chick who made that fun "Lip Gloss" song?' I appreciate that she approaches the serious subject matter that she does, I think she lays it on too thick on an album that was precedented with "Lip Gloss" and two consecutive songs with T-Pain on it. Just like before, a skit marks the end of this section of the album, and we finally get another fun song, "Make It Hot". It's upbeat, fun tracks like this that I think Lil' Mama shines most on.

VYP: Voice of the Young People combines Lil' Mama's gritty New York flow with the commercial synth of popular hip hop, and it works pretty well. Lil' Mama isn't the most technically impressive rapper, although she occasionally employs interesting rhyme structure, such as poetically rhyming "shadow" and "shattered" in the heartbreak-oriented track "Broken Pieces", and her flow is as good as it needs to be. The album is refreshingly clean (no swearing; only the occasional N-word) and thankfully positive and fun. The track arrangement is very purposeful, almost sectioned off; the first part being upbeat club joints (not surprisingly three of the albums four singles are found in this section), and the second part being serious in nature. The originality in production is appreciated but this separation is very forced and draws away from the album.


Production: B+
The beats are good throughout. They combine east-coast sounds with the more pop-influence mainstream sound, and others even draw from genres such as soul and rock & roll. The arrangement of the tracks is really forced, but it doesn't make the album too much less enjoyable.

Flow/Lyrics: B-
Lil' Mama's flow is solid. She doesn't have anything interesting going on with her rhymes and flow on a technical front, which is kind of necessary to make great braggadocios tracks, which she seems to like to do. However, her subject matter is fresh and positive, and I can dig that. Not to mention she sings a lot on this album, and while not the greatest singer, she does it well enough for her tracks to work.

Originality: A-
She's a mainstream rapper who doesn't rap about money, violence, drugs, or sex. AT ALL. That's not necessarily new, but it's fresh in a time like this. I never would have thought someone like her could be successful in todays world.

Overall: B
Lil' Mama scores on her debut effort, and I honestly can't wait to see if she can put her foot in her future work and blow us away.

A few reasons R&B doesn't suck as bad as you thought it did

The world of R&B, Urban Soul or whatever the young kids are calling it these days has been suffering for a few years now. And with good reason too. One of its best talents (who shall remain nameless) is too busy pretending to be one part rapper/two parts T-Pain and "allegedly" peeing on children to make good music while the rest are either battling some sort of addiction and/or criminal case or, sadly, just not relevant.And don't get me started on all of the Michael/Janet clones running around. If like me you grew up in the golden age of R&B then this probably pains you beyond belief. There's still hope though. Here are a couple of people (in no particular order) I've discovered recently that still bring the originality:

Eric Roberson- He's been in the game for a minute even though I just found out about him two years ago.
Discovered while he was a student at Howard, Roberson first burst on the scene with the single "The Moon" in 1994. After no album materialized from his Warner Bros. deal, he went on to collaborate with the likes of Musiq Soulchild, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Jill Scott. He's also found time to release several albums of his own on his Blue Erro Soul label. His songs are definitely about everyday experiences. No flossing or slick talk about bedding different women. Just what us regular folks go through. It's not only lyrics with him though, his voice is down right melodic. It just flows over the music. He's kind of reminiscent of Stevie Wonder to me. Before anybody jumps down my throat about the Great Wonder I just want it known I love Stevie's music as much as everybody else. The reason I compare the two is because there's a certain happiness in Stevie Wonder's voice I always hear it always sounds like he's smiling when he sings. Roberson gives me that same happy feeling. Roberson also does this thing in his concerts where he asks members of the audience to give him random words and he makes a song with them. Anybody who can make a string of unrelated words into a song is alright with me.

Check him out at myspace.com/ericroberson

Estelle-She's not really a new artist, she's been hot for a minute in her homeland England. But now she's showing America what she's about on her stateside debut Shine. She's garnered comparisons to Lauryn Hill because she's also a rapper. I get why people say that but Estelle is bringing something different to the table. Her music is fresh and she has swagger to spare. I guess it's the whole British thing, but she's coming way different from most women in the game right now. European popular music is a little bit different than what we have going on over here. She's bringing a little bit of that to America. Her music not only gives props to her hip-hop and soul roots it also had a lot of reggae influence. Not only that, she also has John Legend riding with her. She has an absolutely addictive single with Kanye West called "American Boy". I love that song.

Check her out at myspace.com/estelleonline

Steph Jones- I'm a Vibe fanatic. I've been reading that magazine for about 10 years now and I always read it cover to cover. What does this have to do with Steph Jones you ask? I'm getting to that I promise. I even look at the 50 million pages of ads in Vibe before you get to the actual articles. Well I remember always seeing this model dude in the Enyce ads and being the giggly teenager I was I thought he was, in a word, dreamy. Let's flash forward to the end of last year. I was wasting time on the net as usual and came across this song "Mr. Ordinary" and after some investigating I found out that the artist behind the song was model dude! Imagine my surprise. Well just in case you haven't figured it out, model dude is Steph Jones. He's now a major label artist signed to Ludacris' DTP Records. What's different about him besides that his side hustle is modeling is that his music is all over the place, but in a good way. He's not a strictly a R&B dude. He dabbles and that's always hot. Another thing that strikes me about him as an artist is the way he connects with his fans. His journey in the music biz was a grassroots thing. He set up a myspace page and a youtube account and word traveled. He sends his myspace friends, or frands as he calls them, regular updates and makes videos not only about his music but also his life. He's definitely embraced all that the web has to offer an artist.

Listen to his music and see what he's about here and here.

Keri Hilson- She's behind some of the biggest songs in the last couple of years and has some of the biggest producers on her team and a lot folks still don't know who she is yet. They will though. As part of the writing team The Clutch Hilson has worked with Usher, Britney Spears, Mario, Omarion, Chris Brown, Toni Braxton....I could go on and on. Not only is she good with the pen, she's impressive on the mic as well. It also is a plus that she's signed to production god Timbaland's label and has ties to Polow Da Don. From songs like "Happy Juice" and "Get It Girl" her music seems really fun, up tempo and energetic. And she's also part-timin it as a video girl (but not the whorish kind), check out Usher's latest to see her in all her glory. With her talent matched up with what Timbo and Polow bring to the table this girl is gonna be as big as the hits she helps make.

Check her out at myspace.com/kerihilson

Vikter Duplaix- Okay so technically this dude isn't a R&B artist in the traditional sense. But he makes some damn good music. His 2006 release Bold and Beautiful is the best not really but kind of R&B album I've ever heard. His music kind of gives off a dance vibe but I think that folks who like urban music can still get into it seeing as how that's where the genre seems to be going these days. But his version is way smoother. As soon as I got the album off iTunes I couldn't stop listening to it for about two weeks. All the tracks flow together so smoothly and the music is so polished and modern. I swear it's like ear candy. Turns out he's also a DJ which makes him about ten times cooler.

Check him out at myspace.com/duplaix

Gangsterism ruined Latarian Milton

Last year, I proclaimed that "Gangsterism" was ruining hiphop, but I think I may have been mistaken. In actuality, excessive commercialism and an abundance of uninspired mediocre rappers is ruining hiphop. The aura of gangsterism that results from this is, however, bringing about gradual decay in another area--the community.

The latest example of this, which I know everyone has seen by now; is 7-year old Latarian Milton who went joyriding in his grandmother's Dodge Durango with his friend "who smokes cigarettes". His main motivations for this cruise (which included hitting several moving and non-moving vehicles and other structures), were because, as young Latarian put it, "it's fun to do bad stuff", and because he "wanted to do hood rat stuff" with his friends.


Despite the glaring fact that in his childhood ignorance, Latarian has misused the term "hood rat", there's no denying that the term originates specifically from within the vulgar lyrics of the rap music that many would agree are inappropriate for young children. And it's not just Latarian; I witnessed with my very own eyes scores of people who find law-breaking "fun", for no other reason besides the fact that it is, in fact, lawbreaking. I've seen teenagers get into drug-dealing, ostensibly partly because it something they grew up around, and partly because their favorite rapper convinced them it was cool.

Kids like Latarian grow up with the ideas of bad-equals-fun being consistently reinforced by their peers and the music they listen to, and they grow up into the drug-dealers and criminals that keep the impoverished sections of our cities occupied by the endless cycle of bullshit that is usually found there.

The local police in Latarian's town said they plan to bring charges against the child, and "get him into the system" so that they can teach him a lesson and possibly get him to change his mindset about the "hood rat" stuff he values so much. The sad thing is, Latarian will probably relish the possibility of being "locked up", as among his friends, it will probably give him a little more gangsta credibility.

Rap music is out to kill me (or a case for why wack ass samples should be outlawed)

I usually don't like to complain about the state of hip-hop just because I don't feel that it's necessary. Most people running around shouting from the hilltops that "Hip hop is dead" aren't really genuinely concerned with the state of the genre or the culture that's attached to it. So I don't normally like to put myself in that category. But something has to be said at this point. It's fine if mediocre at best rappers want to make crap music on their own but when they start messing with classics or my favorite songs that's where I draw the line. Case in point, Plies' song "Bust it Baby."

Now the first issue I take with this song is that it's pretty much craptastic. Plies sucks as a rapper and pretty much every song I've ever heard by him is lewd and disgusting for no damn reason. His subject matter is not the problem because let's face it, most of today's music is about sex. I'd even go out on a limb and say about 95% of popular music is about sex. That's not the issue at hand. It's the way he talks about it that pisses me off. His graphic images give me entirely too much information and it's offensive to me as a woman. That's saying a lot because I listen to some pretty raunchy stuff. It's also offensive to my brain to have to listen to such unintellectual gibberish. The sad part about it is that I've heard Plies talk and he's actually very articulate which is a whole other issue.

But all that's besides the point. The straw that broke the camel's back in this case was that some wack ass producer decided it was a good idea to add a Janet Jackson sample into all of this foolishness. And not just any Janet song but one of my all time favorites. When I heard it for the first time I almost cried. Literally. "Come Back To Me" is a beautiful song about lost love. I don't think she had "wet wet" an 'em in mind when her and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis got together to create it. I can put up with a lot of wack shit but this I cannot accept.

I also take issue with Ne-Yo for even signing up for this mess. As far as I'm concerned, he makes some pretty good music. He seems to model his music and image after the Jackson image. So why would he attach his name to this? Most of the time he tries to give off this lover man vibe, so does he think that a woman with at least a shred of common sense and inkling of dignity would want to be called a "bust it baby?" I VOTE NO!

This whole project gets a fail. Boo to you Plies and Ne-Yo. Go directly to jail, do not pass go or collect $200.

Lil Wayne is not the G.O.A.T.

Not by a long shot, people.

Did people debate over who was the greatest rapper of all-time before the era of Tupac and Biggie? I'm not sure, that's somewhat before my time. What I do know is that immediately following the death of these two rap giants people in massive numbers began what will inevitably become an endless quarrel about who the "greatest emcee of all-time" is. East Coast heads said BIG, West Coast heads said Pac, and here in the south, we said "Scarface shits on both of them". Not long after, old-school heads joined the debate hoping to remind the youngun's of their roots. They noted that if there was no Rakim or KRS-ONE, there would be no Pac, nor Biggie.

Everyone has their own criteria as to what makes a rapper great. For some, its their influence on the audience or their contributions to the evolution of the musical form. For others it may be the mastery with which their lyrics are written or delivered, or simply the charisma and appeal of the rapper. Any of the above-mentioned artists could fit the bill in at least of one these categories.

Now, however, we have this new breed of narrow-scoped hiphop fans that are throwing the word G.O.A.T. around more than the dollar bills the rappers they pick do in their videos. I've heard the label put on everyone from Cassidy, to 50 Cent, to Lil Wayne.

To begin with, you should be immediately disqualified from the runnings for Greatest of All Time if it's clear that you care more about making money than making good records. That takes care of 50 Cent. Secondly, you should be removed from the list if your entire collection of records covers less topics than fingers on one hand; Cassidy, you're out of here. This also conveniently eliminates the overwhelming majority of current mainstream rappers.

Lil Wayne fans keep a firm grip on the G.O.A.T. label though. After all it's not clear whether Wayne is in it solely for the money (although it's at least part of the deal for him), and he even occasionally raps about something. So what makes him the greatest, or even worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as the word?

Is it his lyrical structure? It's easy to think Lil Wayne is a lyrical mastermind when you compare him to his mainstream contemporaries, but looking at him objectively, you notice that his greatest lyrical achievements consist of witty one-liner puns and three-syllable rhyme schemes. Compared to rat/that rhyme schemes some rappers use, Wayne's verses may seem spectacular. But, when there are rappers who regularly spit rhymes like...

Sure to strike, pouring like water might, I Smoke like a sack of that northern lights hype Swerving off a nitro ice-cold quarter pint Saw the bright light, rappers caught a night-night Bona fide nice ice, Dolemite type Sorta like Border Heights, what a sight, yipes Showing motherfuckers how to hold a mic right

...Wayne's Lincolns and Reagans/Sleepin With Meghan rhyme begins to look a little bit elementary.

Okay, so maybe its not his rhyme schemes, its the actual content. Scarface didn't have complex schemes, but he was still great. It's what he says, right? He really makes use of those similes, doesn't he?

I've been through it all, the fails, the falls.
I'm like Niagara
but I got right back up like Viagra.

I mean, that's clever, sure; but anyone can be clever. Middle school children regularly come up with jokes that are just as clever as most of the wordplay Lil Wayne gets so much credit for. Being a good writer is not being able to find puns and double-entendres. There are rappers who write lyrics that people can (and do) teach college-level courses about. I'd be willing to bet that no one is going to ever be assigned a paper about the cultural implications of being "licked like a lollipop".

When people run out of options, they general resort to saying, "Well, he's got swagger". As far as I know, swagger has never been officially defined, and I assume different people are thinking different things when they hear the word. Ultimately saying that a rapper has swagger is the same as saying, "I like him", which is virtually useless. The closest actual-English equivalent to "swagger" that I can think of is "charisma", which is a trait that is in no way unique to hiphop, thus disqualifying it as being, in and of itself, a reason that someone is a great hiphop artist.

Finally, I think its clear that Lil Wayne doesn't try very hard in his songs. A year after stealing Jay-Z's flow he proclaimed himself the best rapper alive, as if he'd reach some sort of peak and hadn't just gotten tolerable as an emcee. He virtually admits it at times: the flow is spazmatic, what they call insane/but that ain't even my muhfuckin aim

Hiphop is probably the only artform where you can half-ass and be considered a legend.