Your Freedom's In A Bind

Last Wednesday, at subterranean club Love, yours truly had the privilege of seeing KiD CuDi do his thing for the third time in as many months.

He always has infectious energy...

Look at Vashtie, super-duper proud with the camera:

Underneath the hat is Hollywood Holt, the dude who CuDi opened for...

Note sure why that was :/

Recently signed to G.O.O.D. Music,

We might be witnessing a star in-the-making.

Performing "Super Boo," a song from his forthcoming album, Man On The Moon:

Boz, he can be your super boo?

And just like I was certain Janelle Monae was special, I might have to put the same stamp of approval on CuDi. Although they're very different artists, both present us with a unique swag that smells somewhat honest: CuDi doesn't mind sharing his insecurities with his listeners, and Janelle Monae's content (although a bit wacky, IE: robots), boasts powerful underlying messages. Neither of them care if you think they're a weirdo.

 How fitting... 

Her video for "Many Moons" in a post alongside the Man On The Moon:

Out of curiosity: 

Who showed you a screenshot of the video back in June?!?!

Forget My Money, I'm Comin' For All Your Ki's

State Property reunited to perform at SOBs last week. 

Beans...
Free...
Young Chris (oww)...
Omillio Sparks...
Peedi Crakk!

A family, together on stage. Cue Peaches & Herb.

Steele from Smif-n-Wessun appreciated the reunion...
... and the reunion appreciated him back!
Manlove.

Speaking of which, thanks to Jenn for coming with me to a show that had a male/female ratio of 47/1 (including Charlie B-More lurking in the shadows) -yikes!

I know it's off a Jay record, but one of my favorite moments during the evening was when Free did his verse from "1-900-Hustler." 

I remember where I was when I first heard that verse, and at the time, it temporarily set my world on fire. Seeing him perform it right in front of my face automatically clicked something ON in my brain, sending me back in time to remember that specific period in high school.

Walk with me. Watch the clip below...

And with a solid bill, the AllHipHop.com show spared no expense for opening acts...

Skyzoo was one of many artists to open up for State Property.

E.rick and P.arrish M.akin' D.ollars also performed...

(E.P.M.D.)

 and Keith Murray made an appearance:

...he looked happy to be home.

  Ya Boy, Jeru The Damaja, Stimuli, Nicki Minaj, Alchemist, Craig G., Nina B., and Guru were also at the event.

Beanie's smiling. Thanks to Manny for the photo-opp.

Out Of My Reach, But Always In My Eye Line

Saw this earlier in the week... EPSN is letting Lil' Wayne blog.

Look at that, another celebrity blogger... 

Is this a pattern? Is blogging culturally relevant? LOL.

You can read his first entry HERE, via NahRight. 

Keane's song "Spiraling" was already on repeat in my office, but the video really does it justice considering the lyrics are so sick:

It uses that glowing light animation technique during the chorus, and strangely, I took a photo this week at SOBs, and was completely mesmerized by it BEFORE I even saw the video:

Weird, right? Keane's album, Perfect Symmetry, is out 10/14.

Jazmine Sullivan's album was released on Tuesday, and although I really like it, I think I need to spend a bit more time with it before completely co-signing every track. In the meantime, Boz sent me a song called "Best Of Me" that didn't make the album, but should have! 

Ladies, you need this fire in your life! Listen HERE.

Also from Boz, it looks like Trey Songz has something to tell us... Going hard at his label in "Misunderstood," he narrates his story of the past 4-5 years, citing the success of both Ne-Yo and Chris Brown, pointing out that they used to open for him at shows, before people knew who they were. Shoot, I'd be mad too!

Listen to his well-executed rant HERE.

And speaking of Ne-Yo, his song with New Kids On The Block is so catchy, I want to throw myself out a window. Listen to it HERE, and check out my homie Jacquelina, hangin' tough with the boys this week:

I Hear Him Kickin' Up Dirt On My Name...

Uptown on Saturday, Jim Jones apparently beat the crap out of his ex-bff, Max Bigavel. Jim tried to snatch Max out of his car, and in turn, Max crashed it while attempting to escape. Jim finally got his hands on Max through the car, put him in a headlock, and was punching him from outside the vehicle. Many of you have probably seen the WSHH footage of Max talking about the incident, but to those close to the situation, what he's saying is completely untrue.

In retaliation of Saturday's scuffle, a very good source informed me that Max and approximately 30 goons surrounded the studio where Jim was recording last night. Extra security was called-in, arguments erupted, and guns were drawn. Although no one was harmed, it's evident that this unfortunate feud won't end any time soon.

Even though their music might lack some more classy hip hop elements that I traditionally adhere to, they both create wavy tunes for us all to enjoy, and I truly hope that this mess will clear up ASAP. Dont you? *sigh* Thinking about what might happen to one of these guys makes me very, very sad... I don't want to see any cleaning up "like detergent on a stain." :(

Jim Jones "Love Me No More"

I React Every Time We Make Contact

Boz was the first person to introduce me to Santogold, so of course we had to go see her at Irving Plaza last night. We're genuine fans.

Santi has quite a few other fans as well...

Hova was in the building, and that's just the beginning.

As I'm struggling to try to photograph Santi from far, a lovely group of boys offer me a better view to shoot from. One of them then tips me off that he's there with his friend (and '90s icon!) Deee-Lite, and asked if I'd photograph them...

...It would be my pleasure. 

Still hot, she's definitely a little bit timeless, no? 

You remember "Groove Is In The Heart":

Almost 20-years later, you still hear that song out! How often does that happen? 

But I wasn't a fan of hers from that. There's another, less pop-centric song I fell in love with in high school that's even better...

LISTEN TO: 

> "Stay In Bed, Forget The Rest" <

 "Always ready when you hold me steady..."

Deee-Lite was OD friendly, so when I told her "Stay In Bed, Forget The Rest" was one of my favorite booty songs ever, she blessed me with a description of her mindset during the time she wrote it. Apparently, she had discovered a lustful attitude that shook her to her most basic biological desires- and decided to run with it. Word up, lady- that's one of the most steamy songs I know! I took in the moment, saluted/thanked her, and continued snapping away at Santi.

No stranger to the NY music scene, Danny Masterson was in the audience when we first walked in. Afterwards, as the venue cleared out, I saw him again- this time with another guy who looked strangely familiar. It was Kenna - just there to check out Santogold perform. No big deal, he's just a fan. After exchanging a few words and some silliness, Boz went to take our picture. Like the great blog-wingman that she is, she declined Danny's offering her to get in the shot with us... and since he had already grabbed the camera, she sat back and let him take the photo instead. 

Make Sure They See My Face. 

Photo credit: Danny Masterson. And we're both in red plaid?! I could DIE. 

Kenna's an artist whose work I genuinely admire, so I felt obligated to tell him that. And ironically, artist appreciation had leveled us all for a moment: Here I am, a fan of his- and there we all were, fans of hers :) All just here for the music. Random nights like this make me feel grateful to live in NY... this stuff doesn't happen in Wisconsin, you know? And to think the whole evening started off with me bumping into someone else whose work I admire, and whose advice I'm finally taking... 

You Can See The Weakness Of A Man Right Through His Iris

Five shows in the past week. FIVE! I'm not even ambitious, I just couldn't bring myself to skip any of them! For instance...

Last Friday was Gza at Irving Plaza.

Performing "Labels," lol. Watch to the end, and you'll see how serious Wu fans are.

Speaking of being a fan, I bought my tickets for this show, and when I saw Rza come out to spit his "4th Chamber" verse, it seemed like the best purchase of my life. I loved him before, but he's got arms now?!:

A decade later, they sell out shows and keep crowds more amped than most current artists.

Wednesday was Jazmine Sullivan at Knitting Factory for her first NYC showcase.

She performed 5 songs, 4 of which I got on video.... You can watch them HERE until I upload the audio to a playlist. Notice how much better she sounds in the balled? Album out on RCA next week, 9/23.

Thursday was Bloc Party at Roseland Ballroom.

Performing "Song For Clay" (off A Weekend In The City) and "Banquet" (off Silent Alarm):

They transition so well! My cousin and I had a great time overall, and running into tons of old friends made it even sweeter.

Santogold is tonight, so stay tuned...

Pray For My Little Toy Gun

Kiefer Sutherland's label Ironworks shares a group called HoneyHoney with Universal Republic. Their video for "Little Toy Gun" is not only entertaining, but the song itself is fun and deserves some shine. The video isn't posted anywhere yet, but you can listen to the song HERE.

Also on Ironworks, pop-rockish band Lifehouse returns with a solid video. "Broken" is a powerful song on it's own, but the intensity of the visual (directed by Kiefer!) only enhances that strength. This might be the video that takes them from their previous "Hanging On A Moment"/"You And Me" radio-hit fame, and catapults them to a new level of legitimacy...

Snow Patrol's new album A Hundred Million Suns is out on 10/27. Their single, "Take Back The City" grows on me more with each listen, but admittedly, there's a song called "The Golden Floor" that I heard off the new album, and OMG, I can't wait to have it leak so that I can post it!

My tolerance for oddities is pretty brolic, but Sia's aesthetics are a bit strange- even for my tastes. Still, her video for "Soon We'll Be Found" is uber-creative, and it's honestly unfortunate that more people don't know about her. Her voice is unique, and the song will prove that:

Anytime I see a violin, I'm sold! The Airborne Toxic Event came in to perform, and their single "Sometime Around Midnight" is the perfect example of a "builder" song... steadily building for 2-3 minutes, and then sonically exploding toward the end. Even though Pitchfork destroyed them, Zilla thinks you should please listen/watch...

"You know that she'll break you in two."

Friendly Fires are an incredible new find, and I think their coolness will speak for itself. They're opening for Lykke Li in October, and my ass already has a ticket! Watch "Jump In The Pool" below:

And lastly, the immensely talented 

Justin Nozuka 

performed on Kimmel last week.

It's obvious to me that he was nervous in the clip, but I've seen him live and he doesn't hold back vocally. Can't wait for his show on Monday :)

I Like To Watch Everybody Gravitate Towards You

They don't have the embed code up,

but The Ting Tings have a new video for a non-US single,

and one of my favorite tracks on their album We Started Nothing...

You can watch "Be The One" HERE.

Bloc Party have a new video as well... for "Talons":

I like the original audio better.

"Sex On Fire" had me going all last

week, but now Kings of Leon

have brought it again with another track off their LP Only By The Night,

out 9/23.

Listen to the magic HERE.

Q-Tip's "Gettin' Up" video isn't amaaaazing, but he looks real fly in it.

Then again, who doesn't look great in a squirrel hat!?! Good stylist.

Both the Bloc Party and Kings Of Leon tracks were found on PMA, and Luis over there has been comparing the music from Gossip Girl and 90210 since they started 2 weeks ago. I don't watch either show (not my demo), but, um, I had to point something out...

Not to be a jerk, but I think I called this one:

Gettin' Out My Dreams...

Terrence Howard, 

now a singer-songwriter, performed at Joe's Pub last Thursday...

Here he is, first telling the story behind the song, and then singing 

"Love Makes You Beautiful":

I was lucky enough to have great company for the show, and frankly, Terry's not bad. He sold Milly, and that's hard to do!

But last night was another kind of evening...

 Big Sean, KiD CuDi, and Consequence were on the bill, and 88 Keys, Termanology, and Mickey Factz all stopped by The Knitting Factory. I had never seen Mickey perform, and I have to admit, he goes innnn.

Here's CuDi performing "Is There Any Love"...

I wasn't going to record anything until I got a better camera, but I thought Wale was going to surface here and do his verse. No such luck :( In any event, the visual might not be the best, but the audio never does me wrong... you can really hear him (at the end) singing! The dude is trying to transition from rapper to rapper/vocalist- and Zilla thinks he might win.

After I left, Kanye and Q-Tip came out, and things got crazy in the itty-bitty Knitting Factory. It was clearly a good night for G.O.O.D. Music.

(Kanye footage from Subconscious Threads)

The Youth Is Starting To Change...

The following ladies (save Melissa, Sheryl, LeAnn, but add Nicole Scherzinger)

performed together Friday night for the Stand Up To Cancer television special...

Natasha Bedingfield, Leona Lewis and Carrie Underwood
stood out, and Miley Cyrus made a fool of herself:

I love that they just put them all in t-shirts and they still look beautiful. I mean...
Women don't need to get dolled up all the time, do they?

My mom sent me the Current TV clip below, and wrote only "hmmmm" in the body of email. WATCH IT: a cute girl performs a social experiment, testing what she can get for free from men- first dressing plainly, and then dressing more sexxed-up. What happens doesn't surprise me, but it does make me shake my head...

Men respond. And if you want to get an even closer look at the minds of young men, Newsweek had an article on what some might call Peter Pan Syndrome; the refusal and inability to transition from adolescence to adulthood:

"Once the preserve of whacked-out teens and college slackers, this testosterone-filled landscape is the new normal for American males until what used to be considered creeping middle age, according to the sociologist Michael Kimmel. In his new book, "Guyland," the State University of New York at Stony Brook professor notes that the traditional markers of manhood—leaving home, getting an education, finding a partner, starting work and becoming a father—have moved downfield as the passage from adolescence to adulthood has evolved from "a transitional moment to a whole new stage of life." In 1960, almost 70 percent of men had reached these milestones by the age of 30. Today, less than a third of males that age can say the same."

"Beyond the practical dangers, the world of twentysomething males can also be an alienating place, where the entrance fee is conformity and the ride is less than advertised. At a waterfront bar on Fire Island, there is gleeful solidarity as the guys chink glasses and catcall en masse to passing women (who resist). But on their own and without their liquid courage, there is also isolation and discontent."

I recommend reading the whole article HERE. It brought up a lot of solid points, and serves as commentary on my generation's crop of (could-be, would-be) men. But by no means am I pointing the finger at the entire male species here- in fact, I think the author of this article might have written it just to better justify his own recent marriage. And admittedly, it's not just guys who are guilty of dragging their feet to adulthood! To my fellow Peter Pan brothers (and sisters!), what do you think it will take to get us to finally grow up? Is it love?

I don't want to think about this anymore. I'll just go buy shit instead...

Sign language necklaces via NotCot, but the designer is Lorena Barrezueta

The watch-bangles of hers are fun, too...
tick-tock, tick-tock.

Similarly, these rings from Yuko Fukuhara pretend to be something they're not:

Consumer distraction jokes aside, I really did like how the Newsweek article discussed the changing evolution of youth culture. Wishing for pixie dust to help whisk you off to Neverland might work for now, but the long-term results may not be worth it. Just ask MGMT, for example...