I've been thinking about Def Poetry Jam over the last few days. So, I went searching for videos. Here's a few joints I wanted to share.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Colbert Nation
Colbert gets his! Check out the video below to find out what NASA did for Colbert. It truly shows the power of his viewers, the internet and word of mouth. Remember when he got his portrait in the National Portrait Gallery and then the American History Museum? He truly knows how to rally the people.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Space Module: Colbert - Sunita Williams | ||||
| ||||
Do Rappers Even Retire?
Could you imagine saying at 22-years-old you feel the need to retire from something? Well, Bow Wow has announced that he is stepping away from the rap game to pursue other interests. I respect what he's accomplished at a young age. You know, he's grown as an artist going from Lil Bow Wow to just Bow Wow. He did the "best of both worlds" collaboration with Omarion. Apparently there isn't anything else for him to do after enjoying so much success as an artist with seven studio albums. I think it might have been the moment he did that "Marco Polo" trash with Soulja Boy that he may have realized it was time to retire. However, we all know that rappers (insert Too Short and Jay-Z to name a few) or entertainers in general don't really retire so I don't even know why they bother to say it. Oh, that's right for publicity reasons of course. He'll be back. In the meantime I guess we should all rush out and buy his new album since it will be his last (riiiiight).
Okay, I Apologize
Jamie Foxx appeared on Jay Leno last night and offered Miley Cyrus an apology for remarks he made on his radio show. I just hate when celebrities apologize just because of public pressure. I know when you're wrong, you should apologize. I think people say what they mean you know and then they back down when the public comes after them. He should have said "I'm a comedian." Here is what he said on Jay Leno: “Miley, I apologize. I’ll call you. I so apologize to her. This is sincere because I am a comedian and you guys know that whatever I say, I don’t mean any of it. Sometimes, as comedians as we do, we go a little bit too far. I have a radio show … we’re really the black Howard Stern. We go at everybody. But, there was a situation with Miley Cyrus, and I just wanna say I apologize for what I said. I didn’t mean it maliciously. I’m a comedian.”
Duck Down Records Put In Work
Is it me or does it look like Duck Down Records has been putting in work for a minute now? Feels like how Def Jam was the label everyone wanted to be on for years, Duck Down is becoming once again. I've been noticing more and more the roster that Duck Down has been locking up and personally, I think it's a very impressive label and has a good mix of big names and lesser known artists that consists of Buckshot, Black Moon, Boot Camp Clik, Da Beatminerz, DJ Mister Nash, Heltah Skeltah, B-Real, Sean Price, Smif N Wessun, Ruste Juxx, Torae & Marco Polo, Kidz in the Hall, DJ Revolution, Special Teamz, KRS-One, 9th Wonder, O.G.C., Supreme, as well as affiliated artists Marco Polo, Guilty Simpson, Khrysis, and Black Milk.In my opinion, that's quality Hip Hop. Too much history, too many punchlines, too many praises, etc., to write here or post links of. And that's a great thing!
If you hate what the radio plays and calls music, then do what I do... buy music off the Duck Down label or its affiliates. There's enough there to make you forget that you own a radio even. Like I told my boy Q, only way to get the radio and record companies to play what you like, is to buy, play and listen to what you like. Don't settle and don't be a victim. Be a fan!
Now....back to my music. (Listening to the playlist off www.DuckDown.com's website.)
Check out some of their work...
Buckshot & 9th Wonder - Hold It Down ft. Talib Kweli
B-Real - Psycho Realm Revolution ft Sick Jacken
Heltah Skeltah - Everything Is Heltah Skeltah
DJ Revolution - Man Or Machine
Kidz In The Hall - I GOT IT MADE 09 (REEBOK CLASSIC)
Ruste Juxx - Duck Down
Special Teamz - One Call
Smif N Wessun - Stomp ft. Rock & Joell Ortiz
Sean Price - Boom Bye Yeah
For more info, visit:
www.DuckDown.com
Duck Down on Youtube
Check out Torae and Marco Polo
Check out Torae (rhyming) & Marco Polo (on the beats). They've got a joint project, "Double Barrel", dropping June 2, 2009. Marco Polo, the Canadian producer and Torae, the Brooklyn emcee, join forces to create what they call a "homage to the genre of rap that influenced the duo..." according to their MySpace page. Their ultimate goal is to ultimately further their art."More than superior rhymes and dynamic beats, Double Barrel is a testament to the ever-important creative relationship between rapper and beat maker," their MySpace page goes on to state. And you truly get a sense for that listening to some of their tracks. Check it out!
Inside Look at their Project (Click to View Video)
Bonus: Switch (Click to View Video)
For More Info Visit:
Yo, Yo, Hook Me Up
Thought this Lindsay Lohan eHarmony spoof was pretty funny. Great stuff. I guess you have to be willing to poke fun at yourself when times are hard. Who knows, she might just make one of those Robert Downey Jr. type comebacks.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Eh, Too Much?
On his Sirius Satellite Radio Show, The Foxxhole (click to hear), Sunday, Jamie Foxx, 41, lashed out at the 16-year-old Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus. Foxx is getting a lot of heat, mostly from Cyrus fans and parents (see some comments below). Remember that Foxx is a comedian and sure some of the comments were harsh, but sometimes comedy is what it is. One thing I don't want to see is Foxx come out with one of those hasty apologies. I hate when celebrities apologize for things just because of public opinion. How do you feel?"Jamie Foxx is a dumbass. Miley Cyrus has done more in 3 years than he has in his lifetime."
"Celebrities need to remember that it is the fans that got them where they are in their careers. Jamie, your shrewed comments about Miley Cyrus will not be taken lightly. When you loose your fans, you will loose big! Saying these things to a child (a very popular child with lots of fans) will not be forgotten. Bad move on your part, shame on you."
"WAS I NOT THE ONLY ONE READING THIS.... FIRST OFF BIG UPS TO JAMIE FOXX.. I HONESTLY THINK IT NEEDED TO BE SAID ABOUT HER ITS ALRIGHT FOR HER TO TALK **** AND PUT RADIIOHEAD DOWN AND TRY TO RUIN A CAREER BUT ITS NOT FAIR TO FIRE BACK AT HER SHE WANNA GET IN GROWN PEOPLE CONVERSATIONS LET HER BUT SHE HAS TO REALIZE WHAT SHE'S GETTING HERSELF INTO...."
"Damn why is Jamie being so mean to a little girl? Somebody is jealous...he is still trying to get his music career off the ground..stop hating on Miley."
TELL 'EM WHY YOU MAD: A Useless Item
First of all, I hate Bluetooth earpieces. Well, let me clarify, I hate them when both your hands are free and you aren’t driving a car. Basically, I hate them when they aren’t used for their intended purpose. Well, intended purpose as I see it I suppose. I once sat next to a woman on the bus who talked on the phone via her Bluetooth earpiece like she didn’t have both hands perfectly free. I hate when people do that. I don’t know why, I just do. I hate when folks walk through the mall or sit at home on their couch chatting it up on their Bluetooth earpiece. A hands free device is intended for when your hands need to be free and not when they actually are free and you’re just being lazy.
Well, even more ridiculous than using a Bluetooth earpiece when you don’t need to, is this “Loud ‘n Clear” device. I know you’ve seen the infomercials with the device that looks like a Bluetooth earpiece but essentially what it is is a low-grade hearing aid. The infomercial calls it a "sound amplifier". The Loud 'n Clear makes you wonder what you've been doing all of these years without it. You get to eavesdrop on people and you’ll never miss another word at a lecture, in church or on television. The device just looks stupid and doesn’t make much sense. I also love how the commercial reaches out to a younger audience with one of the commercials having a woman walking down the beach and two other women saying “oh, she looks so good.” Oh, I got to get one of those now for sure!
So, what happens if you have a Bluetooth earpiece for your phone and the Loud ‘n Clear? Do you wear both? What’s the protocol?
I need to invent something silly that people feel they desperately need yet is totally useless but if I sell two for $19.95, it will surely be a winner. Perhaps a blanket with sleeves. Oh, damn, someone has already done that.
Well, even more ridiculous than using a Bluetooth earpiece when you don’t need to, is this “Loud ‘n Clear” device. I know you’ve seen the infomercials with the device that looks like a Bluetooth earpiece but essentially what it is is a low-grade hearing aid. The infomercial calls it a "sound amplifier". The Loud 'n Clear makes you wonder what you've been doing all of these years without it. You get to eavesdrop on people and you’ll never miss another word at a lecture, in church or on television. The device just looks stupid and doesn’t make much sense. I also love how the commercial reaches out to a younger audience with one of the commercials having a woman walking down the beach and two other women saying “oh, she looks so good.” Oh, I got to get one of those now for sure!
So, what happens if you have a Bluetooth earpiece for your phone and the Loud ‘n Clear? Do you wear both? What’s the protocol?
I need to invent something silly that people feel they desperately need yet is totally useless but if I sell two for $19.95, it will surely be a winner. Perhaps a blanket with sleeves. Oh, damn, someone has already done that.
Join the Movement
Join The Mad Bloggers on Facebook! We're not the only one joining the popular social network site. Apparently Facebook is fast growing among woman 55 and older. Click to check out the story.
THE BRIEFING: Be Like Mike
Came across these two random taxes and thought I would share. Both the "jock tax" and "crack tax" are very comical. Well, perhaps the crack tax is a bit funnier.From CNN.com
The jock tax...
You can thank Michael Jordan for this one. After Jordan's Chicago Bulls put the hurt on the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA finals, the state of California began to enforce a nonresident income tax on visiting performers, especially athletes.
Basically, the tax applies to any income earned while competing or performing in California, and it allowed California's Franchise Tax Board to reach into the pockets of Jordan, Pippen, et. al. to extract some revenge for the hard-court beatdown.
Not to be outdone, Illinois, and eventually 18 other states, instituted a jock tax, making a patchwork quilt of tax laws that basketball, baseball, and other sports figures have to consider. Thanks to these regulations, it's more difficult to file a professional athlete's tax return than to map the human genome on a Commodore 64.
The crack tax...
In 1983, Arizona became the first state to implement a "Cannabis & Controlled Substances Tax" in order to boost state revenues and further punish those found guilty of possession.
It works like this: if you are in possession of an illegal drug or illegally produced liquor (aka moonshine), you need to go down to the state tax collection agency and pay the tax on your illegal substances. You are then given tax stamps to affix on your illegal goods.
Sounds insane, right?
Well, part of the code now on the books in more than 30 states says that the tax collection agency is not allowed to rat you out to the local law enforcement agency.
This should put every drug dealer's mind at ease, yet so few of them pay their required taxes. The truth is, many of these taxes are levied in arrears after the local constabulary has caught the criminal dealer. It's really an additional fine for dealing that gets paid straight to the state coffers.
And what of those few people that pay the tax? Records show that the vast majority of them are stamp collectors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)