There's something epic about a red-band trailer. All of the profanity, innuendo and general buffoonery only seen in the movie can be squeezed into a 2-minute snapshot of hilarity... And I love it. Another thing, or rather things, or rather people I love are Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride. Not only are they all good actors, but they piss comedy in their sleep all over the place. '30 Minutes or Less' brings the three together in a slapstick adaptation of the not-so-funny collar bomb robbery of 2003. The plot centers around a pizza delivery man who gets coerced into robbing a bank by kidnappers, who fasten a bomb to him. If he takes the bomb off, it explodes and... well you get the picture. Jokes ensue. Ansari and Eisenberg play the protagonists and McBride is the dimwitted criminal. Yeah, they're character actors, but they do it well. Check the trailer, which is definitely NSFW (not that it would matter... It's Saturday) and tip your pizza delivery man. Word.
Fresh Daily, out of Brooklyn, has been missing off the scene for over a year now, after his promising Tomorrow is Today mixtape. I suppose he's one of those rappers who works better when he takes little hiatuses from music to actually live life. No worries either way though. Dropping off the face of the earth and then coming back with heat like this is completely excuseable. 'Say Yes', laced with cacophonous, organ-y beat, is almost like a blueprint for making it. Fresh urges the listener to accept the change that life chucks in your direction, then to monkey punch that change when it tries to claw your eyes out. It's a nice way to start the spring, April showers and all. Keep a look out for Fresh Daily's The Quiet Life EP. Maybe I can delete my earlier tweets about there not being any new good music coming out...
If you want to talk about powerful music, then this might be one of the best tracks I've heard in a good minute. Emilio Rojas kind of missed me with his Life Without Shame EP, but with another EP set tro drop in June, and this being the first single, consider me excited again. 'Breaking Point' talks about how exactly Emilio got into the rap scene and why failure isn't an option for him. From trying to explain his profession to friends and family, to his own Latin brethren not accepting him, to the situation surrounding his birth, the drama pushed Emilio to his eventual 'Breaking Point'. This is what I like to call 'mood music'. Study to this. Struggle to this. Whatever you do, just feel it.
What's up good people! A fews days back, my boy Joshua put me on to the idea of a 'Take Away' performance, or simply a random performance in a public venue, mostly unbeknownst to the patrons of that venue. This one in particular stuck out to me, first of all because it's Aloe Blacc, but also because of how the performance came about. In an atypically organic fashion, David Patrick Neil James Wash-Lovell (Aloe Blacc's government) brings a small band of merry men together in a Parisian train station, and treats commuters to an impromptu performance of his ballad 'You Make Me Smile'. The performance also is great because of how effortless singing seems for Aloe Black. Standing off to the side, while the band plays at a soulfully rhythmic pace, Blacc saunters into the girth of the crowd to bellow out a cherubic melody that enthralls the Parisian crowd, most of whom have no clue who he is. He even breaks out into a cover of Bill Withers' 'Use Me' outside the station in the same fashion. I picked this for the Singing Telegram, finally, because you just don't see this kind of performance any more. Everything is on such a grand scale that people forget how to just enjoy the voices and the music. As simplistic as it is, Aloe Blacc's performance shows just how easily music can bring a crowd to its feet. Check out some well-placed music, and pray that Aloe Blacc finds his way to a train station near you...
If 'the Man' were a real person, I'd imagine his physical make-up to be something like this:
- white, Anglo-Saxon male
- the brain of Sarah Palin
- the enraptured soul of Ronald Reagan
- the torso of Ed Wuncler (word to Aaron McGruder)
- the physical fortitude of a newborn kitten
- the voice of Glenn Beck
... and last, but not least, the hair of none other than you, Donald Mothaf*ckin Trump. Your comb-overed idiocy never really registered on my Richter Scale, simply because you were too much of a big wig, fat-walleted blowhole to really matter. Your forays into real estate (yes, they did some wonders for the NYC skyline) have turned your already inflated ego into a gargantuan facade, much like those said buildings. Hell, even your show is an overstated testament to how important you believe yourself to be. Now that it's 2011, and the 2012 Presidential Election race has had its unofficial start, the talk of your impending run as a GOP candidate has me scratching my head, and wondering 'Are we really taking this guy seriously?'
Take your announcement for your campaign, and subsequent latching on to the 'Birther' movement. You claim that Obama wasn't born in this country and that his whereabouts are beyond questionable. You constantly allude to a missing birth certificate, as if it hasn't been proven repeatedly that President Obama was indeed born in Hawaii, citing the lack of a 'birth certificate'. Newsflash, Trump. In Hawaii, the document is called a 'Certificate of Live Birth' and is the equivalent of what you would call a birth certificate (the whole discrepancy is reminiscent of every state's little legislative differences, that your party seeks to protect, so why the contradiction?).
Next, you attack Obama's academic record, saying that his status as a Harvard and Columbia grad is a farce, and that his Ivy League matriculation was 'undeserved'. Look at you, Trump! Your dad was a real estate tycoon, and you most likely got into UPenn based off his connections than anything. How can you try to discredit another man's rise in academics, when you got around on your daddy's name? How can you try and mudsling on another man's merit, when you've proven through your own grandiose lifestyle that you have little to merit yourself? I'll tell you why... It's because you have little if any platform to run on, and are essentially running on a 'F*ck Obama' campaign.
Where are YOUR political credentials? Where do YOU stand on the issues? So far, everything that's come out of your mouth is a hair away from slanderous and has little if anything to do with improving the nation or its economy. It's like you have nothing to add to the discussion so you're going to fling mud at everyone else in some vain attempt to hide your own lack of expertise or political savvy. It's sickening, Trump. Do you have ANYTHING to add to the conversation other than slander? Then you've got numbskulls like Sarah Palin giving you pats on the back? Come on, son... If Sarah Palin is endorsing you, then there's something terribly wrong with what you're saying.
You stand for everything bad about the GOP: distortion of fact, lack of discernable political intelligence, and an overall hubris that will eventually be you and your party's demise. Never mind the fact that the GOP has no candidates worth the pieces of paper they're balloted on. Never mind the fact that you'd be the 2nd GOP candidate to have a reality TV show. You're just out of line. Why don't you just flip that combover over to reveal the vacuous abyss that is your mind, and let the American people see just what you're made out of: money and nothing more. Then again, so are most of the GOP hopefuls. Why don't we just chalk your idiotic campaign up to the GOP's impending implosion (#shoutout to the Tea Party), and have you go back to hawking real estate. I don't mind you working in NYC, but the White House, you need to stay out of, for all our sakes...
PS: According to CNN, Obama was 'absolutely' born in Hawaii. What the hell are you going to run your campaign on now, Trump?
Ever wonder what it takes to really fund something? Ever find yourself debating how certain entities get their voices heard while others seem to fade off into a sea of obscurity? Ever think about why marketing, PR and advertising have become the go-to professions in almost every industry? Well, this is the movie for you. Morgan Spurlock, AKA Young Big Mac AKA 'I'm Sh*tting Out McDoo-Doo', otherwise known as the director and creator of the documentary Super Size Me is embarking on yet another journey of film-making genius in his new movie The Greatest Story Ever Sold. The work is, simply put, a movie about advertising, funded by advertising. *recovers from mind-blowing*
Sponsored by POM, Spurlock seeks to find other avenues with which to fund his movie, all the while pointing out the fallacies, half-truths and cutthroat techniques that advertisers use to get into your pants pockets. Spurlock essentially punks the media, showing how ever-so-minute product placement is creeping its way into everything, including his movie. It's almost like Inception, cranked up on consumerism. The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and is set to hit theatres soon. Check the trailer, and keep your eyes open for more advertising overload...
It seems like everyone's favorite album is Illmatic now. The past few years, I've seen so many _______ State of Mind tracks, it's sickening... And here's another. But it's eLZhi, though. The Slum Village member has always been one of the more underrated MCs out, despite his knack for falling off the radar for months on end. I suppose prodigious talent needs time to breathe, much like Nas. For his ELmatic LP, eLZhi decided to take on the gritty instrumental that makes you want to blow cess in front of a bodega wearing fronts, tan Timbs, and an army suit. He doesn't disappoint either, delivering a performance worthy of an even more underrated Detroit rap seal. He paints a picture few could claim not to visualize. Just listen. ELmatic drops May 10th...
As a senior in college, the number one question you get every day is 'What are your plans for graduation?" The first few times it's cool, getting to toot your own horn with a quick speech on whatever plan is currently brewing up in your mind. After around December, though, you almost want to walk around with a shirt that says 'When I know what I'm doing after graduation, I'll tell you." If there's one thing I can wholeheartedly say without reservation, it's that I will LOVE anything I'll be doing. The working world is full of people who hate their jobs, and simultaneously hate their lives. This track by Chuck L.I. is for those people who don't want to get caught in the 9-5 rut... the ones who'd rather work for a passion than a paycheck... the ones who'd trade in their cubicles and generic business attire for some jeans, a t-shirt and a clean slate... the ones who want space, not office space. Chuck definitely made a fan of me with this one. Check the track out, and keep looking for your passion that hopefully provides a paycheck...
Racism at Penn is usually subtle. It is a way of life, something that minorities come to accept. In class, it's usually sly comments about us. In the dining halls, it’s people talking really loud, complaining about us to their friends. I overhear it.
But this was the first time it was so blatant.
I don't know which experience was worse that night. Being called a “nigger” or being questioned about belonging here.
In retrospect, being called a “nigger” was the short-term sting. It made me more self-conscious about what white people think of me here — just some black guy who got here because of some affirmative action.
The idea of "belonging here" is the long-term wound. Ever since I came here, I have been self-conscious. You have to understand that Penn is extremely different from most schools, in that the vast majority comes from a much wealthier background. I grew up in the projects, surrounded by crime and drugs. I came from there to here without much help, and in May I will graduate cum laude.
Maybe I'm too much a cynic. Maybe I've seen so many instances like this, that it almost humors me at this point. Maybe because I went to a primarily white high school, I've been completely desensitized to such nonsense. Whatever the case, overt racism, like that alluded to in the above editorial really doesn't bother me anymore. There will always be instances where black people just get the short end of the stick in terms of what we would call 'racial sympathy'.
Whether it be uncouth and uninformed remarks during class, students deeming anything remotely related to blackness 'ghetto', or the commodification of 'blackness', black people have always been the butt of some joke at the hands of non-blacks. That such an incident was the impetus for the above editorial isn't the point of this post. No, no, no... I wouldn't dare open that can of worms and allow the masses to paint this blog as a 'hater' or as unsympathetic to the plight of my college-educated black brethren.
What I will touch upon, however, is why situations like this needn't be aggrandized in such a fashion. Black people in college, how many of you come from communities, municipalities or simply situations where being in college is NOT the norm? My guess is a good portion of you reading this raised your hands. That said, shouldn't being in college be a triumph in and of itself? As a young black male, the propensity for me to be in less-than-stellar arrangements is that much higher. Jail... Fatherhood... You name it, and there is a black guy my age, probably just as intelligent as I, who got caught up in it at the expense of gaining higher education.
So to you, shellshocked black college students, I say: be proud! You could be elsewhere. Rather than let the idiotic ramblings of some drunk white kids affect you, why not just keep it moving? Why let their clearly misinformed 'ghetto' jargon cause you to lose sleep at night? Clearly the last time they've been in intimate contact with a black person was when they flipped on 'Basketball Wives', so why validate their ignorance by acknowledging it?
Newsflash, Black college students: THIS WORLD ISN'T MADE FOR US! It never has been, and we (we, as in our generation) may not live to see the day when it is. Flip back to 2009, when Chanequa Campbell was kicked out of Harvard in connection to a murder she was in no way involved in. Flip back another 50 years to when blacks had to be escorted to school by the national guard. Flip back another 70 years to when we had to create our own schools because whites didn't believe free blacks had the propensity to read, much less learn. Come on, son... Our presence brings about adversity whether subtle like sly comments in class and bigotry in the workplace, or blatant like the situation above. You're going to be scrutinized more heavily than your non-Black peers every single day, whether you like it or not.
Sure there are folk out there that could give two craps about your skin color, and God bless their colorblindness. Yet even in 2011, racism is nowhere near dead, and that's a reality that we have to come to grips with. If you think Martin Luther King and Malcolm X would rise from the dead today and start toe-wopping because of some semblance of 'making it', you're wrong. They'd be happy to see us in a more advanced position, but still would loathe the position we as a people are in. They would laud those of us who have managed to pull ourselves up, but would see our progress for what is is: a drop in the bucket. No, I'm not saying to walk around on eggshells as if you have nothing to be proud of. Just be cognizant that this world still isn't nice. Don't be shellshocked when some idiot calls you out of your name. Just make sure you flash that diploma/alumni ring/other demarcation of your success in college, and laugh, because they will have given you all the motivation you need...
I pride myself on being a fat kid at heart. In fact, if you follow me on Twitter (@EvWasLike) you know my almost addiction-like love for all things bacon. My other food weakness is definitely donuts, though, Krispy Kreme to be exact. Yet, they might have some competition on the horizon with DOUGH Donuts in Brooklyn cooking up hand-made confectionary sins fresh every day. In the above video, the head chef Fany Gerson describes the process for making their siganture Dulce de Leche donut topped with almonds, among other original donuts. If you have a love of foodgasms, then I highly suggest a stop here. Gerson works on her recipes for months, with even more testing, so you know they're good money. Honestly, watching this is making my stomach want to secede from the rest of my body. I'm about to go find me some grub. You guys enjoy the video...
Say what you will about Fear of God (yes it was a bit of a let-down), Pusha has a way with those coke raps, and his music videos are no different. He doesn't really have to be doing much in his videos to make them hot. The younger Thornton brother recruited a children's marching band, some of his Re-Up Gang constituents, a sexy Lambo coupe, a funeral hearse, and a bad light-skinned biddie to accompany him in his video for 'My God'. The cut-scenes of church revivals and people catching the spirit line up perfectly with the lyrics detailing his dealings with fiends, and one can almost taste the juxtaposition between drug addiction and religious fervor. I'm not sure if that's what Pusha or the director Nabil Elderkin were going for here, but I suppose it's just something to marinate on for heavy thinkers such as myself. Check the video out and get hyped for the Fear of God EP.
PS: I'm tired of rappers putting out EP's of mixtapes/albums we've already heard. If Pusha doesn't switch it up a little, I will be severely disappointed...
Upon reading my last post, I think I raised too many questions and didn't answer enough for myself. I suppose the post was more a rant and forum for discussion, as opposed to some declaration of my stance on homosexuality. Either way, the post got me to thinking: what if a rapper was, indeed, gay? What if an MC decided to shake up the whole world by coming out of the closet? What if everyone's favorite Based God decided to ummm... I don't know... name his album 'I'm Gay'? It turns out I don't have to dream or wonder about such a hypothetical situation anymore, seeing as you, Lil' B the Based God have announced that your new album will be called 'I'm Gay'.
Now, Lil' B, I've had an interesting relationship with your basedness. While saying 'swag' and 'based' and doing your 'Cooking' dance in complete jest, I've come to realize that your movement is less about the music, the 'swag' and the utter nonsense, as it is about the fervent feeling of fanaticism that your Based movement brings. Throngs of skinny jean-clad onlookers chant your lyrics, and encourage you to engage in coitus with their significant others not because they actually consider you a god, but because you give them a deity-like entity to feel attached to. In the same way that Hendrix and the Beatles had fanatics, so do you. I respect that. I respect your undying devotion to self-promotion and making music. While I may debate your own musical aptitude (some of your music sounds like you were smoking the best base while recording), I can never question your love of music, with allusions to Theophilus London among other acclaimed musical personalities. Now that your fame has reached a fever pitch among the underground, what better way to put your name on the front of everyone's watch list than to proclaim your 'gayness' on wax?
Most people reacted to the title with a resounding 'huh?', which then switched to
A) ridicule at the notion that the Based God, whose sole purpose on the planet is to f*ck your b*tch, would effectively proclaim his love of his own sex
OR
B) praise because of how 'bold' a statement calling your album that is, and how you're changing the game, one homosexual at a time...
My take, Lil' B? You're as straight as an arrow. I'm almost 99% sure about that, sans the Tupac nose ring. That said, you calling your album that is exactly what you said: an indictment on the power that words have over us. You claimed that definitions don't mean anything, ironically. Words can make the tallest mountain look like a molehill, and in your case, they will make what would probably have been a frisbee of an album into platinum. Nothing more, nothing less. You being 'gay' is as much a promotional tool as it is a statement of how obsessed hip-hop is with sexuality. That we all are talking about it as a function of sexuality proves that point. And when your gay album does come to pass, I have little doubt in my mind that it will be the same Based God that we've gotten used to, complete with indecipherable lyrics, monotonous profanity and reasons as to why hoes are staid upon your d*ck. And I have even less doubt that you will be gayer (happy gay) than the apparel we don while singing "Fa-la-la-la-LAAA-La-la-la-la" after your gay album drops. You will have successfully pulled a marketing scheme out of your rear end, while simultaneously arousing the attention of GLAAD and chuckling because Kobe Bryant won't be able to mutter gay slurs. Kudos, Lil' B. #SWAG
First of all, let me say goodbye. As we enter the 2011 NBA Playoffs and the field of teams shrinks from 30 to 16, I can recant on this season thinking it was one of the best and interesting I've seen. You brought us the ongoing story of the Miami Wades, a continued shift in power from West to East, among numerous other plotlines, as well as great play on the court. Additionally, you will end with at least one team relocating in Sacramento, the retirement of Jerry Sloan, and a murky labor situation with your CBA expiring.
Sidenote: Lord, Lord, Lord please let the NBA and NFL get their labor agreements together so that I don't have to sit through a summer of all baseball, all the time...
Secondly NBA Season, I must say I am impressed with your second half. The trade deadline kept the excitement up, putting stars in new places all for the better. (RIP to my boy Deron Williams' legacy, Baron Davis' business aspirations and the Celtics' title hopes) You further cemented the NBA as the best professional league out there, especially considering the NFL's unsure future and how lame baseball has gotten. Thirdly, with the Playoffs continuing this evening, it's time to give out awards for this season. Check out Dear Whoever's superlatives:
Most Valuable Player: Derrick Rose
While Kobe, Dwight Howard, LeBron and D-Wade have all been lynchpins for their respective franchises, no one has done more for their team than Derrick Rose. If you want to talk about a player willing his squad to victory night in and night out, it is the 2008 #1 pick. 25 points per game, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and shooting 10% better from both 3-point range and the foul line. D-Rose elevated his game to a new level while his frontcourt was constantly in flux, with Boozer and Noah both battling injuries all year. Most importantly, Rose has shown that you don't need a triple-headed (talking about YOU, Heat, Celtics and Lakers) monster to win in the NBA... just one superstar.
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
As much as I despise Superman Bizarro for his overally corny nature and lack of any semblance of an offensive skill set, I can never deny that Dwight Howard isn't a beast in his own right. The manchild has a penchant for being around the ball when it has the propensity to be vaulted into the stands by his frying pan of a hand. Howard changes shots when he's on the court. Without him, the Magic would be lost defensively and would be run out of the gym. Just take a look at their stats without him. They allow over 98 points without him, and just over 90 with him. If that's not a defensive presence, I don't know what is. Now if only we could get him to call Hakeem and copy his offensive game, too...
6th Man of the Year: Lamar Odom
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Kardashian tail has some magical powers! If it isn't Kris Humphries finally turning into a serviceable NBA starter while dating Kim, then it's Lamar Odom playing like he finally grew a pair after putting a ring on Khloe's finger. Odom has always been one of the most intriguing players in the league, if not for his unique skill set, then for his lack of production with such a set. En route to another successful Lakers' season, Odom averaged 14 points and 9 rebounds while shooting a career-best 53% from the field... Coming off the bench. And if that isn't enough to seal L.O.'s bid for 6th man of the year, name a better 6th man this year... Jason Terry? Nahh... Big Baby Davis? Get him a binky. No other bench player has contributed more to a winning effort. Thank the Kardashians...
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin
There's not much to say about this one. John Wall was the next best option, and he got blown out of the water. If you need any proof as to why Blake is the ROY, just look at the above video again, and pray for Timofey Mozgov's soul.
Most Improved Player: Kevin Love
This was probably the only award that gave me some trouble. I've watched Dorrell Wright go from a first round pick with the "potential to be the next T-Mac" to a benchwarmer on the Miami Heat, to a forgotten high school draftee, to an unsung hero on the Golden State Warriors. Wright jumped from 7 points per game to over 16 points a game, which is incredible. Yet, playing for the Warriors, I think I could put up at least 10 points per game. That said, Kevin Love is the Most Improved Player of the Year. He went from 14 to 20 points per game, while leading the league in double-doubles and rebounds per game, AND playing for probably the worst team in the league. Hell, Kev Love shot 42% from 3 this year! He put up a 30 point and 30 rebound game and put together a streak of 53 double doubles! Kev is exactly what the league needs in terms of a big man, and proved it every time he stepped on the court en route to his first All-Star bid. He not only improved his game, but his team's (limited) game. Hand that man the trophy!
Eminem says it, wins a Grammy... Kobe says it, gets fined $100K... Mister Cee (allegedly) does it, and catches shade from all sides... You be the judge...
You... Yes, you. All of you. Ask yourself this: Are you a homophobe? My guess is most of you will say something like this:
NOOOO! I've got gay friends!!
or
That's not me. I let everybody live!
or
It's 2011. Homophobia? #weoffthat
Open up that filing cabinet of a brain of yours, and take a peek through it. I'll wait. Try to remember the last slur you used. Any slur. Racist, sexist, age-ist, whatever prefix you can add, pull that instance up. Good. Now think about how you would feel if the world got a taste of that slur coming straight from your mouth. *waits some more* See the problem here?
Upon news of the great DJ Mister Cee being involved in a supposedly homosexual tryst with a drag queen (forgive me if my terminology is incorrect), most of the world took the liberty of coming up with the wittiest, 'ha-ha he's a homo!' comment you could think of and tweeting it, while others took to defending the Hot 97 jockey. At the same time, when Kobe Bryant was caught on national television mouthing off at a referee and calling him a 'f*cking faggot', most rushed to his defense, citing a bad call, while others bashed the Lakers superstar for his suspected homophobia. Why is that? I'll tell you why. It's the constant straddling of a line that no one is willing to cross. It's a line that's marked by criticism from all angles except from those whose opinions should matter. It's a line that everyone is content to talk about after an incident, but unwavering when everything seems all peachy.
These two incidents are merely indicative of a very closed-off rhetoric in the black community. As a generally homophobic society, there is little room for a grey area. Either you're for or against the 'gay' debate (for lack of better words). One can't be accepting of alternative sexual lifestyles while straight, without being called out for it. Yet when someone uses what's accepted as a 'homophobic slur' they automatically get crucified for it. It's a sick double standard. Rather than open up the lines of communication where people can express their misconceptions, we lambast those who take the negative and positive sides of the spectrum. We make it impossible for someone to have an opinion, much less act naturally.
Think back to the John Amaechi saga in 2007, where Amaechi became the first NBA player (former or active) to come clean with his status as a homosexual. From that day forth, every NBA player sounded off. Some like Tim Hardaway, made mincemeat of Amaechi, claiming he 'hates gay people'. Others like LeBron James, shied away from criticism on sexuality, and commented merely on the trustworthiness of a closeted gay player. Why can't people just be 'okay' with it? Why, instead of a soundboard of who's who all taking sides, can't someone just say 'Oh' when confronted with an openly gay person? Why is the revelation of homosexuality treated as an indictment on the person being told's opinion, rather than the particular person or issue at hand?
Maybe I'm just content to sit on the sidelines while others fling mud. Maybe the plight of Mister Cee, his homosexual accomplice, and Kobe Bryant's potty mouth have no link aside from being cases of sexual opinion on a grand stage. Maybe we're all homophobes phobic of being homophobes. At the end of the day, it's up to us to not be so black and white in dealing with one's sexual preference. We can't decry the tendencies of one of the most heralded DJ's on the planet, while espousing foul play when an NBA superstar gets called out for his use of a gay slur. Whereas Mister Cee can disavow all knowledge and doing linked to his case and be cleared by putting together a great Throwback at Noon last week, Kobe has to pay a fine and get the gauntlet from GLAAD. Are we sending a consistent message here? Does it depend on one's economic status or celebrity how one's stance on sexual preference is taken? Or does the realm of professional sports (with an unknown amount of closeted participants) hold more weight in denouncing homosexuality than that of music (rife with homosexual references)?
Weigh in here, people. I'm anxious to see if anybody cares enough to point out their stance on both situations and whether homophobia is an issue that should be addressed in multiple mediums. Dear Whoever's been on hiatus for a few weeks, and I think this is a great place to pick back up. In other words, COMMENT!!!
Whoever said money can't buy you an unlimited canvas to paint your wildest dreams was clearly out of their cotton-picking, cubicle-working mind. Richard Branson does that every single time he comes public with another one of his outlandish expeditions, projects and expeditions, boldly going where no civilian is technically allowed. On this episode of 'You're Mad You're Not as Rich as Me' Branson has unveiled his pet project of the deep seas, the Virgin Oceanic project.
Branson's company has built two custom underwater crafts: a one-man submarine, and a catamaran that will serve as the docking station for the sub. The submarine apparently has the capability to dive to the deepest parts of the world's five oceans, and through the Virgin Oceanic mission, will attempt to do so. It will not only be the first initiative to try a one-manned expedition, but also completely privately-funded. I suppose Branson got tired of base-jumping and would rather duel with the threat of 13 million pounds of water pressure bearing down on him. Despite his random thrill-seeking, this a pretty cool initiative. The video and other data collected will be ahead of their time. Makes you wonder why Branson isn't hob-knobbing with governments a little more. Check out a video trailer of the two watercrafts, both setting sail later this year...
BEEF is such a watered down version of what it used to be. Gone are the days when rappers would get at each other on their own tracks, like Canibus on LL's '4,3,2,1'. No longer are funny looking caricatures and long monologues using names utilized like 50 Cent in his all-front assault on Ja Rule in 2003. Rappers nowadays may devote passing lines to rivals and keep it moving. Such is the case today Bobby Ray. I woke up this morning to a new track from you entitled 'No Future', and gave it a cursory listen, as I do most music that enters my periphery. Immediately, I heard a B.o.B. that I hadn't heard in years. You sounded angry. You sounded vicious. You sounded like someone had insulted your mother, or better yet you. Then I remembered the OFWGKTA frontman Tyler's track 'Yonkers' where he famously said:
I'll crash that f*cking Airplane that f*ggot nigga B.o.B. was in
Ahhhh! Now the 'No Future' title makes sense. But then I thought more about it and realized that your retort, while lyrically dope, was reminiscent of why rap beef today is so lame. There were no names, there were no personal attacks... Just vague indicators of the nameless foe you were attacking... whom everyone already knew. That said Bobby (and any other rapper that wants to clap back), make sure you make your diss tracks clear. Seriously... It's like handing in an exam without a name on it. You might have aced it, but no one's going to know who it is for. The teacher could use elimination to decipher who it is, but the thought that a kid so smart could forget to write his name almost erases the good grade, in terms of common sense.
I'll say it again, Bobby. The track was kind of hot. You dropped that sing-songy 'I'm trying to be Eminem and talk about obstacles I've overcome' flow, and RAPPED. Too bad it was undirected and vague. If we were keeping score, Tyler would be up 10 with 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and I'm the furthest from an Odd Future fan. I just respect when a rapper has the cojones to put a name out there and stand by it. Hell, I'd rather you not even throw out a diss track if you were going to keep the adversary anonymous. Take a hint, Bobby. The next time someone disses you (and Tyler has since backed away from his comments), take one of two routes: Either A) Pull a 50 and call your rival out like a man, or B) Pull a Jay-Z and don't even regale the comment. Hip-hop was never about sitting on fences. Either you hop over and give your neighbor a piece of your mind, or stay on your side, lament about how his grass is greener and look up at the Airplanes...
The music industry is sticking to a self-valuation that has been rejected by various courts and has now been described as “absurd” by a New York judge.
Judge Kimba Wood has handed down an opinion in the LimeWire damages case that challenges the industry’s belief it could be owed more than the entire global GDP for one year.
After LimeWire lost the case last year, the trial moved into the damages phase, with hearings starting next May. In an opinion (pdf) [1] published ahead of the damages hearings, Judge Kimba Wood revealed that the record companies, seeking statutory damages against the music-sharing service, are seeking damages predicated on the “number of direct infringers per work” – leading to a damages claim of as much as $75 trillion dollars (according to Wikipedia, total global GDP is around $69 trillion)".
You know an industry is in the middle of a flux when it grossly overvalues itself and insists that the rest of humanity respect its inflated self-image. It just so happens that this overvaluation is a constant staple of the music industry, where fickle fans, new technology and constantly changing winds make an accurate understanding damn near impossible. The music industry continued that trend over the past two weeks when a gang of you record companies decided to hold Limewire accountable for $75 trillion over its enabling of file-sharing. I almost gagged when I saw that figure. $75 TRILLION?!?!?! Since when has the music industry been worth more than the entire world's GDP? Seriously... I like music, and I'm sure the rest of the world does too, but not that much.
And to boot, you're suing Limewire of all companies. If you guys really had your hand on the pulse of the music industry, you'd know Limewire was played out after my 9th grade year (2002, if you must know). Additionally, if you were really paying attention, you would've been up on the online music grind from jump, so that you could've had a stake in it. Torrents, sharing websites and iTunes beat you to the punch and now you're on the outside looking in, trying to bust the windows. Now that you're behind the curve, it's like you're trying to put a four-alarm fire out with a water gun. Hell, now the blogs are running the game, giving away your artists' music (at least in hip-hop; can't speak for every genre) and all you guys can do is shut down onSMASH for a couple of weeks.
If your preposterous claim against Limewire is a sign of anything, it's that the little man always has a one-up on the corporation because the corporation is too focused on the profit rather than the product. That you guys are finally getting your day in court is too little, too late, and the judge handling your case proved that when he called your claim 'absurd'. As a matter of fact, that's just the first in a long list of words I have for your general greed and lack of insight into your own business. Either way, I and the rest of the bajillion Generation-Y music fans will somehow find a way to download music around your egregious blocks to fair distribution of music. Are you going to threaten legal action against all of us? Probably. God save the poor sap who gets nabbed with that law suit. Will it work? Probably not. Maybe you should take notes on the new wave instead of trying to cram your way in after the lights have come down.
