Skillz...2007 Wrap Up

You know what it is...




The video will probably drop by the time you read this. If not, then until then...



And, in case you missed 'em:

2006 Rap Up

2005 Rap Up

2004 Rap Up

2003 Rap Up

2002 Rap Up

You probably forgot about some of that stuff he mentioned, didn't you?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Somehow, it never gets old. LOL. And, it goes well with this...

If you like hip-hop or go-go...

or a crankin' azz song, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING...AND LISTEN! Then put this in your rotation....

Rhymefest ft. Talib Kweli - Never Can Say Goodbye

Off Rhymefest's Mixtape...

Some of you might be wondering why I am so siced/pumped about this, but this is a sample of my favorite Jackson 5ive song of all time and it has a go-go feel to it. Though I don't listen to go-go much anymore and haven't for the past few years, this took me back to when I used to go to Club U to see Rare Essence (LOL). Woo and W-G know that the "Cell Therapy" joint used to crank when Essence hit that. I'm all nostalgic and ish. Besides that though, 'Fest's verse is FIYAH (shot out to JAC)! And if you don't know what go-go is, drop a comment so I can put you on.

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Bonus Coverage: Michael Jackson (Kanye West on the beat) - Billie Jean Remix

Kanye should have rapped on that joint.

Family Values from Pistol Packin' P

Ironic that the video below pops up considering this guy is about to go to jail on a gun possession conviction.



I won't even comment like I want to on this foolish video. But no matter how you look at it, there's no reason you should be teaching a 7 year old kid how to shoot a gun. Maybe if this was the backwoods of America West Virginia, but even then you'd think that a 7 year old should be spending his/her time doing homework, watching TV, reading a book, playing with friends, or something else semi-productive. Not learning how to shoot weapons.

I recall Prodigy saying in a song years ago and a recent interview that his father showed him how to shoot and taught him about guns at a young age, so I guess this is his way of passing on some counter-productive family values. That's sad. Check out the song for yourself...


I'd rather see you teach your son how to box rather than shoot a gun. Stuff like this just leads to more punk-azz kids who are afraid to fight, but eager to shoot. Just what we need!

The video actually reminded me of this verse from Beans off of "Where Have You Been" on the Dynasty Album. This gives the potential flipside to Prodigy's coin.

"...I 'member that day you showed me that gat, that 9
put it in my palm when I was young
and said that would be mine, you turned me out
the reason why I hit the block
reason why I tried to hit them cops
reason why I started hittin shots
reason why I started gettin licked
and drinkin syrup and skippin court
ginger bread man never think of gettin caught
look at your hand man damn you fought
nigga you left my mom
left us with no good-bye's
you left us out to dry
you left us with no letters, notes, (nothing!) no replies
no digits numbers was unlisted
you left us with some of my loneliest night
nigga some of my hungriest nights..."

Mathematically Speaking...

Knowledge = Power

This is a track by Lupe called "Glory". Watch the video for the imagery, then watch it again and listen to what Lupe is saying. It's tight!


You've noticed by now that I'm on my Lupe ish.

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Bow Wow = Straight Sucker


Not that this is a surprise or anything, but this just makes me realize how a lot of these young dudes listen to too many rappers talking about "real talk" and all this other bowlshyt and try to act it out in real life with people that they feel they can get away with it around. For example, for whatever reason Bow Wow sees himself as superior to disrespected by Touré. When in actuality, Touré's soft-azz would probably beat the crap out of Bow Wow's softer azz (no Omar). So Bow Wow stunts on him while walking out of the room and then calls his security staff to "handle" TOURÉ. Seriously, you need security to do that? It's Touré, not 50 (who has guns the size of Lil Bow Wow). Negro please!

But, Touré was wrong for trying to bait him into that crap. LOL. He must not have known that Bow Wow ain't having that in '07. Ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

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Wearing one FREE Mike Vick shirt onfield = $10,000 in fines

22 more months of this shyt.

I understand that he is your friend or whatever, so in that regard I can understand the decision to do this. On the other hand, aren't there other ways to express your disdain with the situation? Honestly though, should they really be wearing the shirts, friend or no friend? While I don't think it's one of the worsts crimes in the world, Vick did finance a dog-killing fighting operation and helped kill dogs. Doesn't he kinda deserve to do some time?

Come on fellas, let's be real here. Save yourself a few grand and just talk about it in your post-game interviews or on local television, jeez! Those shirts are not going to get homie's sentence reduced. You should be wearing "Mike, be good in jail!" shirts so he can come home early. All these FREE [insert name] shirts should be reserved only for political prisoners.

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Michael Jackson = C-R-A-Z-Y!

I refuse to post this shyt on my blog, so please visit Babes, Bling, and Booze for Michael Jackson's latest surgery recovery.

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Batman: Dark Knight = (probably gonna be) DOPE

Soon you'll understand...

I was thinking, if I was loopy and somehow always found myself in the middle of a fiasco, I'd hope Chilly would sit me down and give me some cool for thought. He's made some mistakes, so listening to him would probably do me some good. Maybe that'd break down those walls in my mind and set me free. Help me realize that even the coolest can't always act like a superstar. It doesn't matter if you've been lucky enough to fall asleep in Paris and wake up in Tokyo and you have all the fame in the world, that gold watch you love to wear doesn't define you. You are who you are, on the inside. After that ephiphany, I might take a look at the things that helped shape my life, even in the most infintesimal ways and see that hip-hop may have saved not only my life, but saved your life. Weary of those untrustworthy intruders who enter your life and try to take you back to that loopy fiasco you were in from the start, you realize that it's not about any one thing that's helped shaped you, but your body of work as a whole. It's the album - the soundtrack of your life - that scores the story of who you are and how you became the person you are.

I'm 73% Hussein

Barack Hussein Obama that is.

I took a test to see who I should vote for in the 2008 election and it appears that Obama and I stand pretty close to one-another on most issues. According to this particular test anyway. My results are below (by the way, who is Bill Richardson? LOL):

You match up well with...

Barack Obama - 73% match

"You must be ambitious and idealistic, like Barack Obama. Obama is a liberal democrat who, unlike his rivals, opposed the Iraq war from the start. With only 8 years in the Senate, his inexperience worries some and sometimes reveals itself in the debates, but he also has the charisma and popular support that the others lack."

Bill Richardson - 67% match

"You're looking for a moderate Democrat like Bill Richardson. Experienced in state, national, and international politics, Richardson has been a Congressman, an ambassador to the United Nations Security Council, and is now the governor of New Mexico. He is pro-choice, strongly favors rights for the LGBT population, advocates for affirmative action in government contracts, and even championed the idea that Congress should revoke the original authority it gave to go to war with Iraq. Richardson also supports the death penalty and gun ownership rights."

Hillary Clinton - 65% match

"Hillary Clinton is a liberal democrat who is unpopular among conservatives for advocating universal health care, abortion rights, and civil unions. She is resented in the anti-war crowd for having authorized a military strike in Iraq and not apologizing since. People see her as power-hungry and willing to do anything to get to the top, even stay with her unfaithful husband. However, Clinton has 8 years of experience in the White House, 25 years in national politics and is currently serving her second term as a popular New York senator. She knows how to make and deliver policy which puts her ahead of the inexperienced presidential hopefuls."

Summing it all up, I guess I'm looking for a candidate with Barack's charisma, Bill's experience, and Hillary's marital resources (LOL).

Take the test for yourself.

Floyd Mayweather: Lb. 4 Lb. the Best to Ever Lace 'Em Up

You might not like Floyd's arrogance and flamboyance outside the ring. You might not like that he's all about M-O-N-E-Y! You might not like his fighting style over the past couple of fights. But, if you don't believe this guy is pound-for-pound the best fighter ever, just ask Ricky Hatton!

Roy Jones used to be regarded as the best fighter pound-for-pound until he got knocked out (multiple times). I hope Floyd goes out on top and (like he said) "retires from boxing" because I don't want to see boxing retire him. He's got his uncle to look at as a testament to that. Roger Mayweather is off his rocker (LOL).

To recap the fight, here are the main points...

Defense. CHECK!
Speed. CHECK!
Accuracy. CHECK!
Savvy. CHECK!
Hook. CHECK!

Oh my bad, I mean Check Hook. Or should we call it a chin check? Either way, it was checkmate.

R. Kelly channels one of his ménage partners. Guess who?

Opening credits...Post inspired by Honorable Media

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R Kelly and Ursher were dating the same girl so obviously R. Kelly should be the one to give Ursher marital advice. These guys obviously work well together. Just like Johnny Gill and Eddie Murphy. Except neither one of these guys owns an island (that we know of), though I'm sure sometimes they both might feel as if they live on one, alone.

After listening to Crazy, by Kellz, I realized that it would not surprise me one bit if Kellz, Ursher, and Mrs. Ursher were in some sort of twisted bi-sexual love triangle. I swear R. Kelly came up with that Trapped in the Closet ish from his actual life. Tell me you'd put it past him. Tell me you'd put the bi-sexual love triangle thing past Usher's "put that on errything" azz.

In "Crazy", you'll get a chance to hear Kellz jack Ursher's singing style while speaking on Usher's relationship situation. Allegedly. This all sounds like it could be 100% true considering how much people specu-hate on Usher's relationship decisions. Otherwise, why would Kellz even make the song? This song will draw some attention (from people like me) I'm sure and it wouldn't be half as entertaining if Kellz were singing about two people who were never in the middle of relationship controversy. But, I am going to go out on a limb (no Mike Jack) and say that I don't think Kellz would spill these particular beans: 1) Without permission from Usher, or 2) unless it's all fabricated to sound like truth.

But with this guy, you really never know.

Regardless of whether it's partially true, completely true, or completely fabricated, I think it's quite an entertaining and interesting song. I'm sure lots of people will hate, but it kept my attention for a few minutes. Besides, this is probably just the beginning to some twisted sexual experiment that'll become known as The Horniest of Both Worlds or some ish like that. It'll be filled with super-freaky ish that Kellz has perfected and random relationship-based stuff that Curious George Usher has gone through. It'll probably be a helluva entertaining CD I might add. Not that I'm going to buy it if it actually happens. But it's better to see Kellz working with Usher than making craptastic songs with Beanie Sigel. Okay, it's not complete crap. I would listen to this in the club. But still, it isn't good either.

Whether it's collabo's, sextapes, or multiple-personality songs, R. Kelly never ceases to entertain.

Now it makes sense...

A few weeks ago I questioned whether Ron Mexico was stupid or suicidal. Well now it appears he's neither and I was short-sighted in writing that post. Yes, I said it.

Today I just found out that he's only going to do 23 months in jail. Yes, ONLY 23 months. Or maybe I just know too many people who were locked up for like 5-10 years? My sentencing barometer could be off I guess. For all the hoopla and the destruction of his "reputation"/name it turns out this guy is only going to do roughly 2 years in jail. And considering he turned himself in a month ago (just about), he'll only really be doing 22 months in jail. Knowing a little about how the prison system works, it would not surprise me if he were out in a year and a couple months or after he's served 75% of that sentence.

So Vick's move to go "in" early was probably prompted by knowing that he wouldn't be doing as much time as most of us probably thought he would. He could only have been sentenced up to five years anyway (wow). But I'm sure his lawyers had an idea of how much time he'd get or a they had a deal in the works. One thing I found interesting was that the prosecutors recommended only 12-18 months in the bing for Vick. But the judge (shot out to the Virgina judicial system) decided he needed to dodge anal rape for a bit longer than that.

In hindsight it could be considered ironic and perhaps effed the eff up that Ookie's Mike Vick's reputation and career have been ruined because he bankrolled Bad Newz Kennels and murked (or assisted in murking) some doggies. Crimes that we now learn will only get him 23 months in the slammer. From all the media coverage, you'd have thought they were going to electrocute him the way they electrocuted those dogs at Bad Newz Kennels. Granted, I've never been a big fan of dogs (not to say they should die, however) and I've been a huge fan of Mike Vick (on the field) so maybe I'm just biased. So what! My point is that even if I was not biased this man's reputation has been shat upon continuously since the story broke and now he's doing less time than someone who got caught with an illegal firearm in the state of MD (click the link, read the last paragraph). This reminds me that we should pray for Tippord.

Sidebar: Also note in the last paragraph via the link how "dealing" firearms will get you 5 years but being caught with an illegal firearm will get you 10 years. Interesting. If you think about that along racial and/or economic lines, who will be dealing the firearms and who will be possessing an illegal firearm? You do the math. Now I'd continue to rant about how sentencing laws for cocaine possession vs crack possession are based on similar mathematics, but that's not the point of this post.

Back to Vick. To be honest I am glad to see that he isn't getting the book thrown at him even if the judge did give him more time than the prosecution suggested. Although I think what he did was wrong and that he should be punished, I thought that the media's coverage was unfair and so much damage has been done to this man's reputation that even after serving his "debt to society" he'll find it hard to achieve success again in anything he does. It's like Dave Chappelle said, once you're famous you can't become un-famous, but you can become infamous. And for Mike Vick, that may prove to take more away from his life than a couple years in jail.

The Shiddy City Report: Detroit and BodyMore

Disclaimer: I live in Baltimore. That either means I have some idea of what I'm talking about, or I'm a transplant from P.G. County who just happens to live here. Or both. I've never been to Detroit. And from the looks of things, I won't be visiting Rock City anytime soon.

Detroit: Cheap idiot's plot to kill thwarted by a 7 year old

Well, not so much thwarted as much as she served as a human shield. Nevertheless, she saved her mom's life and she is still alive and (shockingly) in stable condition. Let me explain...

This idiot to your right, Calvin Tillie (or Captain Calvin as I like to refer to him, explanation later), tried to kill Alexis Goggins' mother on Saturday. He apparently forced Alexis' mother, Seliethia, as well as Alexis into a car that Seliethia's friend was driving. All this at gunpoint. What caught my attention aside from the fact that this young lady was shot in "the eye, left temple, chin, cheek, chest and right arm" and that her mother was shot in the side of the head and bicep, was that this fool was tricked into taking the three women to a gas station. On top of that, Captain Calvin gave the driver a $10 bill and told her to put $5 worth of gas in the car. Seriously Calvin? You must still work at McDonalds! Calvin, McDonalds. Get it? ... Anyway. $5 in a Ford Expedition probably isn't going to get you too far, buddy. I'm sure gas in the "motor city" is probably $3/gallon like it is everywhere else in the country. So considering that an Expedition probably gets somewhere around, say, 10 miles a gallon (city driving, of course), you probably didn't think through the funding for your abduction "adventure" very well. But then again, none of this fiasco seems very well thought out (no Lupe, he obviously thinks a lot). And did you really think the driver wouldn't call the police on her cellphone when she got out to go pump the gas? Come on man, think! Then again, it may be your saving grace that you didn't pre-meditate this entire thing like Rae Carruth some white-collar felon who'd have just hired some hitmen. Your lack of thought might end up sparing you a double life sentence and only get you a single one. There's a win.

Once Captain Calvin (they give all the slow kids important nicknames, ya'll know that) figured out the driver was stalling, what does he do? He starts letting off shots into innocent people like Blackwater. Without hesitation, he shot this young girl 6 times. Man! I'm not necessarily in-favor of the death penalty, but I can imagine there will be some talk of lethal injection, electrocution, stoning, impalement, and other sick shyt. I'm sure a psychological evaluation is in order as well as an investigation into drug use or a possible history of drug use on Captain Calvin's part. But d@mn, did he really have to dump off in a 7 year old girl like that (no Johnnycakes)?

Oh yeah, kudos to Detroit's police department who, once contacted by the driver, hung up on her once (allegedly). And upon the second call, (allegedly) told her there were no units to send. This after she told them a man was holding her two others hostage WITH A GUN! Let me find out there were more police in the movie 8 Mile than there currently are in Detroit.

For the full story from a second-rate source, click here.

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Baltimore BONUS COVERAGE: Take that seat and get a free knuckle sandwich!

As a bonus for those of you who (like me) got caught up in the JENA 6 cause, here's another group of young Blacks that might catch your attention pretty soon. I like to call them the BodyMore 9. After you read the article (if you care) and you think about it, you'll probably realize that the JENA 6 put in similar "work" before they got locked up. Remember, they did jump a kid. They didn't just do jail time for nothing. Of course, the BodyMore 9 probably won't get the old-South style judicial treatment like the Jena 6, but if this was my sister, I wouldn't be mad if they did get the old-South treatment. Anyway, here's an excerpt that pretty much sums up how East Baltimore the BodyMore 9 rolls

"As Sarah Kreager, 26, tried to sit down on a Baltimore City bus Tuesday, police say, a middle-schooler told her she couldn't. When she attempted to take another seat, a middle-schooler wouldn’t let her. Finally, according to police, Kreager just sat down.

She was 'immediately attacked' by nine students — three females and six males — from Robert Poole Middle School. They punched and kicked her"

It's a shame that teens do stuff like this and then other kids their age will be perceived as violent threats. I believe that these kids should be punished for this, but a lot of times these are misguided youth who can eventually mature into respectable adults. I know my friends and I came close to making huge, stupid mistakes when we were young that could have put us in a similar position. We were lucky. But for kids who aren't as lucky, an event like this could make or break the possibility of them being able to grow and mature in the "right way" or lead them down a path to more negativity. Hopefully justice is served, but people shouldn't forget that they're still just children and they should not just be punished, but rehabilitated taught better.

Or, do you guys think it's too late?

I'm not one to give up on kids. I'll give up on adults in a minute though (LOL) because once you're old and so-called set in your ways, it's harder to change and it usually has to start from within. But as a youth, you are still impressionable up to a certain age and I believe that means there's hope that others can influence you in a positive way. But maybe I'm just optimistic. Nevertheless, I can't help but think that this could have been me, you, or anyone we know just trying to get a seat on the bus. Then BAM! Eye-jammy.

Rosa Parks (RIP) would not condone this shyt. She's probably rolling over in her grave.

Hello? Is this thing still on?

It's been a minute since my last post so hopefully you guys still visit me from time-to-time. I know how the attention span of a blog-reader is about the same as a 8 year old on Ritalin and Sour Patch Kids (one of my favorite candies) and just got finished watching some crazy azz Japanese animé. But I've been a little busy and a little uninspired on the blogpost tip so I sat back and enjoyed the rest of the InterWeb for a minute. Not to mention I have been working like crap!

During that time, Sean Taylor passed, Sweet James Jones Pimp C passed, Stephon Marbury's dad passed, and some crazy azz kid in Omaha, Nebraska prematurely ended a bunch of people's lives (including his own). Not to mention all the non-celebrity (or celebrity affiliated) people who passed that we'll never hear about.

Not that I don't feel this way normally, but I'm feeling especially blessed to be here for another day. Sean Taylor's passing was eerie in that it reminded me of my friend Sean's death earlier this year. Same name, shot in the same place. Just eerie.

Pimp's Chad's death didn't hit me as much but I've been a UGK fan for a minute now and I feel bad for Bun B. Bun held Pimp down for several years while Pimp was incarcerated. Going so far as to refuse dropping any albums until Pimp came home. That's why you heard Bun on so many other people's songs and not releasing his own album or some sort of lack-luster UGK album. Remember FREE Pimp C??? That was Bun! It was only after Pimp gave Bun the go-ahead that he released his album Trill, in 2005. Then Pimp comes home and we eventually got the double-album, Underground Kingz. We also got more outspoken comments from Pimp C, who has never been one to mince words. Just when it seemed like UGK was rising, one of them falls (reportedly from natural causes). And even though I think that somehow a lifetime of sippin' that sizzurp and other intermittent drug use might have contributed to those "natural causes", my heart goes out to Pimp C's family and to Bun B.

Changing gears...During the same period of time all of this has been going on and I've been blogpost-less, I've been to Beantown and back, went to one of the best concerts of my life (shout out to Phonte and Big Pooh), spent ThanksGiving with my family and friends, saw one of my buddies and his girlfriend bring their first-born into the world, and started brainstorming a couple entrepreneurial moves.

I can't front though, I started to put together a few blogposts but didn't really have the time to finish them so I just left them on the back-burner. In the meantime, my man 50 grand, L, started his own blog called Mental Kung Fu, which I am sure is going to be one of my favorite blogs to read. He's already got a few posts up. Read his blog, regularly. Trust me! He's one of my best friends and one of the best writers I've read. Take that with a grain of salt though since my reading is confined to hip-hop magazines and O'Reilly books. Yet-and-still, this guy helped me write my essay for graduate school so to me he's the focking Native Son Richard Wright of this new era of writers and ish.

But because I'm lazy and I don't want my reckless typing to go to waste, I'll run off some of the blogposts I started, but never finished. I guess this is how I'll be finishing them. Enjoy!

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The cover to Ray J's upcoming "album", Unkut


"Ain't that Brandy's brother?"

It's totally messed up, but I still can't help but laugh. Honestly, this chick positioned herself as a high-class ho to become popular so I don't really feel bad for her. But at the same time, any dude with integrity wouldn't take shyt this far just to sell an album. Leave it up to Ray J and DJ Kay Slay to come up with this publicity stunt of a cover.

Oddly enough, I think Ray J got a shytload of credibility within hip-hop circles because of his "dealings" with Kim Kardashian. Before her, his sister was his credibility if you ask me. Even with this newfound credibility in hip-hop circles, I'd consider it a false sense of credibility. We all know that nobody really effs with Brandy's brother when the ish hits the fan. I don't think Spliff Star would let Ray J be his weed carrier. It's just a shame that Ray-Jeezy had to go this route to get some more attention. The friggin sextape was a let down anyway! Not that I saw it or anything. Anyway, Ray J should just re-release that first album of his because ya'll can't front like you weren't feeling that Wait A Minute joint! That shyt was HOT FIRE!

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Off to BeanTown [11/26/07]


'till Thursday.

Hopefully this conference is a decent one and I don't die of hypothermia. It's cold up there in New England this time of year!

...

It turns out that I somehow contracted what seemed to be a temporary Ebola virus infection while in Boston. So that meant I was coughing, stuffy, and sneezing my entire time there. Not to mention doped up on all types of medicine. But, it didn't completely stop me from enjoying my trip. The conference was a bit of a let-down but I did get to spend time with my friend Em from college that I have not seen since (hmmmmm...) 2002. Definitely the highlight of my trip. Check out my sickly azz in the pics below. LOL.

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Video montage of prank calls to CNN

Completely hilarious!


"Hello, am I on the air? ... F*CK!"

Fellas, try not to laugh! I dare you!

Click to enjoy!

Mike Vick: Stupid or Suicidal?

The reason I ask is because Ookie Mike Vick decided that today he'd turn himself in to begin his sentence EARLY. Yes, you read that correctly, E-A-R-L-Y! Who goes and does that? Seriously. R. Kelly has been avoiding jail time a trial for like 5 years now and this guy Vick wants to go in early? What a crazy world. Then again, they tried to get all his money and I'm sure his brother isn't financing his lavish lifestyle so maybe he's just given up. Sad. But perhaps appropriate. Not that he gives up on himself, but that he's not living lavishly.

Think about this...

1. It's three days before Thanskgiving
2. He doesn't get sentenced until Dec. 10th
3. What black man do YOU know who is itching to start his sentence early?
4. It's 3 days before THANKS-friggng-GIVING!

Seriously, anybody who voluntarily decides they want to go to jail early (let alone 3 days before Thanksgiving) needs to be put on suicide watch! There's no way I am scheduled to get sentenced on December 10th and decide that a few days before Thanksgiving is ideal to go "in". Miss mom's macaroni and cheese, greens, turkey with gravy and stuffing? Awww hell nah! I'm treating Thanksgiving like the LAST effing SUPPER!

Does he not want to spend this holiday with family before he kicks off (no pun intended) his jail time? However long that's going to be. I seriously hope a bunch of idiots don't interpret this as Mike Vick being "gangsta" because he decided to go in early. I've heard of that before. Even had a friend decide to go "in" a few weeks before he was schedule to be sentenced. But that shyt was in March! Around that time there aren't any largely significant family holidays that include tons and tons of food and (dare I say it) football!

Good thing they don't allow you to have belts or shoestrings in jail because I get the impression Ron Mexico Mike Vick might use his athletic ability to tie one hell of a noose (or figure-8 knot perhaps) and murk himself. God forbid he does that considering that's pretty much a one-way ticket to you-know-where, but seriously....Tell me you couldn't see it happening! Until then, I'm sure that sub 4.5 speed will come in handy around shower time. And to think, I thought my life was starting to suck! Man I am chillin' compared to this guy! Screw you student accounts office. I'll get you that dough when I'm good and ready!

As much as I think he (and TIPPORD) are idiots for making those bonehead decisions, I don't like to see any Black man incarcerated because I don't believe anyone comes out of there ready to assimilate right back into society. And the time you lose incarcerated, you can never get back. Not to mention the arguable but probably valid theory that the system (once we're in it) is setup to keep us inside of it. And that's not even taking into consideration the possibility of getting Beecher'd (or would it be Keller'd).

As an aside, what's in the limited supply of [low quality] H20 down in Georgia that has some of these young, rich Black men doing dumb ish? Hmmmnnnn.

As dumb as it sounds, I'd rather see guys makin' it rain in the strip clubs than killing dogs or buying guns. At least they're not hurting anyone (directly).



"9 in my right, 45 in my other hand..." Hmmmnnnn. That chorus isn't doing TIP any favors now I'm sure

Alicia Keys - Like You'll Never See Me Again

Song is GREAT! Video is GREAT! Album is GREAT! My boo A-Keys is GREAT!


Common thinks he's slick. I been peepin' his moves since Smokin' Aces. Real slick Comm, real slick!

Random Miscellaneousness

G-Unit at their best..."Feel[ing] Good"



I'm serious about the title by the way. These guys are at their best when their rapping recklessly about whatever it is they feel like rapping about at that given moment (ie - Stunt 101). Tony Yayo embodies this every time he raps actually. I think this guy just gets on the mic and says whatever is on his mind. It seems like any other time the unit tries to put together one of those lame formulaic songs-that 50 obviously constructs on his own and orders his underlings to do what he thinks they should be doing over some over-priced club track-the song pretty much sucks.

But "Feel Good" shows us the best of the collective known as G-Unit. That is, the ability to thrive as the underdog. When that is the case, they always seem to have that reckless abandon and lack of concern for what you think or have to say because they're just going to "do them". Think about Ja Rule's topple from the top to the bottom. Who was the underdog (or group of) that's responsible for that? And that is why this is when they're at they're best. And when they're at they're best, they are for d@mn sure entertaining. LOL. And I dare you to tell me that after Yayo's album flops, Bank's second album flops, Buck's second album flops, and Kanye vs. 50, that G-Unit is NOT the underdog. I rest my case! I predict that the next G-Unit album, Shoot to Kill, will be pretty good. If it's anything like the G-Unit Radio 25 mixtape, I'll buy it. The skits on that mixtape alone are worth the price of purchase (LOL).

Oh yeah, there's also a hoodrat "dirty" version of "Feel Good" in which you can watch Yayo smack little kids some random butts. That Tony Yayo guy cracks me up. 50 Cent too! The entire video is misogyny comedy. Both versions. LOL. That LOL is @ the comedic talents of the Gorilla Unit by the way. Not the misogyny. You know, before I get cursed out...I wouldn't want anyone to think I like big butts, thongs, voluptuous women, or smacking azz from time-to-time (ne homosexual pas). Because obviously I don't!

"I love my sisters, I don't love no b*tch!"

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Speaking of no Gayborhood...

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Hmmmnnnn...

I wonder if this...


...is what they meant when they wrote this...


A closer look...
These are actually two separate pictures that have nothing to do with each other. The first is a picture I found online. It's obviously a Halloween costume in poor taste or gone bad, whichever you prefer. I don't think I have to speak on it.

The second set of pictures hits a little closer to home for me. I was at a bar last Tuesday and after paying for my drink, I got that dollar as part of my change. I could tell there was some writing on the bill so I looked a little closer and there you have it: "Niggers are ugly!"

Word?

Initially I was upset at the sight of the word because subconsciously I assumed it was some hate-filled non-Black person who wrote it. But after taking a minute to talk to BHill about it and then calm down a bit, I realized that I really had no reason to be upset. I'm not a ni99er and anyone could have written that, even a Black person! It made me realize that some people try way too hard to promote racism and hate. Regardless of who wrote it, they had to: 1) have the thought to write it, and then 2) actually go through with writing it. So I assume it was a coward who would never say something like this in anything other than an environment in which it's somehow considered acceptable. I kept the dollar and I doubt I'll ever spend it because I realize that I don't want to put that "hate" back into circulation. In addition, I think I will use this somewhere down the line to help educate some younger folks on the lengths people will go to in order to spread hatred.

"Hatred is ugly!"

---

Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

I have never seen this before but I think it just earned a spot in my top five videos of all the times. Very cool video!

---

"Oh what a feeling! I'm feeling LIFE!"

Euphoria? This is it...



This video complements enhances the song perfectly. I couldn't ask for me. This takes me back to Jon's bachelor party at the 40/40 and pretty much every event my friends and I have hit over the past couple of years where there's been 5 or more of us present. LOL. Smoking cigars in the room that Jay, Diddy, and NaS are in, that was us! On the dancefloor, that was us! Can't wait for the next moment like that...

Tyra Banks would like for you to explore your "vageeene"

Yeah, but does the puppet smell like this or have this much power?

On a more serious note, this is pretty educational and I could see this being used in health classes. Grown women (IMO) should know this already though. Especially considering I knew this stuff already (LOL).

Happy October 31st!

"This year Halloween fell on a weekend..."



Halloween 2006

Halloween 2005

Miscellaneous Randomness...

If you don't have the American Gangster album AND the American Gangster movie in your possession by now, you probably aren't interested or don't have access to the InterWeb. Not only are they both available, but they're both DOPE from what I've heard...

Keeping up the theme of African - American Gangsters, Nicky Barnes wants you MORONS to start snitching. I guess TI's bodyguard was already onto this....

Still speaking of American Gangsters. Or in this case, someone who is perhaps delusional (read: bi-polar) enough to think he can pull-off American Gangster-ISH shyt, TIPPORD is out on bond. $3 million bond that is. I'm assuming that TI paid for this, not TIP. Now that he is home he can (presumably) resume making records about killing people. Which, by the way, is NOT what he had planned to do with all those guns he had in his crib or the ones he tried to buy. Just so you know...

Remember me talking about the Redskins season? Well, after this weekend's game against the Patriots, eff that post. Then again, it WAS the '07 Pats. If we lose to the Jets next week, then I'll delete that previous post foreVar. LOL....

Normally I don't pay attention to Playboy spreads (Vida Guerra and Garcelle Beauvais notwithstanding), but I did get a link to the Kim Kardashian flicks in the upcoming issue and I wasn't really impressed. Okay, maybe I was a little impressed. About as impressed as I was with the sextape (yeah, I watched it. So what?!). But then again, who am I to judge how beautiful she is when nude? As if someone would be impressed by shots of me in PlayGirl WIRED magazine...

Last but not least, Osama has been found.


That isn't even funny though.

Eff the flow, they jacking my DRANK

Anybody who has gone to a party with me or a social gathering probably knows that my vodka of choice for at least 3 years now has been Ciroc. It's even been mentioned on this site from time-to-time.

So I don't think I need to say that the news of Diddy signing a multi-million dollar deal with Ciroc to "develop" the brand was bittersweet for me. Sweet because it's about time that me and my crew aren't the only people who think that this is the best vodka eVar. Bitter because now that Diddy's going to make this shyt a mainstream, commercialized vodka - (presumably) like Jay and Dame did with Belvedere and Armadale - it'll look like we're drinking it just because Diddy's name is attached to it. Think about all the stuff people drink because some rapper endorses it: Moët, Cristal, Armand de BrokeBack. Not that there's anything wrong with liking what a rapper likes, but I'll be d@mned if Patron isn't the nastiest drink I've eVar tasted in my life. No matter how many rappers promote drink it.

I'm not hating on Diddy's move because that's a shrewd one he pulled off and if my broke-azz had the dough, I may have done the same thing. May have. But now I fear that I am going to have to stop drinking Ciroc because I don't want to be grouped in with the hundreds or thousands of people who will all-of-a-sudden drink Ciroc because of Diddy's recommendation. So I guess I better go cop my last couple of bottles before the price goes through the roof.

"Ciroc? That shyt is so 2004!"

Déjà Vu

For some reason this...

Vulva (not safe for work...AT.ALL)

reminds me of this...



"Oh Lord! Smells like the Lakers...Shut UUUPPP!"

Doesn't it just seem like that old Jim Carrey footage should be the commercial for Vulva? "I'm here to promote my new fragrance...VULVAAAA!"

If you took the liberty to check out the Vulva website (what a name, by the way), then you'll note the stunningly man-ish looking woman giving you the definition of what "product placement" really is. But what is the box really doing there? And does she NOT make you think of Jim Carrey as Vera DeMilo? Anywho, I doubt that I need to tell you that I currently have 2 orders of this Vulva shyt being sent straight to Daneger's crib...LOL. I am not going to front, I am curious as to what Vulva smells like. Fellas, don't act like I'm the only one. Ladies, you too!

By the way ladies, is this just vagina power (6:45 of pure and classic entertainment, real talk) at it's finest?

"I'm telling you my dude... The 106 & South Park generation does NOT get it!"

But should we expect them to?

You might have noticed my "Jena 2" (Bryant Purvis and Carwin Jones of the Jena 6 at the BET Hip-Hop Awards) picture to the right, but as if that (shown again below) wasn't enough...



Here's a little slideshow that further leads me to believe that some of these kids nowadays (even those who face injustice firsthand) either don't get it, don't want to get it, or just don't care...

(Jena 6 defendant Robert Bailey’s photos from his Myspace page)



I hope this is fake or very old but if not... The proof's in the pudding pictures.

A few things that came to mind when I watched this video:

• Parents? What are those?
• How could the money go straight to him rather than through some non-profit organization or (at the very least), his parents? That's the one thing that makes this seem like it might be a fake to me. But I don't know how that money-laundering stuff that some non-profits pull works.
• How would all the people who have supported the efforts down in Jena, LA feel about this? Perhaps instead of wearing black, we should have worn GREEN.
• Why did they have to use that particular song for this video? Whoever put this together used a song about guns and shootings as the background music for a slideshow of pictures that show not a single gun. Hmmmnnnnn?

You mad cuz he stylin' on you?

"I know what you thinkin', f*cked up ain't it?"

Politics and Pistols...

Now we're coming full circle...

While lawmakers and activists are on Capitol Hill fightin' the good fight so that the JENA 6 boys can stunt at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, most of us (including me) are just realizing that the federal authorities could have presumably stepped-in on this whole Jena situation and kept this from blowing up to the extent that it did. Meaning, did the right thing. Or could they have? Really though, according the the "law of the land", could they have done it?

Regardless, I think it's good that this issue got the attention it did because it is going to force people to address some of the ugly truths that lots of people tend to avoid discussing, or push under the rug altogether.

Oh by the way, when we think about the JENA 6, let us not dismiss or ignore the fact that the U.S. Attorney for the western district of Louisiana (where JENA is located) is Mr. Donald Washington, a grown-azz Black man. He was appointed by George Dubya in 2001 and is the FIRST BLACK MAN to evAr hold that post. First.Black.EVAR. If most of you are like me (read: have common sense), you'd think he'd feel "some kinda way" about this situation considering it went down in his jurisdiction. Like when you're out and someone disrespects a friend of yours and right before you pull a Diddy, you think: "Nah, that bama ain't gonna go on my man/girl like that." And naturally, Mr. Washington does feel something, although I'm not sure what the fock it is or what the fock it's worth considering the magnitude of this shyt-uation and his occupational title.

Here's his response to being questioned about (allegedly) not doing anything about what was happening in Jena:

"I was also offended, I too am an African-American...I did intervene, I did engage the district attorney. At the end of the day, there are only certain things that the United States attorney can do."

He also added that the U.S. attorney's office investigated the Jena matter but decided not to prosecute because the federal government typically does not bring hate crimes charges against juveniles.

Hmmmnnnnn. I wonder what's the difference between typically not doing something and acting based on injustice? Seriously, wasn't this country allegedly built under the pretense of justice for all? Or better yet, what's the difference between being bound by law to NOT ACT and having the right within the law TO ACT, yet doing nothing? But more important than bringing charges against juveniles for hate crimes is (ding-ding) releasing juveniles who are in jail on trumped-up charges. You Fumb-Duck! Sounds to me like Mr. Washington is missing at least 50% of the point.

And as a comical side to this thing, you've got Representative Lamar Smith saying "more than anything what we need is an effort to reduce racial tension... What we do not need is stoking racial resentment." Oh really? Don't be scurred. That tickles me. Why is it that every time Black folk get effed the eff over, someone jumps up and says we need to thwart racial tension? We don't want those darkies getting riled up at a time like this.

Have you taken a history class? Considering all those years of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the fight for civil rights, and so on, I think there might be a slight bit of racial tension. Just a smidgeon. Even without a JENA 6 type of situation.

Willie D. once said: "We ain't against ALL white people, just the white people that's against us." Offensive self-defense (oxymoron, I know). Very Huey Newton (and Bobby Seale) esque I might add.

Lamar Smith needs to sit the fock down and relax. You must be nervous for a reason homie!

And at the same time that lawmakers and activists are fighting for the Jena 6 and everyone's right not to walk into work with a noose hanging in their cubicle, you've got old TIPPORD Harris furthering the stereotype of the maniacally virile, gun-toting Black male by getting caught with enough arms to take out a whole bunch of naggars. Lord knows he wasn't going to use those guns to take out some folks on some 'ole Black Panther ish. My bad, some NEW BLACK PANTHER ish. (If you have never clicked a link in one of my posts before, click that last one. Please.)

Sidebar: When you first heard about this, did it take you back to the Kings of Comedy DVD where Steve Harvey was talking about Rae Carruth? "I know he better not be in that drunk...This mf-er is in the trunk...You got to be the dumbest..."

Perhaps TIPPORD just likes guns (a lot) and he wasn't going to do anything other than keep them in his home. Or perhaps T.I.P. needs the guns to defend himself from T.I. Who knows? Either way, he's probably up Shyts Creek without a paddle even though I hope he somehow pulls an Orenthal James on this one.

So there you have it. While Al Sharpton (who used to launder drug money, by the way) is complaining about a lack of federal intervention in Jena, LA and simultaneously fighting for YOUR right to not walk into work/school and face racist shyt... You've got a former drug dealer and convicted felon with split-personalities arming himself about as well as the CIA armed the Contras back in the day when they [the CIA] were sending arms to South America in return for the cocaine Al Sharpton used to help drug dealers pump on the block.

I blame all this shyt on Oliver North, by the way. Not Reagan! That bama had the federal government pumping like an oil refinery around the time I was born so my mom had the money to raise and take care of me, by herself. I can't be mad at that even if he was complicit in focking poor communities the fock up while simultaneously trying to convince us there was a war on drugs and introducing economic policy that still affects the country (in a good or bad way depending on what class of society your in) to this day.

If countries were characters from the WIRE, America would totally be Clay Davis.

The shirt says it all....

From TIPPORD (Big Shyt Poppin) Harris to Diddy to GAME to Snoop to Pimp C to Beanie Sigel to Cassidy to Lil Wayne to Jay-Z to 50 Cent to Mystikal to C-Murder Miller (literally) to Busta Rhymes to Jeezy to NaS to ... Dayum near every rapper and also your favorite rapper's favorite rapper...

Dumb rappers need teachin'!

This isn't an indictment (no pun intended) of all the rappers mentioned above (some of them haven't been in trouble in a while). I'm just saying that these guys need to be a bit smarter in some of these decisions they're making after they've become famous.

---

UPDATE: This says it all even better.

Planning for the weekend

This weekend I'm thinking about going bowling in Columbine after I polish my Virginia Tech. Considering that I'm male, young, and black, I gotta have a gun on me.But it's even worse being a black woman. Not only are you presumed to be a nappy-headed ho', but expect black men to call you b*tches whenever, wherever, whyever. But not white men, they have too much respect for you to do that (no Don Imus of course). Well, maybe that depends on whether you're light-skin-deded or dark-skin-deded.

I'm getting off track...

I could just go get steamed in Cleveland then fly to New York to "hang out" at Columbia University. But I've heard that if you're black it's probably better to "hang out" in Maryland at either the Johns Hopkins University or the University of Maryland. Who would have guessed it? Not my non-college educated azz. Sheeeeit, I'm lucky I'm not in jail.

But now that I think about it, my homegirl Jena says she has six friends that are trying to kick it in Louisiana. And I heard Mos Def is probably gonna be there too. And since more white people respect/support Mos Def than blacks (no Cornell West), I think I should show my support. Especially since I'm not out making unfathered babies and all. Meaning, not only do I have time, but I know what time it is. Besides, Louisiana definitely beats going to a place like Philadelphia. Not because Philly is dangerous or anything, but because I like crawfish more than I like cheesesteaks. And I'd rather help stop racism than patrol the city with the highest murder rate so far in 2007.

Ah! Decisions, decisions. Regardless of where I am though, I'll definitely find myself a ho' to superman and sip on a Ciroc Obama.

Keep your dark-skinned azz out of THIS party!

Divide and conquer. They ain't gotta do it. We're doing a much better job ourselves!


She is jive cute though ;-)

Hey kids! Today we're going to learn how to use slaves to make money!

How was THIS part of the curriculum in the first place?

"Over 100 sixth graders at Grover Cleveland Middle School in Caldwell spent several days last week taking part in an assignment where they used terms like 'build a plantation' while completing their 'Lap of Luxury' social studies project...The project instructed students to create an advertisement defending the use of slave labor to run a newly built plantation in South Carolina. Students are told to come up with a 'catchy' name for the plantation and give three reasons why slave labor is the 'best idea' and to add illustrations." (Source: CBS)

This just seems like a poorly thought-through assignment by those who came up with the idea. I don't think embedding the concept of slave labor is acceptable even under the 'guise of being an educational tool. What about you? There are lots of other ways to teach about starting a plantation/business and turning a profit off of laborers/slaves. This should have been stopped before it even became a part of the curriculum.

In a school with only 8 black students...Hmmmnnnn

R. Kelly, man of many talents....

"Take me to your special place, close your eyes let me see your face..."

---

If this outfit doesn't tell you that R. Kelly is not your typical person, then I don't know what could have clued you in. Perhaps the fact that he's went delusional on-stage, written some of the most freakily funny songs evAr, and relieved himself on an under-aged princesss of promiscuity. Needless to say, there were some signs that this guy wasn't working with a full deck of cards.

As the video below shows, aside from all his other talents, R. Kelly also knows how to keep his pimp hand strong [||]. I assume that though he castigates and threatens his "girl" in this video, he'd never put his hands on an actual woman in real life. I mean, this is just a video. Speaking of, he's pretty good at videos, isn't he? Whether he's trapped in the closet or trapped in his own porno, Mr. Kelly is probably more likely to put his hands on a video-camera to adjust the shot so you can see him performing sexual acts on an under-aged girl than he is to put his hands on a woman in an physically harmful manner. All bark, no bite (unless it's in the bedroom). More likely to hit a girl or urinate on a girl? You know how I'm voting.

Nevertheless, R. Kelly keeps it trill and represents for all the guys out there who need to exert expletive-laden, half-sensible, verbal castigation in order to feel a sense of control and authority in their relationships. Please believe that this guy keeps his verbal abuse game as strong as Barry Bonds on the cream and the clear. There's no better way to feel like a man, right? Anyway, check it out for yourself (as if you haven't seen this already).


You've gotta enjoy how he starts off by saying he's NOT going to argue and then proceeds to do pretty much just that for about 3 minutes. I'd like to hear her side of this "not-an" argument. Full disclosure, it's her legal right.

My personal favorite lines:

• "Is you TWEAKIN?"
• "The next time your azz get horny, go fock one of your funky azz friends! Hell you probably already doing that shyt anyway!"

Indirectly asking your girl if she's on drugs and accusing her of sleeping with one or more of her girlfriends, that's how you solve a relationship problem. Take notes fellas. Even though it's probably not too far off to think that Robert telling her to sleep with one of her friends is really a ploy to get himself in a ménage, this probably isn't the way to go when your girl thinks you've been doing some foul ish. You know what they say, the guilty ones always speak up or get defensive. Then again, they tell you that the quiet ones are the ones to watch out for. Who are they, and what do they know anyway?

In the end, I think most men (including myself) have at the very least felt this way and (possibly) acted this way at some point in time. That is to say, disrespectfully getting your point across to someone you presumably/supposedly care enough about to have thought about what you were about to say prior to saying it. Right? Anywho, my main point is that R. Kelly's got to be close to 40 years old now and if this is part of his "real" life that's being reflected through his music, isn't it kind of time to grow the fock up? Seriously.

Granted, I am not even close to being his age so I can't say that I could begin to understand how a 40 year-old, rich, famous, tantric, alleged child molester feels. At least not yet. Ha! Although I hope to never see the last 3 things on that list. No matter how much exposure and laughter this video gets, I just can't see myself at 40 years old cursing out my wife/girl like that. And do think I'll be steppin' foot in anyone's club as a married 40 year-old? I doubt it, unless my wife/girl is with me. So whether you can relate to this bowlshyt or not you have to realize that this is a prime example of why artists nowadays are pretty much actors and completely reckless with the power their voices have (no disrespect to Mos Def). "Real Talk" is the type of shyt some 18-30 year old boy/guy/man might do (and I wish I was stretching it by saying 30 year-old, but I'm not). Not a 40-year old grown-azz man. Yet Robert Kelly will sit back and let you believe that this is how he acts. Perhaps it is though. And if so, that's sad.

Don't be fooled! This type of song/shyt is not conducive to helping Black male/female relations at all. As if it's not already enough focked the fock up shyt between Black males and females, people (like me, LOL) find it entertaining to watch R. Kelly curse out a woman who literally has no voice (in the song or the video). But as one of the most controversial and at times captivating people in music today, he sure does have a voice that spreads widely [||]. And even after sprinkling all over a 12 year old, our dumbazzez are still listening and being "entertained".

And to think the same man who made this song is the man who said he's the modern-day Martin Luther King. Just in case you forgot:

"I'm the Ali of today. I'm the Marvin Gaye of today. I'm the Bob Marley of today. I'm the Martin Luther King, or all the other greats that have come before us. And a lot of people are starting to realize that now."

Like the greats. Riiiiight. I won't even begin to talk about how even comparing himself to Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley is out-of-place. If you don't know why already, you've completely missed the point.

For some REAL "Real Talk", check Mos Def:

Would you rather be a "gangster" or be "untouchable"?

Then again, who really cares? A better question (in this case) is, whom would you rather support, Jay-Z or Dame Dash?

This question popped into my head when I learned that two movies, one being released with a Jay-Z album of the same name right around the same time, "American Gangster"...

And another executive produced by Dame Dash, "Mr. Untouchable"...

are going to be released this fall. Based on the trailers, I'd rather see "American Gangster" but I'm sure "Mr. Untouchable" will be interesting. Frank Lucas versus Nikki Barnes. Jay-Z versus Dame...again.

And even though Dame Dash stays losing since the Roc-A-Fella split, I think the one area of entertainment where he can be still be successful is movie-making. In case you've never seen The Woodsman (starring Kevin Bacon), Shadowboxer (starring Cuba Gooding Jr.), or Paper Soldiers (starring Kevin Hart), you might want to check them out. They were all directed and/or produced (all, or in-part) by Dame Dash. I've seen (and own) Paper Soldiers and The Woodsman and they are both decent films (especially The Woodsman). Dame also has the backing of the legend Robert De Niro. So while Dame might be pretty much irrelevant in the music industry right now, he still has options to be successful. And more notably, he still has Rachel Roy who is arguably just as fine as Bee-Yonce (shot out to Kacey) depending on whether you like 'em slim and under-the-radar or thick and in-the-spotlight. Either way, Jay and Dame are BOTH winning in at least one category even though Mr. Paula Patton still has them both beat. You gotta admit he's got the best of both worlds: White skin (in America) and a fine-azz Black woman. Hmmmnnnn.

Back to Damon and Sean though. We all know how things ended up for JiggerMan so I won't even go into detail but let's just say that he's doing alright right now. Either way you look at it though, Jay and Dame got exactly what you need...