Album Review: Wale's Attention Deficit

In a year that brought about the emergence of a large freshman class in the hip hop industry, the genre's true fans have been given what many are calling a "breathe of fresh air." Hip hop's new comers have brought a new energy and "swag" to the game that makes even Nas rethink his statments on the livelihood of the art form. While the clear favorite for "Rookie of the Year" is the multitalented sensation, Drake, a strong candidate for runner up is a young D.C. native by the name of Wale. Although his popularity in the mainstream is still a work in progress, Wale's mixtape and underground notoriety is more than legit. With 3 strong mixtape projects in the past 3 years, those who've followed the young rapper knew what to expect from his debut album Attention Deficit.

Attention Deficit dropped this past November after Wale decided to push back the album's release date to go on tour with Jay-Z. With features including fellow rappers Bun-B, Gucci Mane, J-Cole, and K'naan and R & B vocals from Jazmine Sullivan, Chrisette Michelle, Marsha Ambrosius (Floetry), and Melanie Fiona, Attention Deficit gives listeners a wide variety of musical style. Pop star Lady Gaga even holds down the chorus for the album's first single "Chillin."

The LP's introduction opens up with a strong assortment of horns over a hard beat that Wale holds his own on. It's a solid intro to the album both lyrically and with his delivery. The production duo, Best Kept Secret who have produced many of Wale's hottest mixtape tracks give Wale four tracks on the collection including the CDs 2nd single "Pretty Girls." Because of their unique "Go-go" sound, B.K.S. are the perfect compliment to Wale's D.C. vernacular and style, allowing him to maintain his geographical roots. British producer and Wale's boss at Allido Records, Mark Ronson, as well the duo of Cool and Dre each have two songs on the record while the Neptunes bless him with one.

The lyrical content of Attention Deficit is above par in nearly every way possible. Songs like "Shades" "90210" and "Contemplate" tackle serious issues while maintaining strong word play and raw lyrics. Lighter songs like "Chillin" and "Pretty Girls" help balance the mood of the album while songs like "Mirrors" "TV in the Radio" and "Prescription" show a side of Wale that is confident in who he is and what he represents.

For fans of lyrics and quality music, Wale's Attention Deficit should be that breathe of fresh air that many have been talking about. His lyrical content is reminiscent of Lupe Fiasco in the sense that a lot of what he says goes over the heads of most, but if you appreciate wordplay that makes you rewind a couple times and think, you'll love this album. Some of Wale's critics don't like him for various reasons but if you can get over the fact that he talks a little different and has a unique style, you should be able to appreciate the young man's talent. Wale won't be at the top of the charts, and he won't sell a million records nor will he be as popular as some other rappers out there, but if he continues to stay as true to himself as he has with his debut, he'll have a long successful career.

Artists Who Have Fallen Off

There are a lot of celebrities and musicians who have fallen off in the past couple of years... no no no, I dont mean that they're no longer successful (though with some of them that is indeed the case as well). What I'm referring to is all of the classic occurances in which an artist did their best to maintain balance on stage while performing but end up spilling it. If it were still autumn I'd so have a corny joke about "Fall" but.. ok you get the point. So, who has had the worst fall thus far??? Judge for yourself.. I know who I'm voting for.. lol

Random Thought...: Reebok Easytone Sneakers

So um.. I saw this commercial for these new Reebok Easytone sneakers for women and the shoes are supposed to make a woman's "legs and butt look better." As a man, I appreciate the intent of the shoe's concept but uh.. the chick in the commercial got no ass... just saying..

This Fool....

When I heard about Sammy Sosa changing his skin complextion, I expected to see him a shade or two lighter but this right here is simply ridiculous. I'm sure Sammy was a little upset about all of the steroid allegations and such but when his friends told him to lighten up, I doubt this is what they meant.. If you want to totally tarnish your chances at the hall of fame due to bizzar press then job well done Mr. Sosa. Who knows, all you steroid shooting guys may get mercy one day and get a chance to be inducted but I'm not too sure if you get this sort of press that you're chances are increased whatsoever.. You look ridiculous! Anyway, I don't want to talk about this too much but I'm sure someone somewhere will say "Marce, how can you be so hard on Sammy Sosa while Michael Jackson is your favorite entertainer ever?" and to that person I say this: shut up! its not the same... that is all. Later folks..

Will's Wonderful Words of Wisdom (very inspirational)

New York vs. Philly.. the rivalry heats up

First, allow me to say this: The following article is as unbias as I could possibly could make it. I was born in Brooklyn NY, lived in Philly for 4 years but am still stuck in the middle as I live in New Jersey.. a state that barely has an identity of its own and is torn in half by alliances to New York in the north and Philadelphia in the south. But all that is what makes the New York Philadelphia rivalry so fun in my eyes.

Anyway.. Unless you've been under a rock, a loser who doesnt pay attention to any form of media in the world, or a less fortunate person who doesn't have access to any of that (my bad if thats you), everyone has heard about or talked about the sports match-ups between New York and Philadelphia this past weekend. Saturday, the Knicks and the Sixers faced off in New York then that evening the Phillies and Yankees played game 3 of the World Series in Philly. Sunday the Eagles and the Giants played in Philly then game 4 between the Phils and Yanks concluded what I believe to be the 1st time in history that something like this has happened with 3 sports in one weekend (not 100% sure though). Ok, so in case you didn't see the results, the Sixers beat the Knicks in overtime, the Eagles blew out the Giants embarrassing the former superbowl champs, and the Phillies lost both games to the Yankees and went down 3-1 in the series.. so, who has the edge???

In terms of the weekends' match-ups its a tie (unless taking into account the importance of 2 World Series wins for the Yankees). With that said, I feel as though in order to figure out a true winner, we must go outside of the sports world and have a sudden death overtime type thang.. I guess.. First, Beanie Sigel, one of Philly's most popular rappers has conveniently come out with a diss record about Jay-Z, the this past week as well. The record is ok, nothing special, just a long venting session about some anger that Beanie has apparently held in about his former friend and boss. Jay, being the king of rap, needs not to answer back to the attack because he's just too big, too rich, too popular. Since he probably won't respond, the only thing to compare is the fact that Jay has the most popular rap song in the country right now "Empire State of Mind." I have heard that song about 5 times a day for the past week, on the radio, during the Yankees games, in random cars driving by, just everywhere. With that said, Jay is making money and is on top of the game so Beanie Sigel along with Philadelphia lose that round, sorry.

After that, we can compare NY pizza to Philly cheesesteak.. thats a tough one but the cheesesteak when done well is in a league of its own. NY 3, Philly 3.. Ok um.. how about this, Will Smith vs LL Cool J.. the battle of the two rap legends turn actors. Will wins in the acting category and Mr. Cool James wins in the rap.. geez its still tied!

If we take into consideration the people, New York gets a point because Philly is filled with a-holes, not that NY isn't but percentage-wise Philly has a bit more jerk in their water.. and I dont mean Caribbean sauce nor a corny juvenille dance.. New York drivers are terrible so I gotta take a point away for that..

I guess the only way to settle this whole rivalry is through sports.. in this case the World Series which is not looking good for Philly.. but as a Phillies fan, I know they wont go down without a fight so game 5 will be won by them taking the series to NY.. then I dont know.. until then.... I'll holla!!

So

We Gonna Hunt Chris Brown Tonight

So Just Spazz if You Want To....

So... Between Serena Williams threatening to shove a f*cking tennis ball down the line judge's throat last week at the US Open Championships and Kanye stealing the mic from the hands of an innocent Taylor Swift during her first VMA win, only to tell her that Beyonce should've won, celebs really made the weekend quite entertaining. I'm not so sure which incident was more shocking but I must say I wasn't that surprised with Kanye's behavior, because he's sort of known for that kind of thing. Without beating a dead horse or writing what everyone else has been writing about Serena and Kanye, I will just say this... we all have our moments but Kanye has had a few too many so he really should check himself ASAP. I think he was probably a little "on" as the youth say nowadays (meaning drunk) because he was definitely swigging a bottle of Henessy on the red carpet but thats no excuse. It's a lot easier to forgive Serena for her outburst because it's the first time for her but Ye, come on man! I thought he had learned his lesson and decided to humble himself a bit after the Southpark episode about him but apparently it's gonna take a lot more than "fish sticks" to change the ways of Mr. Can't Tell Me Nothin'.... peace!

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Dear Summer, Where the Hell You Go Trick?!?!

Where the hell did summer go?!? Not only did this feel like the shortest summer ever, but I'm pretty sure it was least hottest summer that we've had in a very long time. I don't even think we've had one 100 degree summer day the whole season. Although I haven't really done much research about it, I'm guess that all this going "green" global warming awareness stuff has actually been working. A few years ago when people first began bringing light to the global warming problem, I remember going outside feeling like a melting candle stick because it was 110 degrees outside. Now, it seems like thats no longer the case but I'm not mad at it... I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like the summer went by too fast but I have come to the conclusion that the earth just spins a little faster than it used to... yup!

Run This Town Video

This or That Thursday: Mariah vs. Whitney

Ok I know I said I'd do this thing every Thursday but I think every other Thursday might be more managable... anyway here's the match-up for today:

For all those who were born in the 80s, when the question pops up of who the greatest singer of our generation is there really is only two names that come up in conversation. Of course there are a couple younger singers who may creep their way into the talk but let's face it.. no one is touching Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston in their prime. Sure, they both had their time spent in "crazyland"... and both probably still visit there every now and then, but I'm talking about the Mariah and Whitney from the 80s and 90s. You know, the "I Will Always Love You" Whitney and the Mariah that sang "Hero." So what do you think? Who would you say is the better of the two???

This one is tough for me because I liked both growing up. Although I did like Whitney better as a kid, she sort of fell off earlier than Mariah did. At the same time, Mariah hasn't really come out with anything legit in a while because the bubble gum corny music she's had hasn't been cutting it for me. I thing I'll go with Whitney on this one. I have been a fan of hers for so long and still do got love for her crazy behind.

Mike Vick: The Newest Eagle

Last night Michael Vick shocked sports fans around the nation, announcing the he has signed a 2 year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, I won't try to act like there is no bias here because I'm an Eagles fan. So far there have been mixed reactions to the news. Some people said that they are no longer Eagles fans because of the deal.. These people arent true fans of the team and can root for the damn Cowboys for all I care. Others, like myself have been excited for the news because Vick was a great talent and probably still has a lot of potential. Although its a gamble, I am really interested in seeing how things turn out for him and the club.. now as far as the people who say that he shouldn't get a 2nd chance after he's done his jail time, lost millions of dollars, and has become the butt of all dog jokes, I say this... I hate the fact that we live in a country where people are quicker to forgive someone who has killed another human than we are someone who killed dogs. Also, being in a nation that praises hunting as a sport in many areas, you would think that some people would see the contradiction in their opinions and in the law.. but enough about that.. I wish Mr. Vick and the Eagles luck this season. Fly Eagles Fly and all that good stuff..

C Murder Found Guilty For.... Murder

I gotta say people.. I didn't see this one coming. I mean, I'm just shocked....... Ok, not really. Now I'm not saying that he was asking for it or anything but if your name is has the word "Murder" in it, you should make an effort to behave yourself. That's just my opinion though... Honestly, the only thing that really makes this story blog-worthy is the irony of it so I really dont have much else to say about a rapper that was never really relevant anyway... Peace

This or That Thursday: Illmatic vs. Reasonable Doubt

Ok.. I wanted to try something new, partially to give me a reason to consistently maintain my blog posts and partially just for fun. So now every Thursday will be "This or That Thursdays" and I will try my hardest to come up with things, people, artists, songs, teams etc. that are comparable and debatable.. So, heres my first shot at it.. let me know what you think...

Which classic hip hop album is better overall? Nas's "Illmatic" or Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt".. Both LPs are the debut albums and arguably the best work from each legendary artist. We all have taken part in the Jay-Z vs. Nas debates as far as their individual talents and careers, but lets compare each of their masterpieces..

This one is honestly really tough for me because both men went really hard lyrically all throughout the albums. I am able to listen to both CDs straight through without having to turn any songs but I have noticed that I really have to be in a particular mood to want to listen to each. "Illmatic" is basically the epitome of what raw early 90's rap was all about in New York. His lyrical prowess made him stand out at a time when lyrical talent was appreciate, much unlike today. Although I can listen to the album all the way through and enjoy it, its hard street feel makes me only want to listen to it when I'm in a certain "raw hip hop" mood. "Reasonable Doubt" has a couple songs that are a little lighter in content but still embody the rawness of New York rap during that time. A number of the tracks have such a mellow feel to them that they make me feel good whenever I hear them.. (particularly "Feelin' It"). With all that said, I still can't say that one is better than the other but I must say that it's a good ass barbershop discussion... too bad I haven't gotten my hair cut in nearly a decade... peace out folks!

Rookies of the Year?: My Take on Blake and Drake

Two young men... both in their early 20's.. both high-yellow light skinned brothas.. and both have the world anticipating the starts of their professional careers. Blake Griffin is the number 1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft and has been doing his thing during the NBA pre-season. Many NBA fans have more than evidence that the kid has a lot of potential to be a star in the league. As he dominated and stood out last year in the NCAA, Blake really made a name for himself to the point that there was no question in anyone's mind that he was going to be the first pick in the draft. Aubrey Graham, better known as Drizzy Drake Rodgers (I still have no clue where the Rodgers came from) is simply the hottest rapper out right now and he hasnt even put out his first album. His mixtape buzz has skyrocketed and has made him extremely popular among music listeners everywhere. Girls like him because he sings, guys like him because he raps, and best of all, he actually does it well.

Now, I bring up these two men, not only because I am looking forward to seeing them grow and succeed in each of their individual careers, but also because I noticed how much they have in common... and damn it I thought it was interesting! Blake's success in the NCAA and in the NBA pre-season sort of equates to Drake's successful songs via his mixtapes. If either of them kick off their rookie season with a flop, it would be such a great disappointment to fans of sports and music. Blake is strong, explosive, and fun to watch on the court. I just hope this his college level success translates to the NBA. The unique style and sound of Drake's music has me more than confident that he will sell a whole lot of albums when he debuts, but I just hope that he figues out the art of longevity in the cut-throat music industry.

Now, just because they have a lot in common so far doesn't mean that Blake is going to tear his ACL... I hope not.. I've been there twice and wouldn't wish it upon anyone.. Both Blake and Drake have the talent and work ethic to be the rookie of the year in their respective fields. So, as the final quarter of the year approaches and basketball season starts, I will have my eye on these cats, wishing them the best, wishing them the best, wishing them the best, wishing them the.... ok, that was just corny... until next time folks...

The Fall of Drizzy

I saw this and I felt my knee tingle 'cuz I tore my ACL twice and know the pain he was feeling. Get well brotha..

ICECREAM!!!

It's summertime and time for the ice cream man to make his daily rounds while kids go crazy and chase him as they attempt to eventually cool down... anyway Eddie Murphy's "Delerious" is one of my favorite stand ups of all time and this clip is classic.. enjoy!

Wale - Artistic Integrity (The Mixtape About Nothing 2008)

"Ode to the Greatest"

As I sit here and think about the most appropriate way to go about writing about the passing of the only celebrity who has ever had a major impact on my life, I struggle to figure out where to start.. With that said, I've come to the conclusion that I will go about writing my "tribute" to the greatest icon in the history of entertainment in a different fashion than anything I've read as of yet.

Michael Jackson passed away about a week and a half ago and while many people are being reminded of how ingenius his songs, videos, concerts, and dances were, I needed no reminders. Ever since the day I found out who Michael Jackson was I tried to be like him in terms of attempting to emulate his dancing and even his singing at times. No one could dance like him. No one could sing like him. No one could perform like him... not by a long shot. He single-handedly saved MTV, the same network that for a long time denied him any airplay due to his race, and made it into what it is today. He made more great timeless music than anyone in my lifetime and has single-handedly influenced more artists and people in general than any other person I can think of. Anyone who knows me well knows how big of a fan I was of his so when he passed, as much as I feel strange admitting it, I felt like my uncle had just died.

As his record sales rise and get closer and closer to reaching an unprecidented 1 billion copies sold, I hope that people can remember Mike, not only for his incredible music, his untouchable dance moves, his one of a kind videos, his electric performances, and his universally known staples (crotch grab, leg kick, moonwalk, "shum on," "hee hee" etc.) but I hope that people see what I admired him most for... Allow me to elaborate: While Michael stood as the greatest entertainer on the entire planet, people tend to forget that he was also the greatest humanitarian and an incredible lover of people. Not only did he make more socially conscious songs than probably any other "pop" artist of our time, but he physically did so much to give back to his race... not blacks, not whites, but humans.

In 1984 when Jackson was very badly burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial, he received a $1.5 million settlement from the soft drink company outside of court. After he got this money, the icon simply donated every penny of it to the hospital that took care of him during the incident. They eventually renamed their burn unit after Mike. Among his numerous Guiness world records is the record for most charities supported by a pop star (I believe it was 39 at the time). During his "Victory" tour in his early career, he earned about $5 million and donated it all to charity. When he and Lionel Richie co-wrote "We Are The World" they earned millions of dollars and donated it toward famine relief in less fortunate countries. He founded the "Heal the World" foundation to help fight homelessness, hunger, child abuse, sickness, and poverty. During the "Dangerous" world tour, he gave all of his profits to the foundation, eventually sending almost 100,000 pounds of supplies to the capital city of Bosnia. Those are just a few of the contributions that Michael Jackson made to the betterment of the world. He didn't just talk the talk, or sing the song for that matter, but the man walked the walk... he moonwalked the walk. He truly practiced what he preached and tried his hardest to really heal the world and make it a better place for the entire human race.

For one to care that much about others despite his personal fame, fortune, and success is admirable on so many levels. If people cared as much about the overall improvement of others as they cared about themselves this world would be completely different. When we succeed, we have a responsibility as human beings to give back. I can truly only speak for myself when I say that if I'm not positively effecting the lives of people around me, then I have no purpose. (This mentality is partially why I was unemployed for some time but thats another story). There will never be another Michael Jackson but if we all just consciously make ourselves aware of the ills of this world we live in and at least make an attempt to change it and make it a better place, we will one day be able to look back on our lives confident that we had purpose. No matter what other people choose to focus on when they remember the life of Michael Jackson, no one can ever say that the man died without fulfilling his purpose. He inspired, he loved, he created, and he truly did heal the world of some of the small wounds that it had and it is up to us and those who come after us to continue to live our lives with this in mind. R.I.P. Michael Jackson. May your music, dancing, service, and legacy live on through us all.

Self Promotion

Blame It On The God In Me

I really can't get over how secular that mary mary "god in me" song sounds... Am I wrong for thinkin bout sippin on somethin and dancin with a girl when I hear that song!? I know its a gospel song but come on.. It sounds like "blame it"... Lol like for real though, its a hot song and I be feelin conflicted cuz I don't know if I should snap my fingers, do a step, or praise the lord all by myself... They even had kanye west in their video. I just wonder where is the line drawn with gospel music sounding like secular music. I'm sure the whole point is to appeal to a secular audience but I think that is a bit of a risk because if you steer too far away from the distinct sound of your particular genre, you may confuse your audience as well.. Just a thought.. Song is good though lol.

Los Angeles Lakers 2009 NBA Champions

To all the laker haters and kobe haters, I hate to say I told you so but um.. Actually I love to say it! I TOLD YOU SO... LA Lakers 2009 NBA champs! Thank you very much.. that is all.

New Artists, New Sounds, New Generation: Artists to Look Out For... Or Not

As a music lover, I have been really really hungry for some good new music but there has been a major drought lately. The quality of music, at least in the genres that I listen to most, is at an all time low. I feel significantly less intelligent everytime I hear some of these songs. It almost seems as though the quality of the music has a direct correlation with the economy or something... I really have no clue but I'm trying to make sense of it...... Anyway, in the midst of the era of the "Stanky Leg" and "Hallie Berry" songs, its hard to find decent new music so I've really been keeping my ear open to new artists that have been coming out. Some of them I like and some of them I dont care for much at all but I can honestly say I've given them a chance. So, with that said, the following 5 artists are fairly new and/or are on the verge of becoming household names.... if they're good enough:

1. Kid Cudi

This is somebody who has a little buzz, has a hit song, and is associated with some successful people (Kanye) but if his career gets much further than "Day and Night" I'll be surprised. There just isn't anything special about him musically in my opinion and I just can't seem to find the urge to ride the bandwagon. Like I said, I'm hungry for new music so I'm open to almost anything now and I'll continue to look out for his other work in hopes that he'll come along with something I can vibe with.

2. Asher Roth

I admit, I did not like this kid much at all but something told me to check out his album and see how it is.. I listened to his new album "Asleep in the Bread Isle" and was surprisingly impressed by a few of his songs. I slept on the kid, I admit, but I'm still not sure how successful he'll be even though he appeals to a very specific crowd. Better than I thought but still not too sure bout him or how he'll do in the near future. Although I'm still not feeling "I Love College" I think his album is certainly worth a listen. Give the kid a chance... you might actually like him.

3. Drake

I personally feel, with absolutely no sort of bias or outside influence involved, that this kid will be the most commercially successful among all the artists on this list. I never watched Degrassi or anything so I didn't know who he was but heard a few people rave about him and his music and once I gave his tracks a listen I understood what the buzz was about. He sings and raps and actually does both very well. This is a unique quality that has many have attempted but never quite done this well. With the buzz this kid has now along with his talent and association with the right people, any A & R who doesn't give him a deal would be quite foolish in my eyes. I look forward to what he does in the near future.

4. Janelle Monae

Now, remember what I said about not having any sort of bias and such about the last artist?? Well if I said the same about this young lady, I'd be fibbing a great deal. Although she's not necessarily a brand new artist, she still hasn't gotten her time to shine quite yet. I fell in love with her voice on the Idlewild soundtrack because of her unique jazzy/theatric/retro sound. When I took time to listen to her other music, it was right down my alley... creative, weird in a way, eclectic, funky.. like two of my favorite artists, Andre 3000 and Erykah Badu, had a child (yeah yeah I know they did but bare with me and my analogy please) and the child was trained to perform by James Brown, got pointers how to dress by Prince, and was given voice lessons by Ella Fitzgerald. Janelle is just something special.. and I'm not saying all this because I have a bit of a crush on her... its just a coincidence. I'm just waiting for her label to let her do her thing.. I pray that Mr. Combs doesn't mess things up for her... my favorite artist in this line up.

5. Chester French

When I saw these guys open up for N.E.R.D. and Common last fall, I didn't know what to expect.. As they began to play, my friends and I were caught off guard, to say the least, by their edgy ass lyrics but I wasn't sure how to react because their music was really dope! Well, I listened to some of the songs I heard live that night a little later on the internet and I must say that I was feeling it. I like these dudes 'cuz they really don't give a damn.. really. Their style, similar to Janelle's, is very unique and can't really be categorized as just one thing. CF was a good pick up for Pharell and the boys. I think together they'll make some ill music.

Where Amazing Happens...

Its about that time... one of my favorite times of the entire year. Not because of the weather or because school is usually almost out around this time, but because its time for the NBA playoffs. I've been a fan of the game for as long as I can remember and there's no sport I love watching more than basketball, especially during the playoffs. With that said allow me to step up and make my predictions for this year's post-season. First Round: Cleveland sweeps Detriot; Boston beats Chicago in 6 games; Orlando beats Philadelphia in 6 games; Atlanta beats Miami in 7 games; Los Angeles beats Utah in 5 games; Denver beats New Orleans in 7 games; San Antonio beats Dallas in 7 games; Houston beats Portland in 6 games...... thats my prediction and I'm stickin to it. I'll make my 2nd round predictions when the time comes... eventually the end result will be Kobe showing the world why he is the best player on the planet right now and LeBron showing Kobe that his time on the top is almost up. Lakers sweep Cavs in Finals but Lebron plays a hell of a series. Let us see..

Black Pirates!?

There's been a lot of talk of the Somali pirates lately all throughout the news. I don't know about you but I was rather confused when I first heard of all this. I mean, I didnt even think pirates still existed in the first place.. better yet Black ones!... but hey its 2009, if we can have a Black president, why not have black pirates, leprechauns, and fairies (no underlying meaning, I promise). Although we've been seeing the one side of the whole thing on tv, I've been told that there is a whole other story behind it all on the part of the Somalian people.. I cant get into that cuz I haven't educated myself on it just yet.. I plan to though.. BUT one thing I do know is that when they took that American ship last week, that was a very bad move. Patriotic Americans just dont tolerate that sort of thing as we all know.. they dont take kindly... US patriots will not hesitate to take out a few terrorists/bad guys/illegal immigrants if something of theirs is on the line. Like I said, I dont know too much about the whole situation besides the fact that the pirates messed up by taking an American ship.. "Africans wanna take our ships... we put people like you through 400 years of slavery damn it!!!!" I bet someone somewhere said that to himself..... Yeah I said it!

Endangered Species

I'm here as an advocate for a very important issue within this country...

It's something that has been a problem for a while but not until now has it hit me so hard. I am here to speak to attempt to help keep an endangered species from dying out.. The species in which I speak of has many names: Keisha, Tanisha, Shameeka.. and the list goes on. These are all specific names of black girls who once knew how do braid hair.... excuse me as I'm getting a bit emotional... When I was growing up, it was a normal thing in many Black communities for the average girl from age 8 and up to know how to do hair, specifically cornrows. Nowadays, for some reason or another trying to find a black girl who knows how to do hair and does NOT work in a damn salon is virtually impossible! A few days ago, all I wanted was a friend to do something cool with my hair that I used to have done back when I paid to get my hair done but NOOO.. nobody knows how to do it. All I wanted was someone do cornrow my locks... is that too much to ask?!?! As I continue to refuse to pay to get my hair done, I will go on a journey to find a last of a dying breed..... an endangered species.... A BLACK GIRL WHO CAN CORNROW!!!!!.... and we're off!

Pretty Pink Drink

Nuvo. We've all seen it in the rap videos whether T-Pain, DJ Khalid, Ludacris.. the list goes on. It is currently the most popular alcoholic drink in the rap world. Now, I have tasted the drink and I must say its not bad at all, pretty good actually but my beef is not with the drink itself. My issue is with all these tough "manly" rappers sipping on a pink beverage that comes in a tall perfume bottle. Am I the only one who thinks this is wrong??? Nuvo is clearly a drink for women but for some strange reason, gangsters got their hands on it and fell in love. At first I found myself asking myself "What about this pink drink appeals to thugs and gangsters so much?" But then it hit me!.... Those fools aren't gangsters at all!! Duh me, no wonder they can "take a shot of the Nuvo" and end up doing some wild and crazy things that will force them to blame it on the a a a a a alcohol... Psht. I bet you wont find any of the OG rappers with criminal records sipping on that stuff. With that said, as a man, I think I'll stick to beer and liquors that arent pink. Thanks. just a thought...

"Get Up, Stand Up..."

Ah... my legs are burning as if I have been using a Stairmaster 8000 for a number of hours now... I have broken quite a sweat here, burned quite a few calories, probably shed a couple of pounds. "What is it that you are doing?" you may ask. Well, my answer is simply this: I have been watching the President's Address to Congress. Although I was only sitting on my couch at first as President Obama spoke to the nation about the issues that are effecting us so drastically at this time, I couldn't help but notice that Congress feels the need to stand up EVERY single time he makes a decent statement. Just watching them stand up repeatedly made me ambitious to workout so I decided to stand up everytime they did from then on... and boy was that a hell of a workout!!! Now I'm in shape AND patriotic!!! Just call me Captain America. From what I hear, Congress does the annoying standing up thing for every president but I guess I never noticed, either because I've never watched or paid much attention to that sort of thing until now or because Bush never really had anything good to say to make them stand up... anyway the president made some strong points that happened to be more of the optimistic foretelling that won him the presidency. I'm really just hoping and praying that we start to see some results soon... real soon!

Happy 21st RiRi!!!

Rihanna just turned 21 and she has to deal with all this.. honestly when I saw this picture I even wanted to beat Chris Brown's ass... I dont care what she did, there is really no excuse for this sort of treatment of a woman. Period. That is all for today.

Athletes High on Life... and on Drugs

Professional athletes work hard. They practice, train, lift weights, go to team meetings, sign autographs, make media appearances, they have to make decisions on how to spend their millions, AND they have to perform to the best of their abilities on a consistent basis. All of this can be extremely stressful. So stressful that a bong hit or two at a college party during your off-season may sound pretty enticing, especially after dominating the Olympic Games a few months prior. Now, we all know that Mikey inhaled some Mary-Jane recently, and some party pooper snitch took a picture of him doing it. Since then he's gotten mixed reactions from the public, the media, and his endorsement companies. Should he really get a bad rap for doing something that millions of men and women his age do on a regular basis? He clearly isn't a normal 23-year old but he is still human and I personally don't think weed is all that bad anyway. Despite my hairstyle, interest in art and poetry, and my oh so cool demeanor, I don't smoke at all but I don't look down on those do either. Given the fact that alcohol and numerous prescription drugs have killed way more people than marijuana has, I don't even think it's logically to have it be illegal... but honestly, that's a whole other conversation. Shoot, Mike is actually so good that he took a performance DEhancer (if thats even a word) rather than an enhancer and he still knows he's the best... Take THAT A-Rod!!! [Michael Phelps seriously has enough olympic gold medals that if he mailed in half of them to those Cash-4-Gold people, he'd probably be able to pay off my student loans for me.] I think the press should let Phelps learn from it and allow him to move on. While Kellog's let him go from endorsements, I do understand why a company would do so but it just goes to show you that once you get a certain amount of fame, you can't live a normal life. Like Spidey said, "With great power comes great responsibility"... and Mike, with the power you have now it is YOUR resposibility to only smoke your weed around people you know and trust. Don't be stupid and do that sort of thing in public, especially not around party pooper snitch guy. Thats my take on Aquaman....

... and now a brief little something about A-Roid.. oops did I spell that wrong?! Believe it or not, I'm not surpised whatsoever that Alex Rodriguez took steriods because I think that it was something that most good baseball players did at the time. I AM though surprised about how blatent he was when admitting to it. Sure, he saw that the lying thing wasn't working for all his peers so he tried something new and actually fessed up, but I didn't think he would be so "honest" about it all. I guess he just has some good advisors. Now, should he be denied into the Hall of Fame? Should any of those guys be denied? If so, the books will be missing a chunk of players from that whole entire era because of it. Can you blame the man who knows he has talent but is being overshadowed by veterans who are juicing up and getting away with it? It's a tough one. See, I think MLB players AND NFL players (yes I said NFL) took, and some probably still do take, steriods simply because they are able to get away with it. Some say that NBA players and other athletes do it too but I have to disagree and this is why: I would assume that sports that are involved in the Olympic games have more strict drug tests that those that aren't (e.i. Baseball and Football). Plus, getting overly muscle bound would only really benefit someone who wants to hit homeruns or someone who's consistently making forceful contact with other big men. It would only help certain kinds of basketball players. Although I hope the steroid/HGH stuff goes away soon, 'cause I'm tired of hearing about it, I won't be shocked if it only gets worse from here... just my thoughts.

Trouble in Paradise!?!?

So, unless you've been on some sort of media diet I'm sure you've heard of the alleged abuse charges that were brought on Chris Brown the night of the Grammy's. As of right now, I must say that I have heard so much bizzare information that I don't know what's true and what's not. I heard he beat her and jacked up her face, she went to the hospital, and believe it or not I even heard that he hit her because she gave him an STD (don't know about that one). Those are just the things I've heard though. The only facts are this: Christopher was arrested because some girl (apparently Rihanna) called the cops claiming to have been beat by him; Lemme find out Chris Brown is evolving into Bobby Brown. Interesting..... R & B's favorite under 21 couple is having a little trouble in paradise. Now, I bet $5 that if he actually did put his hands on Rihanna she wasn't exactly innocent. I'm in no way justifying a man.. or in this case a boy, putting his hands on a woman because I never have and never will tolerate that sort of thing BUT is it just me or does she kind of seem like the crazy type?! See, I dont know what exactly went down but I do know how crazy Caribbean women can get... and before all you island gals get ready to find me bloodclot address, slash me damn tires, cut me twice and set fyah to me dreds, let me explain myself. I'm guessing, I only am GUESSING that Chris either cheated on her or did something to her that made her flip.. I've seen angry Caribbean women in action and its nothing nice. Trust me, they are my aunts, cousins, grandmothers, mother, sister, friends, etc. They can be spiteful as hell and if he did something wrong, she ODed and probably beat him up and threatened to cut his ting ting, so he probably hit her. Once again, this is not fact, nor is it even speculation.. it's really just some ish I made up BUT I wouldn't be surprised if thats what happened. That's all I'm saying...... Just my thoughts. We'll see what actually happened in due time, but if I just so happen to be right about this, SOMEBODY owe me $5!!!!!

Aye World...

... this is NOT an introduction... I dont need/want one
... this is NOT my first entry... I been writing my whole life
... this is NOT an online journal... I already got one
... this is just my opinion... it aint wrong nor right

so with that said.....
.... let's get it goin!