What I'm Listening to Right Now ... "Rather Be With You"

Listen closely, because Rather Be With You is one of my joints. Check out the Wale track featuring J Cole & Currensy, produced by 9th Wonder off that Back to the Feature mixtape. Enjoy!

Maxwell ... Grown Up Music

Maxwell's new album BLACKsummers' night is a problem! From beginning to end, the neo-soul artist proves he hasn't lost a step since his last studio album. In an industry saturated by the unoriginal, Maxwell steps forward to provide some grown-up music! Hope they are asking folks for id when they purchase this album, because this isn't for the ringtone music generation (even though it would provide one hell of an educational lesson).

I personally grabbed the album immediately on Tuesday from iTunes and haven't stopped playing it since. This is the definition of baby making music. I'm not sure what his first week numbers will look like in terms of sales but I'm sure conception rate via his album will be through the roof and a lot of babies will be born nine months from now (all with Maxwell as their middle name). If you don't have it, get it.

The only drawback is that the album is just nine tracks long. I guess Maxwell is a drug dealer and is just giving us a taste. When the next two cds drop, we'll know exactly where to go for a follow up hit. Maxwell definitely sets us up for his follow ups.

What I'm Watching...KRS-One & Buckshot: Robot

KRS-One & Buckshot finally did a video to the fire track titled "Robot". I'm sure you have heard about it. And if not, this video should refresh your memory. Take another listen to the lyrics. Hip Hop music needs a mainstream revamping. Check it out...




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"Gone too Soon" Goodbye Michael ...

The media is relentless. I don't know what they were expecting today with Michael Jackson's memorial service but they seemed surprised at how well organized and classy the event was. The service was moving and memorable.

And as I watch clips over and over throughout the night from places around the world paying tribute to the man who will always be known as the King of Pop (or the greatest entertainer of all time) I am moved. As a father, the words spoken by his daughter Paris touched my heart. And even as much as I am against Al Sharpton on many issues, his words were for the most part inspiring and truly heartfelt (weirdly enough it was the first time I ever felt like Al was a reverend because he brought us to church). From beginning to end it was a very respectable and classy service, that spoke to the man as an artist and the man as a friend and a human being.

In a way I felt like the memorial allowed MJ to reclaim a bit of what the media and others tried to chip away from him over the years, with accusations, rumors and lies. "Maybe now Michael, they will leave u alone..." his brother spoke from the stage. Sadly though, I doubt it will happen as the exclusive hungry media continues to examine the details of his untimely death and follow what will happen to his children in the coming weeks, months and probably even years. They're vultures. But I still think MJ was honored in a way that they will never be able to take away. He was honored as a King.

A friend sent this video link over to me. I'm not sure if it's legit or not but I thought that it was well put together and allegedly could have been a part of the BET Awards show (what a travesty that event was in it's entirety and clips). I don't normally post things I can't confirm (because we aren't TMZ) but again I thought that it was a pretty dope video.

So whether legit or not, we post this video as a respectful tribute to MJ.

I still can't believe the man is gone. Michael was simply an amazing artist and person and his music was a cornerstone growing up. As if he could hear me, I yell out "I LOVE YOU MICHAEL"

"In Our Darkest Hour

In My Deepest Despair

Will You Still Care?

Will You Be There?

In My Trials

And My Tribulations

Through Our Doubts

And Frustrations

In My Violence

In My Turbulence

Through My Fear

And My Confessions

In My Anguish And My Pain

Through My Joy And My Sorrow

In The Promise Of Another Tomorrow

I'll Never Let You Part

For You're Always In My Heart."

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Tha Lady Blogga Asks...Where's Hip Hop?

Given the recent events in the music industry, we can't help but realize that the hip-hop culture is on a rapid downward spiral. We lost the King of Pop, Vibe magazine folded, XXL featured a cover full of shiny suit rappers. What the hell is going on with hip-hop? It needs to be revived and quickly. We have been bombarded with parties and bullshit, bling and swag, titties and asses (thanks, Drake), but no talent. Where did it all go?

Pandora Internet radio has become a necessity in my Blackberry. While mainstream radio caters to the artists that pay the most for spins per day, Pandora gives you a mix of stuff you want to hear. I can't stand listening to mainstream radio anymore. Every hour, the line-up is the same...and it's a shitty line-up at that.

So, here I am jammin' to my Pandora "Nas" station, listening to Nas, Jay-Z, Tupac and then it plays Ma$e? WTF is this? Ma$e? Where did this come from? How does he fit in here? He doesn't and that's the problem. I can't deal with the shiny suit rapper. I can't do it. So then I got to thinking, where did hip-hop go wrong? When did we lose it to talentless gimmick promoters with expensive cars? First I thought it was Puffy and his shiny suit movement. But then what about Hammer? And who the hell gave Vanilla Ice a record deal?

The new age of rappers is coming equipped with everything but talent. I mean, it's one thing to have a sales pitch or a certain image but you have to have talent to back it up. I am not even knocking the use of auto-tune. I was rocking to "Computer Love" and it was all good. If artists were saying something worth listening to, it wouldn't matter if it was auto-tuned or not. Having to listen to the likes of Soulja Boy, Hurricane Chris, New Boyz and other talentless "Hip-Hop" acts makes it difficult for the real Hip-Hop acts to shine through. In my opinion, their music isn't considered "Hip-Hop", it's just noise. Soulja Boy will never live down the fact that he lyrically compared himself to Nas! Nas is a rapper, Soulja Boy is not. So for him to compare himself to a lyricist such as Nas, he deserves to be smacked.

Not for nothing, I think Drake is lyrically inclined and has potential to be something special, but he is allowing himself to be pushed in that bullshit artist direction and that isn't a good move. He is going to lose a lot of fans because of that. He really needs to think about staying true to himself and his talent and not following behind the likes of Kanye West. Honestly I think Kanye just wanted to kill his competition a little bit so he created that video to put Drake on hold for a second. Drake created a buzz without tits, ass and jewels. He can continue to make moves sans that crap in his act.

We have always had underground rappers. The underground movement in the Hip-Hop culture was real serious at one time but now all the real Hip-Hop artists are being pushed into that category. We need to start moving in a direction to bring back Hip-Hop as we knew it. Supporting bullshit music is a problem. We have to start supporting real music and stop helping these "lucky" mediocre artists who knew the right people get ahead. We have new rappers emerging with ridiculous talent and they deserve to be heard on a mainstream level. How awesome would it be to turn on the radio and hear tracks from Diamond District, or Tanya Morgan, some Marco Polo & Torae, or how about "Queens' Anthem"? That would be a revitalizing breath of fresh air. I wouldn't have to cringe every time I turned on the radio or kill my Blackberry battery listening to my Pandora Internet radio.

We need to bring it back and it's going to take a lot of work, but...it can be done.

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"You don't become international by staying local ..." Interview w/Melanie Fiona (via DJ Hyphen)

via DJ Hyphen ...
The lovely Melanie Fiona dropped by Sunday Night Sound Session on KUBE 93 in Seattle to talk with DJ Hyphen on 4-4-09. They discussed her Canadian/West Indian background, crossing over to America's music industry by signing with Steve Rifkind's SRC label, touring with Kanye West, why the songs on her upcoming "The Bridge" album are universal to us all, and much more.

Melanie Fiona on KUBE 93's Sound Session from DJ Hyphen on Vimeo.

Check out more Melanie Fiona
www.myspace.com/melaniefiona

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Road to Release Day: Eternia & MoSS: "AT LAST" Episode 5

In Episode #5, Eternia addresses the growing requests for music in "Where's the Leak?" & reveals how Marco Polo & Torae are directly linked to the creation of her album with MoSS, "AT LAST". Torae & Eternia reminisce about the only time they performed their collab track together (“Nowhere No More” produced by 9th Wonder, from “Where I’m At – The Setup”). Marco & DJ JS1 speak on why timeless music is worth the wait and surprise throwback footage from 2002 is thrown in the mix

Over the next 6 months, eternia will release steady video and audio leaks leading up to the release of eternia & MoSS's debut album, "AT LAST". Follow them as they shop for a record deal, promote the album, and countdown to the release date ... stay tuned!




BONUS Flashback Audio: Eternia Ft. Torae & Ms. Davis - Nowhere No More (Prod. By 9th Wonder)



Check Episode One
Check Episode Two
Check Episode Three
Check Episode Four


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Mariah Carey Dressed as Eminem?

I'm sure you already heard this track from Mariah Carey produced by The Dream (who I can care less about) and Tricky Stewart called "Obessed". I heard it but a couple times. This track too is something I can care less about. The only reason I'm posting this is because I found pictures of what she's going to look like in the video. Now I'm really curious to see it. Her Obsessed photo is sexy as all hell but her dressed up as Eminem just looks like it's gonna be hilarious. Hahaha. Check out the song and the pics. Tell us what you think about it?












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What I'm Listening To...Lost Boyz - Beasts From The East ft. A+, Redman & Canibus

I can't believe I almost forgot about this song. So dope. I had to play it at least 4 times in a row. Took me back to when I heard A+. Also to when Canibus was a freakin' beast. Damn Wyclef, why? Haha. One of my all time favorite Redman always goes in so I wasn't worried about that. But damn, this track is serious. Check it out. Reminisce.




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Check It ... Magestik Legend

I've been following Magestik Legend for a little bit now. Dude is pretty dope. He recently sent over a newer track, Say Hey, featuring Genevieve and produced by Snowman Jack from the Exchange Bureau Music Compilation, Assorted Good vol 1. It's dope. Check it.

Check It ... blctxt

Check out blctxt, an emcee out of Atlanta. Dude is pretty dope. He hit me up on the email and I felt the need to share. Check it.

Drop Tears


The Special


www.myspace.com/blctxt

What I'm Listening to Right Now ... "I Heard You Had a Voice Like an Angel"

"...Fools wanna make stars, instead of music that's smart and special, because art at a level that's real can be harder to peddle ..."

Stop saying quality music doesn't exist when there are artist like the Canadian emcee Shad out there. There are so many others out there like him too. Radio will never give you this type of quality. You have to look elsewhere. I grabbed his The Old Prince cd on Tuesday, a re-release for the U.S.. I suggest you do the same!




Check out more from Shad:
The Old Prince Comes to the US
Shad "Rock to It"
The Old Prince Hits the States
What I'm Watching Right Now ... Shad
A Second Listen ... Shad

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