In Reverse: Seeing You Tonight Erykah

The thing that is getting me through this day is........

Erykah Badu Honey
by I_m_First

"10 Things Guys Wish You Knew" by Jason Mraz

1. You look sexy when you’re puffy from lying on the pillow all night.

2. We don’t understand your addiction to celebrity gossip. Whatever you do, don’t talk about it on a date.

3. Guys get a monthly type of PMS too. We get moody and need our space.

4. It’s the hottest thing when you say, “Are you going to kiss me now?”

5. We read and reread your texts and e-mails.

6. It’s annoying when a girl continues to ask, “What’s really on your mind?” Eventually, the answer is going to be “You asking stupid questions is what’s on my mind.”

7. A lot of us are insecure about our bodies. Women look like beautiful, soft, gorgeous angels when they’re naked. We look like hairy ogres or little scrawny trolls.

8. It’s cool when a girl isn’t weird about food. I love a woman who will eat something slimy.

9. Never tell a guy he’s just like your father. It creeps us out.

10. Put on a men’s dress shirt and nothing else. We’ll be able to unbutton it no problem, and it shows off your legs in a wonderful way.

This Mos Def Track is About to Change My Life

"Mos Def - Casa Bey" [Off the Upcoming Album "The Ecstatic" dropping on August 24th]
==> LISTEN/DL <==



So "The Ecstatic" is probably the only record I have ever seen leak the exact same day the album had a push back (from the original release of June 9th to August 24th) and I'm not sure why as this is the exact album hip hop heads have been waiting for from Mos Def since his 1999 classic "Black on Both Sides." The record is absolutely stellar, a full review will appear later, but the heat came with the closing track and third single "Casa Bey" that nearly made me pull over on Olympic on the way home. This is what Hip Hop is all about; dynamism, substance, craft, and orchestration all reigned in by a skilled MC. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to hear actual instruments, horns, drums, and even a little vocal ad-libbing from Def himself over a smooth beat and a playfully retro composition. Please support this artist and purchase the album on August 24th.

A Picture That is Worth a Thousand Words and Dreams

This young man was granted a visit to the White House and asked a simple enough question to our President. “Can he feel his hair, to see if it felt just like his?”

I Hope the END is Near: Black Eyed Peas in Review

Its no secret that I haven't really cared for the Black Eyed Peas or their offerings since the addition of Fergie in 2003. However, they remain a relevant force in hip hop and the archetype for group posterity as they have been in the game for nearly 10 years now. I don't think there is a group around (hip hop, pop, or otherwise) that can branch off into solo offerings and still come together, not missing a beat in the original band brand. The fact that they can do this speaks volumes about their professionalism and candor towards music and their relationships with one another.

I would say the B.E.P. trajectory into the mainstream wasn't seamless or easy and the addition of Fergie, merely gave them a bigger audience share if a more diluted sound. The funny thing is that Fergie was originally part of a the late 90's pop/soul girl group "Wild Orchid" and really, the only reason why I mention that is because they believed they were the white destiny's child. So as the argument goes, she has talent, but refuses to display it, but then again, the B.E.P were never really as edgy as Outkast or as pragmatic as Arrested Development and were keen on making records custom retrofitted for the club and partying. Their latest offering "The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) does not disappoint in this department, but suffers from creative stifling and a slight identity crisis.

One thing I have to ask while reviewing an album is "well who is this album intended for...what is the sound...and how is it executed". The execution on "The E.N.D." is flawless and the tracks carry the right amount of gloss and sheen to keep your head bobbing, however, most of the tracks if not the entire album feel like filler. Lead single "Boom Boom Pow" is the prefect single in that it pretty much lays out the entire feel of the album - electro synth sound blanketed over a big bass line and corsetted over fun vocals. However, this formula begins to wear thin by the fourth track . I have no problem with the B.E.P's wanting to create a fun party album, but this one feel like it comes to us by way of GAP and the CW's "Gossip Girl". In fact, that is pretty much the only places I could imagine them using any of these tracks for the whole ordeal coalesces into an indistinguishable milieu of noise and synth effects. The sound is a whole other ordeal as we have heard these same songs better worked on previous albums and they appear to be front loaded with a slightly less mature feel than the image the group evokes. Basically, I can't tell who or what kind of people this album is intended for, my best guess is macbooks or cyborgs - Like I could see Sonny from "I Robot" jamming out to this.

Really, the only standout tracks on the album I.M.O are "Outta My Head," "Showdown" and "One Tribe" not because there is anything particularly ear grabbing about them, just that they manage to be the more "inspired" tracks on the album adding a bit of funk to the mix. The good news about "The E.N.D." is that it could very well be the type of album that grows on you as you keep listening to it, and if not a great success story here in the states, I could definitely see this album hitting big overseas as they seem more open to this sort experimental sound. I for one, like my experimental music a little bit more organic, but like I said, mainstreem success hasn't been easy for the B.E.P. so they make sure that their music defines commercialism. And that it does. If judging this album under the cloak of mainstream commercialism, then it is a shining achievement - if you love music and think that the vocoder is the equivalent of Diddy then the E.N.D. couldn't come soon enough.

This Commerical Put a Smile on My face

I'm not sure about puppet children, but real kids surely do act like this....gotta love them though.

Shell Oil is Guilty of Human Rights Abuses

Almost a fifth of the oil imported by the U.S. comes from Africa, and in the decade to come this percentage will rise. The eastern part of Nigeria, from which Big Oil has pumped more than a trillion dollars worth of black gold since the 1960s, remains the poorest part of the country, and one of the most ravaged and polluted on earth. Thousands of gas flares have burned for decades, generating acid rains that have poisoned fisheries and crops. The land is crisscrossed by thousands of miles of leaking pipes and dotted with oil slicks. The air is unbreathable, cancers are endemic, there are no schools or hospitals and life expectancies are among the lowest on the African continent. Shell Oil is on trial in a New York courtroom, accused of hiring the Nigerian government to murder its own citizens for protesting the pollution of their environment and demanding a share of oil revenues be spent where the oil is extracted.