Everyone Needs Anger Enhancement

Do you read Kanye West's blog? I used to subscribe to it, but that ninja (or his assistant) posts like fifty times a day. Some of the posts have got to be 'Ye, though. A post he wrote today:

Now the media is saying I'm going to anger management something or 'nother. I have never had any conversations about anger management. If anything, I need anger enhancement!!

I love him. I seriously love him. And his post on Soulja Boy vs. Ice-T had me dying. He really holds it down for the underdog. And I don't even dig Soulja Boy or anything, but this made some type of sense.

[Soulja Boy] had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain't Hip Hop then what is? A bunch of wannabe keep it real rappers that ain't even relevant, recycling samples trying to act like it's 96 again and all they do is hate on new shit?

Anyway, on top of that, he posts about cool random stuff like shoes and lamps. Check it out when you get a chance. (Warning for Jameil... he does curse a bit.)

Her bikini: small. Heels: tall. She said she likes the ocean.

I'm going back to Cali, y'all. So if you notice that posting is significantly lighter over the next week or so, that's why. Note: I haven't watched this video in ages. Two thoughts occur to me. 1) This was 1989...how did LL not get lynched? and 2) how art-house film-y.

Wednesday Randomness

1. Hillary is playing the waiting game, and so must we. That's it. Barack survived the media-manufactured sturm und drang of the Rev. Wright debacle, to take NC and come pretty close in Indy. Isn't that enough proof that this man is our nominee? I can wait for her to catch up. (Did you see how she loaned herself $6.4 million? And the Obamas are elitist? I tell you, it's Uppity Negro Syndrome!) 2. The Black Snob is killing me right now. Between her Wall of Sexy on flickr, featuring people who I agree are dreadfully sexy, and her hard work at reviving the Black Girl brand ... I'm officially through with her. 3. Hip hop is back. Well, it never really left, but since I've turned off the radio and started checking out sites that have real music (from Okayplayer to the homie Yellow Rebel), I'm going to say it's back. I mean, you've got The Roots killing the game right now, to sorta newbies Kidz in the Hall—who remind me of a more mature, less-rock-oriented Gym Class Heroes. "Drivin' Down The Block" is my new favorite song, and The In Crowd is quite good altogether. Check out the shout-out to HU at 1:45! 4. Busyness. Work-work, sorority work, hanging with friends and the potential (Lauren suggested "TB" as his blogonym, for various reasons, lol), and very little time to breathe. But I'd rather be busy than not busy. As they say, if you're bored, you're probably boring. 5. This is the hundredth post on my (new) blog!

Un-Review: 'Rising Down'

This may or may or may not become a regular thing, but I felt another Un-Review was in order for The Legendary Roots Crew. Previously... Un-Review; 'New Amerykah' Here's the thing. I found The Roots not through Things Fall Apart, or even Phrenology (though, like everyone else, I thought "Break You Off" was cool). In 2004, I fell for The Tipping Point, which, as a friend pointed out to me, is "like, everyone's least favorite album!" But "Star/Pointro" with the fuzzy Sly & the Family Stone sample ("everybody is a star / I love you for who you are") and Thought's laid-back flow sucked me in. While it may be everyone's least favorite album, The Tipping Point is a great example of what they do best: groove. I knew very little about The Roots when I listened to that album; for some reason, I thought they were a band that had guest rappers (this is probably Jay-Z's fault), but then I heard Black Thought's tight, "technical" flow, which may not be uber-charismatic, but is highly effective. Anyway, I worked my way backward to Phrenology, and fell in love with what is now one of my favorite songs of all time: "The Seed 2.0." In fact, after I had given Phrenology enough time to settle, "Break You Off" became the most frequently skipped track, while "Rolling With Heat," "Thought @ Work," and "Pussy Galore" got the glory of being on repeat. Snap my fingers, make you mine If not, I'll snap a second time After that, I guarantee You will be standing next to me Game Theory came next, and was well-deserving of the critical acclaim. Only, it wasn't long enough. After that, I went backward again, working my way through Things Fall Apart and Illadelph Halflife. More good-to-great music and rhymes. Things Fall Apart, while it's still miles ahead of its contemporaries, is probably my least favorite album, despite Erykah's presence on "You Got Me." So, today, Rising Down comes out, and I will purposely avoid all the reviews (although I will peep at Metacritic, just to see the aggregate) because I hate reading about how The Roots' music is hip-hop for people who "don't like hip-hop," or as I like to call them: white people. (Note: that was a conflation of "hip-hop" and "rap.") And it's endlessly frustrating to see talented artists get little recognition from blacks — like, how, at the Lupe Fiasco show, the majority of the audience was white high schoolers. But I like hip-hop. A lot of black people like hip-hop. However, music critics are largely white, and largely concerned with their own demo — as am I, so I don't blame them — and they underplay the love Mos, and The Roots, and Lu get from their own. There's a paradox there, and it's beyond me to sort it all out. I will say that if Black Thought started rapping about the travails of "typical white middle class life" (a lot of which was also my own experience, FYI), The Roots probably wouldn't be very popular with anyone. (Imagine you know, Thought being like: "my mom wants me to clean my room again / she ain't tryna hear I gotta chill with my friends" or "damn, these mutual funds make my head spin / my broker gon' have to say that one mo' 'gin.") At any rate, Rising Down is dope. Mos killed his verse on "Rising Down," Common did his thing on "The Show" and the go-go beat on "Rising Up" makes me homesick for D.C. Oh, and Black is deadly on "75 Bars." Go forth and purchase! I leave you with the video for "Rising Up."

Top 5 Songs of All Time

I've been mulling this over for some time. There are a few songs, when I put them on, that make me say to myself, "now this could be on my top five list." So here it is. A list of my all-time favorite songs. (Note: they do not align exactly with my favorite artists. For example, I believe Sam Cooke to be the greatest male voice of all time, but none of his songs are on this list - although a live version of "Bring It On Home To Me" was a contender.) There are lots of other songs I like, some, I listen to more than the ones to follow. But these are the ones I sing in the shower and/or completely melt over. Ella Fitzgerald - Sophisticated Lady Ella is my favorite female artist. She was effortlessly cool and could handle anything Cole Porter threw at her. The instrumentation for this song was laid by Duke Ellington, and turned into a sad love song by Parish and Mills. The horns, coupled with Ella's deep delivery make this my favorite song of all time. Then, with disillusion deep in your eyes You learned that fools in love soon grow wise The Stylistics - People Make the World Go 'Round I can't even explain my love for this song. It might be Russell Thompkins vocals, or the sentimentality expressed in the song (did I ever mention what a sap I am?). But this song puts me at complete ease. Go underground, young man People make the world go round The Roots - The Seed This is the newest song on the list, but ironically, I got into The Roots pretty late. Phrenology came out in 2002, and I probably didn't really listen to it until 2004, after I fell in love with The Tipping Point. But this song, with the heavy drumbeat, the vocal, Thought's flow, got me. Knocked up nine months ago And what she finna' have she don' know She want neo-soul cuz hip-hop is old She don't want no rock and roll Dave Matthews Band - The Warehouse Davespeak is fairly unintelligible, and the lyrics themselves are pretty vague, but this is still one of my favorite songs. It's visceral. Judy Garland - Stormy Weather The live version of this song, performed at the Carnegie Hall gets me all kinds of worked up. This song has the perfect build from warbling and tentative to vibrant and heartbreaking. When Judy pauses for breath after "this pitterin' patterin' beatin' and splatterin' drives me mad," then belts out ... "LOVE, love, LOVE, love..." I usually start to feel tears prick my eyes. And once she hits her stride with "can't go ooooooooon, everything I had is gone," it's pretty much a wrap for me. But, hey have you heard Cassie's new single? T-H-I-R-S-T-Y. It sounds like it's sure to become a classic.

And even more about 'The Speech.'

Jay Smooth speaks on The Speech. Note: I wonder if we're gonna get a name for this speech. Like, will it just be known as the Barack Obama Race Speech? Obviously, it's going down in history, so I think we need something catchy for it, along the lines of 'The Ballot or the Bullet.' I nominate 'Black Anger, White Resentment.' Whatcha think?

Obama + '99 Problems'

Stolen from the cool kids over at PostBourgie.

If Hip-Hop were the Civil Rights Movement...

Did anyone else see 50 spit that ignorant nonsense the other day? You did? Good. So anyway, watching that and reading the comments got me a-ponderin'. (Digression: you notice how white people refer to 50 as "Fiddy?" I've never heard a black person call him that, and yet, it's "Fiddy this" and "Fiddy that." Something about that just smacks of mocking and, yeah, I'll say it, unconscious racism.) My conclusion? 50 is the Al Sharpton of hip-hop. Don't see it? Ok, consider this. 50 Cent is utterly irrelevant in hip-hop. His music sucks, he's constantly making an ass out of himself, he was crushed by 'Ye in sales, and yet he just won't shut up. We are constantly barraged by his ridiculous statements on outlets like Gawker, and TMZ, and The O'Reilly Factor. He's everywhere, and nothing he says or does ever means anything. And he's proud of it, and the media eats it up. He's a freakin' fool. (And no, I still haven't forgiven him for criticizing Nas for reading.) At any rate, this leads me to the point of this post. If 50 is the Al Sharpton of hip-hop, where do the other members of the hip-hop nation fit into the Civil Rights Movement? Well, in my highly oversimplified and completely unqualified opinion... Malcolm X. Jay-Z. Once revolutionary and angry (circa Reasonable Doubt), Jay has mellowed out significantly. He can still bring the fire when need be, but he has nothing to prove, and a lot to teach. Just as Malcolm rethought things after he made his pilgrimage, Jay-Z just needed to retire for a bit and gain some perspective. Martin Luther King, Jr. Nas. A lot of people forget that MLK wasn't getting much love at the time of his death. The Americans didn't love King, they loved dead King. Nas isn't getting much love these days, either. I greatly suspect that he won't really be appreciated for his genius and until some later date. Jesse Jackson. Cam'ron. Charismatic, a little flamboyant, kinda smart, somewhat ineffectual, good at making other people look good. Rosa Parks. Mary J. Blige. Only because they both get mad recognition for doing something that is incredibly simple (in MJB's case, her lyrics), but means so much to ordinary people. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Cornel West. Did you know Brother West is fixin' to release his second album? Bayard Rustin. Lil' Wayne. There isn't really a reason for this choice, I just thought it was a funny juxtaposition. Angela Davis. Jean Grae. She's a G, 'nuff said.

Lupe Fiasco @ The Fillmore 1/31/08

Greaaaaaaat show! Can I just leave it at that? I went with a colleague from work. We're from different departments, but he facebooked me and we've become work buddies, based on the fact that we a) are probably the only black people under 25 who work there, b) can talk about Greek stuff - he's a Sigma, and c) he's mad cool. I SO did not want to drive to Philly, but his car was in the shop. Imagine my surprise when he said he could drive stick! Bonus points were immediately awarded. He drove us to Philly, and got a BEAUTIFUL parking spot directly across from the theatre, on South Street. Soooo fab! It was at that point we knew the night was gonna be awesome. I've got chills just thinking about it! Now, we had been late leaving Jersey, so my BFF and her boyfriend were already having dinner when we arrived. Work Buddy and I walked down the street to this diner type place, and ordered drinks and apps. (side note: the drink menu included a drink called the "Jamaican Me Crazy." It was made with Captain Morgan's. Ummm, how are you going to title a drink after my homeland without including either Appleton or Meyer's? Boooooo!) I had a Money Maker - I don't remember what was in it, other than Bacardi, but it was good. BFF and boyfriend met us at the diner, we drank, talked, took pics; Work Buddy and I got Blue Moon (yum!), then it was off to the show. It started at nine, but due to the warning of one of my HU bros Josh, we went in late, so as to avoid the crappy opening acts. We got there as this dude named Optimus was finishing up his set, with a surprisingly good version of Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain." There was an intermission, so we went to the bar, where WB sweetly got shots for the group (it was BFF's boyfriend's birthday). SoCo and lime, let's go! The majority of the crowd was white high school kids, of course, with a sprinkling of uber-hip and fly young black people. Fast-forward to the crowd chanting: "Lupe! Lupe! Lupe!" and the show started! I bet WB that Lu would start the show with "Superstar" and end with "Kick, Push." He was sure it would be the reverse. He was half-right, dang it. The show began with "Real," from F&L, and while I get the concept, it was kind of a wack intro. It was followed by an awesomely rocked-out version of 'Ye's "Touch The Sky." (Did I mention the whole rock band aspect? BFF remarked to me about halfway through -- "This is my first rock concert!" And that's what it was. Sooo cool.) My favorite cut was later in the night, when he did "Daydreamin'." It was so hard. I was practically moshing, while WB was looking at me like I had two heads, but I'm pretty sure it's because he was jealous. Intermission, with this random dude who kept repeating: "I had a dream I was a $100 bill." Um, ok! Back to the bar, then. BFF and I ran across a friend's line brother who also went to HU. We chat, finish our drinks, head back to the floor, where the boyfriend and WB have been gallantly holding our space. At that point, we're pretty much feeling like this: The most interesting part was when he performed "The Coolest" a capella. I have to admit, it was a little weird to see him reciting "the coolest nigga, what / the coolest nigga, what / the coolest nigga, what" in front of that particular crowd... And that's when I realized that the only really derogatory statement I could make is the following: Lupe is truly a poet. So, having the rock, and the hype man, and the flashing lights is all good, but between songs, you just feel like you should be snapping your fingers or something... I don't know if I'm explaining this well, but, he was awesome and yet so low-key... sigh, I dunno. The show ended with Superstar, and the super-cute Matthew Santos came out to sing the hook. Below is the clearest picture WB managed to get of Lu. Like I said. GREAAAAAAAT show!

yay! but...

My feelings on Rihanna are well-documented (or were, on the old incarnation of this blog), so I'm sure you can imagine the serious WTF?? face I had when I saw this poster. 'Ye? Check! N*E*R*D? I thought ya'll were broken up, but sure! Lupe? SHHHYEAAAAAHHHH! (Did I mention I'm going to see him tomorrow night? I'm so effin' excited, you guys!!!) But... Rihanna? How does she fit in? Maybe they really needed a chick who was hot right now and Beyonce's tour rider was longer than everyone else's put together? And, well, Mariah is crazy. That's about all I can think of. Rih's music is slightly weird, so I can see how she fits in that way, but come on! {haterism}Unlike everyone else on that poster, she doesn't actually have a talent, and that just doesn't feel right.{/haterism} Oh well, assuming the bottom is in chronological order, I'm pretty sure I'll be going to this show... kinda late. *Note: I'm loving this poster. Very Return of the Jedi.

crank that acoustic

In the words of my lovely Lauren: "I don't know how I lived my whole life without this."