New Videos: Chamillionaire/Slick Rick, Swizz Beatz, Slim Thug

Chamillionaire has a suprisingly humorous video for his song “Hip Hop Police” featuring Slick Rick. By the looks of the video it is obvious that Chamillionaire is so serious about the concept of the song lol. But the video is actually quite entertaining and Chamillionaire did a great job playing several different characters in the video. I gotta admit that this song is more clever than I originally gave it credit for…but I can’t say I’m at all sympathetic to the notion that people are out to destroy rappers. Overall though I gotta say that this is a very entertaining video that I think people will enjoy more so than the actual song.

Swizz Beatz has a new video for his song “Money in the Bank/Top Down”. I’m kind of surprised to see him release a video for Money in The Bank since that song is kind of old now and I wasn’t feeling “Top Down” at all. I’m sure that the people who are just getting exposed to Money in The Bank since it has a simple catchy hook and hot production…Swizz really needs to broaden his range of musical material though.Click here to watch 

Slim Thug has a new video for his song “Wood Grain Wheel”. This is a typical Dirty South banger…the beat is hot, but the lyrics  don’t keep my attention at all.

 

What do you think about these new videos? Are you surprised (like I am) that Chamillionaire put together such a witty and entertaining video for this song?

Posted by Reecie

Meaningful Music

 Last night I had the pleasure of checking out a wonderful musical called “What’s Going On” featuring the music of Marvin Gaye. If you are in the Los Angeles area this is definitely a play worth checking out (Click here for more info) … I was really moved and inspired by seeing these bright and promising young actors/singers/dancers doing something positive with their lives; especially considering when there are videos like “Read a Book” that would have folks believe that all young Black kids do nothing productive and don’t have the capacity to appreciate music outside of the most ignorant forms of Hip Hop. But anyways…the musical got me to thinking…remember when music used to mean something?

I don’t just mean music that had a political or socially conscious message…I mean music that reverberated through your soul and helped make sense of whatever situations you were dealing with or that captured the joy of love and life. That kind of music is really missing from the mainstream these days and it’s such a shame that most music is so pointless and shallow. That’s not to say that music has to be deep to be worthwhile, but it would be nice to have some kind of balance.

So…I just want to get a little nostalgic and a little sentimental for a moment and ask you guys…what are some songs that have special meaning to you? It can be your “theme song”,songs you put on to help you through a breakup, songs that remind you of the joy your current or a past relationship has brought you, anything that you would put on the soundtrack of your life.

I’ll start off…just to name a few and in no particular order.
*Mary J. Blige- Children of The Ghetto: This is actually a song that hasn’t been on any of her albums, but she performs it everytime she does a concert and it is just a heart wrenching song that she sings with so much emotion.

*Mary J. Blige- Good Woman Down: I know this is very chick-ish of me, but I just love the message of perserverance and triumph of

* Marvin Gaye- What’s Going On: I don’t see how it is possible to not be moved by this song.
* Donnie McKlurkin- We Fall Down: We all fall down from time to time, and this song is always provided much need inspiration
* Tupac- Keep Your Head Up: Even Hip Hop can be inspirational
* Common- It’s Your World: It’s always nice to hear hope and optimism from children
* Nas- I Can: This is a song that really resonated across the younger generation…so I have to shout out Nas for making such a POSITIVE song with a historical context that kids can relate to.

* Kanye West- Jesus Walks: All three of his videos for the song were superb and I give him the utmost respect for putting out a song like this from the heart
* Musiq Soulchild- Momentinlife featuring Cee-lo. Soulstar was an incredibly underrated album and this was one of the best tracks on the cd.
* Mariah Carey- Fly Like a Bird: The people that say that Mariah Carey have no soul OBVIOUSLY have never heard this song. This song always lifts my spirits.

So there you have my list…now it’s your turn to put in your two cents.

Posted by Reecie

Thumbs Up or Down: Rihanna sings Bob Marley “Is This Love”

Rihanna tackled Bob Marley’s classic “Is This Love” for a Clear Channel Music Group performance. The weird thing about listening to Rihanna is that there are times where she really does have a pretty and unique voice and other times where she just sounds horrible. Overall I think she does a decent job of performing the song and to me she always sounds her best when she’s singing over a reggae track…but there are times that really show her vocal shortcomings. Watch the performance and tell me what you think.

Does Rihanna get a thumbs up or thumbs down? How do you rate her vocals? Do you think she has talent but needs growth or should she just stop making music altogether?

Posted by Reecie

Throwback Summer Jam of the Week: LL Cool J/Total- Loungin

For the “Summer of The Week” I had to throw it back to LL Cool J’s “Loungin” featuring Total. LL Cool J has released so many sexy summer jams like “Hey Lover, “Loungin”, “Love You Better”, “Doin It’, and “Paradise” just to name a few…but Loungin came up more than any other song. LL is the original Hip Hop Sex symbol and he is still hot! Even though this song is hella old I still play this song when I’m rolling around town with the top down. This song goes out to everyone that’s going to a bbq, beach party,  or pool party this weekend. Enjoy!

Remember if you want to see your favorite summer song picked for the jam of the week, go to “Let’s Make a List” and post your favs. Each week I’ll be picking a different song from the list.

Out of the summer jams I listed from LL Cool J above, which one is your top LL Cool J pick? Does anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend?

Posted by Reecie

New Video: Deelishus- Rumpshaker (AKA the Stripper National Anthem)

So Deelishus has a new video for her song called “Rumpshaker” where you guessed it….she spends a majority of the time bent over and on the floor. Now…I’m not going to get all righteous and act like she is the only female performer in the world that shakes her a$$…but she just really takes it to another level. I know the first thing people are going to say is “How is what she is doing any different than what Beyonce and Ciara do?” Well I’m going to answer that for you…first, in my opinion there is a difference between choreography and just standing there shaking your rump. There is a part in the video that is supposed to be a breakdown in the choreography and she looks like a deer caught in headlights until the part where she bends over and shakes it for two men. Secondly, Deelishus uses her body in an overtly sexual way to extend her 15 minutes of fame. Don’t believe me? Try finding pictures of her at events where 85% or more of them don’t have her sticking her butt out…you can’t do it. So anyways…with all that said…I’m sure the strippers will love this song and pick up some moves from the video. It’s going to be very hard for her to be taken seriously as an artist though, because she showcases her ass more than her voice. With all the rappers she has been linked to, it’s kind of funny that the best she could do for cameos in her video are the same ol’ washed up Flavor of Love girls.

So what do you think about Deelishus? Wouldn’t you feel like a hoochie just for dancing to this song? lol. Are people harder on her for appearing on Flavor of Love? Does she exploit her body for gain? Is there really a difference between someone like her and Beyonce or Ciara?

Posted by Reecie

New Remixes: Kanye West, Rihanna & New Music: Will.i.Am; Keith Murrary

Kanye West put a Young Jeezy verse on the “official remix” of “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”. When Young Jeezy comes on the track the first thing I thought was he ruined it…but Kanye comes on and spits new verses to redeem it. I know there are a lot of Jeezy fans out there, but I’m just not one of them and I’m not feeling his addition to the mix…so you guys can chop that up to me hating if it makes you feel better lol.  Listen

Will.i.Am has a new track called “I Got it From My Mama”. I don’t see why he had to the leave his group to do equally as simple and brainless music. Since Juvenille did a much hotter track around the “Get it from her Mama” theme, it’s hard for me to be impressed wit this one. The beat is alright and maybe in the right setting it will grow on me.  Listen

There is a reggae remix to Rihanna’s “Umbrella” floating around with Collie Budz on the track. I have to say that I really like the reggae twist to this song. Rihanna’s vocals flow perfectly over the new beat and this is pure hotness. This is the kind of song I could see a guy walking down Venice Beach on a hot summer day with a boombox over his shoulder playing lol. Listen

Keith Murray is seriously trying to come back and he has a new track called “U Ain’t Nobody” featuring Redman and Eric Sermon. I know I totally ignored his first single with Tyrese when it first came out, but when I saw the video I actually kind of like the song. But anyways…this song reminds me of the old Redman music, so it’s not exactly the freshest sound in the world…but I really like the energy on the song. So many rappers have these monotonous lazy flows (i.e. Fabolous) so to hear someone come on the track with fire and intensity is a nice departure from the norm. However…I still don’t know if it will be enough to appeal to a broad enough audience. Listen

What do you think about these new tracks? Was Young Jeezy really necessary? Does Will I Am have what it takes to go solo? Is the reggae sound more suitable than the rock sound for Umbrella? Can Keith Murray make a comeback and make the sound of him and Redman relevant again?

Posted by Reecie

Beyonce Took a Hard Fall But Kept Rocking On

So the video of Beyonce falling at her Orlando performance has been all over the net today and I couldn’t resist throwing my two cents in. First, I’ve seen Beyonce in concert twice and she is an amazing performer. To me, this video of her falling down the stairs face first and still getting up and continuing with the performance shows how serious she is about putting on a good show. Kudos to her for being a trooper. Folks say she had to sit down for the next song because she had a bloody leg but then carried on with the show in its original state. Who else has that kind of dedication? I would say probably nobody.

What do you think about her carrying on with the show after she fell like that? Does that make you respect her more as a performer?

Posted by Reecie

PowerFoot- World’s First Robotic Ankle?

Source

 In other news, our boys over at MIT and Brown are cookin’ up sommin really gangsta that could probably change modern surgery as we know it.  First thought of to be a valuable discovery for Veteran amputees, the battery-powered PowerFoot (created by Hugh Herr)  is gaining a lot of popularity in the medical world and some are thinking it could go into commercial production. So just what does it do you ask?

“Traditional prosthetic feet use springs to give an amputee some bounce, Herr said. Because they lack ankles, studies show amputees expend up to 30 percent more energy than the two-legged using their hips to power through strides. That can cause an irregular, hunched walk, pain and chronic back problems.
“By the end of the day, your lower back is pretty sore,” Garth said. “This device pretty much eliminates that.”  The PowerFoot also can add resistance, simulating an ankle’s braking function. “

All I gotta say is WOW!!!

~Thesis

Myspace Home to 29,000 Sex Offenders…(Watch yo kids folks)

Source

It goes without saying that just about everyone and their grandmama’s mama is on Myspace.  As social circles are becoming more virtual there are obvious risks that can and have occurred.  We’ve heard the stories of young girls meeting strange guys who they met on myspace and get snatched up.  “Most recently, a Virginia man pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping and soliciting a child by computer, charges related to a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old North Carolina girl he met on MySpace, according to authorities.”

Well, according to this article, the behemoth social networking site, Myspace, with its over 180 million profiles is also home to about 130,000 sex offenders. Attorney Roy Cooper of North Carolina is one individual who is making attempts to make the Myspace database accessible to authorities.  A bill has already been issued which could possibly make this happen. “The bill, which already passed the Senate, would require a social networking Web site to compare information provided by a parent with commercial databases containing public records or other government-issued identification.” Many internet sites and other industries profiting from such ventures are pushing back saying that such a bill would impose on free speech….

What’re your thoughts? Do you think that authorities should have free access to databases of these social networking sites to be able to scour for potential predators? Do you think this is just another way of “them boys” to infiltrate our personal lives and records? Child security or privacy invasion?

~Thesis

“Hot Ghetto Mess” No More…Now “We Got to do Better”

Source

As an update to Reecie’s original post of Hot Ghetto Mess TV, it seems like all the backlash and ad pulling has caused the good folks over at the BET to restrategize on what the true meaning of “social commentary” is and also what will keep dollars in their pockets.  Originally entitled, “Hot Ghetto Mess,” the show will now be called “We Got to do Better,” which to me is not only simple but disgraceful.  I did not comment on Reecie’s post cause somehow my radar missed that topic but I am absolutely abhorred that someone in their cot damn mind would sanction a show to be called “Hot Ghetto Mess.” In a ever changing and diverse society as we are in where black people are really trying to break out of stereotypical vestiges, it seems like we are the ones that causing such ideas to remain in society….Anyway, I could go on and on but ya’ll get the drift. 

 As to why the name was changed, as expressed in the article, “We’ve decided to change the name because we want to highlight the show’s real intent, which is to offer social commentary in a context that sparks dialogue, debate, and most importantly, change,” BET said in a statement.

Opponents to the new “We Got to do Better” mention that although the name has changed, it does not take away from the actual content that is displayed on the program, which is supposed to follow similar suits to the hotghettomess website.  I recall visiting that website eons ago…At least over two years ago and promised myself never to go back.  At first it was funny seeing cats wearing and sayin some silly ish but I started thinking, “would I be concerned/bothered if someone who wasn’t black came up to me sayin the same thing?” The answer was and still is yes.

Real situation: After watching the Transformers movie a month back, I exited the theatre and was waiting for my peoples to come out since it was packed.  As I was waiting outside the doors, a little boy, who was white, walked out frustrated and said, “Cartoon movies are so ghetto!” I looked at my girl and we both were in awe and amazement that: 1) that made absolutely zero sense. 2) what exactly did he mean by that. 3)where did he learn that?

I feel that there are sooooo many people outside of the black community who pick up shyt that they hear either on tv or from their black friends who just let it slide. This is not only injurious to us as a community but also as individuals.  I’ve checking a lot of things I used to say and do because I realize that I have to lead, not follow.  What BET is doing is atrocious and the whole show should be taken off air altogether.  Why do we, beautiful intelligent black kings and queens need a television show to “teach” us what not to do? What does this also say about parenting in 2007? What does this also say about the faces and voices behind these television shows?

“The newly renamed “We Got to Do Better” was characterized by BET entertainment chief Reginald Hudlin last week as an effort to take “a hard look at some dysfunctional elements of our community.”

Let’s see if this show actually scrutinizes and comments as opposed to just highlighting silliness. Who ever watches BET may be able to provide more insight on the show when it debuts.  It will be interesting to hear various perspectives as well.

Regards,

Thesis