Showing posts with label Wale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wale. Show all posts
Monday, June 30, 2014
Money On My Mind
Who was it that said that money can't buy happiness? I hate that we have phrases like "Money can't buy happiness" that we all seem to abide by, when we have mounds of evidence that points to the contrary.
I have a friend that has been having car trouble recently. She's only going to be living in the state for another month or so but she still needs something to go to work and back. Metro Atlanta has a notoriously bad public transit system because people that lived in the northern suburbs of the city were mortified at the thought of "urban" people being able to traverse the city at will so they never expanded on the MARTA system. MARTA literally takes you to 15 places in a city as large as Atlanta. It doesn't even take you directly to Turner Field, which is one of the reasons why the Braves will be moving to Cobb County in a few years. But I have digressed.
Her car troubles were making it to the point where she was nervous her car would go caput at any moment, so she took her car in to be serviced. She was told that the repair fees would be more than the car itself, so this past Saturday she decided that she needed to seriously start looking at new cars. After some online research, a few phone calls and emails, and a visit to a dealership, she has a new car. It's a great deal, and a huge upgrade from a car that threatened to die on her everytime she got on 400, and boy is she happier than ever now. Money allowed her to have happiness and peace of mind. Isn't that all people should be striving for?
There are some life moments that are free and can only occur in certain situations whether you have monetary wealth or not. The other 90% of life depends on having money, free time, and the appropriate fun social network. I'm constantly reminded of this as July 4th weekend will be here in a few days, and I stopped to realize just how blessed I am that I'm able to plan a trip and spend the holidays in a different city than the ones I live and go to work in. I'm gainfully employed, even though I'm not saving as much money as I could or should be saving, but I have marginal free time around my 50-hour work week and I have friends that I can kick it with. There's not much more that I could ask for. Could I have fun without money? Yes I could, but the lack of money would be offset by my lack of free time, as I would have to make some lifestyle changes in order to survive and getting a second job would probably be near the top of that list. I also don't have any children (that I know about) so that helps to boost my free time ratio as well. Children are great, and I love kids, but having kids is truly a life changing event and the two things they affect the most are free time and money.
The other part of that triumvirate of happiness is having an appropriate social network. There's no magic number of friends that you should have, as I know tons of people who lead very fulfilling lives with only one friend. It's all about surrounding yourself with people you enjoy being around who push you to become a better person. Whether that's through perfecting your crafts and hobbies or learning how to get thicker skin or learning how to bounce back from relationship issues, a strong social support system is important. Even introverts need human interaction, so why not make those seconds count to your benefit?
I have a friend that's moving down to Atlanta in a few weeks and I'm one of the few people that she knows. I will try my best to make sure she has an enjoyable experience and makes a lot of great memories down here as I know what it's like to move to a new city not knowing anyone. I told her I was going to allow her to join my social network and I hope she's able to maximize the other 2 parts of the happiness trifecta in order to make the most out of this experience.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Year-End Rap Up
Most blogs compose these yearend wrap up lists towards the end of the year. These are best movies, best albums, etc. I figured I would do a top 10 mixtape listing, since that’s all anyone listens to these days. Most these mixtapes could double as full length LP’s, and quite a few of these are available on iTunes or Amazon in actual disc format. This isn’t a list of what are the top 10 influential, or had the biggest impact, or had the biggest radio hits. These are the ten that I feel about the best listens from beginning to end. I won't be provided links in this article. This is 2010. If you want to find the mixtapes, you can find them. Since this is my opinion, you all probably won’t agree with my picks. But that’s neither here nor there. Shall we?
10. Thee Tom Hardy - Secret of Thee Green Magic
The reason this is listed at number 10 is because it only came out a few weeks ago. Truth is, I have been listening to this mixtape in constant rotation since it came out. It’s just that good. Dope beats, dope rhymes. Makes me feel like I’m listening to Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous” or something. Occasional there will be a deep line but the majority of it is just me nodding my head into hypnosis watching great track blend into the next great track. So good I don’t even mind the DJ tags all over it. Thee Tom hardy should be around for awhile hopefully because “true talent is a present that cannot be bought”
9. J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
This is listed at number 9 similar to the Thee Tom Hardy mixtape because it hasn’t been out that long, but boy, if this would’ve dropped around June I think it would be top 5. I haven’t listened to it enough to decipher each and every line that J. Cole drops in this thing. He is a special rapper in that he touches on subjects most rappers shy away from but does it almost effortlessly. And the Badu sample to start the mixtape off just puts everything off on the right foot.
8. Yelawolf – Trunk Muzik
This mixtape dropped in January and I still find myself playing it with regularity. He just dropped a retail album which is mostly songs from this mixtape, but this mixtape is where these songs have a great flow to them. From the beginning of the mixtape to the Juelz collaboration at the end, you get a view into an Alabama native that’s been through some shit in his life. But he makes it sound like you grew up right next door to him witnessing him pop the trunk. Takes true talent.
7. Playboy Tre – The Last Call
I hadn’t heard of Playboy Tre until I saw his hilarious YouTube videos. Dude is a straight fool. Also turns out dude is an above average rapper who has more focused output than his label mate and associate B.o.B. Playboy Tre has moments of clarity on this album that I haven’t heard since a Ghostface Killah record. He’s dropping old head “this is the game youngblood” knowledge all throughout this project and its’ hard to not listen all the way through once you’ve started.
6. Joe Budden – Mood Muzik 4
This project follows suit to where the Mood Muzik projects have come up to this point. It’s what you would expect. Few hooks, unrepentant introspective lyricism about a bevy of topics that are usually on the depressing sides. If you’re having a bad day, listening to this project will only make it worse. But that’s part of what makes it great. It has the ability to reach out and touch your emotions to the point where you empathize with Joey’s trials and tribulations so that if you have occurred any of the same ones, you can instantly relate. Even if you haven’t, the emotion makes you wish you had, and overcome it.
5. Dom Kennedy – From The Westside With Love
This is the quintessential soundtrack for just riding, vibing to good music, possibly hanging out with a few choice females. The music is so breezy that you almost forget that Dom Kennedy is rapping his ass off. He’s able to bounce back and forth from catchy punch lines to cheesy pickup lines to dope observations on life. All without missing a beat. This project also includes a dope ass introspective track at the end as well as the anthem of the jump-off express. What’s not to like about that?
4. Pac Div – Don’t Mention It
These 3 cats from Cali don’t pull any lyrical punches on this mixtape. They destroy every track about whatever topic it is. They use the same fervor to talk about picking up “birds” as they do to talk about problems in the black community or problems with infidelity. All cohesive projects have to cover a variety of topics, and this project doesn’t disappoint at all.
3. Wale – More About Nothing
One of the most complete, diverse projects on this list. Touches on a variety of subjects and doesn’t miss a beat at all. I can’t think of a single subpar verse on this project. Even the guest features come correct on this list. The only problem is that songs start to run together but that’s just me trying to nitpick. This is a great project.
2. Freddie Gibbs – Str8 Killa No Filla
He’s not joking when he says there’s no filler. The only filler is the end track where he redoes “Rock Steady” for fun. Freddie is able to internalize the dope boy/stick up kid attitude to the point where he just accepts it as reality and doesn’t try to glorify it. Therefore you get plenty of self-reflections on the project you can see how he has the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. He’s able to take every song over the top with his tenacity and make for one enjoyable listen.
1. Big KRIT – KRIT Wuz Here
I had to make this #1 just for the songs “Children of the World” and “2000 & Beyond”. Those audio gems will be remembered for a long time to come, but that doesn’t take away from the greatness that is this entire project. It also adds to the allure when you realize that not only does KRIT all of the memorable verses but he also produced the project in its entirety. That kind of talent only will add to draw comparisons to the late great Pimp C. But if someone has to carry the torch for Chad Butler, there’s no one better than KRIT.
Honorable Mention:
Wiz Khalifa “Kush & Orange Juice”
Childish Gambino “Culdesac”
Asher Roth “Seared Foi Gras With Quince & Cranberry”
Mac Miller “K.I.D.S.”
Starlito “Terminader Gold 60”
10. Thee Tom Hardy - Secret of Thee Green Magic
The reason this is listed at number 10 is because it only came out a few weeks ago. Truth is, I have been listening to this mixtape in constant rotation since it came out. It’s just that good. Dope beats, dope rhymes. Makes me feel like I’m listening to Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous” or something. Occasional there will be a deep line but the majority of it is just me nodding my head into hypnosis watching great track blend into the next great track. So good I don’t even mind the DJ tags all over it. Thee Tom hardy should be around for awhile hopefully because “true talent is a present that cannot be bought”
9. J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
This is listed at number 9 similar to the Thee Tom Hardy mixtape because it hasn’t been out that long, but boy, if this would’ve dropped around June I think it would be top 5. I haven’t listened to it enough to decipher each and every line that J. Cole drops in this thing. He is a special rapper in that he touches on subjects most rappers shy away from but does it almost effortlessly. And the Badu sample to start the mixtape off just puts everything off on the right foot.
8. Yelawolf – Trunk Muzik
This mixtape dropped in January and I still find myself playing it with regularity. He just dropped a retail album which is mostly songs from this mixtape, but this mixtape is where these songs have a great flow to them. From the beginning of the mixtape to the Juelz collaboration at the end, you get a view into an Alabama native that’s been through some shit in his life. But he makes it sound like you grew up right next door to him witnessing him pop the trunk. Takes true talent.
7. Playboy Tre – The Last Call
I hadn’t heard of Playboy Tre until I saw his hilarious YouTube videos. Dude is a straight fool. Also turns out dude is an above average rapper who has more focused output than his label mate and associate B.o.B. Playboy Tre has moments of clarity on this album that I haven’t heard since a Ghostface Killah record. He’s dropping old head “this is the game youngblood” knowledge all throughout this project and its’ hard to not listen all the way through once you’ve started.
6. Joe Budden – Mood Muzik 4
This project follows suit to where the Mood Muzik projects have come up to this point. It’s what you would expect. Few hooks, unrepentant introspective lyricism about a bevy of topics that are usually on the depressing sides. If you’re having a bad day, listening to this project will only make it worse. But that’s part of what makes it great. It has the ability to reach out and touch your emotions to the point where you empathize with Joey’s trials and tribulations so that if you have occurred any of the same ones, you can instantly relate. Even if you haven’t, the emotion makes you wish you had, and overcome it.
5. Dom Kennedy – From The Westside With Love
This is the quintessential soundtrack for just riding, vibing to good music, possibly hanging out with a few choice females. The music is so breezy that you almost forget that Dom Kennedy is rapping his ass off. He’s able to bounce back and forth from catchy punch lines to cheesy pickup lines to dope observations on life. All without missing a beat. This project also includes a dope ass introspective track at the end as well as the anthem of the jump-off express. What’s not to like about that?
4. Pac Div – Don’t Mention It
These 3 cats from Cali don’t pull any lyrical punches on this mixtape. They destroy every track about whatever topic it is. They use the same fervor to talk about picking up “birds” as they do to talk about problems in the black community or problems with infidelity. All cohesive projects have to cover a variety of topics, and this project doesn’t disappoint at all.
3. Wale – More About Nothing
One of the most complete, diverse projects on this list. Touches on a variety of subjects and doesn’t miss a beat at all. I can’t think of a single subpar verse on this project. Even the guest features come correct on this list. The only problem is that songs start to run together but that’s just me trying to nitpick. This is a great project.
2. Freddie Gibbs – Str8 Killa No Filla
He’s not joking when he says there’s no filler. The only filler is the end track where he redoes “Rock Steady” for fun. Freddie is able to internalize the dope boy/stick up kid attitude to the point where he just accepts it as reality and doesn’t try to glorify it. Therefore you get plenty of self-reflections on the project you can see how he has the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. He’s able to take every song over the top with his tenacity and make for one enjoyable listen.
1. Big KRIT – KRIT Wuz Here
I had to make this #1 just for the songs “Children of the World” and “2000 & Beyond”. Those audio gems will be remembered for a long time to come, but that doesn’t take away from the greatness that is this entire project. It also adds to the allure when you realize that not only does KRIT all of the memorable verses but he also produced the project in its entirety. That kind of talent only will add to draw comparisons to the late great Pimp C. But if someone has to carry the torch for Chad Butler, there’s no one better than KRIT.
Honorable Mention:
Wiz Khalifa “Kush & Orange Juice”
Childish Gambino “Culdesac”
Asher Roth “Seared Foi Gras With Quince & Cranberry”
Mac Miller “K.I.D.S.”
Starlito “Terminader Gold 60”
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Ebony/Ivory
*Old article I wrote about a year ago that I felt like digging out of the archives. Sue me.
I guess you could call me a fan of hip-hop. My iPod isn’t full of strictly Black Star, MF Doom, Immortal Technique and others, but I do rock with some boom bap sounds. Although I’m guilty of riding out to Yo Gotti & Gucci Mane (who isn’t?), I do switch up my long rides on the interstate and zone out to “The Infamous”, “Food & Liquor” and “Rock Box” from time to time. In fact, I have been scouring the internets for classic hip-hop tracks that I have either forgotten about or haven’t heard at all and been deprived of. The last three finds to date are Onyx “Last Dayz,” Big Pun “You Ain’t A Killer” and Canibus “Second Round KO.” It puts my soul at ease when I decide to finally cave in and play “Swag Surfin.”
However, in one of my recent searches for new material, I stumbled across an artist named Big Sean.
(I don’t think I would like him as much if he were Lil Sean or Yung Sean, but maybe that’s just me). Big Sean is a rapper in what seems like a great situation music-wise until you realize his fatal fault: he’s black.
Before you bite my head off, let me make my point first. Big Sean is a rapper that’s signed to Kanye West’s label GOOD Music. He’s down with the guy who put out musical classics such as “College Dropout,” “BE,” and “Get Lifted.” He seems a surefire winner, with his witty punchlines and knack for using his cleverness and inventiveness to say things that you’ve never heard before and instantly make you rewind your iTunes to catch that musical magic once again*. He has a very smooth delivery that doesn’t really stand out, but he brings the heat lyrically so you can overstep this minor knock. He achieved marginal success with his song “Getcha Some” that was featured on Kanye’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” mixtape. This dude looks to be well on his way to developing into a great artist. Except he’s black.
Upon first listen to his material, you feel as if you’ve heard his flow before, and the answer is you probably have. There’s another witty rapper with a smooth delivery that has a couple of marginal hits under his belt. He has also featured on a prominent mixtape with a prominent mixtape DJ. He drops lines that are littered with double meanings but doesn’t really have any great songwriting skills.
He goes by the name of Asher Roth, and some of you might have actually checked out his debut album a while ago. He kinda sprung outta nowhere with that DJ Drama-assisted mixtape and his college classic called, appropriately “I Love College”. He has signed to Interscope, one of the largest record labels in history, plastering his face everywhere and he’s on every MTV station promoting himself and his brand. But you won’t see Big Sean anywhere on this channel. Because he’s black.
When you listen to both artists together, there are seemingly no differences between them other than subject matter. I won’t cover that in this blog because that’s more of a sociological thing, with Roth hailing from suburban Pennsylvania while Sean was raised in the city formerly known as Detroit. They have similar strengths, weaknesses, flows and song-writing shortcomings, so what separates them really comes down to one significant difference: marketability. In this day and age, the music industry is not about artistic integrity anymore**. It’s all about making a dollar, and Asher Roth excels exceptionally well in this area because of the accessibility he has to white avenues of promotion. He can get headline New York Times articles just for the fact that he’s a white rapper with actual skills, but raps about white people stuff. Big Sean’s act, while being great from an artistic standpoint, is like beating a dead horse in terms of the music industry. Big Sean is like a poor man’s, less violent version of Cassidy, with more personality than Lloyd Banks. Therefore, he’s not going to have any students at UPenn checking out for him anytime soon (shout outs to Elmo). Even Kanye realizes this, who has put all of his effort and backing into promoting Big Sean’s label mate Kid Cudi, who has that crossover appeal evidenced in his smash hit “Day n Nite.” Cudi isn’t a great lyricist or a great singer, but he does have an ability to make catchy tunes that can crossover to the MTV crowd. Sean doesn’t. Because his music is too black***.
If instead of rapping about getting money, looking fly and fucking bitches he rapped about studying for GMAT’s or doing case races, he’d be onto something. But if he wants to ever reach super stardom, he’s going to whiten, I mean, lighten his music up a bit. The sake of GOOD Music rests on his shoulders.
*On a YouTube freestyle, he drops the line “Call me Bobby Fisher ‘cause I felt on top of chess today and made a couple checks today.” That one line made me a fan, as it was a breath of fresh air to see somebody thinking outside of the box and bringing something new to the table. Here's a dope Big Sean freestyle.
**I’m sorry, but hip-hop in the form that we knew growing up is dead. And it’s not coming back. Never. There’s simply too much money to be made in this industry for execs to cave in.
***Wale is running into the same problem, which is why he’s just saying fuck mainstream and doing music that he wants to make for his fans. I’m sorry, but someone with aspirations of having a #1 commercial album doesn’t do mixtapes with 9th Wonder and Young Chris. Just saying.
I guess you could call me a fan of hip-hop. My iPod isn’t full of strictly Black Star, MF Doom, Immortal Technique and others, but I do rock with some boom bap sounds. Although I’m guilty of riding out to Yo Gotti & Gucci Mane (who isn’t?), I do switch up my long rides on the interstate and zone out to “The Infamous”, “Food & Liquor” and “Rock Box” from time to time. In fact, I have been scouring the internets for classic hip-hop tracks that I have either forgotten about or haven’t heard at all and been deprived of. The last three finds to date are Onyx “Last Dayz,” Big Pun “You Ain’t A Killer” and Canibus “Second Round KO.” It puts my soul at ease when I decide to finally cave in and play “Swag Surfin.”
However, in one of my recent searches for new material, I stumbled across an artist named Big Sean.
(I don’t think I would like him as much if he were Lil Sean or Yung Sean, but maybe that’s just me). Big Sean is a rapper in what seems like a great situation music-wise until you realize his fatal fault: he’s black.
Before you bite my head off, let me make my point first. Big Sean is a rapper that’s signed to Kanye West’s label GOOD Music. He’s down with the guy who put out musical classics such as “College Dropout,” “BE,” and “Get Lifted.” He seems a surefire winner, with his witty punchlines and knack for using his cleverness and inventiveness to say things that you’ve never heard before and instantly make you rewind your iTunes to catch that musical magic once again*. He has a very smooth delivery that doesn’t really stand out, but he brings the heat lyrically so you can overstep this minor knock. He achieved marginal success with his song “Getcha Some” that was featured on Kanye’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” mixtape. This dude looks to be well on his way to developing into a great artist. Except he’s black.
Upon first listen to his material, you feel as if you’ve heard his flow before, and the answer is you probably have. There’s another witty rapper with a smooth delivery that has a couple of marginal hits under his belt. He has also featured on a prominent mixtape with a prominent mixtape DJ. He drops lines that are littered with double meanings but doesn’t really have any great songwriting skills.
He goes by the name of Asher Roth, and some of you might have actually checked out his debut album a while ago. He kinda sprung outta nowhere with that DJ Drama-assisted mixtape and his college classic called, appropriately “I Love College”. He has signed to Interscope, one of the largest record labels in history, plastering his face everywhere and he’s on every MTV station promoting himself and his brand. But you won’t see Big Sean anywhere on this channel. Because he’s black.
When you listen to both artists together, there are seemingly no differences between them other than subject matter. I won’t cover that in this blog because that’s more of a sociological thing, with Roth hailing from suburban Pennsylvania while Sean was raised in the city formerly known as Detroit. They have similar strengths, weaknesses, flows and song-writing shortcomings, so what separates them really comes down to one significant difference: marketability. In this day and age, the music industry is not about artistic integrity anymore**. It’s all about making a dollar, and Asher Roth excels exceptionally well in this area because of the accessibility he has to white avenues of promotion. He can get headline New York Times articles just for the fact that he’s a white rapper with actual skills, but raps about white people stuff. Big Sean’s act, while being great from an artistic standpoint, is like beating a dead horse in terms of the music industry. Big Sean is like a poor man’s, less violent version of Cassidy, with more personality than Lloyd Banks. Therefore, he’s not going to have any students at UPenn checking out for him anytime soon (shout outs to Elmo). Even Kanye realizes this, who has put all of his effort and backing into promoting Big Sean’s label mate Kid Cudi, who has that crossover appeal evidenced in his smash hit “Day n Nite.” Cudi isn’t a great lyricist or a great singer, but he does have an ability to make catchy tunes that can crossover to the MTV crowd. Sean doesn’t. Because his music is too black***.
If instead of rapping about getting money, looking fly and fucking bitches he rapped about studying for GMAT’s or doing case races, he’d be onto something. But if he wants to ever reach super stardom, he’s going to whiten, I mean, lighten his music up a bit. The sake of GOOD Music rests on his shoulders.
*On a YouTube freestyle, he drops the line “Call me Bobby Fisher ‘cause I felt on top of chess today and made a couple checks today.” That one line made me a fan, as it was a breath of fresh air to see somebody thinking outside of the box and bringing something new to the table. Here's a dope Big Sean freestyle.
**I’m sorry, but hip-hop in the form that we knew growing up is dead. And it’s not coming back. Never. There’s simply too much money to be made in this industry for execs to cave in.
***Wale is running into the same problem, which is why he’s just saying fuck mainstream and doing music that he wants to make for his fans. I’m sorry, but someone with aspirations of having a #1 commercial album doesn’t do mixtapes with 9th Wonder and Young Chris. Just saying.
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