Is the homie Drake's stock falling? Is he the AIG of the music industry right now? It seems like in the last few months after riding quite the buzz, the dude is mismanaging some of his steps (literally). He had that shady moment at the BET awards with the underage girls on stage and his Best I Ever Had video was a major fail in many eyes. Now he's laid up again? Dude isn't even doing hard dance steps. What's really good?
What's your thoughts on Drake right now, compared to a few months ago.
Rock the Bells has been a part of my vocabulary for years. So when my hubby surprised me with near front row seats for my birthday, I was ecstatic!!! Being at Rock the Bells is like being at Hip-Hop school and all the wack acts (Souljah Boy, Hurricane Chris, etc. etc.) need to come and sit in the audience with a pen and notepad to take notes.
First and foremost, I want to address the fact that there were no ladies on the bill this year. Until the tour came to NYC and had a contest about winning an opening performance spot hosted by Ed Lover. Many were called but the chosen was one and SHE (yes I said she) did the damn thing. The winner of the contest was a female DJ/rapper by the name of Jasmine Solano (@jasminesolano).
She has been on the scene for a while now and can be found spinning for various spots in NYC, including the popular Monday night “Electric Punanny” party at Sway. When she’s not manning the turntables, she’s on the mic, performing “That’s Not It” or “Coco Puff”. My personal favorite is “That’s Not It”. Wearing some cool ass leopard black tights, she worked the stage at Rock the Bells and made her presence known. My only gripe is that the crowd wasn’t as big as it should’ve been for her. She was the only chick on the bill. That deserves kudos in itself.
The line-up this year was impressive. I am not going to get into all that but… I was thoroughly impressed with the Wu-Tang performance. It was only supposed to be RZA, GZA and Ghostface Killah. We were pleasantly surprised when the other members of the Wu stepped out and blessed the stage, right down to my man Meth!!! Yes, Method Man blessed the stage, ran through the audience and the whole bit. Needless to say, my love for the Wu was rekindled and I cannot wait to see what they bring next. In memory of Old Dirty, they reincarnated his performance in his eldest son who had the look, knew the lyrics and had the spirit of his father (may he R.I.P.). That was definitely a good look for the Clan!
In the wake of all this wack ass music I am forced to listen to on the radio, Rock the Bells and the BHF (Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival) have helped me get through it. There are still more performances to be seen and I wish I could hit them all up. I urge you to support REAL hip-hop and all that these artists bring to the table…
Watch the music video for Skyzoo's "THE BEAUTIFUL DECAY" off his upcoming album THE SALVATION, in stores September 29th on Jamla/Duck Down Records. Directed by Artemus Jenkins. Song produced by 9th Wonder.
"QUILOMBO!" Eternia & MoSS - Road to Release: Ep#7 ft. BOCAFLOJA & the People of Mexico!!
Eternia travels to Mexico City to perform with Mexico's well renowned veteran MC, Bocafloja. Fans line-up around the corner by 2pm and the sold out show literally SHUTS THE CITY DOWN when there's a power outage for 2 hours. E is joined by Gabriel Teodros (Seattle) and Para La Gente (The Bay) in this unforgettable experience of a lifetime. "Quilombo! Mocambo!"
"Come See Me!" Eternia & MoSS - Road to Release: Ep#8 ft. Agallah & Big Zoo!
Eternia will be Live on Stage Friday July 31st at DROM in NYC! In Episode #8, E visits Canada, Mexico, U.S.A., & Australia in a trip down stage-show memory lane. E invites the world to "Come See Me" and presents her compelling invitation with co-signs from Agallah, Big Zoo (EODUB) and more!
Mick Boogie, Terry Urban, Christopher Truth & illRoots.com present, a classic genre bending mixtape. New comer, OnCue takes Red Hot Chili Peppers records ranging near 2 decades of great records and reinvents the songs with a hip-hop state of mind.
I've followed the homie OnCue for a minute now and dude is a dope emcee. Check out this amazing dope mashup!
Someone sent me the link to this story from the Orlando Sentinel. It's brilliant. Check the piece from Shannon J. Owens
Never did I envision writing these words in a sports section, but the inexplicably odd behavior by NBA free-agent Stephon Marbury has forced my hand.
Do not eat Vaseline.
Seriously, crude oil byproducts are not for consumption.
Marbury, who has a birth certificate claiming his 32 years of age, recently shot a 24-hour live stream of what we assume is a typical day during the offseason last week.
His most notable events? That would be dipping a finger in a jar of Vaseline, which he swallowed to soothe a sore throat, and a near six-minute crying session to a Kirk Franklin song.
I'm not saying Marbury is crazy. Just crazyish.
Maybe he was looking for a Vaseline endorsement because he repeatedly yelled "CTC" (cut the check). Maybe he thought an entertainment agent would see his tremendous acting abilities.
What I do know is that this is another classic case of TMI.
That's right. Terrible Media Instincts.
Granted, our world is becoming increasing small and intimate with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and that oldie but goody, reality television.
For some professional athletes, today's media landscape is an ideal playground. They can self-promote, market and directly communicate messages to their fan bases like never before.
For others, it's like putting a tub of ice cream in front of a 4-year-old. They don't know when to stop.
Remember Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett and his YouTube bit about the "Black Olympics"? Several black writers blasted him for his fried chicken and watermelon-eating contests.
Terrell Owens is continuing his quest for stardom through his VH1 reality show. One episode showed him shopping for overpriced Bentleys and mansions.
It's probably not the best way to win new fans if you're casually looking to spend the sum of their life earnings 10 times over.
But reality viewing isn't always bad. Shows that entertain and educate can be intriguing.
That's why Top Chef, Project Runway and The Amazing Race are network hits.
And a few pro athletes have reality shows actually showcasing a real talent.
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones travels around the world testing his skills in various lesser known sports on his show Dhani Tackles the Globe on the Travel Channel.
Shaquille O'Neal is premiering his own reality show, Shaq vs., Aug. 18 on ABC.
Instead of spending another year bored training in a gym, he wanted to sharpen his skills competing against other elite athletes like Ben Roethlisberger, Oscar De La Hoya and Serena Williams.
"You also have to know the rules," O'Neal said. "If you put something out there, it's going to be out there forever."
Granted, he's been in hot water a time or two or 10 for controversial YouTube comments.
None of those, however, involves eating a swab of Vaseline.
"Marbury eating Vaseline got a lot of hits. I don't know if it's positive, but I know he got a lot of looks," O'Neal laughed. "I don't know what he was trying to accomplish there."
Try relevance.
The life span of a professional athlete's career isn't very long unless that athlete is named Brett Favre or Dara Torres.
If they're smart, athletes will look beyond the 15 seconds of fame and fortune and make plans for the next life transition.
"You can understand why athletes are trying to expand their brand through reality shows," said Guy Troupe, president of the capital management firm Troup 21. "But in today's world where paparazzi and private citizens care so much about the behavior of athletes, that overexposure can expose the weaknesses they have in personal and professional life."
And hopefully, that doesn't include eating petroleum jelly.
Sophia Fresh (Crystal, Cole Rose & Skye), T-Pain's group, comes through with Yeezy as a feature on this track called "What It Is". Personally, it's ok. Not bad. I can throw back a few and bug out on the floor with a P.Y.T. if this came on. Check it out...
One of my all time favorite grittier Hip Hop duos, Heltah Skeltah drop this heat titled "Midnight Madness" featuring DJ Revolution cutting and scratching. I got no problem with this track at all! Check it out.
Heltah Skeltah - Midnight Madness ft DJ Revolution
I think I can bang this track by Camp Lo featuring Styles P and Pete Rock titled "On Smash". Tell you this, I rather here this in the club than some of that other stuff they're killing.
I honestly don't know if there's a track that I don't like by Mos Def, whether original or not. This track here, he flows over Jay-Z's Brooklyn We Go Hard. Check it out.
