Mad, But Not Mad Enough To Shoot Ya

This is bullshit! Weezy and Lauren London at a basketball game together... is he trying to make me upset?! AGAIN WITH THE DOUBLE-STACKED STYROFOAM CUP!!! Doesn't he know how bad styrofoam is for the environment? A Styrofoam cup gets used once and then the cup spends its entire life in a garbage heap! I sincerely doubt that Wayne rinses and reuses his sippy cup after each use, so therefore, I'd estimate he uses approximately 10 styrofoam cups a day (5 cup changes/day using 2 cups at once = 10)... that's DIPLORABLE! 3,650 cups a year from just one person!

In other news... Cops are tasering people almost as much as DJ Khaled says "We Da Best!" This disturbed me a few months ago when that kid got tasered while John Kerry was giving a lecture, but a PREGNANT WOMAN HOLDING A CHILD?!?! Holy smokes! I think Franklyn said it best:
Frank's Screenname: thats wat happens when you make star wars fans cops
Frank's Screenname: n*****s be getting carried away
Frank's Screenname: this is not defcon 9

I agree. SMH.

It's Just a Phase

Danity Kane and Wanye. Don't laugh.










Also, I know it's not brand new, but you need this:
The Dream "Falsetto"











And what I wish made it on As I Am:
Alicia Keys "Hurt So Bad"

Same Color as Cranberry Sauce

The idea of conformity popped into my head throughout the day yesterday, probably because I didn't participate in a traditional Thanksgiving celebration this year. Since I wasn't one of the millions of people across the country eating turkey and cranberry sauce, my distance from the holiday allowed me to dismantle it a bit.

I've noticed quite a few blogs and message boards this week that oppose Thanksgiving's alleged inaccurate, hypocritical message. I don't remember much of 6th grade global studies all that well (maybe because I knew it was bullshit?), so I had to admit ignorance on this topic at first. But after doing a little bit of online fact-checking, it seems as though Thanksgiving was more of a violent act of ethnic cleansing than the tolerant, multi-cultural celebration we've been taught. I definitely find it interesting that there are so many extreme versions of the story... but I wasn't there, so I really can't say what went down for sure. However, I can say that as 1984ish and robotic as it is for the whole country to eat the same meal on the same day because they were told to do so, these holidays can bring families together in a positive way. You can't always just see red.

Here's Another Hit...

Barry Bonds.

I said it then, and I'll say "I toldya so" now... he's a cheater! You can throw words like "alleged" around if you want, but in reality, the people in life who are the best at what they do will never be questioned on their legitimacy.

Real Recognize Real

I was listening to Lupe when he verbally explained the themes in his new album, but I think this thorough, written description sheds some necessary light on what The Cool will really be about. It's definitely worth reading... and makes you totally rethink the "Superstar" video. Or maybe I'm just a nerd who loves a good concept...


I swear... if people don't get it this time around, I'm losing faith in mankind.

The Best Rappers Alive

As a confessed Waynehead, I downloaded The Drought #4 mixtape last week:

Even though I've heard far too much Wayne this year, I wasn't upset to hear a just little bit more. Insert your stan comment if you wish (I know everyone complains that he's tired), but Wayne always brings something new to the table for me. Whether it's a different flow, a great delivery or just an overall ridiculous statement to LOL at, I always find his bafoonery refreshing. He even SINGS on "I Like It"... not just a hook either, but for the track's entirety. I read in The Fader that singing is something he wants to conquer, but not from the "talented vocal" standpoint... for him, it's more about having a "unique" vocal swagger. Getting on his Prince shit, so to speak (pg. 47). I therefore assume we'll be seeing more of this is the future.

I brought this up not because I think all the tracks on the mixtape are incredible, but because many stood out, having me think "I wouldn't be upset if this was on the new album." Can't be mad at that!

Speaking of The Carter III, it drops 12/18... the same day as The Cool, from my other hero... Lupe the Great. And by the way, I heard Lupe's album 2 weeks ago in the office and I was blown away.


Bottom line, these two dudes are MY "kept" dudes. Am I torn over 12/18? Yes and no. This whole thing is clearly meant to be.

LUPE spits that intellectual fire... relentlessly stubborn, "way above their heads" verbals that you can still smell hours after listening. WAYNE takes a more savage approach, plowing us over with ignorant rapper stereotypes woven into his rhymes. But don't underestimate him; his portrayed ignorance has nothing to do with his level of intelligence. I, for one, think Weezy's a crazy genius. LUPE, on the other hand, would never participate in such things... equally as brilliant, he'd rather educate and inspire his listeners by letting them decipher and decode the more progressive messages beneath his words.

On the surface, it appears as though they're coming from opposite sides of the hip hop spectrum... similarly to Kanye and 50's 9/11 battle, it could be said that "Hip Hop" (Lupe) is battling "Rap" (Wayne). But if you examine the fundamentals of both, they're strikingly similar: VERSATILE FLOWS, CREATIVE WORDPLAY/LYRICISM, UNIQUE DELIVERY... all aspects of what I consider to be a great MC. But to each their own, right?

Unfortunately, "Kanye" can't win this time... Wayne has the south on lock, and we haven't really broken Lupe yet, SMH. I just wish both of my boys get the numbers AND the critical acclaim that they respectively deserve.

Graphic Displays Melt the Steel Like Blacksmiths

Got this link last week from my cousin and from Jonny "the model":
My favorites are below:)... enjoy!

Mama Raised Her Up a Thug

Today was a good day.
Bozworth ran into Tyrese at 75 Rock and I (purposefully) ran into my favorite Dipset member at the gym. That's right, "dirty sexy" Jimmy Jones... hot and sweaty from a little boxing. *SIGH* Now... anyone who knows me will tell you that looking at handsome men is one of my favorite hobbies, so let's not confuse this post with an act of starfuckery.

Shout out to the muscle man on 24 for arranging this outing, and of course, for the pleasant company during our walk:)

Check out the mixtape... it's not disappointing. Dame is reckless (as usual), and the hooks are all pretty hot.

Brooklyn's Finest

Alright, alriiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

The new Hov album is pretty solid... I'm with the soulful beats, his lyricism, and most importantly, the flow that he has (thankfully) rediscovered.
American Gangster is the follow-up to Kingdom Come that was equally as necessary as The Black Album was to The Blueprint 2.
AND! Now Kanye finally has his pass to participate in Jay's next retirement concert... yelling in the background of Roc Boys! I can see him running around on stage already: "WE IN THE HOOOOOOOOUUUSE"

*UPDATE: Look, it's just like I said!

Favorite tracks are American Dreamin', Sweet, Fallin' and Say Hello. These are all, of course, subject to change. Also, I wasn't the biggest fan of the video for Blue Magic, but the Roc Boys video is fire. And Eskay's right... they went IN.

I read this article in the LA Times and found some of what Jay said to be pretty interesting:

None of the emotions are current emotions. I mean, success is, because that's the thing that I've dealt with, but none of the songs are currently how I feel now. . . . It's like writing a book, going back to all these things, these emotions that I thought were buried. Because as a person you grow and you add layers on who you become. So I never thought that I would get back to that place.

I guarentee that most of his critics will argue that this album is another display of arrogance. True... but considering the quote above, it's really just him revisiting his past, and back then, he was the asshole we all loved. Can he live?