Substance over Hype

If I were a girl, I would be writing about Beyonce being pregnant. But I'm not, so you can read about that elsewhere. Since Tha Carter IV is officially out people have been telling me their opinions on it and frankly, I'm not convinced.

The best album out right now is Watch the Throne, period. Sure it's not a classic and I feel it should be, but there is no album out that can truly compete. And to compare Tha Carter IV to Watch The Throne is really a waste of time. Now a better comparison would be to compare the R.E.D. album by Game to the Carter IV. Most of you, probably haven't even heard Game's new album and really shame on you. So until you feel the need to try and disagree with me, go listen to it first.

Listening to Tha Carter IV(which is not better than Tha Carter III) is like listening to a glorified mixtape. It has some dope beats, Lil Wayne has some hot punchlines and that's about it. Their is not too much substance. Really, had I not saw the How to Love video, I would say there is no substance at all. Game, on the other hand, has delivered an album that's reminiscent of the albums that were dropped in the early 2000s. Game gave you stories in relation to his life, fictional scenarios, and even went so far as to make a song that took a stance on domestic violence. In short Game made an actual project that flows and was arranged properly and it came out as a good album(definitely better than LAX, which was his ultimate goal).

But because Weezy's album was so hyped up, and Game's wasn't people will automatically say Wayne's album is better. On top of that, as big as an artist that Game is he might simply get overlooked. The downfall of both of their albums is the plethora of features. In this aspect, Game has way more, but Lil Wayne has an "Interlude" and "Outro" that he doesn't even show up. How, as an artist, do you let anyone else close out your own album, and yet you opened it? Needless to say, the best albums out are in this order: Watch The Throne,  The R.E.D. Album, and Tha Carter IV.

Beef or Tofu??

Lil Wayne has been the main topic of conversation as of late. With a track leaking off his album(well really, the whole album leaked) titled "I'm Good" featuring Drake and Jadakiss, apparently a new beef maybe brewing between the Dwayne Carter and Shawn Carter.

I'm sure that all of you by now know what Lil Wayne has said, and if you don't you can easily find out by going somewhere and listening to the song. So let's get to it: Jay-Z makes a song that was originally slated to be on Watch the Throne titled "H.A.M." where he supposedly took a jab at Birdman, basically saying that he had more money. This song came out when Weezy was in jail, mind you. Weezy gets out and expresses that he might play off it, but says it wouldn't be legitimate beef. So damn near a year a later Weezy steps up to the plate and takes his jab back at Jay, in the form of threatening Beyonce.

Since Lil Wayne won't classify this as beef, so neither will I. But when you can call a guy's girlfriend a bitch, and then proceed to say that you would kidnap her, classifies as beef to me. But let me digress. If you didn't want this to be a beef, why respond at all? On top of that you respond to something that was not even a diss. Jay-Z does have more money than the Cash Money and Young Money combined. Oh yeah I forgot, in an interview, Lil Wayne in a nutshell agreed with the fact that Jay does have more money. But besides that, why take so long to respond? Is Lil Wayne trying to sell albums? I think so. But with what he said I feel Jay-Z will have to address it. I cannot see anyone letting another disrespect his significant other without retaliation. In addition, I don't know if you all forgot, but dealing with Jay does cause repercussions. He stabbed Un, and had Cam shot. So Lil Wayne(and Game) if you come at this guy a lil too hard he will retaliate and not on wax. Take caution fellas.

Best in Show

Television shows, like everything else, were good at one point. Let me clarify a bit more, local network television. Local network television offers you in essence three shows and either none, or lame ass old movies. The three shows they offer you are cop shows, law shows, and reality TV shows(just different variations, but don't get confused they're all really the same show). So now if you want to watch and get into a series of any kind, whether it's comedy or drama, you're going to have to pay for it. The good thing though, is that good television shows/series still exist and you are probably already paying for it anyway. But if you don't have HBO, then you need to get it because without it your cable sucks.

HBO is, more than likely, the best network in existence, as a whole. It offers you movies and some of the best shows to ever come on TV(minus Seinfeld, Fresh Prince, and The Simpsons). Add to that, they give you this without any commercials. Well, you do pay a little more(they're not really giving you shit) but is it not worth it? You already are paying for channels(most of them useless and that go unwatched) why not get the best ones that are offered. HBO Jr.(Showtime) has some decent shows as well, just not the greatest movies. Don't get me wrong, Showtime does show good movies, they're just not consistent, but they've gotten considerably better over the years. Therefore, they do get enough credit to be dubbed "HBO Jr.".

I'm pretty sure HBO should pay me for this post. You can find the top 15 HBO series in the Top of the Heap section.

The New Mob

Don't let the title confuse you. There is no new crime syndicate taking over. Or is there. Throughout the summer cities across the country have been witnessing a new form of crime dubbed a flash mob.

A flash mob is a large group summoned online to one location and participating in some sort of mischievous activity. Well more than most times, these acts committed are bit further than mischievous and much more closer to nefarious. These flash mobs mainly consist of youths under the age of 18, on average.

What exactly are these mischievous and nefarious acts these teenagers are participating in? Well, so far they have ranged from looting to attacking purely random people. In one instance, 20 male teens walked into a G Star Raw store and proceeded to just take clothing and just walk out. Now there have been incidents occurring all year. However, more recently in Germantown, Maryland a 7-Eleven convenience store was ransacked by a flash mob of teens and ran out with hundreds worth of merchandise. What particularly strikes me about this incident is not the actual act, convenience stores have been getting robbed for as long as they've been around. But the admitting, by a police spokesperson that, yes, cops are actually pretty fucking slow(as in having a low intellect) is hilarious. "We had always thought flash mobs happen in big cities. We are unprepared. We don't have anyone who has social-media expertise," was told to reporters by Janie Smith, county of Montgomery police spokeswoman in Maryland.

The first thing I did was laugh when I read this, as I'm sure you did. Now I don't agree with flash mobs, I, personally, think that they're pretty fucked up. And stopping them isn't going to happen anytime soon. But the police are not supposed to say that they don't have enough expertise to truly fight back. Now these kids are about to probably take it up a notch. Aforementioned, they form on the internet, or through texting, so they possibly have read the same articles as I have. It doesn't even matter if surveillance cameras are used, because who the hell is going to catch 40 kids, really? But they'll eventually slow it down when they run up on the person that responds to them in a way they weren't prepared to handle. Basically, the cops won't have anything to do with the declining of this new form of crime. A person is going to end up killing one of these young cats and that'll probably slow it up a but, in that city at least.

Jump Man

For those who don't know the numbers, start in the upper left-hand corner with I(1) and go from there.

With one of the biggest releases of the year, I couldn't help but put my two cents in on the subject. This weekend on the 20th the Jordan V black/metallic silver will be released. This will be the last biggest release before the Concord XI's in December.

It's amazing that for over 20 years Jordans are still the hottest sneaker, or rather, most popular sneaker to date. So many fads have come and gone, and I'm sure at one point parents of my peers, like my parents thought that the mania behind Jordans would have left the building by now, but it hasn't. Kids that never saw Michael Jordan play one game of basketball in any of his shoes, feel some(not all) of that same yearning that a release date brings, that we felt back when they were coming for the first time.

I don't know what we've been brainwashed with, or the amount that MJ payed all the sneaker companies to never give a player a shoe line better than his, or if the designs by Tinker Hatfield are hypnotizing. Nor do I care. I love Jordans(as you all should) and am glad that they still come out and are still a big deal. I am not that happy that the prices have went up, but that's just something you chalk up to the game of business.

On my new TOP OF THE HEAP page, I have listed what I consider to be the top 10 Jordans of all time. Feel free to comment with your own list if you disagree with mine.

Scandalous

I have to first let you all know that I am an Ohio State Buckeyes fan. Therefore, to hear of another powerhouse university make headline news with another scandal all I can muster up is that misery loves company.

It has come to everyone's attention that players at the University of Miami have been targeted with a scandal that could really hurt the school just as bad as the pain my Buckeyes are currently feeling. The story behind it all is that Nevin Shapiro, has been said to have illegally provided funds, gifts, parties and even an abortion for one of the players.

So you have a guy already serving time for something completely unrelated and all of a sudden decides to come out and potentially ruin a school and a well known musician. What's even more terrible about this, is that Shapiro publicly stated that he was only doing what Luke did in the 80's and 90's. For one, to bring Luke into this thing and dub yourself "Little Luke" is to do what exactly, bring validity to your immaturity. Shapiro(I know you won't get a chance to read this due to getting caught with your Ponzi scheme) do you think that this scandal will help you in any way? Let me answer that one for you: Hell No. This has only made you look like an immature child begging for attention at the expense of others. It is not our fault that you had to pay to be down and weren't cool enough to be accepted by the "in" crowd. I really do not think Madoff would come out and disrupt an institution for the sake of.... well, really for the sake of what exactly?

I personally don't blame any of the players for taking part. These athletes generate millions of dollars for their schools and while not getting paid are supposed to be there to get an education. Well, I went to college and I was not a potential pro athlete and certainly didn't generate any funds for my alma mater. Yet, I still wanted to go out and party, it's college we're talking about people. And if I was in these athlete's position, hell if we all were, those kickbacks would be accepted. Don't hate the player.

LOL

Between watching an episode of Californication and recieving a text message I am heavily inclined to agree with the infamous Hank Moody, texting is killing the English language.

I never really noticed how bad we, as Americans, have gotten so lazy and have a total disregard for the language of our land. Upon recieving a text message that read, "Hey wyd", I first had to figure what the hell wyd meant. Then after figuring it out, I then realized that laziness has seeped into our language, which I didn't even know was possible. By the way, wyd = What You Doing.

When it comes to the phrases "LOL", "LMAO", or even "SMH" I have no quarrel. These are intended to display actions, no problems there. However, a person texting me "STFU", "IDK", and "OMG" is where I find all the problems. First, shut the fuck up looks way better than stfu(and you better know me rather well to be texting me anything of the sort). Secondly, abbreviating phrases is what the federal agencies do(hence their nickname the alphabet boys) and who wants to be a cop, considering they all tend to be pricks(on average). And I'm willing to bet that people in other countries don't abbreviate phrases in their language when texting(I could be wrong).

I have no issues with slang(I am black), but when you're too lazy to type a phrase maybe you should just call someone, or wait until you can. And to all the gentleman reading this, if you text anyone "K" in reference to ok(really using it all) you my friend are gay. 

Leaders of the New School

In my daily talking to people, I occasionally find myself ending up in discussions defending Apple as a superior company to all other electronic companies.

My question always remains the same and I have yet to get definitive answer: How are Apple products not the best? The answers I get in response to this question range from "the iPhone is limited compared to a droid", "Apple only has only ten percent of the market", to "I hate Apple". All responses given, fail to indicate that Apple, no matter what their percentage of the market is, runs the market. I'm not sure if you all quite remember the mass hysteria that was caused when the very first iPhone was released. And if you don't remember that, due to whatever rock you were living under, then surely you remember the pandemonium the iPad debut caused. Oh yea, I almost forgot, how many of you reading this have iPods? Thought so.

I say that to say this, Apple products might not be considered the best(even though they should be), but they are undoubtedly the leaders of the consumer electronic industry. The purest definition of a leader is someone that sets a standard that others follow relentlessly. So yes, I can get a zune, an Evo, or a Samsung Galaxy. But would these companies be pursuing the routes in technology that they currently. No. Or else, wouldn't they have already. And even if they were thinking about it, or had it on the drawing board, Apple had enough gumption to put out there. Then again, Apple knew it would work, they didn't have to think about it.

I do give credit to BlackBerry, but not a whole lot. I can say that have tried their best to stick to their guns and have continued to be successful. I'm not really feeling the PlayBook, but they weren't going to be left out. Which brings me to my next point in Apple's superiority. Some of you may, some of may not remember the Palm Pilots. But Palm at one point was the leader in the tablet industry, but it never really caught on. Not quite like the iPad caught on. Thus, Apple revitalized an entire industry that had been written off.  Apple in one hand invented the wheel(iPhone, iPod) and in the other hand reinvented the wheel(iPad). Sidenote I wrote this on an iPad.

The Throne

I should have known my next piece was going to be on Watch The Throne. 

Listening to this album has been a struggle. I am constantly pulled in two different directions. It's a good album, but not great. And with the two biggest hip-hop artists collaborating for an actual album, I expected something groundbreaking. Was I wrong? Obviously, I was.

Nothing about this album was groundbreaking, minus the production. When delving into "real" hip-hop, one thinks of stories, wordplay, and substance. Only wordplay was displayed. Even the heavyweights have forgotten what hip-hop is about. And what really sucks, is that they truly worked hard on this project and thought that this is what hip-hop was missing.

Unfortunately they were wrong. True hip-hop doesn't care about how much money you have or have made, it's about the art. It's about who is the best. And granted these two MC's are by far considered the best, being the best and standing out as such, was not demonstrated. Lackluster lyrics were provided. Why, might you ask, was I pulled in two different directions? Well, to be perfectly honest, it's not a bad album. But it's not a great album. And it should be great. And what troubles me the most is that since it's not bad, and with the artists involved, the general public will consider what they made as great. It truly hurts my heart that the hip-hop that I grew up with and believed in, is truly dead. As a Jay-Z fan I really hate to say Nas was right, but he was.

Hova Da God

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I truly never had any intention of this being a blog based on music. I guess I shouldn't have started out with a piece on musicians. Well it is what it is. Having heard the interview with Jay-Z conducted by Angie Martinez, I have been left with no choice in the matter.

Growing up, I was the most authentic Jay-Z fan. Meaning I was a fan before Hard Knock Life. Rather, he was my favorite rapper after I saw the "City is Mine" video. From 1997, the coolest guy in my mind was Jigga. I was such a fan that my father knew if he saw Jay on the cover of a magazine to automatically purchase it. With that being said, there is no question that I am a fan of Shawn Corey Carter.

Over the years I have had certain quarrels over the actions he has taken. Retire(on top) and come back with a not so good album(Kingdom Come). Not cool. However, before that I watched "Fade to Black" and witnessed him basically force Kanye to give him the Lucifer beat, a pretty assholeish move. And then finding out how he treated Kanye initially and not wanting to sign him as a rapper because he felt that he couldn't really rap, I was like, "Damn Hov is kinda an asshole for real".  I don't totally blame him for the dispersion of the original Roc-A-Fella. I just wish that situation was handled better by all parties involved.

Now I don't totally agree with Jay-Z still rapping at his age. Let's face it, rap is a young man's game. However, in all honesty, what young cat is truly a better artist than Jay-Z? I couldn't think of one either. So with that, I can understand why he still makes music. He's still the best at it, hands down. And I wish you Lil Wayne fans would try to come at me. Lupe, Clipse, Fab, and Jadakiss are great lyricists, but all around artists Jay-Z will win. His catalogue proves it. Is Jay my favorite rapper today? No. Is he still the best doing it? Yes.

Haircuts and Such...Part Deux

Here we go again. I have come to notice something that I didn't expect to become a trend. I'm not quite sure why it is, but I know that everyone is following everything so I shouldn't be surprised. But as grown men, the new thing is to dye your hair? Really? SMH...

Growing up in the 90's forced me to put compartmentalize certain things: New York cats wear Timbs, Cali dudes wear Chucks, gay niggas dye/bleach they hair. As everyone has already mentioned the most famous black male in the past 20 years that colored his hair was Sisqo. I of course agree. And as we all know that guy is rather homosexual. But at least he was a singer. Back to the compartmentalization, rappers should be hard. Fast forward, we have multiple headlining artists going to a hairstylist and saying "I think with this cut, we should go blond". WTF?!?!?!

One of the pioneers of this, is none other than Wiz Khalifa. In his defense, he didn't color his whole head of hair, just streaked it. And yes that may not be cool to some(myself included), but I like his music, and at least the streak was original. We'll give him a pass.  Chris Brown on the other hand, what made you want to color your hair blond? There must be something I'm missing. I need to know if girls like black blond cats. Actually no I don't, because the girls that do, I probably don't like them anyway.

In next, is Soulja Boy. What's funny about his cut is that it's only the top. So I guess he's trying to bring the two-tone fad in. Or rather half-n-half. But the worst dude by far is, The Game. Judging by his pic he knew it. I don't know any Bloods that are down for they set so much they take it beyond their wardrobe and color their hair red. Then again, they must know red is a sensitive color and it can come out not the way it was intended to, as seen in The Game's red mohawk. It looks a little too bright if you ask me(closing in pink), but that could be the lighting. Tyga dyed his hair as well, but he's not relevant enough for me to elaborate.

It seems the hottest thing in the game is to see who out gays one another. The tighter the pants, the blonder the hair, next thing you know they gonna start tattooing sunrays around they belly-button. The ultimate sad part of it all is that the youth are being influenced more easily these days and have already started following these trends. Terrible...