I just wanted to share some of the interesting things I've read on the web this week. I will probably make this a weekly (yea, right...) little feature and keep it separate from the music and the video. Who really knows though...i may fucking combine them.
If you don't already know (you should be proud of this) that the big ESPN spelling bee is today. I think this is the most fucking ridiculous event on television. I cannot think of anything stupider (is that a word?) freak children with peach fuzz stashes memorizing words that will never make it out of the dictionary other than today. Anyway, this piece about the sideline reporting goddess Erin Andrews and the spelling bee is must read.
This article does a great job going in-depth into the world of sports journalists, documenting a young college journalists first time covering the Philly Phillies.
This article pulled from cnn.com explains some differences between men and women (other than their genitalia) and why they drive each other crazy as catshit.
This one explains to me why I suck at life and I am not getting a job, other than my own lack of desire.
The future of hip hop? God I hope not.
The ballpark food taste so good. Maybe that rat shit gives your brat that extra seasoning it needs.
Getting paid for doing nothing...where do I sign up? Actually, I'm at work now so technically I am but this would be wayyy better
Finally, I want to put everyone on notice that TN dropped another new show about today about black females and their lethal nature but I haven't check that out yet.
and when I leave...come together like butt cheeks
May 29, 2008
May 28, 2008
New Music (Now with Bonus Video!!!!) Limited Time Only!!!
Yea, I know its been a little bit but I've doing things- obviously, I've come back stronger. I got some new music for ya, although some of it has been on the web for a minute, none has hit the radio so it's not ancient yet. I seriously cannot shake the hold of Weezy F baby- this song with T-Pain is my new jam-shame or not.
This one is from Kanye- a follow up mysterious second version of the Flashing Lights video which is WAY better than the original. The style of this video is so badass-you can tell it came from the mind of Kanye.
- Universal Mind Control - Common, Pharrell
- Got Money - Lil' Wayne, T-Pain
- Do Your Thang - Ice Cube
- Hood Politics - Crooked I
- Get Down - Rick Ross, Pharrell
This one is from Kanye- a follow up mysterious second version of the Flashing Lights video which is WAY better than the original. The style of this video is so badass-you can tell it came from the mind of Kanye.
May 27, 2008
Thank You Mr. West
(Ed. Note: This post is incredibly long, and if you plan on going to the concert, it may be a good idea not to read it. Scroll down at your risk)
There I am, standing outside the United Center in the cool Chicago breeze before the show, looking to sell my two extra tickets. Tickets I paid over a hundred dollars for, then paid more for shipping, and after fucking with ebay, lost another $25. While sitting on the concrete ledge next to the statue of 23, I become worried for the first time. This is Kanye fucking West in Chicago, how the fuck are these not selling? The weird part, I am less worried about the financial hit as I am Ye' stepping out to a half empty arena.
After taking a major loss, I entered arena, and my sky high expectations for the show are coming back to earth. The fall faster even faster Lupe hits the stage and the arena is half full.
Quickly, the lights go down, the beat drops and Lupe hits the stage belting "The Coolest" lyrics. Aside from the high school girls who are dressed like it's a homecoming dance, the majority of people in the place now the lyrics and the energy is good. Then Nikki Jean hits the stage for "Hip Hop Saved My Life" and "Little Weapon." Then Lupe flows right into the Chi-town anthem "Go Go Gadget Flow" and the crowd finally seems fully into it. For the next ten minutes the arena is crazy as Lupe busts out with throwback "Kick Push" and new gem "Paris, Tokyo." The tempo was great, but then a lot of the momentum was killed when Lupe brings out fellow F&F members Crash Dummie for "He Say She Say." The energy is restored somewhat when Lupe welcomes Matthew Santos to the stage for "Fighters" and reaches an all time high as the entire arena sings along with "Superstar" then fittingly, finishes off his major hometown performance with "Daydreamin'."
After Lupe, I'm definitely all warmed up for Kanye, but he doesn't hit the stage for another couple hours. After each performer was a significant break while the stages with transformed. For Lupe, the stage was raw, just some flashing lights and a mic. For N.E.R.D, a large five piece screen is assembled, then for Rihanna a mountain backdrop with neon lighted snowcaps, and for Ye', shit got ridiculous (more on that later).
N.E.R.D hit the stage and went balls out going absolutely crazy for a solid 45 minutes, highlighted by a special surprise dance freestyle by Chris Brown during "Spaz" and their biggest hit "She Wants to Move." Audience participation hit a new high for the night when they brought up a couple lucky young ladies to shake it saltshaker style on stage, and presumably vie for the title of top groupie after exit stage left.
At this point in the show I'm feeling a little let down because Rihanna is getting ready to hit the stage AND I have to wait 20 minutes to live through it. I decide this a perfect time get a buzz going so I hit the concession stand for a couple brews. Fifteen dollars later (rectum was already sore from gas and parking) I'm steadily working on that buzz. When I return to the arena bowl a fight breaks out and I wonder why we all cannot live in peace (stupid muthafuckers).
Rihanna comes out and for the first time I take a seat and just chill with my beers. Although in my mind she was an afterthought before the show, I was definitely impressed; she commanded the stage and got the crowd going (you know those girls in the dresses) for "Don't Stop the Music," "S.O.S," "Pon Da Replay," that new song and, of course, "Umbrella." Even I found myself saying "damn, I never realized how hot this was" when Pon Da Replay came on. I was finally able to see what people saw in the song, particularly why it made the clubs go crazy. Don't get it twisted though, my ass stayed in my seat- which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of "men" in the place. Grown ass men singing and dancing to "Umbrella" was definitely the low point of the evening.
After taking a major loss, I entered arena, and my sky high expectations for the show are coming back to earth. The fall faster even faster Lupe hits the stage and the arena is half full.
Quickly, the lights go down, the beat drops and Lupe hits the stage belting "The Coolest" lyrics. Aside from the high school girls who are dressed like it's a homecoming dance, the majority of people in the place now the lyrics and the energy is good. Then Nikki Jean hits the stage for "Hip Hop Saved My Life" and "Little Weapon." Then Lupe flows right into the Chi-town anthem "Go Go Gadget Flow" and the crowd finally seems fully into it. For the next ten minutes the arena is crazy as Lupe busts out with throwback "Kick Push" and new gem "Paris, Tokyo." The tempo was great, but then a lot of the momentum was killed when Lupe brings out fellow F&F members Crash Dummie for "He Say She Say." The energy is restored somewhat when Lupe welcomes Matthew Santos to the stage for "Fighters" and reaches an all time high as the entire arena sings along with "Superstar" then fittingly, finishes off his major hometown performance with "Daydreamin'."
After Lupe, I'm definitely all warmed up for Kanye, but he doesn't hit the stage for another couple hours. After each performer was a significant break while the stages with transformed. For Lupe, the stage was raw, just some flashing lights and a mic. For N.E.R.D, a large five piece screen is assembled, then for Rihanna a mountain backdrop with neon lighted snowcaps, and for Ye', shit got ridiculous (more on that later).
N.E.R.D hit the stage and went balls out going absolutely crazy for a solid 45 minutes, highlighted by a special surprise dance freestyle by Chris Brown during "Spaz" and their biggest hit "She Wants to Move." Audience participation hit a new high for the night when they brought up a couple lucky young ladies to shake it saltshaker style on stage, and presumably vie for the title of top groupie after exit stage left.
At this point in the show I'm feeling a little let down because Rihanna is getting ready to hit the stage AND I have to wait 20 minutes to live through it. I decide this a perfect time get a buzz going so I hit the concession stand for a couple brews. Fifteen dollars later (rectum was already sore from gas and parking) I'm steadily working on that buzz. When I return to the arena bowl a fight breaks out and I wonder why we all cannot live in peace (stupid muthafuckers).
Rihanna comes out and for the first time I take a seat and just chill with my beers. Although in my mind she was an afterthought before the show, I was definitely impressed; she commanded the stage and got the crowd going (you know those girls in the dresses) for "Don't Stop the Music," "S.O.S," "Pon Da Replay," that new song and, of course, "Umbrella." Even I found myself saying "damn, I never realized how hot this was" when Pon Da Replay came on. I was finally able to see what people saw in the song, particularly why it made the clubs go crazy. Don't get it twisted though, my ass stayed in my seat- which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of "men" in the place. Grown ass men singing and dancing to "Umbrella" was definitely the low point of the evening.
But fuck all that, Kanye is about to hit the stage. Anticipation builds as the crew assembles the stage behind a giant (but not big enough) black curtain. With each passing minute the crowd is getting more restless and then the lights drop and the curtain comes up.
The stage is now a fully transformed version of itself that Lupe preformed on just hours earlier. A giant video screen the length is covering the back wall. The sides of the stage are now rolling hills from another planet, and the center stage is transparent glass that reflects the images from the video screen toward the crowd. Oh yea, its on a hydraulic and moves during the show.
The smoke guns blast away while video images of stars and flashing lights get the crowd going bananas. Then Ye' appears and wastes no time opening up with "Good Morning." He swiftly moves another Graduation jam, "I wonder" before taking back to "Heard 'em Say" before his imaginary spaceship crashes named Jane (really, when I heard I thought it was kinda corny; but trust me it wasn't at all) onto an unknown planet. After the crash, he transitions nicely to "Through the Wire" which was written following a major car accident. The rest of the show was mixed just as beautifully, weaving through new classics like "Cannot Tell Me Nothin'," "Stronger," and "Homecoming" with older favorites like "Golddigger" and "Jesus Walks" until finishing with "Touch the Sky" which included Lupe running out for this third verse and finishing off, exhausted, with "now let me end my verse right where the horns are like, uhhh."
I honestly said to myself that "this is the best moment of the show" probably 25 times. First, I still couldn't believe how therapeutic screaming "cannot wait til I get my money right" was, then it was the chills sent down my spine when I heard bum, bum, ba da bum as Jesus walked through the United Center. This was until I heard twenty thousand singing "I go for mine, I got to shine, now throw your hands up in the sky." Of course, how could this top "Hey, Mama" or "Homecoming" (the ad-libbing "And if you don’t know by now, I’m talkin’ bout CHI-TOWN, It's my town, CHI-town was so sick) or "Stronger." Whatever the best moment was, I forgot every single bullshit problem I have, I was inspired to "go for mine" and do so shining, and I was exhausted like it had been me on the stage.
I've said this a lot lately and I mean it. It was the best concert I've ever been to and ever think that I will attend. It set the bar so high, the record that will never be broken. It was hip hop mixed with theater, as Ye' carried the audience through the dramatic storyline of which every detail included and felt like it came right from Kanye. Finally, after much thanks to his band, and the fans, Kanye dropped one last surprise on us- free books for all those who attended, perfectly titled- Thank You, and Your Welcome.
You have no idea.
May 22, 2008
Does Your Job Suck?
It's okay to admit, mine does. That's why this article on job burnout caught my eye. It's worth checking out, escepecially for someone such as myself, who it describes to a T.
May 21, 2008
Don't Panic, We're Still Alive!
Hey there! It's been awhile (for no particular reason) I know. But I just wanted to let know know that I didn't forget about you. Anyway, it's show and tell time.
It's officially less than two days until I go to the Glow in the Dark tour featuring Ye, Lupe and N.E.R.D. in Chicago. Obviously, I cannot wait and I'll definitely be bringing a full report back. From what I've heard the special effects are crazy and this being the first time back in Chicago, Ye has to be doing something special. Hopefully the raps can match (I know live rap usually sucks) but I've got huge expectations for this one. This youtube video doesn't help to lower my expectations either.
In the spirit of the Glow in the Dark tour I got some new stuff with Lupe Fiasco. This Bun B and Lupe track is called Swing On 'Em. Lupe's verse is his typical amazing and something tells me that this summer the beat is gonna grow on me. Also, this is one of my favorite new jams from Crooked I featuring Akon called Big Dreams. Seriously, you didn't forget about Akon's hook prowess did you? Finally, I know in the last entry I posted Put On, which featuring Kanye stealing T-Pain's voice synthesizer and rapping, well, I think Ye passed it on to Usher. This track is called What's Your Name featuring Wil.I.am. I only post this because I know it will blow the fuck up and feel obliged to (and so what if i sing along when it does).
Also, there's a couple new Nas joints floating around the internet. The first one is TRE' Williams featuring Nas called I See You Coming and the second is off the new album no longer titled Nigger, called, you guessed it, N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave & The Master). Here's a new cut from Nappy Roots called Good Day. I know it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea but I enjoy it, especially the last verse (even with the kids on the hook Scott). Finally, a song I've been bumpin' like crazy lately is The Dream's I Luv your Girl. Well's here's a remix to it featuring Fabolous (not Jeezy, no typo) who fuckin' kills it. Maybe most important is TI's jam No Matter What. Just download it, you don't even have to listen to it first.
The NBA has finally reached the conference finals and as I type this the Laker's and Spurs are playing in game one. Being an official member of the I hate everything San Antonio Spur club, I just wanted to post this masterpiece on how the world is not a good place when the Spurs are in the finals, coming to us care of the blog FanIQ.
Now it's time for a little ESPN bashing. The Stanley cup finals starts this Saturday, yet the only angle ESPN could find for a hockey story this week was a story about how hockey fans are backwoods, blood-thirsty tyrants who only desire fights. This pisses me the fuck off as a hockey fan and once again, the whole network can blow me, I'm not even going to post it. Hopefully the get the email I sent to the Ombudsman. Oddly enough, I'm not the only one that has an issue with ESPN.com Page 2's very own Bill Simmon's (the very enjoyable Sports Guy) has issue with his employer, who's cramping his style and trying to change it a la Stu Scott. Check out this except from a recent post. From background on the two going splitsville this interview with Simmon's. Sadly, I do care about this that much....fight the power.
This being the official outlet to bitch about the price of gas, I want to remind everyone that gas is four dollars a gallon and the government doesn't care about you.
Peace everyone.....OH WAIT...
How could I forget about the R. Kelly trial?....According to reports, Robert Kelly's lawyer's defense is anchored by the believe that they don't see nothing wrong with a little Bump N' Grind. Free R. Kel's T's coming to a blog near you.
May 3, 2008
Spring Cleaning!
What up world?
Real soon turned into a week...I know, so the fuck what. Anyway, it's time to do a little spring cleaning from this past week.
First off, the first round of the NBA playoffs are wrapping up and the second round is tipping off tonight. Very big congrats to the dirty birds of the ATL on forcing a game seven. Nothing bothers me more when experts on TV not giving a team a chance- because their so in love with a player or team. Also, the Hornets are on to round two. I've been pulling for the Hornets, but against the Spurs, I am the biggest Hornets fan north of the Mason Dixon Line.
Also, I just heard some new music from Young Jeezy and Kayne West called Put On. Just the names on the track warrant checking it out. Speaking of Kanye, he's currently in the middle of the massive Glow in the Dark tour, which I will be checking out personally in Chicago in exactly 20 days. Obviously, I cannot wait for that shit.
The Roots also dropped their new Rising Down album on Tuesday. I bought the itunes version on and its been on rotation all week. Check out for free here.
People have been raving about Miss April getting locked down by Nick Cannon- who's resume is pretty impressive- so i'll have to give Nick credit.
In politics Hilary and Obama are campaigning here in Indiana. I'm gonna try to go to see Obama if he's back in South Bend the next two days.
Anyway...that's it for now, but I'm going to be coming back soon with some new tunes, because there's a lot of hot new tracks out now.
Real soon turned into a week...I know, so the fuck what. Anyway, it's time to do a little spring cleaning from this past week.
First off, the first round of the NBA playoffs are wrapping up and the second round is tipping off tonight. Very big congrats to the dirty birds of the ATL on forcing a game seven. Nothing bothers me more when experts on TV not giving a team a chance- because their so in love with a player or team. Also, the Hornets are on to round two. I've been pulling for the Hornets, but against the Spurs, I am the biggest Hornets fan north of the Mason Dixon Line.
Also, I just heard some new music from Young Jeezy and Kayne West called Put On. Just the names on the track warrant checking it out. Speaking of Kanye, he's currently in the middle of the massive Glow in the Dark tour, which I will be checking out personally in Chicago in exactly 20 days. Obviously, I cannot wait for that shit.
The Roots also dropped their new Rising Down album on Tuesday. I bought the itunes version on and its been on rotation all week. Check out for free here.
People have been raving about Miss April getting locked down by Nick Cannon- who's resume is pretty impressive- so i'll have to give Nick credit.
In politics Hilary and Obama are campaigning here in Indiana. I'm gonna try to go to see Obama if he's back in South Bend the next two days.
Anyway...that's it for now, but I'm going to be coming back soon with some new tunes, because there's a lot of hot new tracks out now.
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