2010 Beef????

Cruising YouTube is like going to the supermarket. Your intent is to go to the store for 5 minutes to pick up one or two things and you end up leaving an hour later with a cart of crap you would never use in life. So I took a YouTube trip one night late looking for who knows what and ended up finding my intended video and everything else in between. This was interesting though, I ran across a chick from Baltimore named Keys who decided to lyrically take a swipe at Nicki Minaj and taped it. If you haven't seen it, let's look at the video tape shall we?

I saw this and I was like ok, you got skills and yeah you can rhyme but the comments were interesting to me. I would say from just glancing at what folks had to say, it was about 50/50 Keys/Minaj. In essence you had folks saying that Keys has skills and Nicki is garbage and vice versa. One of the other prevailing comments was Why is this chick going after her? She won't get discovered doing videos and dissing someone who is already famous. Some even went as far to use the H-word. Yep, our favorite black person word, hater. Once again, I don't in any way, shape or form see this as Keys hating on Nicki. What I do see is a gritty MC who is challenging the current state of the genre and showing that she doesn't like what is going on and that there is diversity of styles in the rap game. I see Hip-Hop becoming more and more divided among lines of those who can spit and the more commercialized type hip-hop of Nicki Minaj.

I will say it again for the record, I REALLY tried to like Nicki. I listened to one of her mixtapes and she had maybe one halfway decent track but for the most part, it was the most disjointed album I have ever heard by ANY artist. However, she has appeal to alot of folks for reasons I can't understand but that is why she is a star. But why when someone comes hard like Keys or keeps it real like Talib Kweli, it is classified as "alternative" or "underground" hip-hop. Hip-hop represents a wide variety of musical and lyrical styles. You can classify a particular hip-hop style by say the origin of the group or artist but to me it appears that we are denigrating some artists because they choose to remain true to the origins of hip-hop.

Not too long after this came out, Nicki responded. Initially I tried to watch this at work but damn this video is PAINFUL to watch. I finally watched it a couple of nights ago at 3am...I knew I had no place to go and at worse I would just fall asleep watching her form a sentence. If you have to go to the bathroom, choose any part of this video. Her sentences are so choppy, you can probably see 30 seconds and get the idea of what she is saying (or not saying).

A mind is a terrible thing to develop without help. I say it over and over and over again!!! Watching this video you can't help but think that. There are really no words, I have nothing to say about this train wreck. And so the back and forth continues as Keys pops up in response:

I shared this with my partner and crime Uniqpoet and we had a very interesting discussion about all of this. He did make a good point, what do folks want to hear these days: Another rapper from the streets talking about stacking chips and doing dirt or a rapper who delivers lighhearted, party-themed lyrics? Why, he adds does every "hungry" emcee have to be gutter and hood? I think this shows the wide divide in hip-hop as emcees from both sides battle for the soul of hip-hop.

At this point I am thinking, is this the next rap beef? Fat chance on that but it sure makes things very, very interesting! I wonder if Keys is going to get in the black trucks and ride on Nicki? Ha, ha...Stay Tuned!

Where in the World is Queen Pen?

You know a party ain't a party till it's run all through! Queen Pen brought us this jam back in 1997 after doing a hook on BlackStreet's "No Diggity" and the signing to Teddy Riley's Lil Man label. She had a few songs, dare I call them hits and she fades into oblivion until last year when she confronted Rocsi over her alleged affair with the husband of best friend LisaRaye. What I am trying to understand is why is Queen Pen fighting on behalf of her girl? I could understand if they were in a fight together but fighting a battle on behalf of her friend? That has got to be a woman thing cause i'll be damned if i beef with another dude on behalf of my friend! So now other than coming out of pure obscurity to have beef with another chick (which I am sure Rocsi had a chuckle about, probably looking at Queen Pen like "and you are?") Queen Pen is also a novelist. Yeah...look for her book: "Tales of a one-time Grammy Winner Has-Been" at a Barnes and Noble near you.

Old School Break...Shake Ya ass if you got it!

The Case of the PTA. Get the HELL out yo seat!!! You know you want to!

Hot or Not? Nicki Minaj (Exhibit A)

Ok...I'm not sure how to feel about this. Can it get better or am I making too much of this?

I know her album isn't supposed to drop for a minute but can I get some original material? I'll keep hunting and get back to you and when I do...We'll do it LIVE!!!!! On the East Coast...enjoy your snow day!!!

P.S., Nicki you got me lustin...could this be love?

This is the second time I have followed up a blog with a entry about someone in the previous blog. I have been hearing alot about Ms. Minaj and yes I am a bit curious if she has skills. I will find out later today as I have found a few sites with some of her tracks. I did happen to see her on 106 and Park performing with Robin Thicke. That was eye opening to say the least, cause she got hips and ASS for days! I love how Aries Spears breaks it down about hips v. ass (Sounds like a Supreme Court case? Justice Sotomayor...what is your decision?)

I guess in my mind I so want to see a hip-hop artist succeed in stead of falling into the crap hole and maybe her more so because she looks the way she does. Yeah, that is shallow as hell but I said it! Besides that, if she has the skills shouldn't we want her to succeed? Never mind the reports that her ass may be "fake" but the way it moves, hell I have a few doubts myself! Can she move into the pantheon of Women I Love? Stay tuned, she has to pass the Professor's test for non-wackness! When you step to me...be ready! I think my former students can attest to that! Be easy, I'll holla! We made it, it's Friday!!!!!

The Professor

The Spectrum of Nasty

So now there is a new kid on the block, Nicki Minaj. Just heard about her this weekend and I may have seen her on BET but wouldn't have known her from a hole in the ground. Yeah, I must be getting old because I don't know half of any of these celebrities nor so called MCs anymore. Maybe if any of them did anything that DIDN'T SUCK, maybe I would give a shit who they are! I did a web search for her today and then started to look at her pictures. Similar searches included Trina (aka The Baddest Bitch) and Lil Kim. Interesting similar searches as what I read has made comparisions of Nicki Minaj to Lil Kim. Funny, to me her body is more similar to that of Trina which leads me to call Minaj "Trina lite".

Now I don't know what kind of MC Minaj will be, but one thing is pretty certain is that her sexuality will be an asset as well as a major part of her emceeing. As I thought about this and the comparision I made to Trina, I was thinking where would Ms. Minaj fall on a list of the raunchiest female MCs? I thought of 3 MCs and one R&B singer who has a bit of a rep in her music to be raw in her sexuality. The contenders are:

Trina: Miami's own, famous for such hits as "The Baddest Bitch" and of course my all time favorie her duet with Trick Daddy on Nann N*gga,

Lil Kim: The Queen B, admiring her shoes from Gucci, eatin sushi playin with her p*ssy! (Classic line amongst many from the Lil one)

And the R&B "star" Adina Howard: You remember when "A Freak Like Me" came out. Seems like all the freaks got a bit freakier when that dropped. Since then, she fell into obscurity for a few years but has had moderate success with songs like "Nasty Grind", "(Freak) And U Know It" and "T-Shirt & Panties" played in the film Woo.

So my spectrum would be from top (freak of the decade) to bottom (up and coming freak):

1. Adina Howard: Gotta love those song titles. I mean yeah she is half remembered but more forgotten but her s*it is raw. This is beyond baby making music, this is "put on this construction helmet so I won't kill you whilst I bang you to this nasty ass song" music. I think her next album she may start singing about Cincinnati Bowties, Dirty Sanchez's and Rusty Trombones.

2. Lil Kim: A close second, Lil Kim has some lines where I wanted to J*zz in my pants. And her videos...well don't get up and go anywhere in public for about 15-20 minutes.

3 Trina: Never trust a big butt and smile...

4. Nicki Minaj: As I said, it will remain to be seen what kind of nasty, freaky ass s*it she will be throwing on a track. I just hope she's decent, try to not fall into the mold of the current state of hip-hop. Or at least don't get booed off stage a la OJ the Juiceman.

What an age we live in!!! All the sex you can stand and all you have to do is have iTunes!!!

Class dismissed....

Random Bulls*it

It’s official, the world is ending. How do I know? Lil Wayne got EIGHT, count them EIGHT (use your toes if you have to) Grammy nominations! How the f*ck does Lil Wayne get EIGHT Grammy nominations?! That’s like Treach from Naughty by Nature getting 4 Oscar Nominations! Lil Wayne cant wrap a gift, let alone rap! He is no lyricist, by any stretch. Hell, Shaq could take him down with Sometimes I rhyme slow/Sometimes I rhyme quick/Wake up every morning /Shave my head with Bic! Are you serious! I thought the Latin Grammys was a train wreck, the regular Grammys is like a plane crashing into the train wreck next to the dynamite factory! The Grammys is now for the teeny boppers (Jonas Brothers, Myley Cyrus) and the untalented. There are no good music award shows anymore. American Music Awards may just be called the poor man’s Grammys, the public votes for that! And if the public loves Lil Wayne, you know the AMA’s will vote for anybody as Artist of the Year!

Does anyone find Sarah Silverman funny? I know there are people who do, she has a show on Comedy Central and it appears to be popular. There are comedians who take you to the edge, dangle you and pull you back, this chick jumps off the cliff, takes you with her and hopes she doesn’t bust her ass and yours in the process! I have tried to like her but she is outrageous with the crazy ass s*it that she says. I wonder what is the appeal of her comedy?

You can file this under “Couldn’t give a frog’s fat ass” but it appears that Al Reynolds (you know, formerly married to Star “I didn’t get my stomach stapled” Jones) is in a new relationship. Awww…boo who gives a s*it! Let me ask you, before his marriage did you know who the f*ck this guy was? If you did, let me know because the fact of his new relationship is in the news is continued proof that the world revolves around insignificant people and their insignificant lives talking about stuff that we can’t and probably don’t want to relate to.

You could file this one as well, I follow golf from time to time. I like watching the major tournaments, Ryder Cup (when the US plays against Europe) and I am trying to get back into some sort of playing shape. I was reading about Michelle Wie, the 19 year old phenom who’s career has hit a LONG skid. It is unfortunate when someone so young is pushed into the spotlight and they are not ready to deliver on their promise. She attended Stanford for a year before turning pro. After that, it was all a downhill series of royal blunders and f*ck ups. Most can be attributed to decision making by her as a player and some by bad advice from her parents. You have to wonder about kids in situations like this, they are getting pushed to be the best, sometimes before their appointed time. Add to that parents who want to remain in control, so much so that they don’t give their child good advice. This is probably due to being so caught up in the moment, thinking about all that paper the kid could make by hitting a small white ball while wearing REALLY loud clothing.

You ever meet someone on your job that you may not know so well and ask them what they do and they reply “Special Projects”. What the hell does that really mean? For all you know, they probably sit at their desk on the internet all day, chronically masturbating. Or worse, that person is like a trained assassin or something. What does a realty need an assassin for? Oh whatever, that was clearly off the top of my head via my ass. The “Special Projects” person is the one you really need to keep your eye on….don’t set your drink down near them at the company party. You don’t know where their hands have been or their new special project is to eliminate you….

Now that was REALLY random!!!

Have You Had Your Pain Today?

I am a big Mary J. Blige fan; I have all but one of her albums. She has evolved greatly over her career as a singer and as a person. The major theme of her music has been the pain that she had to deal with growing into womanhood as well as those pressures after the fact. Add onto that the pressure of success after her career took off and that makes for a lot of stuff to write and sing about on her albums. But then that great day occurred, she found happiness through religion, a good relationship and I suspect some rehab. Then the music changed, it got lighter and happier. I am not someone who wants to see anyone suffer for any reason but my gf pointed out to me that since she has been happier, her music hasn’t been as good.

Does this mean that pain makes for better music?

Let’s think about that question for a minute. Take yourself back, if you don’t have a proper frame of reference, think about all of the movies you have seen about music groups (i.e.: The Five Heartbeats, The Temptations movie etc.) and reflect on the question. What are the common themes that these groups share? Love of music, talent, some members had tough upbringings but became successful, gave back and helped their families. Think about just that for a minute, the pain of just rising to being a success is good for at least three albums (in between writing some sweet booty getting ballads),

What happens after the success? As Biggie so eloquently put it “Mo money, mo problems”. These singers have reached heights that they could only dream about and now they have new elements of life (good and bad) that they now indulge in. Some singers continue to give back and live a positive lifestyle. Others want to life the wildest, craziest life possible with fast cars, faster women and the best drugs and alcohol money can buy. In the recording studio, there are more scenarios to write about and record as the artist(s) attempt to snort drugs off any flat surface they can find. On the flip side, some do this because it is an escape from being famous and it ultimately leads to an untimely demise. Or their demise comes from the drugs, alcohol as fuel to the fire (bad drug deal, getting robbed, getting shot because the drugs and/or alcohol told them they could be Big Billy Bad Ass etc) the permutations of scenarios just go on and on.

It seems to me not much has changed in regards to pain being a catalyst to writing music, I just think some of the more obvious aspects of this have, like smoking a joint live in concert or performing blitzed out of your mind. There is another aspect of this that hasn’t been discussed and that is how current music is affected, more specifically Hip-Hop. Pain has been a part of this genre for a while but it seems to be a part of it more so now. Maybe that is why Hip-Hop is in trouble, the trends that we see reflect a larger problem of the African-American community in pain. When the music goes from banging out beats on a park bench and rapping about partying and what neighborhood you rep to how many kilos you pushed and your gang affiliation is problematic and reflects the breakdown of fundamental institutions which bind us a people. At the heart of all of this is pain in many forms from childhood, upbringing and adulthood for many African-Americans.

Should we continue to buy into this pain by supporting these artists?

That is a difficult question. On one hand since Lil Wayne is what is hot right now the question that I just posed will not enter anyone’s mind. Most who listen to Lil Wayne are REALLY not thinking that deeply about the problems of our people (correct me if I am wrong but if this were false, maybe Hip-Hop wouldn’t be such a cluster f*ck).

On the other hand, isn’t it time for us to take this into our own hands and say ENOUGH of bulls*it hip-hop? I don’t know about you, but I am sick of all of these so called “experts” getting together for discussions which lead us to the same conclusions that we already know that the music and the trends it produces are toxic to our community, especially our youth.

One thing is certain, as long as there is pain and baggage, there will be songs to write and stories to be told. Will this be the ultimate form of dealing with your problems? Sure, we as consumers will be listening to an ongoing counseling session that WE are paying for, not the artist.

Hope you had a great thanksgiving, next stop Christmas!!!

Class dismissed…

T-Pain...Kill Yourself!

This guy is a f*ckin walking minstrel show! Hmmm, I wonder who's worse him or Flava Flav. Well as much as I hate to say it, at least Flava Flav has a few women around him (A FEW) who look like something who are throwing themselves at him. (How f*cked up is that!!) Hey T-Pain, I heard you just bought a hearse. Put it to use, kill yourself and get in it!

Stand Up

I dont believe that this is the first post for September, the damn month is almost over! I guess time flies when you are having fun (or getting your ass handed to you...which ever applies). I reached the 36 plateau a little over a week ago, time for introspection and thankfulness. Introspection about where I have been, what I have seen and experienced. It hasnt been a bad ride, I just know that it keeps getting better even when it seems like things arent. Thankfullness because there are so many of us who arent here and in reality they should be. As the saying goes: Do not regret getting old, many are denied the priviledge.

I had a chance to get home to see my folks, my brother and family. When I get home, I so miss the familiarity of place. Living in Charlottesville for almost 2.5 years, I know where some stuff is, but Hampton Roads is tattooed (figuratively) in my mind and on my heart and soul. Believe in the power of the 7!!! (757..STAND UP!!!). Ok, had to get that out..thank you for indulging even if you didnt have a clue what the hell I was talking about. Just go look it up on Wikipedia or something!! LOL! Things have changed so much, but they still have the same feel. Maybe I might not get back there anytime soon, but when (and if I get back) it is on like Donkey Kong!!! Believe that!

I went to church at my home parish and when I left, I saw folks in the neighborhood with Obama signs in their yards. This election, when you look at it has generated so much emotion, good and bad. So many African-Americans are excited about electing one of their own to the White House and will be at the polls to cast their vote on Nov. 4th. But what about those who just arent excited about this in any way, shape or form? You know what I am talking about, that friend or family member who says..."I dont vote, the government is going to do what it wants to do. My vote doesn't mean anything." I think it would be hard pressed for me to feel that way, being a student of history and the signifcance of what a vote means to me as a black man in America.

My parents were young adults during the Civil Rights Movement. Even before the change in law in this country began occuring, they told me first hand accounts of experiencing going downtown and not being able to use the restroom. Think about that, apply it to today's standard. You go to your favorite mall or shopping center and you cant use the facilities? Your money is good here, but our bathrooms are off-limits to you, denial of the simplest of amenities. Hearing that and knowing the history that occured made me so aware of what sacrifices people made and what others had to endure so I can go to the poll on Nov 4th and cast a vote. It really boggles my mind that our young people are so apolitical, their thoughts are that since we have "won" the civil right movement that everything is good and they dont have to keep fighting. Nothing could be further from the truth as we well know.

I am not saying that all of our young people feel this way. Remember the massive turnout in support of the Jena 6? I bet those rednecks never thought that they would have seen so many young black folks ever in life! But that is the point I am trying to make, why dont they show up in mass like that on election day? If we (unfortunately) subtract from the population the high numbers of our young who have been or are incarcerated, we have a voice that could potentially be one that could shake the political establishment.

Things are so much more open nowadays, but that does not mean that racism does not exist. Growing up when I did, about 20+ years after the Civil Rights Movement there was progress but I experienced overt and covert racism. Overt is of course obvious, covert is so hard to see and even harder to understand especially when you are young and believe that things are equal. Since that time, we have seen unprecendented events where African-Americans have risen to the heights of politics, business and other fields of endeavour. These accomplishments give us hope in the promise of America. However, when we refuse as a society (especially those in control of our society) to acknowledge that there are forces which still resist change, we remain stagnant and false hope is the message that is sent to our minority youth.

I dont have all the answers, I just know what I see. Hip-hop has declined into a quagmire of violence and mysogony which is seen by some as normal. I have never been one to blame any problem on music of any type, but it is not helping to motivate this generation politically or uplifting them. Music is an outlet, if someone has a tough life then what they expose themselves to should be inspiring them to something better and not inspriring them to engage in what seems to be "the good life"(being gangster, not wanting to advance oneself). Who do they turn to in order to see that positivity is beneficial, especially in a society where no matter what good may come, many will still believe that blackness is negative? I pray that on Nov 4th we decide that enough is enough and Obama's presence as a positive force will inspire us to elect him and inspire us to strive higher...onward and upward. Make like autumn and be cool!