Dear Bishop Tobin

Church and state have never been so far apart, cynically, that is. Bishop, since when is one's political stance grounds to expel them from a rite handed down from God? I've never written a letter going up against a religious figure, but this needed to be done. It's no wonder the Catholic Church is the most made-fun of entity in the world. From ideologies more rooted in tradition than understanding, to a wide-reaching influence that serves for intellectual recession than progression, I've always thought the Catholic church had a bit too much power for it's own good. That's why this kind of issue only serves to make the Church look bad. Bishop Tobin, you seem to have this penchant for allowing your own political (aka spiritual) ideologies to cloud your judgment, especially when it comes to things that really aren't your business. To you, and all abortion opponents for that matter, why is it your business what a woman does to her body? Better yet, why should it be the government's job to say what a woman does to her body? Or even better than that, why is it your prerogative to judge Representative Patrick Kennedy's views on abortion?

First of all, it's not your job to judge anyone. Christianity's ultimate judge is God. You, Bishop Tobin are there solely to administer the word of God to others. Secondly, I realize that this is the inherent problem with America today. People are way too comfortable with allowing church (or state, for that matter) legislate their tastes. Whether it's a stance on marijuana, gay rights or abortion rights, someone is always trying to tell you what to do. Is this not the land of the free? Bishop Tobin, you should not be involved in the fate of any woman's womb but those interested in allowing you that liberty. Nor should you be meddling in political affairs. It's funny that you can concern yourself with politics only when it suits your own beliefs. I suppose that's the flaw of politics and religion, too...

The Mailing List: November 2009 (#4)

4. Deal or No Deal - Wiz Khalifa



Wiz Khalifa has shot up my list of rappers to watch out for next year. If not because of his lyrical prowess and penchant for catchy ad-libs, then simply out of respect for his never-ending grind. Dude had a summer second to only Curren$y (and maybe Wale), dropping off 'How Fly' (with Curren$y), his two mixtapes 'Flight School' and 'Burn After Rolling', and now his first album, 'Deal or No Deal'. I wish Wiz had dropped more than interviews talking about this album, because I honestly think he's going to storm the hip-hop game with this one. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Wiz, and his lyrics have gotten more and more subtle. In a state of hip-hop where we laud the obvious, Sesame Street lyrics of Wayne and Gucci (sorry Gucci Mane stans, but you know shit is true sometimes), we rarely sit back and try to listen for the way harder to catch lyrics. Wiz is one of the MC's spearheading the movement. His new album, 'Deal or No Deal' drops TOMORROW. That's not a lot of time, so you should definitely check these videos out and get an idea as to what the Wiz has cooking up this time around...

Emilio Rojas - The Natural

The Natural - Emilio Rojas

I've always been iffy on Latino MC's. Of course there are the greats like Big Pun, Cuban Linx, Peedi Crack (check him out!!) and Immortal Technique, but at the same time, there are heads like Pit Bull and Fat Joe that will never measure up (IN MY OPINION). Emilio Rojas is looking like he's going to change my opinion if he keeps dropping piff like this. Emilio hails from Brooklyn (all my Brooklyn heads, get your 2 cents in now) and already has a mixtape under his belt. He's been using the internet as a means to step his publicity up (who hasn't in the past 2 years?), and honestly I don't know why he needed it in the first place. Emilio has social commentary for days in his raps, speaking on his struggles as a young man, as well as the ills of being Latino in today's world. He's also a gifted lyricist. At times, it feels like he's spitting spoken word, but when you add up his voice and the beat, the equation couldn't be clearer: EMILIO IS A MONSTER!! He doesn't have hidden agendas or any reggaeton fluff to add on like NORE, and the Green Lantern cosign on this mixtape is as good as gold. Oh yeah, and the production is sooooooooo professional (I judge mixtapes based on this, too), with no bullshit tags or background white noise. While I didn't dig each and every track on 'The Natural', there weren't any weak songs on it. Emilio did a good job in staying in a lane and whipping the fuck out of that lane. Check out 'The Natural' and make sure you check the tracklist, my picks, some loosies, and videos for your viewing pleasure. Happy Music Monday, to all my Twitter fam...



Cream of the Crop:
Untouched
Only Just Begun
Bold & Arrogant
Breaking Me Down
Tonight
Runway

Cream of the Crap:
NONE (this mixtape had no weak links)

Loosies:
Emilio Rojas – Piano Bounce
Emilio Rojas – Let’s Go (prod. IMAKEMADBEATS)

Neighborhood Newsletter (11/21)

I'm a math atheist as well...

Teaching of evolution to become mandatory in England

Intel: Chips in brains will control computers by 2020

How to end world hunger

US Army responsible for New Orleans floods

Couple Busted for Refusing to Pay Tip

Black Friday 2009 countdown: Sales, deals and tips

No Dope: Ft. Lauderdale Man to Smoke 115,000th Joint

How to truly annoy and upset people

Freestyle Friday (11/20)

What up people?? It's Friday, which means nothing more than FREESTYLES. Today we have two (sometimes one) of my favorite up-and-comers Wale and J. Cole having a cypher at a Denny's of all places. Minus the irony of two black rappers freestyling at Denny's, this was pretty good. Of course Wale uses his trademark flow, and you know J. Cole destroys it. The second one is from Emilio Rojas and Donnis. I wasn't familiar with Emilio, so this was a dope introduction. I'm downloading his mixtape 'The Natural' as we speak. Donnis does his thing on the cypher too. Check both of these out, and keep it locked to Dear Whoever...

Youth of the Nation

When I came to college, this is what I imagined. Instead of the vapid party and drinking scene I've grown accustomed to, I expected to find a mecca of learning and inspiration. Call it naivety, but my idea of what education should be has always been above and beyond what it was. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there either feeling like this. The ignorance of my peers was ultimately the straw that broke my camel's back in terms of my faith in education. That's why this video makes me smile for so much. All of the time, I hear adults chastise my generation because 'we don't stand for anything.' Now here we are protesting for our rights as students?? AND we got footage of it on Youtube?? Kudos UCLA. We can only hope that the rest of the nation's youth can make statements like that. Take THAT, Baby Boomers and Generation Y'ers!!

PS: I completely forgot to tell you what the video is of!! The students at UCLA were fed up with a 32% tuition increase and decided to protest. As you can see they got pretty heated and when the smoke cleared, there were 14 arrest and a student tasered (you know campus police did that shit). It's so nice to see students speak out and GET HEARD. Hopefully they lower that tuition...

Black on White

Many of you guys have probably heard of, or read the book Black Like Me (step your citation game up), written in 1959 by John Howard Griffin, where the author ingests pigment-altering pills to change his skin from white to black. The author then takes a hitch-hiking trip through the deep South, chronicling his experiences in a journal along the way. Fast forward to 2009 in Germany, where famous undercover journalist Günter Wallraff does essentially the same experiment, this time with a hidden camera and a horrible curly wig. If you can look past how bad of a black man Wallraff looks like, you'll see the genius in the documentary. Wallraff does normal things like apply for an apartment, or just walk around a predominantly white neighborhood, and experiences casual racism every place he goes. For those of you that think racism stops in the U.S., think again. Check the videos out and keep it locked to Dear Whoever...

Harlem's Cash - Cashifornication

Harlem's Cash - Cashifornication

When the radio gets boring, its always good to be introduced to new artists. I first heard Harlem's Cash on Outasight's group cut with The Kid Daytona and 6th Sense 2-0-0-9 (which is one of the best songs I've heard all year, trust). He's come out with a couple of mixtapes, but none of them feel as complete or as promising as Cashifornication. Cash's flow seems effortless at times, evidenced by the numerous laughs, free-flowing ad-libs and otherwise fun and joy shown on his part. You can tell that the lyricism aspect of this man's game has been finely tuned, so he's just having fun at this point. Don't get it twisted though. On wax, Harlem's Cash is all business. Yes, you can hear the fun, but you can also hear the passion and the hunger in his delivery.

Cash has been out grinding for a few years now and he's ready to blow (pause). Lyrically, he's above and beyond most of the up-and-comers he's classified with. He has punchlines for days and quick metaphors for you people who like listening to tracks more than once. I'm not going to say this was a masterpiece of a mixtape, because the true status of a work can only be seen once the smoke clears, but it's pretty damn close. His beat selection was a little suspect, as he used 'Ignorant Shit', 'Fear' and 'Forever' (who hasn't gone on these?). He still rips them all though, so it's cool. Newsflash people: Harlem's Cash is a beast. I HIGHLY suggest you download this. Just think of it as an early X-Mas present for your ears. Check the link, my picks, loosies, and videos after the jump...

Cream of the Crop:
Skyview
Real Rap, Real Talk
Stank You
Ground Level
City on My Spine

Cream of the Crap:
Ghost Joint (didn't like the beat selection)

Loosies:
6th Sense feat. The Kid Daytona, Outasight & Harlem’s Cash - 2-0-0-9
Harlem’s Cash – Real, Rap, Real Talk
Harlem’s Cash – Thank You f. Tanya
Harlem’s Cash – Ground Level

When celebrations on ice go wrong...

Every hockey player on earth is making a vow right now to stay on his feet from now on. This dude just gave every high school physics class in America materials for days. You could blame his own ignorance, but it's much easier to peg whoever manufactured that window for the accident. I suppose now that we know the player is okay it's cool to laugh now. Laugh away...

Skullcandy NBA Series Headphones

Remember the days when EVERYONE had something NBA-themed? Whether it was stationary, clothes (I know some of you dudes had the jeans with team logos on it), haircuts, or even their name, the NBA has been able to infiltrate our personal lives in the weirdest way. Luckily this isn't one of them. Skullcandy headphones have been the 'it' item in terms of audio technology and now they've been NBA-ized (making up words that don't roll off the tongue sucks). Of course they have all of your favorite players (and none of mine), but I can bet anybody that by the time these drop on December 10th, at least 50% of the NBA will have a pair of these. And at $50 you can have them too. Check out more colorways the new Skullcandy headphones that every music-loving NBA fan will have this Christmas...

Whatever U Want (Remix) - Consequence, Kanye West, KiD CuDi, Big Sean & Common

Whatever U Want (Remix) - Consequence, Kanye West, KiD CuDi, Big Sean, Common & John Legend

Sometimes I think Kanye and GOOD Music just like to mess with their fans. Otherwise, they wouldn't make us wait this long between features. If you remember 2006, then you should remember the song "Grammy Family" as one of the first introductions of Consequence. He's certainly improved, and having this roster on your debut single doesn't hurt either. Check out the remix for 'Whatever U Want' and throw it back to '06 with the video for 'Grammy Family'...

Neighborhood Newsletter (11/18)

Verizon to AT&T: The truth hurts

Miss Universe Contestants in Three-Way Sex Tape

2009 breaks Army record for soldier suicides, up over a dozen from 2008

Women banned from wearing trousers in Paris

Five Painless Ways to Cut Expenses

7 Reasons to Skip the Fast Food Drive-Thru

No Surprise: Coed Dorms Fuel Sex and Drinking

Study: 40% of U.S. May Be Obese by 2018

Who plays video Pac-Man anymore??

Alas, today I didn't find some amazing new-fangled technology to preview 3 years in advance. Today, we have some rather old technology being used in new, fun ways. Everyone has played Pac-Man at some point in their life (if you haven't please go to an arcade after finishing this video). Not many people can say they've played in in real life using Roomba vacuums with internal modifications. Check out what techies do when they're bored...

Dear Beyonce

Yesterday, or the day before (my days have been melding together as of late) I had a conversation with a younger female cousin. I asked her who she looks up to as a girl. And before she said Michelle Obama or someone with a veritable impact on humanity, she dropped your name, Ms. Knowles. Now, I'm nowhere near entrenched in a lifestyle that would include you as a regularly-scheduled spot on my iTunes playlist or in my thinking, but I suppose I can see your appeal. Young black girls see a woman who is in charge of her money, her legacy and her sexuality and are attracted to that. They hear catchy tunes and nice beats and automatically want to be like Beyonce, much in the same way that a young me idolized Michael Jordan.

That said, Bey, what's with your videos and your whole image as of late? If Jay is becoming a watered-down version of his former self, then you've become the sexed-up, shallow, soul-less, OVEREXPOSED counterpart that the man needs. They say sex sells, but at this point, what more do you have to offer? If you ask anyone (who isn't a die-hard Beyonce stan) what you stand for or where you stand on any pressing issue, I'm sure you'll draw more blanks than asking what how many amendments there have been or what America's capital was before D.C. In what UNIVERSE is that cool? Beyonce, to me, you've become a vapid shell of what black girls should look up to. I feel like you've taken any sort of positive ideology that could be derived from your likeness, and shrouded it in partial-nudity and catchy, pointless tunes. Where's the balance? Not saying you have to be all dreadlocked-out, using chew sticks and lobbying for environmental aid in Kosovo, but you seem empty. Yeah, we know, you do charity work. But in this day and age, as a celebrity (especially on such a global scale), you have a responsibility to go above and beyond the call of moral and intrinsic duty. Beyonce, you're a role model. Stop allowing Hollywood to Photoshop out your soul...

Dear Rappers

The irony is priceless here...

via Reuters:

Rapper Gucci Mane has been sentenced to 12 months in jail for probation violation.

The sentence was handed down Thursday (November 12), according to the performer's lawyer.

Mane pled guilty to assault in 2005 for attacking a nightclub promoter. Last September, he was sentenced to a year in jail for failing to fulfill his court-ordered 600 hours of community service. He was incarcerated until March.

To me, this letter shouldn't have to be written. But the past few years in terms of high-profile incarcerations have been unbelievable. It's like the early 2000's when shootings and getting shot were the cool thing to do. Prison automatically gives you credibility and pretty much assures you that about 200 hood folk will be printing your name and picture on a t-shirt saying 'FREE (insert rapper here)'.

That being said, why is that a good thing? Let's say for all intents and purposes, that as a rapper living a 'gangster' or 'hood' (sounds weird typing it, doesn't it?) lifestyle adds to your appeal. Wouldn't you want to be a good rapper, and NOT go to jail? I mean, rappers, for God's sake, some of you guys are going to prison for the dumbest reasons. If it isn't Wayne tossing a Gucci bag with a gun in it off his tour bus, then it's Remy Ma beating some chick up at a club. If it's not Prodigy, it's Mystikal. If it's not T.I., it's Gucci Mane or Tony Yayo or City Spud or B.G. Seriously, rappers, get your business together. What kind of message does this send about hip-hop? That we're a genre full of jail birds? (dumb rapper voice) Oh it's okay to go to jail if you're a rapper. You can just cut a deal, do community service and release music right after I get out (/dumb rapper voice). There's so much wrong with that mode of thinking, yet we subscribe to it when we buy your albums and wear 'Free Yayo' t-shirts.

Newsflash. Jail isn't cool!! Neither is what comes with it. We were all fooled when we saw Gucci Mane in this PSA. He's learning a valuable lesson now though: parole is no joke, especially when you rap about openly selling drugs...

The Dutch Set the World Domino Record

Only the Dutch (cough cough) could come up with something so trivial, yet so cool to look at. It took 4,345,027 dominoes and about two hours to complete. This might not be prime time television, but it's something to remember. Besides, what's life without delving into the pointless from time to time. Thoreau said that 'There is an incessant influx of novelty into the world, and yet we tolerate incredible dullness'. Check out every domino ever in the world falling and remember to knock down your dullness, people...

Clipse ft. Cam'ron & Pharrell - Popular Demand 'Popeyes'

Now, why hasn't Till the Casket Drops dropped yet? Your guess is as good as mine, yet somehow I think even with the pushbacks and leaks, the album is going to be immaculate. The Clipse and Pharrell have plaques and hundreds of playbacks written all over them, so you know the wait might just be worth it. Either way, the video is great. Cam eating while rapping is priceless...

Dear Marcus Jordan

via USA Today:

The University of Central Florida has lost its $3 million exclusive contract with adidas after basketball player Marcus Jordan's insisted on wearing his father, Michael's, Nike Air Jordans for the school's opening basketball game, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

While the rest of the team wore their adidas shoes with black trademark stripes, Marcus Jordan laced up his pair of white Air Jordans Wednesday night, although he did add a pair of black ankle braces with the adidas logo prominent displayed.

Marcus, 18-year-old son of the NBA legend, says UCF had promised when recruiting him to the school that he could wear the famous Jordan brand.

People always want to say that nepotism is dead. But look at all of the dummies we have walking around, that only got on because their parents, uncles, cousins or siblings were famous for something. Sometimes that turns out well, like with Ken Griffey, Jr. But sometimes (more often than not), the relative taints the family's name like or fails to live up to their relative's legacy. Now in your case Marcus, you haven't had long enough of a career to warrant any sort of ill comparison to your father. Nor have you really (aside from having the DOPEST Jordan collection ever) gotten any favoritism because of who your father is. But at the same time, you're sure as hell reaping the benefits of it.

You mean to tell me that you're THAT attached to the sneakers of your namesake? You couldn't just rock adidas for games and save your university $3 million? Now, in your defense, adidas is probably making too big a deal about the whole situation. But to tell you the truth, why should you even contest it so hard? Yes, negro, we know you're Michael Jordan's son and you're playing college basketball (UCF is nowhere near UNC's level) and you feel entitled to wear your namesake on your feet. Grow up and stop trying to show off. You're a looooooong way from the NBA, much less the top of the NCAA, so at this point, you should probably be worrying more about your game than what sneakers you have on...

At least you got a few of your dad's genes...

Dear DJ Mbenga

DJ, it seems like every couple of weeks, you're on the wrong end of a dunk. This has me wondering: Why do you even jump anymore? The past couple of times have failed horrendously and all have HD-quality Youtube videos to give you a reminder of how badly the life of a 'shot-blocker' can be. Maybe you should learn how to dunk yourself. I'm sure this guy could give you a couple of tips:

Pac Div - Whiplash / Young Black Male

Pac Div is one of the few acts that has yet to disappoint me in any of their work. I don't know how they pull it off or why they're so consistent, but that speaks volumes as to how good of artists they are. They decided to combine 'Whiplash' and 'Young Black Male' for one video and do a good job of not confusing the viewer with a wild concept or a stupid plot. Check out their video and be on the lookout for more posts now that I have a computer...