Hello our lovely HM readers! We just want to wish you all a wonderful Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your holiday is filled with good food and lots of holiday cheer! I’ll be back later with some new music.
Posted by Reecie
Archive for the 'Friends of HM' Category
Wow…fresh off our nomination for the 2007 Weblog Awards- Best Music Blog, I just got an email informing me that we are up for the Hey! Nielsen & Bilboard Best Music Blog!
Following the success (good for us, good for bloggers) of our First Annual TV Blog Contest, we’re launching our First Annual Music Blog Contest on Monday, November 12. With the help of our friends at Billboard.com, we’ve nominated a heap of U.S. blogs that serve up reviews, features, downloads, and more. Check out the complete list of blogs after the jump and the rules here. Voting starts Monday, November 12. If you see a site that isn’t on there that should be, email us by Nov, 12 for consideration. The blogs must be U.S. based and focus on a range of music (no band-specific fan pages, sorry).
A big thanks to Billboard.com’s Jaded Insider Blog for their help and to our newest H!N teammate Sarah Epler who researched all of the sites and stats, and has not taken her headphones off in a week.
So…needless to say this is a huge honor! Maintaining a blog, staying on top of the latest in entertainment, keeping the content fresh and hot, fostering a community where people can discuss music and entertainment on a more elevated level, being consistent, and just staying motivated is hard work! It has become increasingly difficult for me lately with all the stuff I have on my plate…but I do this because I am passionate about what we bring to the blog community and I love our readers. So…for those of you that love the site, that keep coming back, that nominate us for these type of awards…thank you soooooooo much!
Voting begins November 12th so I hope that you guys will hold us down (even if we don’t win your support is still appreciated).
Posted by Reecie
So today we discovered (5 days after voting has begun) that we are finalists in the 2007 Weblog Best Music Blog Category! I’m actually pretty surprised since I tend to believe that we are a little more low key than other sites…but I’m honored and pleased nonetheless. So…to our loyal readers…if you feel like we should take the top spot, then feel free to vote for us by clicking here.
As always…we want to thank you guys for your continued support of the blog. Without you guys…I would feel like a total loser who talks to myself on the world wide web everyday lol.
Posted by Reecie
Hey folks! So…it’s that time of the year again…where people let loose their inhibitions and dress up in kinds of crazy, funny, scary, and freaky things. Today it’s acceptable for men to be dressed up like cheerleaders, women to dress a little sluttier, and eat an insane amount of candy. So what are your Halloween plans? Are you dressing up? Are you going out? What is your costume? I’m going to be a French Maid…yeah I know it’s not groundbreaking but it was only 20 bucks so I decided to be cliche and save money lol.
What was your best Halloween costume? What is the craziest costume you’ve seen today?
* Leave a comment with a link to a pic of you in your Halloween costume and I will update the post with everyone’s pics (only work safe pics of course lol) tomorrow!
Posted by Reecie
10
Oct
Authentically Hip-Hop!
A few years back, acclaimed and renown author, John McWhorter, wrote a thoroughly engaging and controversial book entitled, “Authentically Black: Essays for the Black Silent Majority.” In the book he analyzed Dubois’ sentiments of the color-line being the major issue for black people in the 20th century as well as their internal war between being black and living in a land that hates them, and still trying to prevail. He takes that famous theory and injects a new and somewhat unspoken theory that pervades the psyche of many black people. McWhorter writes that there is a notion that being “Authentically Black” is when a black person continuously keeps the “man” on the hook for past injustices and does not let go of it. By blaming the ills in the “black community” on what the white man did or has done, then you are authentic and understand the plight. For black people, including McWhorter, who understand yet dispell that form of thinking, there is a certain marginalization that takes place and black people consider those types of individuals as proverbial “sell-outs.”
The topic “Authentically Hip-Hop” aims not to literakky take a slice out of the pie that McWhorter and Co. have since prepared. However, I want us, as an online community, to take the essence of what McWhorter was trying to prove and mentally juxtapose that with what’s going on in Hip-Hop today-more specifically, around this supposed “Fiascogate.” I came up with the idea of this topic after I checked out the comments section of an e-article on Vibe.com dicussing the current controversy of Mr. FNF up. Someone named “Doug Fresh” posted: “Hip Hop is the only music art form where newer artists do not truly respect, pay homage, or in some cases even know the pioneers of the art. This is not only about “Midnight Maruaders”…do you think a rock -n-roll guitarist never heard Jimi Hendrick’s classic material..I doubt it.”
After I saw that, I immediately wanted to bring this back to HM and get an idea from the fam on what you all believe to be Authentically Hip-Hop in today’s times. A lot of “right-wing” hip-hop’ers are saying that Lupe, as a notably skilled and talented emcee, should know and have studied an album such as “Midnight Maurauders” and most importantly, should not have fumbled at the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors Awards. Some individuals have even stated that the character/idea “Lupe” is fallacious and is really not conscious at all. To Lupe’s defense, however, and I want to preface my statement by saying that my subsequent comment is simply for the sake of discussion and not because i’m any kind of Lupe stan. I think the term “conscious” is something that the media bestowed on him. From Lupe’s comments, he never said he was a backpacker. Although Phonte did make an interesting point that he benefits off that label/title. Vis a vis, who Lupe is and what he stands for is, for the most part, is a representation of his music but also represents the titles and labels that the media,blogs, mainstream gave him. So, is Lupe a product of media hope and expectation or is he simply just an a regular joe trying to get by like the next man? I digress….
“Left-wing” hip-hop’ers are stating that Lupe is a hoax and going as far to say that his career is over. What did someone say on HM? “his next album will go copper?” lol. Anyway, these type of individuals are saying that as an emcee whose music has roots and vestiges to that of ATCQ, he and anyone like him, needs to know and have listened to classic albums put out before and during their lifetime in order to be somewhat credible and/or “authentic.” That Lupe denounces ATCQ further proves to left-wing hip-hop’ers that he is not only arrogant, but also blasphemous. From Lupe’s perspective, putting groups like ATCQ and their album on Hip Hops altar of “untouchable” is an example of “hip-hop vanity.” That he and others like him can’t drop albums and positive messages without knowing words to songs by ATCQ or other legendary groups is dead wrong and considers those naysayers as “dirty bastards.”
So I want to bring this to the table. Are rappers who don’t know or study groups like Melle Mel and the Furious Five or ATCQ or Cold Crush Brothers or De La Soul, et. al, not authentically Hip-Hop? If not, then why? Taking it back to what “Doug Fresh” wrote, is Hip-Hop the only genre of music where the newer artists don’t really have a deep-rooted respect for the cats that came before them? If so, what caused this? Is this the fault of the industry and its attempts to market “looks” and “disposable music” rather than content? Is Lupe a victim of the waves of the music industry? Is he an innocent artist just trying to get by and do what’s right? or Is he an over-hyped and arrogant rapper whose time is up?
Let’s converse, shall we!
~Thesis
So I wanted to mix things up a bit and write a post about the days we all miss and reminisce about. For me, my elementary school days in the late 80s to early 90s are unforgettable. I mean, in Brooklyn, those were the days where my first crush was literally the girl next door and when my sister walked me to school, she and her Grandmother walked the same route. Those were also the days when I called her house to ask her out and she chuckled, said no and silently hung up the phone. lol. Needless to say the day after, everybody in my 3rd grade class knew about it. How embarassing.
Those were also the days when the corner store/bodega was the hang out spot and you could get your 25 cent bag of potato chips, or in my case, a pack of cinammon swirls (till this day, i love em’). You could even get yuor favorite quarter water and some nah’ latas or sour powers. Those were the days of the school trips to the Botanical Gardens where you wasn’t shyt if you didn’t pack a hero to eat for lunch…..Some of ya’ll may call’em subs, grinders, hoagies, but in NY, that shyt was a hero…..lol. And a hero with the works….the salt, pepper, and vinegar with all types of meat in that bad boi…i personally don’t like tomatoes in my heros….anyway, some cats couldn’t afford a hero so they brought a home-made sandwich and either got got for their sandwich or got made fun of. All the girls in the back of ths bus doing gossip ish or doing hand-clap games and passin notes and the boys were trading their Michael Jordan cards or in my case, Marvel Masterpieces.
Those were the days where when you got in a fight, it only started cause someone in the crowd pushed you into that cat and whoever fell on the ground first was a herb. Those were the days of teacher’s pets, hall monitors, walking in a straight line with the shortest kids in the front of the line (which was me! lol) and the tallest kids thinking they could run shyt….which they did. Those were the days when holdin hands and feelin on girls’ booties were catchin on and the idea of sex was scary and borderline gross. Those were the days of gym or P.E where you played 7-up, duck duck goose, dodge ball, etc….. You remember when all the dudes was outside on the playground playin Suicide and if you tapped the ball cats was ready to catch it and throw it 90 mph to hit u in yo foe’head…..Memba playin ball and everybody tried to be Jordan doing some lame lookin fade away and stickin their tongues out screamin “Joooordan” before every move. lol
Those were the days when Naughty By Nature dropped “OPP” and you screamed out, “Yeeeeeah you know me” lol…..Those were the days of report cards and city-wide tests and you were scared as hell to show your parents that you got a “U” lol.
Damn, those were the days when light skin cats were in, no matter how ugly they were. haha….Girls were feening after like 1 or 2 dudes in your class and all the dudes were tryna holla at one girl (her head was mad gassed wasn’t it?). There was the typical fat boy and fat girl in your class and you tried to hook’em both up just cause they were fat (wasn’t that f’ed up)…But then after school ended and the summer came, next fall they came thru and they shed mad weight…(sometimes). Those were the times when girls with long hair thought they were the shyt and shitted on girls who had to wear extensions or weaves and the infamous “itty bitty titty committee.” Ya’ll remember the lunch room? Ya’ll remember those nasty hamburgers and “catsup” instead of ketchup? Ya’ll remember that one African kid and folk were sayin “you’re an African booty scratcher?” (i was that African kid but folks couldn’t tell I was African so I suppose that was someone else’s grief).
Umm…what else….Oooooh, how could I forget…..ya’ll remember when Super Nintendo came out and you ain’t have one so you went to your people’s house to play that jawn! Or when you went to the arcades and played Street Fighter 1. lol…not even Special champion edition…. the first street figter where you could only play as ryu or ken. lol. The arcades was the place to show off your “hado-ken”…..haha, those were the days!!! Or when Nintendo came out and you had that gun for duck hunt and you put that ish right on the screen of the tv. lol. lmao…..ooooh, ya’ll remember that “Gyromite” game and the robot that came wit it? Remember how excited you were when Mario got that racoon’s tail? lol…i’m buggin
Remember the old school cartoon line-up that you used to be running home to watch: Tale Spin, Rescue Rangers, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Darkwing Duck, Ducktales…
I could go on and on…..let’s all reminisce ya’ll. What your story?
~Thesis
So over the past few days, the contributors here at HM have been trying to figure out what to do to commemorate 1,000,000 hits to the site. We never really did settle on any one idea…so as usual I’m just going to speak from the heart.
Reaching the 1,000,000 mark is something that I am so immensely proud about. Since November of last year…I’ve put so much heart and thought into HM. This site is like my baby and I absolutely love writing and sharing my thoughts with the loyal readers. Just about everyday I ask friends or family, “did you see what I wrote today” and solicit their opinions about the topics. You guys might also be surprised by just how much I enjoy the comments that are left on the site. If it’s something I like, of course it puts a smile on my face…and if it’s something I don’t like of course I’m like “can you believe this person said that” lol…but either way I still take note and get a kick out of everything said on the site.
It’s kind of funny, because the thing that sparked my interest in writing for the site is my love for Bobby Valentino and wanting to stop thehonorable from dogging him out in his reviews lol. Thehonorable (who I of course don’t call that since I actually know his top secret name lol) and I are co-workers and we would almost always disagree on music and just about every other form of entertainment. So…one day he just put me as a contributor so I could put my money where my mouth is. When I first started writing I was sooo scared to just bluntly speak my opinion (imagine that lol)…but over time it became more and more effortless and the rest is history. Meeting Thesis (who I actually do call Thesis even though I know his real name lol) on Labor Day was another highlight in my HM history.
I don’t know if it’s possible for anyone to know just how much HM means to us…and how much we appreciate the continued support. We hope that in HM you all have found a place that isn’t just a dumping ground for new music and videos…but a place with intelligent discourse and a sense of community. With everything we do for the site…our goal is to do it with honor. So…to close out…I just want to take the opportunity to give my sincerest thanks to all of the HM readers who continue to make this site worth maintaining. I would be remiss if I didn’t give thanks to both thehonorable and Thesis. Thesis…I always look forward to what you’re going to write, since you are the most unpredictable one out of the three of us. The site wouldn’t be the same without your NY swagger. Thehonorable…you are one of my best friends, you’re brilliant, and you’re wonderful. I have to give you so much thanks for allowing me to become part of this great site and letting me do what I want!
Until the next 1,000,000…
Posted by Reecie
So this weekend I took a mini vacay to the east coast to visit my family and while I was there I had the opportunity to finally meet Thesis (who happens to live in the same city as my fam…small world!). Since I consider that HM history I had throw up a little pic of our meeting. I got the chance to meet Thesis’ wonderful girlfriend and Thesis was a celebrity among my family since a lot of them frequent the blog (shout out to my Mitchell Fam!). If only thehonorable was there instead of partying it up in DC it could’ve been a HM reunion…maybe next time! Anyways…I hope you all had a fantastic holiday weekend. Now it’s back to business as usual at the blog…and what better way to do that than to post my new favorite jam, Kanye West- The Good Life (the full monty…and you don’t have to feel bad about listening to it just because thehonorable wrote his post…just don’t download it lol).
Posted by Reecie
In a recent conversation I had, I had brought up the fact that there were a select few mainstream artists that actually spoke for/to this generation. Last week, I believe it was on VH1, there was a day long segment on the history of Motown and the affect its artists had on their generation from setting trends to speaking out on political issues of that day to being true innovators. Individuals like Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Etta James, and older heads like Billie Holiday and her “Strange Fruit” come into mind as being musicians that not only spoke for their generation but spoke to it as well.
Fast forward about 40 years since the Motown days and we have artists such as T-Pain, Akon, & Co. that are commanding a lot of attention from their tracks but don’t, in my opinion, necessarily speak for the generation. The potential list of artists that come under this vein of being true speakers of the generation can be somewhat subjective but I think it’s important to understand that just because an artist has a # 1 hit on the charts and everyone knows his/her hooks, doesn’t necessarily mean that they could be on that list.
I’m interested in finding out who you guys believe are speakers of this generation. Also, when you list the musicians, please give reasons why. Being on such a list means that not only have you made it a point to perfect your craft as an artist, but that you make a conscientious attempt to be political or speak about pertinent issues that are affecting a mass of individuals. Being on this list means that you’re going above and beyond your role as an artist to actually be a universal entity encompassing values and concerns that the “common” individual may have and broadcast such in a greater outlet.
I’d also like to hear your thoughts on why certain artists who have mass appeal do not get overly political but choose to stay comfortable in the “pop” lime light. One individual that comes to my mind is Beyonce. For all of the work that she has done to build her career in the music industry, and most recently, in retail, I feel that she’s one artist that has a tremendous amount of potential to really affect change. Personally one or two tracks on an album does not make someone a speaker for the generation. It has to follow some kind of action. I’m not saying that Beyonce or any similar-type artist need to start picketing outside Planned Parenthood or the White House lawn but there’s so much going on in the world and I wonder why such artists choose to be more vocal about material things than things that can actually help the people.
What are your thoughts on the latter and Who do you think should be on such a list?
~Thesis
The article speaks on a recent study conducted in Germany that surveyed men and women between the ages of 26 to early 40s about their tendencies and habits when choosing a mate. The first step of the study had participants fill out a questionairre on what they were looking for in a mate while touching on factors such as attractiveness, wealth, morals, et. al. After the questionairre was an accompanying “speed dating” session. After the “speed dating” session where participants had 3-6 minute intervals to interact with potential mates, the researchers of the study compared and contrasted the results of the questionairre and that of the actual speed date.
What they found was that men’s initial responses to the questionairre were not congruent with their actions when choosing a mate during the speed date. The study concluded that men went straight for the level of attractiveness in the female. With respect to the women, like the men, their questionnairre results were not in alignment with their actions during the speed date. However, women made further attempts to fine-tune their choices based on an over-all match and not solely on physical attractiveness. The study also concluded that women were aware that their “attractiveness” could yield a more favorable response from men and opted to choose men whose overall qualities aligned with their self-concept and their goals in the long-run. In a sense, women knew what they want and went for it and lower their standards. Men, on the other hand, were less choosy.
Some would find the results of this study pretty much in line with how society has labeled men and women today and “gender” roles today. In sharing with you this specific study, I want to call out the men who frequent this blog to speak on what they find instricly important when “wooing,” “courting,” or “hollerin’” at a lady these days. For you, at first instance, do you tend to sacrifice what’s really important to you in a mate for physical beauty or you staunch in your selection process? Feel free to speak on what is important to you in a mate and what you could do w/o.
It is always great to hear the women’s POV on said issue but I would like to see a lot of dudes comment as well. Much luv!
~Thesis
Reecie
thehonorable
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