J*Dave is the "Queen of Wonderland" but Where the Hell is "New Designer Drug" Yo

J Davey sure know how to drop a dope beat and lyric every now and again....and i for one am tired of the mixtapes and randon "exclusive" single here and there (not really, id take it all gladly). I need a damn meal from these cats and not an appetizer...lol. Well until "New Designer Drug" get a release date, which we hope happens in the next 7 years, then Let Ms. Davey's act as the mistress of ceremonies for your eyeballs in the above clip.

No Presenting STL 11: The Best of Me

"Soundtrack to Life 11 - The Best of Me" [thanks for being patient folks....once you take a gander you will understand that it was well worth the wait...enjoy]
==> DOWNLOAD<==

Tracklisting
1. Range - True Love
2. Eric Roberson feat Chubb Rock - Summertime Anthem
3. Mark de Clive-Lowe Feat Nia Andrews - The Why
4. Theophilus London & Jesse Boykins III - Ooos and Ahhs
5. Timbaland Ft. Chris Brown - Naked
6. Britney Spears - Trip to Your Heart
7. Theophilus London feat Devonte Hynes - Century Girl
8. 1-O.A.K. - Rewind
9. Usher - You're So Fire
10. Chris Brown (Feat. Parlay Starr and Tyga) - Like You
11. Dezaray Dawn - Chameleon (Applejac's Sounds Of Mecca remix)
12. Tiron & Ayomari - If I Had You
13. Deborah Bond - 5:35
14. Jesse Boykins III - Sexy
15. Jazmine Sullivan - Take Over You
16. Electric Empire - Baby Your Lovin
17. ReneeDion - Nothing
18. Theophilus London - TNT

Taking the Time To Smile (You may think its silly article...but there is some real talk here)

It's amazing how Smiling (sincerely) can make you feel better. And Smiling often leads to laughing, which can create a sense of JOY, which results in a natural relief from stress. In fact, that IS a simple, effective Stress Relief formula - Smile More, and really mean it.

But what makes you Smile? What makes you Laugh?
What makes you feel JOY?

Even if you don’t know the answer to any of those questions, think about this for a minute - There's a lot of medical documentation today that confirms how smiling, laughing and feeling Joy definitely relieves stress, makes you healthier, and can help you live a longer, happier life.

For example, when you smile and laugh, the brain produces endorphins which are chemicals inside your body that (when released) help relieve physical and emotional stress, and thus, create a feeling of well-being. Since stress is attributed to a host of illnesses (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and many more), this "smiling often" stress-relief process can greatly enhance your health. But....that works ONLY if your Smile is real and comes from inside you, not just on the surface.

So, what does it take to make you Really Smile and feel some Joy?

A Real, Genuine Smile is an involuntary response. You can't fake a Real Smile that comes from inside you. A real smile is created by certain stimuli such as a genuinely happy thought, memory or sound, or from seeing something funny/inspiring or from touching something that makes you feel good. If such a stimulus affects you in a special way, that smile and sense of well-being happens automatically - and it Feels Good.

Have you ever noticed how incredibly easy it is for little kids to smile and laugh? It just naturally comes from the depths of their being. Little kids have hair triggers when it comes to smiling and laughing. And – Oh My God – we adults were once like that. Yes, we were! We smiled and laughed very easily and felt JOY, and had little or no stress in our lives. So, what happened? Why is growing up often the ticket to smiling Less, laughing Less, feeling little or no JOY in your life, and feeling More Stress?

Now, you may be an adult who finds that smiling, laughing and feeling Joyful is easy for you. And as a result, you may not feel very much stress in your life. If so, you are very blessed. Congratulations! But what about the many millions of people who don’t find it so easy to smile, laugh, and feel Joy, but instead, feel lots of stress? Well, the Question to them is:

Do you actually ALLOW yourself to Smile and feel Joy?

Are you so caught up with the In's and Out's, the trials and tribulations of your daily life, that you leave no room for Smiling and feeling Joy? To feel those things, you have to give yourself permisson to do so. Otherwise, you build a hard shell around you, and you become indifferent to the wonderful stimuli that usually create Smiles and Joy.

As mentioned, a true Smile is a triggered response that can be induced by such things as a pleasant thought, a yogic or meditative experience, hiking in nature, watching birds, kayaking, running, inspiring music or art, and quite a number of other things. And these things that make us smile will often lead to a feeling of sweet JOY, and be a great relief from Stress. Ahhhhh! . . .

But you have to Open yourself to that stimuli, and let yourself Feel it. Then, you will be able to experience Joy and understand The Importance of a Smile.

"What Were You Hoping For?" Well Not a New Van Hunt Album

I've been a stan of Van Hunt's ever since his self titled debut in 2004 and his music has taken quite the trajectory from conventional R&B, to neo soul to rock to funk. Quite the genre Rebel, I liken Van Hunt to the R&B equivalent of Bjork (the very title I would categorize myself in had I explored my musical inclinations) in that his music tends to take you to the left and out of your audible comfort zone. This statement couldn't be more true about Hunt's latest offering "What Were You Hoping For", a hodgepodge of rock, punk, and funk that upon first listen can leave the listener feeling a little bit "hung out to dry" but once you get past your expectations of Hunt music, what you find here is a treasure chest of gems that fly happily and subtly under the radar.

Hunt's latest offering is truly a surprise for me. Off my radar for quite some time, Hunt has been dropping buzz singles here and there for the better part of a month or so, but it wasn't until last week that I thought to dig a little deeper and see what this cat has been up to an low and behold, the "buzz" was not all for not. Hunt's labels woes have been well documented as his move from Capital to Blue Note wielded the ominous "Popular" - an album that was shelved and later rediscovered as an underground relic for true Hunt vans. Hunt has been on record as being "devastated" by the shelving of "Popular" and seems to disappear from the landscape all together after that fallout. But the music in him has not died and it appears that Hunt has come back with a vengeance with his latest offering "What Were You Hoping For" - his clever, trippy, rebel song and middle finger to the recording industry.

If you are a fan of Hunt, then you are also a fan of the personality and wit that exist in his music. And "Hoping For" brings this trend to a rousing new level. Hunt's latest has been categorized as "darker" than his previous offerings (and it is) but in providing the proverbial middle finger to all his haters, Hunt has pulled a rabbit out of his hat and completed a nice bit of magic in subverting his audiences expectations. Song titles like "Cross Dresser, " "Watching you Go Crazy is Driving Me Insane," and "A Time Machine is My New Girlfriend" have you looking at Hunt a bit sideways, but once you dive into these offerings and get immersed in Hunts fusion of punk, rock, and country (yes country), then the offering start to border on brilliant.

"What Were You Hoping For" admittedly take a while to get use to. I have to admit, when I first heard the album a couple of days before its initial release I gave it a passing listen and then a swift dismissal as a "humph" album. But once you take the time to see what Hunt was going for, and you let the production wash over you and his lush, rich vocal arrangements, then its hard to resist "Hoping For's" charms. Van Hunt's growth as an artist is admirable, the way he challenges his audience is greatly appreciated, and I can't wait to see where this chapter takes us on his musical voyage.

The Soundtrack You Thought Was A Myth Makes Its Cover Debut

and as far as the music goes, if im able to upload the damn thing then the blog-sphere will get a nice surprise in a weeks time lol. Have a great weekend folks

I'll Turn You Into a Tree Motherf*&%$#

this is why Don Cheadle is the shit!!! laughed so hard I cried :)

Basketball Lies and the Viewers Who Love Them

Look, I was one to stan for VH1's particular bran of ratchetness because honestly, any network that can air a dating show starring Flavor Flav and employ a bunch of stripper actresses is king in my book. However, the novelty is over, the DJ has left the booth, and the newport fumes have long dissipated and what we ultimately have left is a network keen on showing the bickering wives, girlfriends, and jumpoffs of professional athletes fighting like rabid dogs for camera time. It all leaves me asking....is the desire to be famous really that serious.

well it certainly is entertaining, even though its morally bankrupt and socially irresponsible to show predominately minority women clawing at each other for kudos if not a steady paycheck. But that's the thing.....there are two matriculations of this formula now floating about tvspace and neither seems to make good on the shows titular promise. The LA version certainly does try to throw us a few more bones as the show thus far has become all about Doug Cristie's paramour Jackie Christie and the elusive industry jump off Draya. Last nights episode was all up in Jackie's ass as she showcased her impeding wedding plans (she plans a wedding every year and thus far has married Doug 16 times), her bachelorette party, and her mothers flailing health. Why you would want cameras in either are of your business is beyond me....but Jackie seems personable enough to warrant an audience favorite award. Draya on the other hand is trying to get her "hand that rocks the cradle" skeeze on as she quite ignorantly tries to lull the other girls into believing she's something she never even convinced TV cameras she was...a morally sound individual.

not that morals have anything to do with the whole shebang. Even though you have your high and mighty cast members (Imani whatever her name is) you can't be naive as to not stare at the screen and go, well.....you had to so something to get remotely as close to the baller you almost had. But overall......this show is a sad sad mess........and sadly....ill be tuning in next week to see just how far the cookie crumbles........Up with hope....down with dope. Lets see Evelyn put that on a T-shirt.

"The Contagion Review" Presented by Purell Hand Sanitizer in 4D!!!

Ohh, the cough heard around the world can sometimes be as close as the guy sitting next to you while watching a movie like "Contagion", Steven Soderbergh's latest opus on the devise of humanity in the face of an aggressive pandemic. However, I would say that its distributor, Warner Bros Pictures, missed a golden marketing opportunity in scattering about various audience members to cough incessantly through the movie to add an extra layer of reality to the spectacle. I know the gimmick surely worked on me as, being a germaphobe, watching the opening images of "Contagion" unfold as i'm contorting my body away from the guy next to me who is coughing, touching his soda constantly, and manically looking for a place to wipe his hands, gave me almost as much pause as watching pretty little Gweneth Paltrow's face contort into a startling kodak image of her final destination (lol). But then a funny thing happened, when the guy stopped coughing next to me...........so did the movie's urgency or credibility.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Soderbergh fan and he is no stranger to weaving intricate plot details into a comprehensive and expressive thesis (see "Traffic" for reference). However, there is something slightly off about "Contagion" that plays in direct opposition to its dire subject matter. Hopscotching over multiple locals and with enough star power to light up time square, there are few filmmakers who could achieve what Soderbergh display on film here. However, the casting itself at times tends to be a distraction as A-list actors, who have long laid bit playing to waste, are playing essentially stock characters and archetypes worthy of a lifetime movie (cough....Sanaa Latham) . Of these, its is Kate Winslet as Dr. Erin Mears who truly sparkles beyond her tacked on veneer. There is a sense of urgency to her character that the others seem oblivious to. And whenever she is on screen she adds not only heart to the proceedings, but credibility and a soul. That is not to say that we don't get to see the other characters in their humane "moments", its just that they don't convey as much as she does in her brief moments on screen...the complexity of trying to react to a pandemic while also being the one employed to solve it.

we get it all here in Soderbergh's vision; scouting locations for triage, the breakdown of society, looting, xenophobia, control and flow of information. However, what bothered me most about these details was that what Soderbergh chose to show wasn't remotely as interesting as the ideas he has held up in front of you. We see that Matt Damon character is immune to the virus, but are there others, and if they are could their DNA provide clues on how to treat the virus. Post mass infection, we see that a cure has been devised, but how does society pull itself back together after a virus nearly signals the apocalypse. On that note, how do you dispose of the tens of millions who have died of the infection especially when you mention that there are no more body bags. in my opinion, a lot of the most compelling parts of "Contagion" are delivered in shorthand with a great deal of attention being paid to Jude Law's blogger character even though its doesn't necessarily provide an interesting angle to the story or provide any more perspective other than the motivations of greed. Also, similarly with 2012 and a slew of other disaster mass death movies, the deaths of hundred of thousands of people feels wholly inconsequential and for all of its cerebral banter on how long it would take to test and mass produce a cure, the way we get to the "cure" seems maddeningly simple and is played in a very "Meh" matter of fact way.

So is the idea of time as we are constantly reminded about how many days in we are or have passed while the movie seems to loose steam with every turning title card. Its as if, the more infected and the more fatalities there are on screen, the less the movie becomes concerned with these fatalities and human lives. Not that the virus discriminates in any form. We see those on the front lines affected as well as your every day lay man. However, it never really ads up to much. Especially since the movie set up an interesting parallel of the virus survival vs our own.

The script is maddening all on its own. If it weren't for the gravitas of the actor on screen and the vision of Soderbergh at play what we would ultimately have here is a glorified movie of the week ala "the first 48". Characters are introduced, play around a little, and totally disappear and/or are killed off. Some come back later in the story, but we learn absolutely nothing about these people and there motivations other than the framed moments meant to feign compassion. Cough, Cough

by the time we reach movie's conclusion and circle around back to day 1 (the movie starts off on day 2 of the virus) its as if the movie has completely undermined itself. Setting up a scenario that looks simple enough that in my mind I went, "okay, all I have to do is never take a trip to Hong Kong, eat at fancy restaurant, and shake hands with the head chef" and if I do.......at least Ill bring plenty of hand sanitizer. I mean, instead of charging a premium for shitty 3D glasses, maybe cinemas can now charge for those nifty little bottled of Purell and sale the spectacle in 4D....at least then you can leave knowing that if you managed to touch the armrest that said coughing guy next to you was wiping his hands on, then you wouldn't have to worry about a nasty soar throat later....or an all out brawl.