Dear Keri Hilson

Obama would be proud...

WOW, that is ugly, to say the least. Keri, I've always thought you were talented and all, penning all those hits and even beginning your own singing career. This sure isn't the way to keep the ball rolling. At a primetime game between your HOMETOWN Atlanta Hawks and the Lakers, you botch the National Anthem?? What's funnier is how you tried to cover it with the mean little church choir extension. It was a valiant attempt to save a ridiculous faux pas. I mean, I understand not being completely patriotic and remembering the Anthem. Few people do, and even fewer give a you-know-what about patriotic stuff. At least practice or memorize the piece before you perform!! If you were really feeling shaky, you could've put up a teleprompter, or had somebody holding up a sign somewhere like a grade school recital. The crowd didn't react like a bunch of parents too proud to notice their kids messing up. At least you looked good doing it...

Dear Timbaland

Okay, the verses are fire. The chorus does the job too. And you do a pretty good job with the beat too. But Timbo, why do you insist on including your name in the title as an artist if you don't actually say anything on the track? I'm all one for self-empowerment, but you've been doing this since Magoo was still relevant. How can you have an album that you're on less than 50% of? You don't see Just Blaze or DJ Premier shouting themselves out like that. You putting your name as an artist is like Charles Hamilton putting J-Dilla on his album: NOT COOL. I'm all for hot beats, but when does lyricism ever come into play over a Timbaland beat? I've never heard one of your songs that didn't put me to sleep after the 12th loop of the beat. Not to say that your influence in hip-hop is non-existent (Besides beats, what does this man do?), but the whole one-trick pony act doesn't work very well. And when it does, repetition is usually involved. Ask Swizz Beatz. Being a dope producer doesn't guarantee you sales, no matter what other artists you feature on your tracks. I hope Shock Value 2 doesn't do just the opposite and put me to sleep like the first one did. What would be the real shock is if it actually doesn't...