Watch: Keyshia Cole- Heaven Sent

Keyshia Cole has a new video for her song “Heaven Sent”. I have to say that I’m totally stunned that she is actually coming out with a love song. It’s nice to hear a softer side of Keyshia and this song is right up my alley. She sounds great, I like the lyrics, and the production is perfect for the content. This a more mature song from Keyshia and I gotta say that I’m feeling it. She looks totally fabulous in the video…but one minor gripe I have is that she doesn’t have a male lead in the video. I think that would’ve brought that much more emotion to the song and video. I have a feeling that she isn’t quite there yet with her comfort level (based on all of her other videos)…so it’s probably a good thing that she just did the solo thing. Anyway…kudos.

What do you guys think of this video? Aren’t you glad to hear Keyshia lighten up and actually sing about love rather than heartbreak for once?

Posted by Reecie

T.I.’s Expected Plea Deal- 12 Months in Prison, Remy Ma Faces 25 Years

Here is the story:

Rapper T.I. was expected to plead guilty Thursday to federal weapons charges and will face prison time, according to two people familiar with his case.
The 27-year-old singer, whose real name is Clifford Harris, was expected to be sentenced to 1,500 hours of community service talking to youth groups around the country, followed by about 12 months in prison, according to two people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plea deal had not been finalized yet Thursday morning.

His prison time could be increased or reduced, depending on his fulfillment of the terms of the deal and good behavior, the two people familiar with the negotiations said. His talks to youth groups are supposed to be about the pitfalls of guns, gangs and drugs.

The U.S. Attorney in Atlanta announced a change-of-plea hearing was scheduled Thursday afternoon at the federal courthouse. Prosecution officials were expected to speak to the media after the hearing.

U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. must approve the deal.

Harris was arrested Oct. 13, just blocks away and hours before he was to headline the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.

He was charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, as well as possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He faced a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

Harris was allegedly trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers. He initially pleaded not guilty, and has been under house arrest since he was released on $3 million bond Oct. 26.

Well…I gotta say that he is pretty lucky to be getting off with this kind of deal. It could’ve been waaaaaaaaaay worse, but since he has the money for big time attorneys he was able to get off with only 12 months. HOPEFULLY he will learn to step away from this whole thug lifestyle and focus on being a n upstanding citizen and not doing anything to jeopardize his ability to care for his family.  He has already served time on other counts before, and that wasn’t enough to keep him out of trouble. Maybe this time it will click that he needs to straighten himself out.

What do you guys think of the plea? Is he getting off easy? Will he be able to bounce back after his release? Do you think these kind of substantially reduced prison time deals go far enough to deter celebrities from doing illegal activities?

The story on Remy Ma after the jump

New Music from Bad Boy: Cassie- Thirsty, Donnie- Take You There

 

Cassie is back with a new track called “Thirsty” and she is still as wack as ever. I think my tolerance level for her non-talent has peaked and I couldn’t be less interesting in her non-singing. Click here to listen

Donnie debuted his single “Take You There” on the Making the Band 4 finale (click here to see the performance), but here is a studio cut of the track. Eehhhh…I’m not really feeling it that much. It sounds a little second rate Justin Timberlake. The beat is hot, but he just sounds very contrived and unnatural singing over it. I still like Donnie…but I just doubt that he will make an album worth purchasing. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a hit with the TRL crowd. Click here to listen

What do you guys think of these tracks? Will Cassie and/or Donnie fall flat with their new music? Is this the right direction for Donnie to take his music?

Posted by Reecie

Listen: RL- Girl of My Dreams, Trey Songz- Window Shopping

 

RL of the group Next has a new song called “Girl of My Dreams”. I like the message and lyrics of the song, but it is a little too low energy. He needs more intensity and emotion to make the song captivating. I definitely don’t see this is as a comeback single, but it would make a nice album track. Click here to listen

Trey Songz has a new track called “Window Shopping”. He drops the wannabe sex fiend act for once and actually makes a semi-sweet song. However, I’m still underwhelmed by this track. Click here to listen

What do you guys think of these tracks? Can RL make a splash on the scene with his song? Isn’t Trey Songz getting a little boring with his music?

Posted by Reecie

Remix Upgrade or Downgrade- Janet Jackson: Feedback feat. JD, Ciara, Fabolous, Busta Rhymes

 

Janet Jackson tapped Jermaine Dupri, Ciara, Fabolous, and Busta Rhymes for a remix to “Feedback”. I would’ve liked it if they flipped the beat a little bit to make it a true remix, but everyone brought a nice flavor to the track. Click here to listen

Is this remix an upgrade or downgrade?

Posted by Reecie

Where is thehonorable?

Remember the “Where is Thesis?” post?  LOL.  I guess it’s my turn to be put on blast.

Today, I went to the site for the first time in almost two weeks.  I do not mean to be a neglectful blogger, but my life has been pretty crazy.

Right now, I am in the beautiful city of Ipanema in Brazil on vacation having the best time ever!   I have limited email access right now, but I thought I will stop by HM to give a shout out.  I’ll be in Ipanema for the rest of the week, then back to the States.  I miss HM alot , esp. the readers and commenters!

Meanwhile, I’d like to thank Reecie for being an amazing blogger and thank her for holding down the site.  I still think she is the best blogger on the net…

Listen: Lil Wayne “I” and “Done It”

 

Lil Wayne has a new track from his upcoming mixtape (is his album ever gonna come out?) called “I”. I’m loving the old school sample and he switches up the flow and raps much faster than some of the more laid back quirky tracks he has been putting out. This is pretty hot. Click here to listen

Also from “The Drought is Over” is a song called “Done It” feat. Young Money. This is another hot track…the beat is hot and Lil Wayne’s swag is on point. I like this. Click here to listen

What do you guys think of these tracks? Will Lil Wayne ever release his album or is he going to keep putting out mixtapes? Isn’t it pretty much official that he is the most prolific rapper in the game?

Posted by Reecie

Speak on It: Making the Band 4 Finale Recap & Performances

Last night the season finale aired of Making the Band 4 and it was quite entertaining. The first hour was a regular episode that had a little bit of drama between Q and Dawn, because he was dancing suggestively with several girls while she was several feet away. Now…I’ve been in a similar situation so I gotta side with Dawn on how she handled the situation. She basically told him that she doesn’t care what he does so if he feels bad then that is his own guilty conscious speaking. My situation was a bit different where I had to check my man and let him know that if he wanted to be dancing with girls all up in my face then he better be prepared to watch me dance with guys…needless to say we never had that beef after that convo.

Anyway…Q did some ear hustling (which was pretty wack) and heard Dawn talking about the situation with the other DK chicks and let his inner bitcha$$ness run free. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to guess who was fanning the flames with his sh!t talking…yep, King of the Bitcha$$ness Robert. Once Q calmed down and came to his senses he made nice with Dawn and all was right again in lover’s land.

The rest of the episode was filled with their radio appearances and general smack talking. The second hour was a reunion/recap kind of deal with performances from Danity Kane , Day 26, and Donnie. I would’ve preferred 2 DK performances rather than 2 Day 26 performances but oh well. Mike was looking pretty chunky again and neither Robert nor Brian were close to 6 pack status. However, Willie was looking good and Q is adorable.

Q was drooling over Dawn and even decided to publicly declare his affection for her by claiming her then giving her a big kiss (aaaaaawwwwwwwww). Robert’s ex Junebug cleared the air about the whole myspace blow up betweenRobert and D. Woods; and Robert asked D. Woods for an apology (damn does he ever stop whining?).

Diddy revealed that Danity Kane has the #1 album in the country…which doesn’t surprise me at all. When I went to buy it on Tuesday it was sold out! I bought it on Saturday and I’ve been playing it out ever since. Finally, the big announcement that Diddy had to make is that Danity Kane, Day 26, and Donnie will all be touring together over the next few months and it will all be captured on Making the Band 5. I wonder if he’ll throw Cheri Dennis a bone and let her open up for them.

Watch Danity Kane- Damaged

Watch Day 26- Got Me Going

Watch Donnie- Take You There feat. Diddy

What do you guys think of the finale? Are you happy that Dawn and Q stuck together? Do you think Day 26 will enjoy the same success as DK with their debut album? Which song do you hear on the radio more- “Damaged” or “Got Me Going”? (I’ve been hearing Damaged on every station out here) Who had the best performance?

Posted by Reecie

Hate it or Love it: Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns”

 So, this weekend I checked out Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” starring Angela Bassett and Rick Fox and it pains me to say it but I hated it. I’ll admit it, I was skeptical that Angela and Rick would make a decent on screening pairing and my suspicions proved to be correct. Overall this movie was a real regression for Tyler and he was totally all over the place. I found myself wondering several times “where is he going with this?” Also, it really highlighted the problem with Tyler’s movies that they all have the same basic premise…you have a vulnerable struggling Black woman who is so guarded that she screws over a perfect Black man because she has been hurt one too many times. That plot is getting kind of played out and I’m kind of sick of seeing it. Although things always end well, I just gotta wonder…why do Black women have to be the source of the problem in all his movies?

Anyway, I looooove “Why Did I Get Married?”…but this effort from Tyler was not the business. There were too many stereotypes, cliches, the movie was long and drawn out with very little flow or purpose, the Madea cameo was pointless and not funny, and Angela and Rick had zero chemistry. Angela over-acted and brought no versatility to the role at all. She proved herself incapable of any type of comedic performance which might’ve made the movie seem less depressing. However, Jennifer Lewis was definitely the highlight and she added the few funny moments to the movie.

Did you check out “Meet the Browns”? What do you think of it?

Posted by Reecie

Listen: Official Remix- Mariah Carey “Touch My Body” feat. Rick Ross & The Dream

 For the official remix to Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” she switched up the beat and added Rick Ross and the Dream to the track. This definitely has a more R&B feel to it than the original track, but like the original I’m still on the fence with this one. Mariah’s singing doesn’t mesh well with the track, so it still sounds a little shaky. However, Mariah is probably one of the most music savvy artists out there, because she consistently brings the pop version and the R&B version to really maximize both markets. Click here to listen

Is this remix an upgrade or a downgrade?

Posted by Reecie