"I'm not the strapping young Muslim socialist that I used to be..."

Wait for it, wait for it... Or just go to about the 2:20 mark.


Obama has a pretty solid delivery with these jokes, lol.

Obama and his Anger Translator Luther Celebrate!

That was GREAT! Especially, "but you couldn't get rid of a ni99a!", lol.

I'm not voting Republican, but they sure have some witty bumper stickers, lol

Back in 2009 I got a kick out of this anti-Obama bumper sticker. Don't worry folks, I'm still a Democrat.

And this year it turns out those sneaky anti-Obama folks have come up with another catchy little bumper sticker that I happen to think is hilarious.

I saw that one on the way into the office morning and couldn't help but chuckle. You have to be a serious Republican to put that on your car and ride around with it, lol.

Politics As Usual???

It was a nice day on Tuesday so I decided after my mid-day workout that I'd walk to Subway to get some lunch. As I was walking to Subway to grab a sammage I was approached by a woman that I initially thought was homeless (whoopsie) who handed me the flier below.

The woman then said to me "making history together" in a somewhat uninspired tone, thanked me, and walked away. My first impression of the flier was "why is this black man on the flier with the President?" Then I flipped it over and saw the following image:

If you can't make that out, on the left side it shows all the names that were on the Baltimore City primary ballot (Tuesday was primary voting day in Baltimore City) with Barack Obama's name checked along with C. Anthony Muse's. On the right side it lists the composition of the 112^th Senate and highlights in red that there are zero black members in the U.S. Senate but that we make up 12% of "US Demographics" (I assume this means population).

It was at this point that I just shook my head, realizing that this was a blatant and obvious attempt to race-bait my vote. I got a little insulted by it actually. I was insulted because a flier like this assumes a few things like: 1) if I'm Black I support Barack Obama, 2) I will vote for any Black man "aligned" with Obama (and by "aligned" I mean Photoshopped onto a flier with him), and 3) THAT IT'S THAT EASY FOR YOU TO GET MY VOTE!!!

He may as well have just said on the flier: "You black, I'm black, Obama's black, vote for me!" That's what the flier boiled down to for me.

When you consider that there was no mention of what this man stands for, no one-liners about his platform, or even a website address for me to visit to learn more if I actually wanted to, what this says to me is that it's acceptable to go into a community and race-bait their votes because you assume they don't know any better way to pick their political candidates. And coming from a Black man running for a public position in the Obama era, that's pretty insulting to a person even if that person doesn't have a college degree, a white collar job, a mortgage to pay, or any of the other things we assume come with being "better-off" in this country. This flier actually made me NOT want to vote for him and to tell others to think a bit deeper about why they would vote for him.

Even with all that said, it's not C. Anthony Muse's fault that this kind of political tool is very well tried-and-proven in garnering the votes of poorer, less educated voters. It's just a "tool of the trade" I'm sure and it's up to US to hold our candidates to better measures than promotional materials like his. But by choosing to use it you're effectively saying "I don't expect any better from you than to see me and Obama and as a result, hand me your vote."

I can't wait for the day (if it ever comes) when ALL people will take the time to think deeply about who they're voting for and why on both the local and national levels. The assumption that you don't have to give me any information as to what you stand for on a flier or a website where I can learn more about what you stand for is insulting to me and those who actually put some real thought into who they vote for. And it's the main reason why I did't vote for someone like C. Anthony Muse (at least not in this election) even though I'm sure to him it's not insulting, it's just a means to an end or a "tool of the trade" and once he gets in office he gon' "look out" for us. Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what's going to happen.

Shot out to Rashard Mendenhall

Aside from the second "r" in his first name (I'm used to "Rashad", oh well), I didn't pay much attention to Mr. Mendenhall unless it was fantasy football related or "they playin' the Ravens this weekend" related. Just for the record, I'm a Redskins fan (go ahead, laugh it's cool) living in Baltimore. For that reason, I follow both teams. Back to my point though...

Now, after the media has made a big deal about Mendenhall's Twitter comments (see video below) regarding Osama and 9/11, I gotta say I have a little bit more respect for him. It's not that I agree with everything he's saying but I respect that he's unafraid to speak up and say how he feels and stand on one side of the fence whether he's perceived as wrong or right. Much respect to him for that. And I also give him props for backing up Adrian Peterson and his comments that football players are modern-day slaves. I'm not saying I agree with those exact words when not spoken in the proper context but it's NOT unchartered territory for someone to compare the two.

As for the comments Rashard made...


"What kind of person celebrates death?" This is a question we'll all have to at least ponder for a second after Osama bin Laden's death. If you're not thinking about this right now you're either under a rock or so morally and ethically disconnected that there's probably no helping you anyway. And yes, it's an accurate statement to make that it's "amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak." I'm sure some would argue that we've technically heard Osama speak via those viral (ha) videos he used to drop like mixtapes, but that's beside the point. The point here is that we can hate hate hate all we want and judge Osama for his actions (or alleged actions, depending on the instance and how you feel) but in the end, God is his ultimate judge. And with that in mind he deserves the same respect in death that any other human being does.

I repeat, Osama bin Laden deserves the same respect in death that any other human being does.

By no means am I condoning anything he did during his life that hurt people and their loved ones. And by no means am I saying that he wasn't a threat and danger to me, my family, and everyone else's family.

BUT....

If the shoe were on the other foot and your cuzzin Spook/Tiny/Nuke/Tim-Tim/or-whoever (trust me, everybody got that one cousin) that sold drugs, shot people, and perhaps killed a person or two and you knew he just wasn't a "good" person per se...

You still would not want the picture(s) of him in death with his body riddled with bullets plastered all over television and the Interweb. I took issue to how the U.S. handled the Saddam Hussein death sentence and I will probably have a similar issue in this case but it seems like Obama's going the way of NOT showing the pictures of a dead Osama. Kudos to our President for seemingly having some respect for Osama or at the least some perspective on this situation.

Because most of us only know what the media tells us about Osama I think it makes it easier for some to rejoice in his death. There's no real human connection there for you to feel like you're doing something that may not be quite right. All we know is what we're told. Even if all of it is true, can't we just accept the fact that he's dead, say a prayer for our lost ones and let them know how much we still love them, and MOVE ON feeling like there's one less terrorist (out of many still left) to worry about?

Like I said in my last post about this topic, this is not going to be the end of terrorism and we all know that, even those out there celebrating. This is an exhale moment. Exhale and be relieved on a small level. But in the big picture, what are we rejoicing about? This is like LeBron and D. Wade having a parade after beating the 76ers in the first round! You would be like, "Get-da-fugg-outta-here! You still gotta get past Boston, not to mention Chicago and probably the Lakers." I make that comparison to say, the war ain't over yet, we just beat a team in the early rounds that it took us (literally) years to outsmart, catch up to, and ultimately take them out. There are more fish to fry.

Why Democrats should be completely fine with Donald Trump mouthing off

"A wise man told me once 'Don't argue with fools. Cuz people from a distance can't tell who is who'" - Jay-Z

Hopefully Obama ignores Donald Trump's short-sighted, politically amateur, and seemingly idiotic banter. All my enjoyment of The Celebrity Apprentice notwithstanding, I think Donald Trump is on the road to make lots of money, but doing it with little to no self-awareness or dignity. Why this guy is personally attacking the President is beyond me and I can only surmise that it's because he's trying to create a buzz and run for the Republican nomination just so that he can lose horribly and somehow generate more interest in himself and his business ventures as a result. That's really the ONLY logical explanation here. Either that, or he's just plain stupid. And I don't think for one millisecond that Donald Trump is dumb or that this is (brings out elephant) racially motivated. This has to be a business move.

Trump's gone from questioning Obama's citizenship - something that has already been verified - to now questioning how he made it into Ivy League schools. The citizenship question wasn't quite as laughable as the latest question about getting into school. Obama went to Occidental College, then transferred to Columbia, and then to Harvard. Conventional wisdom might say that even if he did slip through the cracks and get into Columbia by a hair, he then went on to Harvard which I'm sure wasn't an easy place to get into. But according to Trump, he can't fathom how Barack was able to get into not just one, but TWO Ivy League schools. I guess he thinks BOTH were flukes or something else was at play. Meanwhile Barack "went on to Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude 1991 and was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review." Something tells me that probably wasn't a fluke and moreover, neither were his admission into either school.

I hope that Donald Trump keeps talking though. His popularity among Republicans is rising and my guess is that this will only help the Democrats. Trump may very well force polarization of the Republican Party that might come back to haunt the eventual GOP nominee (Mitt Romney anyone?). Donald Trumps loud-mouthing of the President is only going to hurt his credibility and further expose his political inexperience. In the end, the more support he gets from non-Tea Party Republicans (the majority of his supporters are Tea Party folks I believe), the better-off the Democrats are. For that reason, there's no real need for the Democrats to respond to his accusations until absolutely necessary. And that may never be the case, lol.

This post inspired by this article at the Huffington Post.

Hip-Hop's 10 Best Animated GIFs

I stole these from Complex.com's post of the 50 best and basically compiled them into the ones that I thought were the best. And just as a point of information, you can make an animated GIF out of any video footage so while a lot of these are animated GIFs technically, they're not true animated GIFs in that they were originally a set of still images combined into an animation (webNerd much?).

Without further adieu, here's my list of the best 10 out of Complex's 50, and a couple bonus ones I picked out.

Rolling in at #10, Mr. Bentley himself (Complex had this one at 47)...


Whatever happened to Mr. Bentley? He went from being Diddy's manservant to allegedly selling umbrellas to allegedly being signed to G.O.O.D. Music to being invisible. I guess he might have just pigeon-holed himself with the whole buffoonish manservant act. I hope not because dude is actually pretty daggon bright (as in, well-educated).

Coming in at #9 is Jay-Z and his Roc Boy's salute (Complex had this at #31)...

Fellas, you did this, at least once... With one of your friends.

Next up at #8 is Jay-Z again, but for all the wrong reasons, lol (Complex had this at #12)...


If you watched the Fade to Black DVD then you know that Jay-Z has a proclivity for making weird faces when he's feeling his music and this seems to prove he makes the same type of faces when listening to other people's music. It's hilarious how Jay-Z can be cool as a fan in pic #9 and a goofball at #8.

Who's up at #7 you ask? None other than Diddy himself (Complex had Diddy at 33)...

Sometimes I am thoroughly entertained by Diddy and other times I feel like he poaches hip-hop. It's really a case-by-case situation. But the Diddy Bop is classic. Perhaps not as classic as this though...

Number 6, Dame Diddy (Complex had this one at #34)

Dame might stay losing post-"BreakUpAFella", but when Rocafella was at its prime, Dame was a dancing machine (no Michael Jackson). This is one of his most classic moments doing the "roll the dice" dance. What Rachel Roy saw in an azzhole like Dame that danced like this I will never know, lol. The only issue I've got here is Dame being shirtless.

Number 5 (Complex had this one at #39)...I wonder how Jay-Z feels about me having Dame at #6. Well....

I bet this sums up how Jay feels very accurately. "He's alright but he's not real. Jay-Z's that deal", lol.

Coming in at #4 is the homie Brad Jordan aka Scarface aka Mr. Scarface (Complex had this at #6)

This is probably the last face you'd expect to see FaceMob making but if you saw the video from which this GIF was made, you'd totally understand why, lol. Real Face fans know about hittin' her with the "High Notes", lol.

Number 3 (Complex has this at #19) is dedicated to all NYers that think everything is about NY hip-hop and nothing else

This might be one of the lamest, most homo-erotic things to ever happen in hip-hop. I love New York hip-hop and always have but if this is what NY hip-hop has to rely on to "bring NY hip-hop back" then good riddance to NY rap. Personally, I think the people who ONLY respect NY rappers as lyricists and give less credit to southern other rappers with ridiculous skills (ie - Lil Wayne, TIP, Scarface, Andre Benjamin, etc.) should be forced to listen to MIMS move to Atlanta or Houston for about a year so they can get some "hip-hop exposure". New York was the birthplace and used to be the epicenter people, but the genre & culture is bigger than NY now and there are other talented artists outside the NYC's 5 burroughs. Get over it. Or pull a Diddy/Fat Joe and ride the south's "gonads" until you become relevant there.

Number 2 (Complex had this at #36) is one that needs no words really

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!

And my number 1 hip-hop animated GIF of all the times (at least from those that I pilfered from Complex.com's list) is...

Hands-down the coolest President eVAR! No, it's not because he's black and I am too. No it's not because being cool matters when it comes to Presidents. But simply because Obama is the type of cool that every man wants to be but only few are born with. I don't have it and most of you cats reading this don't either. But few men are blessed (yes, blessed dammit) to have his coolness, intelligence, speaking ability, confident humility, and overall presence. Even if Obama wasn't the President he'd be somewhere being the coolest mofo in the building and you can't deny even if you want to, lol.

Honorable Mentions

In case you were wondering what Complex's #1 choice was, it was CamRon arguing with Bill O'Reilly...


And here are a few others that I think are worth checkin' out...

This one is just completely hilarious!!!


It's really Officer Raw$e's reaction to LeBron's "Decision" but someone did a great job of making a hilarious animated GIF out of it, lol.

This one's really for the fellas. I used to be a big Rosa Acosta "watcher" but then she got to the point of over-saturation on the InterWeb and I stopped being interested, as much. Her stretching videos are pretty well-known in hip-hop webnerd circles so this one you've probably seen before but the sheer sexiness of it demands I post it here.


Watch for the hook hat!


Aubrey, Aubrey, Aubrey! He gets so excited about his music and performances sometimes he just can't stand up straight.



Im not really sure why or maybe it's because this kid is Justin Beiber-ish but this makes me laugh out loud (no lol).

Tila Tequila: Scrumpet Savant *slash* Osmotic Intellectual

Before I start I will say that all I know of Tila Tequila up until this point are the following two things:

1. She was the star of a "reality" tv show where both men and women were in competition to win her "love".


2. She accused NFL star Shawne Merriman of choking her.

Outside of those two facts, I knew nothing about Tila Tequila until I read a little on Wikipedia about her before writing this post. Absolutely nothing. Nor did I really care.

I only began to care yesterday when I read Charlamagne's tweets about Tila Tequila and they made me think...WTF? Then he posted these tweets below from Tila (read them from the bottom up).


The problem I have with these tweets is that there are some serious racial undertones and utter ignorance present. Not to mention that they infer the notion that she is informed and educated enough to advise Black men on how to act. Tila, please!

To cite a few of the items that jumped out at me...

Ignorance with a splash of stupidity: She mentions that she's "from a 3rd world country" yet she grew up in a gated community in Houston until she was 8. Last time I checked, that doesn't qualify your "community" for humanitarian aide from the U.N. Tila, please!

Ignorance with the racial undertone that black men are women beaters: In one reply to Charlamagne she says she doesn't know who he is and could not care (which is completely understandable) but on top of that she asserts (presumably because all she can see is that he is a Black man via his Twitter page) that he's probably a woman beater. I can only assume that this is because of Shawne Merriman allegedly choking her. This same racially-based stereotype is reinforced later when she says "is that when ya fellow BROTHA choked me up?" Well now. I guess I'm a woman-beater too. If she's making broad stereotypes based on race then I guess I also interrupt people at award shows and fight dogs. No way a "brotha" could be this articulate, educated, and successful without having beaten-up a few celebrity scrumpets on the way up. Or is our president just the exception that proves the rule? Tila, please!

Talking down: Tila goes on to say: "I see the ignorance stemming from a certain demographic...you will never help ur community get out of that stereotype." Huh? Before you start pointing the finger at Black people about stereotypes that exist about us, think about what types of stereotypes about YOUR people you could be facilitating. Tila, please!

In the end, I respect the fact that her family probably did work really hard to get themselves to the U.S. and provide a better life for Tila. But she was less than a year old when it happened so big props to her family for that, not her. I also respect that somewhere along the line, Tila may have worked hard to overcome (or at least try to overcome) some of the obstacles she's faced.

It's obvious she has had issues all of her life. But just because she felt attacked on Twitter she decided to throw caution (and her own troubled past) to the wind and hint at what Black men need to do to in order to better ourselves? She's not qualified. My momma is. My grandmomma is. Michele Obama is. But Tila Tequila, definitely is NOT.

I know she's still salty about the Shawne shytuation and maybe he did choke her, or maybe he didn't. Maybe she said some left-field racist shyt to him and THAT'S WHY he choked her. I don't know what happened and I definitely don't condone the abuse of women. But what I do know is that being D-list famous and having dealt with a Black man that you accuse of choking you does NOT qualify you to be a sociologist that analyzes the reasons black male stereotypes exist and how they can be eliminated. Stick to doing what you do best - being a scrumpet for the world to see - and worry about bettering yourself. Please, and thanks!

Senseless Killing of Derrion Albert

WARNING: This video footage is graphic so you may not want to watch it if you get emotional very easily. It's really tragic.

Video courtesy of GlobalGrind.com.

I wasn't going to post the video but I think that ADULTS need to see this video. More light needs to be shed upon these type of incidents that get swept under the rug as far as national media coverage is concerned. There's no reason a young man should have to die for this to be brought about as an issue worthy of national attention. This happens EVERY DAY people! And instead of sitting around waiting for the powers that be to do something people need to realize that change starts with us. It's like I said yesterday, if you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem! Where were the adults while all this was going on?

This is REAL LIFE! It's not about your kid or my kid, it's about kids in general. It's about human lives. It's about the future.

For me, the worst part about this is that this kid wasn't even participating in the brawl/melee. It appeared he was an innocent bystander. Even if he wasn't an innocent bystander once he was down on the ground and obviously unconscious there was no need to continue beating him more and more. Again, where were the adults/security/administrators?

What also hit home for me is that this is the type of situation that most of us that grew up in an urban area (or the surrounding suburbs) were exposed to as a teenager or participated in. I know me and my boys were involved in our fair share of fights and a few of them escalated to the level of a brawl. We were not scared to get involved in stupid when we were younger and some of us might have even wanted to be involved in something like this because we thought it was cool or that it made us look tough. But we blessed to survive with only cuts, scratches, and maybe a lump on our faces.

We're older now and we've lost a lot of friends along the way to violence and we've realize how dumb we were back then. But now as an adult I think about the kids nowadays and the level of recklessness and carelessness with which some of them live their lives and it really scares me. I think about all the stuff that me and my friends survived and how that could have easily have been one of us suffering the same fate as Derrion. Not everybody survives these situations though, and it resonates deeply with me because I've lost friends to violence more times than I care to have experienced. Whether it's a fight or a gunshot it's a loss of life. They say Derrion was an honor student. Maybe he would have been the next Obama, Ben Carson, Bill Gates, or the guy that saved your life somehow. Maybe he would have somehow made the world a better place for his family or for all of us. Maybe he would have just been a regular Joe Schmoe on the street that you didn't think twice about. But now his life will be remembered by a fatal beating that could have easily been avoided. It's maddening and saddening.

My prayers go out to Derrion's family and friends and also to those who beat him as well as everybody else out there acting niggorant. Also, sometimes people need to put the camera down and do something. I can't stand that the camera person was so enthralled by the fight that they didn't think to go and get help. There's so much wrong about this story that there's gotta be something right to come as a result of it.

Rest In Peace Derrion Albert.

I Respect Mos Def!!!

I went to see Black Dante last night in Baltimore at Club Sonar off the strength of my man Kevin having an extra ticket that he gave me the "homeboy hook-up" on. Sonar's one of those small venues that feels much more intimate than going to a large arena to see an artist. I prefer these smaller venues over arena performances but most of the artists I wouldn't mind paying to go see perform at the larger venues.

The point is this post is not to talk about Sonar, that's just my segue into what I really want to talk about which is the overall experience of the Mos Def show. I'll try to be quick:

1. A local band/group called Soul Cannon was performing when I got there. It took me a minute to get into their sound (the band was rocking by the time they got into the 3rd song or so) but in the end, I think they were a pretty good. They guy on the mic served as the group's Black Thought and he was a pretty solid rapper.

Sidebar: 1st beer purchased --> Natty Boh


2. The next act was some guy named Hussein from New York. I am really upset that I can't remember his full name because this guy actually held his own solo onstage for like 6 straight songs just spittin'. And not any party songs or dance songs, but like straight lyricism with bangin' beats for about 15 minutes or so. I really liked his set.
3. The next act was some cat who looked like a cross between Buckshot and Michael Pittman. Yes, I know that's random. What's worse is that he walked like Forrest Gump when he had the braces on his legs. Anywho, he sucked BALLZ. The end.

Sidebar: 2nd beer purchased --> Natty Boh AGAIN (they were $3, I'm just sayin)


4. The next act was Jay Electronica. A guy I will admit I've heard a lot of positive things about and even heard NaS give him props so I was anxious to hear his set. I have NEVER listened to a Jay Electronica song in my life. Not for any reason in particular though. And considering he impregnated Erykah Badu I was already questioning his sanity. Turns out that Mr. Electronica started off with a bang (came out and dropped the "Who Shot Ya" instrumental to do his "mic check" over) and had me siced! But it was all downhill from there. The rest of his performance seemed like a drunken stupor of half-performances of songs (like a verse and a half) and jokes that went over about 90% of the audience's head. At one point I actually felt bad and thought to myself: "This guy is actually going to lose potential fans who have heard good things about him because this performance was HORRENDOUS! He must be drunk/high." Needless to say, I was glad when his set ended. I really felt like he did himself and his music a disservice withe subpar performance. You could tell he was a decent rapper but his stage show was pathetic. I hope he reads this (because we all know he cares what I think).

Sidebar: 1st cocktail --> Ciroc and cranberry (LET'S GOOOOOO!!!!)


5. Next act, TALIB MF-ING KWELI!!!! I've seen Talib a couple times already so I knew what to expect. He didn't disappoint as usual. Did all my favorite joints (Hot Thing, Get By, Never Been In Love Before, Hostile Gospel, etc.) and he has a knack for controlling the crowd. Definitely a performance that set the tone for Mos.
6. Finally, MOS DEF. Before I start talking about Mos's performance I want to put this out there. I like Mos Def for the most part but I am not really a follower of his music. I am more so a fan of his features than anything else. I like Black Star far more than I like what I have heard from Mos Def as a solo act. I actually have all of his CDs but I haven't listened to any of them other than a little bit of The New Danger. So my goal was to assess how his show was and not the quality of his music necessarily. Especially since so many people already seem to think he's dope which I don't doubt as far as his lyrical content goes. But music is more than just lyrics.
   
   Mos came onstage in penny loafers, black jeans, and a black t shirt. He started off on those big-azz drums I saw him play on Letterman a few weeks ago. Oddly enough, I enjoy the songs where he plays the drums. I have no idea what the song's titles are but I like the sound of the drums a lot. Moving on though, I mention his clothing selection because he wouldn't stay in the black t shirt long and the penny loafers were foreshadowing what I think was one of the best parts of his performance.
   
   He started off doing that singing bullshyt that I do not really enjoy but it appeared the crowd (aside from me) was really into it. After about 3 songs of that he brought it to some of his more recent stuff for 3 or 4 songs. Again, it appeared everyone was really enjoying the show. I however, didn't know the words so I just nodded to the beat. By the time he got to something I actually knew the words to (and not just the chorus) you can guess who was on stage beside him...TALIB KWELI. Turns out they were doing a Black Star set. YESSSSS! After the Black Star set Mos decided to do some more singing type ish, then channel James Brown for a quick sec, then gave a shout-out to none other than Kanye TuDa.
   
   Peep the audio of him taking up for Kanyeezy.
   
   And that is why the title of this post is "I respect Mos Def". After shouting out Kanye to what seemed to be a good amount of boos from the audience he said something along the lines of how Kanye is his friend and he is sticking by him even though he made a mistake. He also said that Kanye didn't touch or hit Taylor Swift so the amount of hate and castigation and media coverage isn't commensurate with the mistake he made. He then drove home the point that Kanye is getting more coverage and hatred for what he did than Joe Wilson and his "you lie" comments during Obama's specch. He also mentioned how he felt Jay Leno should not have pulled the Donda West card during the interview in which Kanye apologized. I definitely agree with Mos on that point. It was after that comment that I whispered to my man Kevin: "Now watch this room divide along racial lines". It was one of those half-serious-half-joke comments but it was pretty obvious to me that the people clapping were mostly Black (the audience was definitely diverse) and most of the people booing Kanye or putting up their middle fingers were white. I'm just saying. But I respect Mos for sticking up for Kanye even though he didn't have to say shyt about Kanye during that performance. And not just sticking up for him but giving what he definitely thought was a plausible reason to not hate Kanye or find him unforgivable. Kudos to Mos Def and his loyalty. His logic though, I'm not sure I agree with 100%.
   
   After that my favorite part of the show came up. Mos channeled Michael Jackson and did Rock With You (my favorite MJ song of all the times) and covered Billie Jean. And he actually covered Billie Jean pretty well doing the MJ dances and all. After that he did one of the funniest things I've ever seen at a concert. He took the audio from "Randy Watson's" performance on Coming to America and he covered THAT. LOL. It was completely hilarious as he went word for word with the infamous Randy Watson and shouted out "sexual chocolate!" After this he did "Umi Says" which is a song I actually like a lot. From there he ended the show with some old school tunes and although some of the audience had cleared out (it was 1:30 am on a Wed.), lots of people stuck around and made their way up close to the stage just to get a closer view of him before he left.
   
   Overall, the show was good. I definitely enjoyed Talib's set more than Mos's but that was probably because I'm far more familiar with Talib's music. But I definitely like the show that Mos Def put on and wouldn't advise against going to see him in a venue like Sonar.

Live Listen: Blueprint 3

I'm writing this as I listen to the Blueprint 3 for the first time. So take this with a grain of salt if you will as my opinion may change after a few more listens.

What We Talkin' About (feat. Luke Steele)

I'm feeling the beat and Hov's rapping like he's got some stuff to get off his chest to the haters. He's dropping some slick lines in there too which includes those barbs he was throwing at Dame and Jaz-Ho in those concert a capella rhymes. Not that this is one of them but I liked this line...

"You stuck on being hardcore, I chuck the deuce up!"

Hov went in on this shyt. If the beat to this song was like "What More Can I Say" people would probably love it a lot more than I think they will when they hear it.

Thank You

Heard this earlier today. I liked it. Let's see how I really feel though, lol. This joint also has a beat that I think could be better. Jay is on-point with the lyrics (which looks like it's going to be a theme, but that's not a surprise) but this beat leaves something to be desired. Maybe it's too simple for me. Maybe less will be more in a few more listens. Last verse on this song is killer.

D.O.A.

SKIP! I already know how I feel about this one. I like it better than the other "pre-Sept. 11" releases/leaks I've heard so far.

Run This Town

*Pictures Rihanna in the video while fast-forwarding to Yeezy's verse.*

Seriously though, Rihanna was looking OFFICIAL in the video. Much like the "Forever" verse, if you write down and read Yeezy's verse on this track you will see why I say he's been dropping some MAJOR verses lately.

Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)

This was the first joint I listened to when I "found" the album earlier. I haven't listened to the album all the way through yet (obviously) but this is going to be one of my favorites if not my favorite. I already know. Beat is sick, Hov's verse is mean. Keys' does what she does...LET'S GO HOV!

I'm in the zone right now. I'm also wishing a D.C./P.G. artist would make a track similar to this. No shots Wale.

"I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can"

"If Jeezy's paying LeBron I'm paying Dwayne Wade!"

This is gonna kill on HOT 97 "up top". WATCH!

Real as it Gets (feat. Jeezy)

I was excited to see that Jeezy was on the album so I've been looking forward to this track. Jeezy kicks this one off and doesn't sound horrible which is a WIN for him. When you think of Jeezy and Jay on a track you probably think "Lord I hope Jeezy don't sound too bad". If it was just Jeezy you take it for what it is as far as rhyming ability, but throw him on a track with someone like Hov and you just hope he doesn't sound so bad that you like the song less, lol. Sorry Jay (Jenkins). Jay's second verse is something serious.

Hov's the audio equivalent of braille. That's why the feel me..."

Overall, I like this joint.

On to the Next One (feat. Swizz Beats)

Off the title, I'm thinking this is a veiled diss toward Mashonda. Swizz, if you're like me as much as people say you look like me then you're better than that, lol. Let me listen first though before I draw that conclusion.

Swizz got the party vibe going....SHOWTIIIIME!

This.Shyt.Is.Gonna.Rock.In.MIAMITHISWEEKEND! LET'S GO! This joint just siced me!

"No I'm not a virgin, I use my cahonas"

"Ya'll should grow the eff up, come here let me coach you!"

"Meanwhile had Oprah chillin in the 'jects...MJ on cellphone, Obama on text...Ya'll should be worried bout what Imma do next!"

Off That (feat. Drake)

Heard this one already too. Not very impressed by this and I maintain that Jay did not want to take the chance that Drake would out-rhyme him if he let Drake have a verse. Did you notice Jay's absence from that "Forever" track? Too much young hunger on that track for him to take the risk of: 1) being out-down by Drake, Wayne, or Yeezy, or 2) letting Marshall get another killer verse off on a song with him. Especially w/the phrase "Em murdered you on your own ish" easily retrievable from our subconscious. Not that I believe Em murdered Jay-Z on that song because if you go back and listen to "Renegade", he really didn't. Anywho, I like the point Jay's trying to make in this song but I'm just not feeling the beat like that. 2 minutes in...SKIP! I'd rather take my chances and see what J. Cole does on the next joint.

A Star is Born (feat. J. Cole)

Only Jay-Z could get the top two freshmen in the game on his upcoming CD (Drake and J. Cole). Yes, I know who Kid Cudi is, WOMP! Ok, maybe Yeezy and Weezy could also get them, but you get the point.

What Jay is doing on this track is so effing SMART. Gotta respect this dude's intelligence. Second favorite track so far even before I hear J. Cole.

Hearing J. Cole come in on the last verse reminds me how Memphis Bleek used to sound. It was kinda eerie actually. Notice how I said "used to"?

Venus vs. Mars

Heard this already but want to hear it again. Shyt is dope! I can see a dope video coming for this one already. Starring Cassie because of the shaved hair line. Or better yet, starring the girl with the two bee stings. Let Kanye direct it and Amber Rose play the leading lady role. Jay doesn't even need to be in the video actually, just let the lyrics narrate.

Already Home (feat. Kid Cudi)

For the record, I think Kid Cudi is decent/alright. I'm not excited about him like I am about Drake and J. Cole though. My favorite Kid Cudi song is "Welcome to Heartbreak" which should tell you something considering it's Kanye's song and Cudi's just featured on it. "Day N Nite" is cool and I like it but it's not "Simba" or "Successful".

Anyway, I'm feeling the beat on this joint off the break. BUT, not really feeling Cudi's singing so much. Let's get past this pre-verse chorus and get to the raps already!

Ok, I'm feeling a little meh about this song now. I liked the beat at first but now it's kinda wearing thin. And the Cudi chorus isn't really helping.

"H-O-V, I got my own lane already!"

Ok, the last verse redeemed this one for me. Won't be on my list of favorites from the album though.

Hate (feat. Kanye West)

I heard this one this morning and I was definitely feeling blahzay about it. Yeezy is still holding down his verses on these joints with Jay though, that's for sure. I like the idea of them going back-and-forth but not feeling the overall flow they're using. The whole "aaaayer" sound gets old. I'm glad the song is relatively short.

Reminder

Heard this one before and wished that Jay didn't waste the solid lyrics on this subpar Timbaland beat. This sounds like some shyt I could make on my casio joint at home (if I had one). Timbaland and Dr. Dre are both over-rated at this point if you ask me. Especially Dr. Dre. Sorry West-coasters and Dre loyalists. The Doctor is sounding more like a Nursing Assistant these days, with the exception of that beat he did for Em's Mariah Carey diss.

So Ambitious (feat. Pharrell)

Pharrell's singing already. FML! This guy and his friggin' singing! The beat is mean though Pharell, perhaps that's what you should stick to. And right when I'm vibing to the beat, Pharrell comes on singing again, GAWD!

I know I like the song overall but I don't necessarily like Pharrell's singing. I definitely like the message of the song and I'd imagine Pharrell's singing on this joint might grow on me. *MIGHT*

Young Forever (feat. Mr. Hudson)

As soon as the beat comes on I realize this song sounds exactly like I thought it would, some futuristic ish. This song is a perfect example of how I think Kanye has rubbed off on Jay-Z. The first time I heard about Mr. Hudson it was on Yeezy's blog. This beat sounds like a pre-"RoboCop" beat from Kanye's last CD. Seriously, put this track on 808s and Heartbreak and make it Kanye feat. Jay-Z and well, there you have it. That isn't to say I don't like the song because I think I do...I think.

OVERALL:
After my first listen I'd say the CD is decent/ok maybe even good. Jay's verses are sharp for the most part but the production value on this CD just isn't where I think it could be or where we're used to seeing it from Jay-Z. But now that I think about it he's been going in a different direction with his production since Kingdom Come (maybe even The Black Album). If Jay would have used Kanye, Swizz, 9th Wonder, and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League exclusively for production on this album I bet it would have been way better to me off the first listen. But what do I know other than what I'd like to hear?

And speaking of production value, that is a big part of why I think Rick Ross has the best album so far this year in mainstream hip-hop. His choice of beats and his lyrics are both solid. Jay has dope lyrics (better than solid, by far) but his selection of beats leaves a bit to be desired. Yes, I said that Officer Ricky's CD is better. At least in terms of the overall sound/flow of the CD.

But again, this is my first listen. Based off this you might not think Jay-Z is my favorite rapper ever and I think he's the G.O.A.T., but it's like Jay and 50 say, the bar is set higher for them. Wrong or right, that's definitely the case even though I could NOT give less of a shyt than I do about anything 50 Cent does musically at this point. Funny thing is that I'd argue the bar is set just as high for Kanye at this point but even with an AutoTune'd CD, he delivered.

This is what happens to Black Men in America!!!

Well yeah, this type of shyt does happen *sometimes*, but not ALL THE TIME. What am I referring to? Nothing other than the shytuation revolving around the arrest of world-renowned professor and Director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Studies Henry Louis Gates Jr., affectionately known as "Skip" by friends.

Apparently the statement "This is what happens to black men in America" was uttered by Gates at least 2 or 3 times during his incident with the police in Cambridge, MA.

Well yes, it is what happens, sometimes. We [Black men] get stereotyped. Sometimes I wear my fitted cap backwards with a tilt and people look at me differently than they do when I have on slacks and a shirt. Sometimes the "wow, I'm shocked you went there" expression shows on people's faces when I tell them my alma mater. Sometimes, even though I smile and say hello women grab their children's hands and bring them closer if I have on "casual" clothing and I'm walking down a semi-darkly lit street at night. But sometimes none of these negatively stereotypical things happen to me. And this is why I think Gates' shytuation is so thought-provoking, sobering, and well REAL. The truth of the matter is that the election of a Black president don't mean much on the ground-level. On the macro level the shyt looks great. On the micro level, brothers still getting stereotyped. There is no such thing as post-racial people. Get that through your thick skulls.

Obama's election meant "yes we can" in more ways than one. You can call it the infinite entendre if you like.

Yes WE can move past prejudice and racial stereotyping.

Yes WE can be Black and achieve in a society where we are the minority.

Yes WE can help non-Blacks understand our past, present, and where we are headed in the future.

Yes WE can help show others that not all of us who dress a certain way ACT a certain way.

Yes WE, can.

Based on what I know of Henry Louis Gates I would suspect that he would not have said "this is what happens to black men in America" haphazardly. He wouldn't have said it to victimize himself unnecessarily or make the officer(s) uncomfortable. He would say it because that's how he truly felt. Henry Louis Gates is a highly educated man who surely understands how blurting out accusations of prejudice and racism can be more than just an accusation that makes the accused look bad. It can also make the accuser appear a racially hyper-sensitive, subconsciously self-victimizing, ignorant BLACK PERSON NI99ER. And the last thing we as a people need is one more of us looking ignorant. Especially not one that's as well educated and respected as Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The story goes that Gates was returning home from a trip to China and he was having trouble getting into the door of his home. How you have trouble getting into your own front door is beyond me but sometimes you've gotta "wrench around" and jiggle the lock the bit more so I'll assume he was just tired and somehow the door wouldn't open on the first try. A "white woman" phoned the police saying that a break-in was taking place.

Question #1: Do his neighbors not know who he is? I assume the white woman was his neighbor. I also assume that he is probably one of only a few (if not the only) Blacks that live in his neighborhood. And in case you don't know, in rich neighborhoods non-Blacks know EXACTLY who the Black people are and where they live. It's obvious to me that whoever called the police may have been profiling Gates moreso than the police did.

Gates made it into the foyer of his home by the time the police arrived and they asked him to step outside. He responded "No, I will not". This is where Gates took one step in the wrong direction (to "niggerdom"). I understand he was mad and he felt like he didn't have to deal with the bowlshyt but BLACK MEN, DO NOT get it twisted, one step towards acting like what "they" think a "nigger" acts like is a step toward a bad outcome for you.

Question #2: Why didn't Gates just step outside, show his identification, explain what happened, and (probably) avoid the situation altogether? My guess is that he was pissed because he was just getting home and caught off-guard for some reason he was not remotely aware of. AND, because he didn't want to step outside of his own home. Yet-and-still, are those reason enough to start off your conversation with the police on an insubordinate tip? And I know some of you will be upset at the use of the term inSUBordinate and I don't really like it now that I re-read it but it is what it is.

Gates them demanded to know who the police officer was and his badge number. This one is a bit tricky because I am pretty sure citizens have the right to do this but depending on how you are saying it, it could definitely come across as belligerent. I'm going to guess that Gates came off with a smidgeon of confrontation. Just a guess. Oddly enough, the officer told him who he was and asked him to step outside again and Gates then goes "Why? Because I'm a Black man in America!?!"

Question #3: Seriously, why did he have to pull the race card. Up to this point it appears the officer was not doing anything wrong but yet-and-still if you're a white officer and you're dealing with a Black "suspect" you get the race card pulled avec le quickness. It's not always fair to the officer. I'm not taking up for the litany of white police officers who are effed the eff up and racially profile or are straight up racist. I'm just saying that some of these white officers out here are just looking to protect and serve all people.

Gates then refused to show his ID but eventually gave in. In the end, Gates ended up blurting the "...black man in America" line a couple more times and eventually arrested for taking a 3rd step into niggerdom disorderly conduct.

In the end, the charges were droppped and we all know he should have never been arrested. Ray Charles could see that. But he also should have drank a hot cup of STFU at a couple points during the shytuation and it would have saved some drama. Or perhaps Gates decided at some point during all this that he wanted to be a martyr (of sorts) and bring some attention to the issue of racial profiling by policemen. A highly-respected Black man being arrested in a liberal town for breaking into his own home??? Why not bring some MUCH-NEEDED attention to the issue of racial profiling and injustice? Perhaps this is what Gates was thinking, I'm not sure. This incident will bring light to the situation as we can all see by our President addressing the situation and contacting both Gates and the police officer involved. And at this point, someone in Gates's position probably should speak out during situations like that because there are many young Black men in the less wealthy neighborhoods of this country that have no voice at all when it comes to situations like this. The more light the better.

I read this article on the Inside Higher Education website and I walked away with several quotes that stuck in my head and I'd like to share:

"Odd, isn’t it? Here we are in the age of Obama, and some things haven’t changed. Blackness is associated in the public mind with wrongdoing; if we are spotted in an unexpected locale, we must be up to something." - Stephen L. Carter, Yale University Law Professor

"When incidents like this occur it lets the greater population become aware of something that most black men are aware of simply by nature of having been black in America" -- Michael Cuyjet, acting associate provost for student life and associate professor of education at the University of Louisville

"[Jack] Levin, who is white, said the take-away from the incident is that Gates and other black men live in a world where racism is prevalent enough that Gates would reasonably conclude he was targeted because he’s black." -- Jack Stripling

The comments on the Inside Higher Education article are rather interesting as well.

Nick Cannon is going to eff Eminem's life up for fun

Riiiiiiight. Just like 50 Cent did to Rick Ro$$.

From Nick's Blog (which appears to have been taken down from the actual website www.nickcannon.com/blog.html):

****************

Well, well, well. Fresh off the plane with my wife from our second honeymoon on the beautiful secluded islands of the Maldives and what do I find in my email box? A mediocre (at best) Eminem record that sounds like it was written in 2001. At first I thought it was old material that had been dug up from when dude “fantasized” about having a pretend fling with Mariah. I was thinking to myself, “Hey that was before me so it is really none of my business, so I’m going to give him a pass.”

So as I continued to semi enjoy Marshall’s rhyme scheme and flow, I mean let’s be honest dude used to be incredible. He was a witty lyrist with dope delivery and timing. Some even say, one of the best to ever do it. I had nothing but respect for this dude. But all of a sudden I hear my name in the verse! My first reaction was like, “This is his new shit??? Wow, that’s too bad…” Then I felt sorry for him because he must really be stuck in the past. Not only has his music not evolved, but also homeboy is still obsessed with my wife, the same female that wouldn’t let him get to second base from 8 years ago! He even describes his desperate lameness in this bad excuse for storytelling track. That’s some real middle school shit right there! (What type of grown ass man lies about getting with a chick) Only Slim Lamey! LOL!

So as I further examine the track, I hear dude cross the line. He begins to call my wife out of her name! Now as y’all know, I don’t take that type of nonsense lightly. So on some grown man shit I’m instantly like, I got to get at this Lame. I know it’s only entertainment and I’m all for freedom of speech. But I’m from the school of thought where if you are tough enough to talk shit, you got to be tough enough to deal with the consequences that come with tough guy shit talking! Then the little angel on my shoulder said, “No Nicholas, there is no need to play into his negativity. He is just a troubled soul yearning for the lost spotlight. You must be Christ like and turn the other cheek”

But then the dude on the other shoulder said, “ What Nigga?! Is you scared?! You can’t let no man ever disrespect your wife! Especially not some Peroxide drenched homophobic has-been! This is like some Paquiao vs. Hatton shit! He is underestimating you with his ass out and you can drop him in the first round!”

Then, without listening to either one of the voices on my shoulders, I analyzed the situation from a logical perspective. Am I going to battle Eminem and try to out rap him? No, that would be stupid. The dude is nice on the mic. Even though nowadays he lacks substance, rapping about when he used to be hot. Like when Al Bundy gloats about his High school football prime.

Then I asked myself should I go find this Bitch and just whoop his little ass? But that might have just been the Creatine and protein shakes talking! LOL. Even though most people don’t know that I’m nice in the ring and have been training in boxing and Martial Arts for years that would just be childish and silly of me to bully this dude. He clearly has been picked on all his life and I would hate to add to his deep-rooted pain. As we all know he has had a hard life and has major insecurity issues and is very confused and unhappy with himself. So a guy like that doesn’t really need another ass whoopin, he needs a hug. We should really pray for his troubled heart.

So just when the good guy in me is about to emerge and shine through, something hits me… Something bigger than rap beefs, something bigger than jealousy infused insults, something bigger than lackluster attention seeking punchlines, something bigger than artistic expression. I realized, that this so-called man has just disrespected and slanderized one of the world’s most significantly influential artists, one of the most notable BLACK females of our time, the incredibly cherished, globally loved and world-embraced woman of color, Mariah Carey!

Some people may not realize or tend to forget that my wife is a Black woman. And she has had enough difficulty in her life dealing with racial and ethnicity issues. Believe it or not, Mariah is the same racial mixture as our beloved president Barack Obama. [Black Father + White Mother= BLACK]

Maybe I’m going too far, but I thought we got passed the days where white men could spew vulgar obscenities at our beautiful queens and get away with it. What’s next? Are we going to let this trash say something horrible about our lovely first lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama? Or would Marshall have talked sideways out of his neck like this about Oprah Winfrey? This act of racist bigotry cannot go unnoticed. Calling my wife a “cunt” and a “whore” is way worse than anything Don Imus could have ever said. So trust, repercussions will be served. Anybody got Al Sharpton’s number?! LOL

Let’s not forget about Eminem’s amateur mixtape rants of calling African Americans Nigger and how he hates “Black Bitches”. How did we let him get away with that in the first place?! He is a natural born racist in disguise. Someone tell this coward that he finally barked up the wrong tree. For his entire career he strategically only tried to beef with people he could bully. I mean, what real man picks fights with women? Real MC’s battle other real MC’s. Ask Nas, ask Jay Z, you didn’t see them starting beefs with women! That is truly some punk shit!

So I’m putting this out there now. Marshall Mathers, you need to holler at me on some grown man shit. Man to man, let’s meet up and deal with this like adults. This is my invitation to you, whenever and wherever you like sir. So when you come out of your introverted hiding place and ask your bodyguards if you can go out and play by yourself, I’m here Pimp!

Your blatant disrespect not just to Black women but ALL women in general must stop. You are a despicable excuse for a man. I can’t even see how you can call yourself a father! Imagine if someone said half the stuff you say about women to your daughter, Hayley. (And I’m pretty sure they will because you got it coming Marshall.) That’s how Karma works.

You sold your little records and made a little bit of change but now you are stepping in the wrong territory. You may have been able to rape and pillage our artform like an old school Caucasian con man and nobody said anything because we respected your talent, but now you’ve made the ultimate mistake. Don’t you know that the black woman is the foundation and the strongest force in our culture? Take notes homey, Elvis would have never disrespected Aretha Franklin or Diana Ross. You were supposed to just do your little song and dance, make your little racist money and call it a day. But no, you had to dishonor the black man’s most precious counterpart.

I’m taking full action on you Eminem. I don’t know why no one has stood up to your bitch ass yet. But I guess it’s going to take a corny, wack rapping, boy toy from Nickelodeon to set you straight. And trust, I am going to be relentless. Even though I got a lot of other obligations and occupations, you are my new full time job “homey”! As a matter of fact I think you going to bring my wack rhymes out of retirement! That’s right haters; you can thank Eminem because I’m going to start rapping again! LOL Just for him! And don’t forget about the jokes! We coming at you hard body!! Non-stop on your Manic-depressive-Insecure-Maclovin-Nazi- Liza Minelli haircut havin-lookin ass!! [Pause] That’s what I do all day Bitch!

So Miss Marshall, I’m going to make you wish you never spoke my name and regret the ungodly things you said about my wife. This is going to be fun! It’s however you want it! Just remember, you did this to yourself! Your legacy has now been tainted from this day forth! You will now be known as the rapper who lost to Corny-ass Nick Cannon!!!

****************

My thoughts...

- Nick Cannon is a clown for even taking the time to write up all this stuff. I respect this dude's hustle in the entertainment biz but this is just corny. He could have at least done a youtube video, lol.

- Marshall is going to tear Nick a new one, lyrically.

- Since when has Mariah Carey embraced her bi-racial roots (not even her Black side) to the point where the Black community should feel outraged about her being disrespected.

- Doesn't everybody know that Eminem does this stuff for fun/entertainment and if he was really going in on Nick/Mariah then he would have went wayyyyy harder?

Examining Rick Ross-isms: Murda Mami

I still get a kick out of that picture too, LOL. It might actually be my favorite one.

Anyway, I am not sure if anyone was surprised by the fact that Foxxy is on this track, but I sure wasn't. I know there were rumors floating around about Ross and Foxxy being an item a while back (not that anybody cared outside the InterWeb) and I thought: "Meh, it wouldn't surprise me. But who really cares?". So when this song leaked I wasn't the least bit surprised and more importantly, I wasn't really excited about hearing it. I have never really been a fan of Foxx although I know a bunch of people that are. I've always thought she was the weakest of the female rappers of her era (Lil Kim, Eve, and Foxxy). She hasn't really impressed me since "Ain't No Ni99a" and that was HOW LONG ago? Since then she's had a couple joints that were hot but overall more drama than quality music. And after she lost (and subsequently regained) her hearing I would be apprehensive to believe that she can even tell what good music is anymore. But I AM glad she has her hearing back.

In a certain ghetto-fabUlous way she and Ross are an ideal couple. She loves to play ghetto azz Bonnie to some guy's Clyde (see: Jay-Z) and they are both about as unforgivingly hood as they can be. What's that mean? It's a match made in the projects.

As for this song, it's the second track on the album I'd skip. I listen to it, but if you asked me what are the tracks on this disc that I label "skip-able", this is definitely one of them.

Murda Mami - Rick Ross (feat. Inga)

She'll take the kilo and stuff it up in the Gucci/Brick of that 'roin, stash it up in the coochie: See what I mean about the Bonnie and Clyde stuff (which is naturally in the hook of the song)? I've always felt like Foxx's goal in life was to be a down-azz-chick. Which isn't altogether a bad life if you took away the potential for jail-time, death, or otherwise emotionally/physically harmful things that could happen.

Me and Ross like the hood version Obama's: GASP! Oh no she didn't!. This is an example of why there needs to be a copy-editing process when hip-hop lyrics are written. Anything Gucci Mane and/or OJ Da Juiceman (seriously) says is the only other example I think I need to prove my point. Quarter-edit, half-edit, whole-edit, AYE!

Hold up! That's it! Just two lines!?!? Great! Now I have to retract what I said in the last post.

Previously:

· Mafia Music
· Maybach Music 2
· Magnificent
· Yacht Club
· Usual Suspects
· All I Really Want
· Rich Off Cocaine
· Lay Back

This is a lawsuit waiting to happen

Obama Fried Chicken in BROOKLYN. I wonder how many people are going to call this racist because it's an Obama (ie - Black man) FRIED CHICKEN spot.


This is actually pretty smart from a marketing standpoint. Whether it's legal however, is another question (lol). Spotted @ Bol's.

"That marketing plan was me!" -- Jay-Z

These two are real pieces of work...

What's funny is that prior to the election (about a month or two away) I distinctly remember watching Dennis Miller on the Tonight Show being QUITE skeptical about Obama as the potential President and even taking a cheap shot at Michelle as well. Now he friggin' loves the guy. What a hypocritical douchebag!

And Bill O'Reilly's reputation precedes him at this point.

Regardless of what these two think most of us know that Black people have been echoing similar if not the exact same sentiments as Hov and Jay Jenkins for quite some time now. Albeit without the expletives in some cases I'm sure.

Ralph Nader inserts foot into mouth

...and this guy from Fox News goes in on him.

Nader is completely off-base by the way if you've happened to pay even remotely close attention to the Obama campaign over the past 2 years.



All I'm going to say is that you will see certain people's true colors come out in the very near future.

My president is Black, hopefully.

I will do my best to NOT keep up with the election results until tomorrow morning. But we all know that's not going to be possible. In the meantime, I'm going to revel in being able to be part of a historic day (win or lose for Obama) where I felt like I was part of a serious movement and part of history. It was a fantastic feeling walking into the voting booth with everyone around smiling and feeling the energy of the room. It's something I've never felt on an election day before and I like it.

So let this post be my little note in history that I voted on November 4, 2008.


For Barack Hussein Obama!!!

The REAL Video of the Day: Obama Barbeques McCain

Obama goes in roasting McCain. By the way, what a time for an event where Obama gets to roast McCain? This is just too easy...



I KNOW McCain had to be a little salty about this. I know swag doesn't account for that much when it boils down to the issues but...

Obama's swag > McCain's platform, POW story

UPDATE: Posterity people, posterity...

This is what happens when my mother starts getting comfortable on YouTube...

Aside from the hilarity I find in my mother wandering around on YouTube this video also gives a great example of why I love older Black women so much. You know the kind that treat you like you're their niece/nephew even if you don't know 'em from a can of paint. And I mean "love" as in, enjoy their personalities.

This Obama Hustle is something my grandmother would jump right into and learn if she was in Detroit at the Grendadier Club. No introductions necessary. Just some music, a bunch of other women doing a line dance, and BAM! She's right up there joining in like she's known these women all her life. Same with my mother. Maybe this is why I almost always feel obligated to get up and do the cupid shuffle at every wedding I attend. It's in my blood.

And I can't finish this post without say that we (Black folks) stay coming up with some daggon dances, I swear!