Kanye's OPUS...

OPUS: A creative work, especially a musical composition numbered to designate the order of a composer's works.

The first part of that definition, "a creative work", is what seems to have been lacking from hip-hop albums for a minute. This year, with exceptions of GAME, Common, and an honorable mention of Beanie Sigel, hip-hop has been pretty much the same it's been for the past few years. That is, formulaic, overly thugged and gangstered-out, and seemingly half-hearted. Basically, I couldn't FEEL people's albums. I could listen to them, but I didn't FEEL them. I felt GAME's album. He had some stuff he made you feel. He spit with a passion like that of a budding artist starving to get his voice hear. I felt Common's album for similar reasons. Lyrically, he's one of the best, hands-down. And his content is REAL.

If you agree with me in this, you will find Kanye's latest CD, Late Registration to be a great break from the norm. The music alone on this CD is worth 5 mics (shot out to the SOURCE)! The sound of this album is, in a word, unique. Not Electric Circus (Common) unique. Not, Jay-Z and Linkin Park unique. But Kanye unique. Take the sound of Common's latest CD, BE (which Kanye executive produced) and "re-master" it, and then you have Late Registration. And by no means does BE need to be remastered, but if it were, it would probably have the rich and full sound of Late Registration.

Late Registration is easily a 4.5 - 5 mic album by any magazine's rating system. It's definitely the best album out since Kanye's last album. Two classics! He puts a lot of effort into his work and it shows. So maybe his cockiness when it comes to his music is warranted. I mean, every good businessman stands behind his product and Kanye is no exception.

From the music behind the words, to the content, delivery, flow, and creativity, this album is on another level. While he's not the best lyricist out there, he has a way of putting his words together very creatively and it complements the topics he addresses very well. Kanye has a knack for creativity and creating soulful music with some real meaning behind it. He addresses things that many people think and/or question through his music and that (to me) makes him real and not just a rapper/celebrity.

He is one of my favorite rappers and I critique him heavily when he comes out with new music, but I am going to try to sit-back and enjoy this one, because it's an album that should simply be enjoyed and appreciated. That is, if you like G.O.O.D. Music.

PHOTOS: More VMA Photos...

Kanyeezy...That boy got a banging album on his hands, Late Registration.



Is it just me...Or do 50's eyebrows get thinner and thinner every time I see a picture of him. Not to mention they look like they're arched...OMG! LMAO! He's doing his thing business-wise. MOP, Ma$e, Mobb Deep. I wonder who's next?

I am definitely gonna go check out that movie he's starring in, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Lookin smooth Fif!



Shakira. No commentary necessary on this one...

PHOTOS: MTV VMAS

50 Cent looking like a cross between Eddie Murphy's RAW and the dude from Green Mile...Make up your mind!!!



Crucial (and I do mean CRUCIAL) Keys looking fine as usual.



It's just one thing that got me tripping...That DRESS. She's a beautiful girl, I wish she picked a better dress.



I love Ciara ya'll! And so does Bow Wow. That dress she had on, MAN! Can we say legs? She should write a song and say "I put the Wow in Bow Wow!"



Shot out to Common...He's a smooth dude. And David Banner is looking CLEAN too! Nice job fellas!





Whether he's Puff Daddy, P Diddy, or DIDDY, you gotta give Sean Combs his props!



Imma Eva-Believa. Tony Parker you lucky dog.





Didn't really want to put this one up, but Ice-T's wife obviously wants the attention.



Two of the funniest looking dudes in hip-hop! I love Jigga man (shot out to Laf) and Jeezy got a decent album on his hands, but boy this picture is hilarious!



Another fine young actress. She's HOT!



Damn she FINE! John Legend is my man and all but he needs to loosen up that jacket!



I'm giving Luda props for doing the go-go version of pimpin all over the world...Although I don't like the song, I am glad Rare Essence got that exposure.



How Snoop won the best dressed award is BEYOND ME!

Returning perishables???

Okay, is it just me or do you not return perishable items for a refund. For example, if I buy a box of frozen pizzas, get home and realize they're not the ones I wanted, I just take that as a loss...I don't return them to Giant for a refund...Or do I?

I say this because T and I were in Walmart on Saturday and this lady was in the customer service line returning some frozen pizza things. I thought it was pretty damn weird myself, but maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm tryna be too high-society or something.

Please advise.

HOW MUCH I LOVE SOUTH FLORIDA: What A Way to End the Summer...

Most of you probably already read my synopsis of the trip T and I took to Fort Lauderdale, it was GREAT! Well, there's another South Florida trip on the horizon...MIAMI!

It seems T and I were lucky enough to miss Hurrican Katrina and it also looks like Miami will recover from the hurricane just in time for my arrival. Labor Day in Miami should be great! As always, I'll post some pictures once I return home.

PHOTOS: HOW MUCH I LOVE SOUTH FLORIDA: Fort Lauderdale

Many of you probably read my short blog entry about me being Fort Lauderdale bound. Well, that was from Aug. 18-21. T and I took a mini-vacation to Fort Lauderdale and we had a damn ball! I have a bunch of pictures to show you guys and also some notable things to mention. Here we go...



We left EARLY Thursday morning. And I mean EARLY as in the eye-crud was so thick it dried on my eye like Elmer's Glue. We got a lift to the airport by T's dad and made it there in pretty good time. It was a fairly short flight (about 2 hours and 15 minutes). Once we got to Fort Lauderdale T was hungry so we got some food in the airport.


You can see T looking real cute at the Fort Lauderdale airport in line to get something to eat.

Notice she has a HUGE smile on her face while eating this nice breakfast. Meanwhile, look at ya boy!



Notice that I am NOT eating. Okay, let me stop faking, it's because I wasn't hungry! Also, notice that my sometimes "wall" eye is looking directly at your a$$. LMAO! Anyway, the Fort Lauderdale airport was nice, but we had to bigger places to go, like the Avalon Waterfront Inn. CHYEAH!



So we take a cab to the hotel and get ourselves ready for some "fun in the sun" as T would say. Here's a nice picture we took at the hotel.




So we get checked-in and alladat and head to water. I will be keeping the beach pictures to myself (so so sorry).



Just to give you an idea of how wealthy the area of Ft. Lauderdale is, I'll give you a couple pictures of a high-rise that was being built right on the water. The residences in the building start at $1.15 million!!!










After we left the beach and changed our clothes, we took a walk down the main strip of Ft. Lauderdale Beach and ended up coming to a small shopping center with a few restaurants including Hooters (where we ended up getting food) and Fat Tuesdays (alcohol...YES!!!).












We ended up eating at Hooters which really SUCKED! I don't recommend going at all. The girls are low-budget and that tacky outfit just doesn't do it for me. Besides, the hamburger tasted like chicken! After Hooters, I did a chance to light up a nice stogie! It's tradition for me (shot out to WG)! Out of town on vacation, light up a cigar (preferably a vanilla or cherry-wrapped cigar...I love those!). So while we were at Fat Tuesdays sippin on some daquiri's, I ran and got a cigar and lit it up!




YES, I think I'm cool...Don't HATE!



Amidst all this, I got a chance to get some nice pictures of T. I think these are cute.






The next day we took a water taxi to the movies to see Four Brothers. Again, I highly recommend checking this movie out! It was GREAT! On the way to the movies, we saw a RACK of people's million dollar homes, sitting right on the water. These houses were HUGE and very ornate. They were owned by stars and businessmen. Basically people who have money beyond belief. We even saw a boat that costs $35 million. Check it out.






We went to the Los Olas Riverfront (which was a very nice little shopping center). Here are some pictures...


















We also ate in a real ritzy area after the movies. This area seemed to the the Dupont Circle (for all my DC folks) or Mt. Vernon (for all my Bmore folks) of Fort Lauderdale. For everyone who really thinks about this, you'll know what I mean. I like to call these areas the "diamond district" because the men are just as high maintenance as the women (hint hint). Anyway, I was quite disturbed when we left the restaurant because TWO GUYS (hint...damn..hint) were waiting at the table next to us for T and I to get up. So I paid the bill and when we were getting up a GUY says to me "Do you mind if we take your table? I see you were KEEPING IT WARM for us". FELLAS, all I have is one question. What dude that you know says "I see you were keeping it warm for us." Think about that, would YOU ever say that to another GUY? Hell no! Me either. So needless to say, because we were in the "diamond district" I was quite bothered by this, which T got a HUGE kick out of as usual. Aside from that incident, the Los Olas Riverfront was a GREAT experience.



Saturday we took a trip to MIAMI. South Beach BABY! I was really excited about this because Miami is one of my FAVORITE places to be. We had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch a boat from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami. The ride took us about 2.5 hours but the scenery was really nice.










While in South Beach we ate a the Lincoln Road Cafe on Lincoln Road. The food was really really good. We were walking around on Lincoln Road in search of a place to eat when one of those mini torrential tropical downpours hit, which really blew me. But we ended up standing under an umbrella at the hostess desk of a lil cafe and ended up going in to dine. The food was suprisingly good. But they served your sodas to you in a coke can with an accompanying goblet which was HILARIOUS to me!









One of the most interesting and crazy things I saw in Fort Lauderdale was this sandbar that's in the middle of a bay. Now keep in mind that a bay is like the size of a river basically, so it can get really really deep and wide. So we're coming back from Miami and there's this sandbar in the middle of the water and people have their boats parked (anchored) around this sandbar (probably about 50 yards in diameter). The crazy part is that these people were STANDING IN THE WATER. Imagine riding the Potomac River or Baltimore Harbor on a boat and seeing someone standing right in the middle of it and the water only comes up to their chest. Well, that's exactly how it looked. Check it out. You can even see a red and black hot dog stand in the middle of one of the pictures.










Once we got back from Miami, we hit the beach again and T played around in the water for a while. Afterward we headed back to the hotel to get dolled up for our last night in Fort lauderdale. We ended up having a nice dinner at a restaurant called Sloppy Joes. Nice conversation as well. Overall, it was a VERY nice trip and I had a really really good time. I wish you guys could have been there to experience it with us.

FELLAS, like the Backwudz say..."YOU GONNA LOVE MEEEEEEEEE!"

Alright fellas, a lot of you have may have HEARD of "Buffy the Body" (I can't say that without laughing/smiling). A lot of you may have SEEN her in a music VIDEO without knowing. But I gotta give you the link to this BLOG entry (on boogietonight.blogspot.com) that puts the picture with the name and gives a lil bit of information on this young lady.

All I can say is WHOA!

http://boogietonight.blogspot.com/2005/08/buffie-body-caruth-seeing-is.html

Banging Makaveli in the IPOD...

While I don't own or plan to own an IPOD anytime soon, I got an email from a friend recently explaining her opinion on IPODs. I think it's kinda humorous and interesting.

----------

If one more person tells me I need to get an iPOD I'm going to scream. While
I recognize the inherent trendiness of a 10,000 song music library at my
finger tips and an 11 hour battery life (minus the iTrip) there's just
something wrong with having that much music at your fingertips. For someone
who nearly sets her mood for the day by what music she listens to in the
morning, the thought of someone having 10K options at their disposal
throughout the day is liable to make them a lunatic. Never mind the
additional technology needed to make the thing run. Where do you think
those songs come from, because you know they don't just magically appear on
the iPod.

But iPod will save Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL). At least that what
everyone says, so it MUST be true. Hey, I'm not complaining, as a stock
holder if it's good for Apple it's good for me. Just don't expect me to go
down with the rest of society on this wave of technology. I still think
vinyl has superior aesthetic quality to digital music, and prefer film
development from negatives opposed to digital renditions. The second I
figure out how to abandon personal computer technology (minus in-car GPS)
I'm out! Hit me up with the next soon to be 42-cents stamp!

~Lauren

Trapped in the closet...

This is a remake of Part 1 of R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet video...It's done in SIMS.

http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1600632/

Four Brothers...

Best movie I have seen since CRASH! This was a really good movie. Mark Walhberg (since I can't call him Marky Mark) did his thing. And so did the villain in this movie. I bet you won't guess the villain is actually British!!! Pulling a Stringer Bell on us!

John Singleton definitely has another solid movie to add to his increasing line of great movies. I highly recommend you check this movie out. Moreso than Hustle and Flow, which was a real let-down for me.

DUMBASS Award Runner-UP

I should probably give this dude the first place trophy...

Clifford Etienne

Funny Commercials...

I thought these commercials (Windows Media File) were pretty hilarious! Especially the last joint.

Shot out to Rah on sending me this joint!

DUMBASS Award for the week

Wife Frees Husband at Courthouse Jailbreak

Sounds like something from a movie doesn't it? Well, this movie doesn't have a happy ending. This woman did successfully break her husband out of police custody and they made a fairly clean escape. But she took a bullet in the process and they were subsequently caught a day later.

Now here's the dumbass part! They fled to another state and caught a cab ride for $185.00 to another state (I wish I could find that article I read). They told the cab driver that they were headed to an Amway convention. Okay, there's the DUMBASS part. They ended up getting caught at a hotel where the room. Before the police entered the room, they called the room and asked for Jennifer. She responded "Yes." DUMBASS!

Then they proceeded to tell her that they were surrounded and they should come out with their hands up. The couple was then apprehended with no problems. The hotel room was described as having weapons and with the mattress halfway off the boxspring? Hmmmmnnnn...Mattress halfway off the box spring. Sounds like some "relations" to me...Was this just an escape to have a "conjugal" visit? I sure hope not.

She gets the DUMBASS award for the week because she took a bullet and actually answered to her name when the police called basically giving them both away! And they both get a DUMBASS award for telling the cab driver they were headed to an Amway convention and paying $185 for a cab ride.

The NEW Gallagher

She'd have Gallagher's spot if she crushed them joints with some liquid actually in the cans. Some of you may have already seen this.

Can Crushing Mama (Windows Media Player File)

Ladies, keep your skin clean...

Here's one GREAT reason for women not to get tattooed all up. When you try to dress classy, you end up looking either ASHY or ASSY! Jacki-O here (this is the chick who supposedly beat up Foxxy Brown in a Miami recording studio) looks quite old in the face and those tattoos look like somebody's kid scribbled all over her! And is it me or do she remind ya'll of Michelle from Destiny's Child in this picture. Looking 40+ in the face but dressed like she just turned 23 and half! It's not CUTE ladies. A nice tattoo in a discrete location is nice, but tats everywhere really makes you look unclassy at times.

And if I see one more lady with the tattoo on the small of her back that looks like a XXX symbol I am going to scream. It was sexy when it was only a few girls with that tattoo but now it's like everybody has a tattoo in that spot of seemingly the same design. At least be creative if you gonna get one there!

For all you ladies out there who are serious about your health and appearance and can feel me on this tattoo thing, here's a nice book you should get by Mikki Taylor, Self-Seduction. And I want it to be known that I am not against women with tattoos, I am just against women with too many tattoos and tattoos in places that they won't look cute in 1) 10 years and 2) a classy dress.

FELLAS...I GOT YOU!

Do yourselves a favor and surprise your girl with a nice book...

The S-Factor

I am sure your lady will appreciate it.

Money Changes You...

It's not often that I quote 50 Cent (other than saying a random G-UNIT or some silly rhyme he came up with) but this quote from an article is kinda interesting to me:

"Money changes things, man. And the person who tells you that finances don’t change you – if money don’t change you, it’s because you’re not making enough. Because it will change you, you know what I’m saying? It will change your thought process because as you become successful you’re going to act with a circle that is more successful. They think on a higher level. [Success] ain’t an accident."

http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1149

I think I agree with that statement. Not that I know because I ain't making enough...LOL. But I definitely agree with the last 3 sentences.

Public Service Announcement: Stop wearing those B.B.B.B.'s!!!

Finally, someone has come out with a flier stating what I've been feeling for a couple years now...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ladies...Stop wearing the Broke Broad Bunyon Baskets (B.B.B.B.)

I HATE these slippers. And yes, I understand HATE is a strong word, but in this case, I really do mean it. I can't stand these joints! Everybody from toddlers to grown women (damn shame) have a pair of these. You automatically descrease your net worth by 10% when you slide your feet into these low-budget slippers. These are arguably worse than those Ninja slippers girls in PG used to wear back in like 97-98.

I am not sure who came up with this flier, but I agree 100%!!! Ladies take heed please!

Moofasa!

Tonight my friends, I'll be going to see the LION KING. Yes, Simba and Moofasa! T doens't know this, but this is one of my all-time favorite G-Rated movies (watch out Bambi)! We're going to see the play so it should be a really nice experience.

Fort Lauderdale-BOUND...

In a couple weeks it's time to get the vacationing started (yeah, I know it's a little late in the summer to make that statemnt)! Anyway, T and I are heading to Fort Lauderdale for a weekend. She's gonna be finishing up classes in a couple weeks and it'll be prime-time for a vacation. So we decided to go to Fort Lauderdale after throwing out places like Myrtle Beach, VA Beach, and a bunch of local MD/Delaware beaches.

I'm looking forward to this trip...Clear skies, clear water, clear liquor (YES), and relaxing in the sun!

HILARIOUS

These ARE NOT MY WORDS!

_____________________________________________________________________
TC Tuesdays: Heatwave!!
tc@urbanflavorz.com

Are you ready for the heatwave? If you are on the East Coast, then
you have been feeling this heatwave for about a week now. I hope
you are reading this email in some air conditioning, because today
is supposed to be yet another 90-degree scorcher. Once the heat
gets this intense, it becomes too hot for a lot of things; I have
created a list below. If you find yourself doing any of those
things on the list, I command you to immediately stop what you
are doing, go sit in front of a fan and eat as many ice cubes as you
can in 5 minutes; you'll thank me once you're hydrated.

-Dude, It's too hot to fight right now. If I catch a beef with
somebody, we just gonna have to squash it till September, we'll
probably both pass out after swings anyway.

-Ladies, it's too hot to have like 3 or 4 pound of weave in your
hair, I know your scalp smells like fried okra. Let it breathe,
toots.

-It's too hot to be wearing timberlands, point blank. But dammit
I still wear mine damn near every day. But if you ever see me with
some slouch socks on, I hereby give you permission to spit in your
palm and smack the sh*t out of me.

-It's too hot to be getting drunk. My Ethiopian friend Nate got
twisted at Republic Gardens last week, and burst into flames as soon
as he walked out the door.

-It's too hot to be hanging outside for no reason. I know ya'll
"thugs" gotta make ya'lls money, but you better get in some air
conditioning; only people coming on the strip in this heat are
dedicated pipeheads (the ones who dance for rocks) and Satan.

-It's too hot to have cookouts. Move that grill inside and just
make sure you don't burn the ribs, or your smoke detector will be
screeching like Mariah Carey at the BET Awards.

-It's too hot to be doing all that terrorist sh*t, so could
somebody two-way Bin Laden's Sidekick and tell him to wait until the
fall to bomb us? You know, like he did last time.

-It's too hot to be mad, so if you did like that last line I
wrote, go drink some Aquafina, think of something funny, and chuckle
to yourself.

-Ladies, it's too hot to have all that make up caked on your face,
I saw this chick on the blue line yesterday, it looked like her face
was melting; she looked like Michael Jackson made up as a clown;
kids were crying, retarded people were doing the moonwalk, the
train conductor was singing "Thriller;" it was just terrible.
Ladies, lay off the MAC until September.

-It's too hot for car accidents! Please people, drive like you
got some sense, because road rage gets 100% worse when it's hot
outside. Some people are already pissed off because they are
driving a hooptie with no A/C and the windows don't roll down, so
just imagine how quick they will flick off if you cut them off in
traffic.

-It's too hot to be outside playing basketball, football, baseball,
hell any kind of sport. Now is the time to be playing your
Playstation 2, your Xbox, or whatever.

-Its too hot to be wearing them thick ass, hot ass t-shirts; you
know, those joints with the hoodie on the back of it? Man, you
better get you a cut off or a wifebeater before you sweat to death.
And not one of those gay ass G-Unit 50 cent looking wifebeaters

JRon's Addition:

It's too hot to be tryin' to look cute! You can't look cute and smell good until after about 7:30/8:00 p.m. from late July - August. Not to mention what the humidity does to some of the ladies hair! If you come out of the house any other time, within minutes you will be smelling like a combination of skin and "outside" and will remain perpetually moist.

Tiff's Addition:

Fellas if you are a "pimp in ur own mind" and its this HOT outside,
leave the mountain of cologne and the three piece suit with the matching
gaitors (w/out socks I might add) at home. And for the love of all that is right in the world, being preppy does NOT mean having on some shorts that come ABOVE your knees...yes we can respect that its hot outside but I don't want to see your knees and furthermore...IF you are a man that is secure enough to wear flip-flops, be secure enough to get a pedicure BEFORE doing so...and keep your knees and feet hook up with some lotion man...

SOCIAL OUTCRY: 50 cent clothes, water, and watches....all OVERPRICED

For those of us who like to waste money on overpriced products targeted at the "urban" market, here's the 50 CEnt MP3 player watch. Priced at $486

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/342/C4287/

Now, here's a watch that performs the same function, for $180:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/7899/

"Tell em why you mad son, tell em why you man!"

Do "they" think we're dumb? Do you think that because I like Jay-Z and 50 Cent; because I wear baggy clothes; because I wear a button-up and blazer; because I blast my rap music when you pull up next to me at a stoplight...That I AM DUMB????

Come on man! Like T.I. said..."You don't know ME!"

Man, we gotta think about what type of respect people have for our intelligence when they start doing stuff like this. I mean, there's a $300 mark-up on a product because 50's name is on it...First and foremost, don't think I don't realize that I can get the same product for a lot cheaper. Secondly, don't think that I am gonna buy something simply because Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is associated with it. Hell, after that last album, I don't know if I'd buy anything 50 Cent sponsors! I won't rant and rave about this people.

But I will say, seek and ye shall find. Don't think that the 50 Cent MP3 player is the ONLY mp3 player out there! Search around for comparable products before you just run out and buy what you're favorite rapper is sponsoring and wearing/using/etc. I know that it's hard to resist those fresh S. Carter tennis shoes (hell, I got a pair). I know it's hard not to cop that new Rocawear tee...But daggonit, be smart about it. Catch it on sale. Go look around before you head straight to your usual spot to cop an overpriced product. This is something that I AM WORKING ON right now! So I'm preaching to myself as well. But I realize that I have to be smarter and pay for quality and value rather than a name. Not that rappers aren't behind quality products, but you guys know what I mean. We're smart and it's time we act like it!

DUMBASS Award for the week...

RAFAEL PALMIERO...First off, this is the same guy who two weeks ago joined baseball's 3000 hit club. This is not an easy feat! Moreover, he's 30+ home runs away from joining Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as the only baseball players EVER to hit 600 homers and 3000 hits. This is ELITE company he'll be in. AND, this is the same guy who testified before Congress that he has never taken steroids, "PERIOD."

And today, the man will be getting suspended for taking 'roids...Somebody please tell him that Cialis and Viagra will cause a positive drug test...

"YOU BIG DUMMY!"

-Fred Sanford

ADDENDUM: More incriminating information on our DumbAss for the week

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2123113

PHOTOS: Fantasia...Go Ahead and Free yourself

Creativity taken too far? I dunno, but you can judge for yourself!

We love you girl, but DAMN!

I mean yeah the trailer was cool, but what's the fuss about???

Hustle & Flow

I gotta admit that I was kinda siced up to see this movie. So much so that I planned to take my half-day last Friday and go catch this joint. Well, I did just that. But it wasn't as good as I was hoping. Fortunately for me though, I went to a matinee show, so at the very least I can smile and say: "At least I didn't pay full price!"

The movie was NOT that bad at all. It was defintely a movie that entertains you. However, I left the movie theater feeling a little disappointed. Terrence Howard was good in his portrayal of a pimp turned desparate rapper. I haven't heard that many "Mannnn"'s since Dead Presidents (remember his role in that movie). But overall, the movie didn't really move me or make me go "Wow!" like I had anticipated.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd have to give this movie a 7. It really left me expecting more. While I can't recommend that you avoid seeing this film, I will say that it's worth the price of a matinee admission.

Go see it and feel free to let me know your thoughts! If you have already seen it, let me know if it's just me or not. PEACE!