the standard???

Why I am not excited about this Common x Qtip collab? For the same reasons why you aren’t. Ok, so I guess the fact that I’m even writing this drop can constitute some degree of excitement. But frankly, for a devout backpacker like myself you would think the idea of this collab would ignite some type of over dramatic “hip hop is still alive” reaction. Fortunately for you the truth is, the lingering effects of Q Tips “Vivrant Thing” has marred my interest in anything Q Tip related. And given that ATCQ has about the same possibility of reuniting as say, The Fugees, the chances of Q Tip resurrecting his once vibrant career is slim. Maybe this Common collab is the spark that he needs to return to Midnight Marauders form. Probably not, but I’m sure someone somewhere is hoping it is. As far me, I really don’t care. I’m content with only hearing Tip on Beats, Rhymes and Life (very underrated record), MM and The Low End Theory. Granted I am excited at the possibility of hearing more from Common, but do I really want to hear him murder Tip on every track? It’ll be like that horrific 3 day span when I was trying to force myself to like the Best of Both Worlds record and ended up fast forwarding through all of Kels’ poorly sung/rapped verses. I don’t want to relive those days. Hip Hop gods if you are listening, please bring me more of these collabs:

Nas x Jay Z
Mos Def x Talib Kweli
Jay Z x Scarface x Beanie Sigel (They’re 3 for 3)
Lupe x ‘Ye x Pharrell

I love my sisters, I don't love no bitch...

In light of the comments made by Polow Da Don (if you've lived under a rock for the past week click HERE), I thought now would be an appropriate time to make some distinctions clear.

Hov said it best:

Sisters get respect, bitches get what they deserve
SIsters work hard, bitches work your nerves
Sisters hold you down, bitches hold you up
Sisters help you progress, bitches will slow you up
Sisters cook up a meal, play their role with the kids
Bitches in street with their nose in your biz
Sisters tell the truth, bitches tell lies
Sisters drive cars, bitches wanna ride
Sisters give-up the ass, bitches give-up the ass
Sisters do it slow, bitches do it fast
Sisters do their dirt outside of where they live
Bitches have niggers all up in your crib
Sisters tell you quick "you better check your homie"
Bitches don't give a fuck, they wanna check for your homie
Sisters love Jay cuz they know how 'Hov is
I love my sisters, I don't love no bitch

Little Brother's little brother...

If you haven't introduced yourself to Tanya Morgan by now do yourself a favor and click HERE. Last year's Moonlighting album was a critical success and it lead to obvious comparisons to LB's debut with The Listening. The two have collaborated in the past, so if you have been keeping up with all the LB side projects like you should then there is no need for an introduction to Von Pea and the Crew. Anyway, you need to be in tuning into their podcast HERE... ....and while you are waiting for their next episode check out Von Pea's Grand Vonye

lupe the killer....

Lupe Fiasco - Interview (Live At Wakestock 2007 - Toronto, Canada - 7/29/07) (Video)

six years...

introducing...

So last night was the Dwele concert in which I was treated to a very intimate performance of a few of my favorites (My Lova, Flapjacks, Holla, The Truth, Weekend Love). The show was great as expected. What I didn't expect was to be blown away by the opening act. Introducing Shae Fiol. She's a singer/songwriter, with a soulful and distinct voice. She won the crowd over with her infectious smile and warm lyrics, you need to check her out....HERE

some kinda...

tomorrow night...dwele will be here...i will be front row

yogurt spelled backwards...

Hip hop is stale. Besides a slight intuition that De La Soul maybe hip hop's first gay group, the blandness that has managed to consume today's hip hop music is the first thing that comes to mind after watching this video. In hip hop's current landscape, the principles of business and desire to make profits have drained the creativity and life out of the music. With billions of dollars at stake, and as scary as this may sound, everything about hip hop today is a well thought out, calculated move. An artists image, sound, video and even beef are all strategic moves aimed at a designated audience. In the underground where creativity is suppose to reign supreme, many of the acts maintain an arrogant "I'm ahead of my time" type facade, that most times leaves them looking bitter and envious of those in the actual spotlight. Even the "hip hop is dead" nature of this post, is one that has been repeated far too often in the past year, but this love/hate relationship that myself and others have with hip hop is a derivative of this corporate bullshit that has transformed hip hop. But back in '89 there was no underground or mainstream, just hip hop. And when I was drawing peace signs and daisies on my notebook, De La Soul were just 3 kids from Long Island that gave themselves silly nicknames, found a few old records, looped the breaks and just rhymed. Though they obviously stood out because they refused to wear cazal shades, shell toes and big gucci links, no one really seemed to care and people just enjoyed the music. And the video even shows they gained alot of respect from their peers. Can you imagine if this video aired today? With this zero tolerance for gay shit in hip hop, I'm not too sure a group like De La Soul would be able to infiltrate the hip hop core the way they did in 80's. I don't care how you look at it, but if a rapper was interviewed on MTV today and said he got his nickname because he liked eating yogurt, chances are their career won't last long. And if you are going to have some sort of symbol affiliated with your group, it better have some sort of drug-related alternative meaning (i.e., Jeezy's snowman), I'm not to sure the daisy would work. Record execs would promptly change their names from Plug 1, 2 and 3, to Slug 1, 2, and 3. Besides noting that hip hop is extremely homophobic, the point is we have begun to take ourselves too seriously so much so that the chances of me seeing another group as innovative as De La Soul in my lifetime are very slim. Hip hop is stale.

cool as a fan...

Once again I'm awaken from my laziness, to post some incredible music. This time its courtesy of 'Te and Pooh. September is looking like a good month for hip hop. The Getback 9/25. Shouts out to eskay @ nahright for the link.

homecoming...

Expect Graduation to leak any day now. This can't possibly be a good look for 'Ye.

Comin' in the club with that fresh shit on...

I was gonna be kinda lazy today and not do a drop but I've listened to this new Kanye/Lil Wayne shit like 10 times straight. Whoever said Kanye doesn't belong on the hottest mc list, is out of their mind. Wayne gets kinda lazy and says a bunch of shit that doesnt make sense but I'd be damn if 'Ye does murder this shit. Graduation is gonna be a beast. Download ASAP.

back on my dc shit...

This week I'm going to try to spotlight a few producers and I figured since I'm living in the DC metro area now, I should start off with someone from the home team. Oddisee's been in the game for a while now but I really hadn't been checking for him until I recently came across his myspace page. You need to add him and get familiar.

Check the song below featuring Phonte "All Because She's Gone"

Check his blog for more tracks and info ODDISEE

Update: BTW that is 'Te singin'

chasing the cool...

I'm a superstar. Are you?

*fill in the blank*=not hip hop

One of the downfalls of celebrity status has to be the fact that they are constantly photographed. Therefore, when they are having a "bad day", pictures of them looking like shit can be sent to households all over the world with the click of a mouse. So, unlike us regular folks, they can't just destroy that embarrassing picture of them wearing some horrific outfit. For instance, the picture above of Marques Houston. I'm sure that's an outfit he would love to forget but since he wore it to a MTV red carpet event, whenever he is feeling a lil full of himself and decides to "google" his name, he will quickly be reminded of the night he embarrassed himself on national television. Just so won't embarrass yourself here's a few pointers...

turtlenecks=not hip hop
capri pants=not hip hop
open toe sandals=not hip hop
shorts above your knee=not hip hop
white jeans=not hip hop

with a lil bit of gold and a pager...

Not sure if I like this yet...When is Pharrell gonna sign some talent besides the Clipse?

Help end 50's career...

Before I get back to my series on fashion, I have to say a few things about this 50 vs. Kanye battle royal on 9/11. I'm pretty sure that it's common knowledge that Graduation will be light years ahead of Curtis in terms of quality, and if you don't believe me just listen to the 5 (yes 5) singles that Curtis has dropped in last few weeks. All of them, with the exception of "I Get Money", is lukewarm garbage and really "I Get Money" is mediocre at best. But considering 50's previous numbers, I would say he has the edge when judging by past performance. So this morning when I made my rounds throughout the internet gathering the latest hip hop news, etc. I was excited to see this:

"Let's raise the stakes. If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I'll no longer write music. I'll write music and work with my other artists, but I won't put out any more solo albums." (sohh)

Now I don't actually believe 50 will quit making solo records but I know it has to hurt his pride if Kanye does out sell him. So do me a favor and make sure you pick up Graduation so we can watch the G-Unit "empire" tumble down like a game of jenga.

fresh is dead...the playlist

So a few weeks ago I vowed never to use the word 'fresh' again but since this is fashion week I couldn't think of a better word to describe a few up and coming rappers on the following playlist. Not only are they freshly dressed but they are also a breath of fresh air in the current staleness that is mainstream hip hop music.

top 5 best trends...

The Jersey Dress - I realized in yesterday's post that I managed to leave the ladies out in this discussion about fashion. So lets start today's top 5 off with one of my favorites. It was like as soon as the video premiered, the next day everywhere you looked females were rocking the jersey dress. Mya pulled it off the best though. :)


The Hi Top Fade - The 60's and 70's had the afro and the 80's and 90's had the hi top fade. The versatility of the hi top fade was the best part. You could cut it with a slant to get the gumby effect like Bobby Brown, you could get it dreaded at the top or you could dye a small section of it blonde to get that Kwame look. If you didn't have a fade back then you were a square.
*More on the Negro Mullet here


Get your Grown Man on - When Jay Z speaks, people listen. So when Jay said it was time to look more mature, everyone else followed suit. Granted, this did cause a shit load of 16 year old kids to think they were grown men but at least they put away the oversized jerseys and 4x white tees.
*side note- I'm not endorsing wearing a turtleneck. That's gay, well unless your Jay then you can pull it off.


The Afrocentric Era - This era was riding the fence. The Cross Colours aspect of this era makes it very regretful, but based on the fact that this movement had black people actually wanting to learn more about their heritage, it'll make the today's post instead of yesterday's.
*side note - props to the Native Tongues for pushing the movement.


Polo,Tommy Hill, Nautica etc..- This is by far my favorite period in fashion from my generation. It was all about Polo, Tommy, and Nautica. Raekwon was my dude (no homo) during this time so its only right I put up one of the videos that inspired my style.

top 5 worst trends...

Revisiting past trends that made people look completely stupid is always fun, so let's start fashion week off with the 5 worst trends in hip hop fashion...


Parachute Pants- Hammer's name will never be mentioned in those G.O.A.T roundtable discussions, but I'd be damned if his name isn't written in stone on a list of the most influential. Think Diddy was the brains behind the shiny suits in hip hop? Think again. Give credit where credit is due; Hammer is responsible for those embarrassing home videos of you doing the running man with a pair of shiny gold oversized parachute pants on.
*Side Note- any pair of pants with elastic should not be worn by anyone below the age of 55.


Male Capri Pants- This is a current trend that needs to end immediately. Either wear jeans or wear shorts, you can't do both. Does this really need explanation? It's a oxymoron. Male Capri Pants= Not Hip Hop.



Backwards clothes - Jermaine Dupri and his two prepubescent clones, mack daddy and daddy mack,(kriss kross) once again prove that black people will do anything to stand out. Luckily, there's no incriminating evidence of me during this period in time because my mom refused to let me leave the house with my clothes on backwards. I owe you one mama!


The Tall Tee- Here's another current trend that needs to end immediately. T-shirts aren't meant to come down to your knees!!! If the sleeve of your tee reaches your wrist, you've pretty much defeated the purpose. You might as well have worn a long sleeve shirt.
*side note- airbrushed tall tees are WACK!!

Update: Any type of airbrush is WACK!!



Cross Colours- Apparently, Cross Colours is trying to make a comeback. I just hope they don't try anything ridiculous like trying to bring back purple jean shorts. No grown man should feel comfortable wearing purple denim (or any other color for that matter).

Honorable Mention: Cam'ron. You already know.


There you have it, the 5 worst trends in hip hop fashion. If you are guilty of wearing capri pants and tall tees, please stop. Your embarrassing yourself. We're not laughing with you we're laughing at you.

you wearing louis vutton driving shoes...

Who cares when the real fashion week in NY and LA is, I have designated this week as Fashion week here at searching for my swagger. And what better time than now, when the summer is winding down and everyone is gearing up to return to school with their new kicks and freshly dressed in their "good clothes" (word to LB). Frankly the game just hasn't been the same since Kanye showed up at the Grammy's looking like a metrosexual Scarface with his taco meat exposed. And in the recent months, fashion in hip hop has been a very hot topic. A few months ago, an obviously intoxicated Beanie Sigel was caught "thinking out loud" when he made a few strange but true comments about Kanye and Pharrell. But not to be out done Kanye, in what was easily the oddest interview of his career, called T.I. and Lil' Wayne two of hip hop's worst dressed rappers. So with all this fashion talk brewing, I thought now would be an appropriate time to really take a good look at fashion in the hip hop culture. Tune in this week for a complete write up on a few do's and don'ts and the best and worst fashion trends in hip hop history. Until then listen to Sigel...

scent of a woman...

"Can I get my grown man on 1 second?"


A few days ago someone asked me "what turns me on about a woman?" No surprise there, it was a typical question that I've been asked several times before. It was my response that seemed to shock me the most.

"What turns you on about a woman?"

Immediately I thought ambition, passion, creativity, style...and as quickly as those words came tumbling out of my mouth I began recognizing the change in the things that attracted me to a woman. Three of four years ago, or even two years ago, my first response to that question would have been some brash comment (totally unoriginal I might add) about a females *assets*. But as I've grown and become more mature, I began to realize that the attractiveness of a woman is heightened when I'm able to look past their "mountain tops and valleys" so to speak. Now obviously by nature I am attracted to the shape of a woman but it's those internal attributes that keep me interested. Damn I'm getting old!


"Love lets go half on the sun..."

mm..food

get it.

in a city near you...

Common will go on tour to promote Finding Forever. Check the freestyle at the end of the clip...dude is just ill!!!

Sept. 5 ... San Francisco, CA ... Mezzanine

Sept. 7 ... Los Angeles, CA ... Wiltern Theatre

Sept. 8 ... Anaheim, CA ... House of Blues

Sept. 9 ... Las Vegas, NV ... House of Blues

Sept. 13 ... Denver, CO ... The Fillmore Auditorium

Sept. 15 ... Dallas, TX ... House of Blues

Sept. 16 ... Austin, TX ... La Zona Rosa

Sept. 24 ... Toronto, Ontario ... Kool Haus

Oct. 7 ... New York, NY ... Nokia Theatre

the great adventures of dope boy c...

I had a brief introduction to Curtains back in February when I did a post about his Know the Ledge video. Since then dude has been name checked by 'Ye in a Complex Magazine article and ESPN has used one of his songs as theme music for one of their new shows. Yesterday, Curtains dropped his mixtape The Great Adventures of Dope Boy C. Download it here And check an interview he did with the A.L.I.E.N fam here

how can hip hop be dead, when wu tang is forever?

If you were to glance over my notebooks from high school, the first thing to strike you probably wouldn't be neatly written algebra formulas but instead loosely sketched Wu Tang logos and a few ill written verses of me poorly mimicking Rza's rhyme pattern. I was a hardcore fan. So much so that a friend and I even printed our own t-shirts with "Wu Tang Killa Bees On a Storm" written across the back. To this day, a huge Wu Tang Forever poster is still plastered across the wall in my old bedroom back at my mom's house. So when this video of the Clan discussing their comeback album 8 diagrams leaked to the internet a few days ago, my interest was quickly rekindled. There's a point in the clip when U-God, ironically my least favorite Wu member, makes a very keen assessment of the game. "There is still some people that want that hardcore...we some hard rhymers." U-God maybe responsible for some of the most forgettable verses in the Wu catalog, but at least for the sake of this post, we should all actually take note of what he said. U-God is right. Though the genre is dominated by radio-friendly, dance inspired, bullshit for lack a better word, there is still a devout following of fans that yearn to relive the days when rappers challenged the listeners. And if you don't believe so, tell that to the hundreds of white people that stood in the rain watching the Wu and others perform at the Rock the Bells concert. A new Wu album (more Wu Tang Forever, less Iron Flag) is exactly what the game needs. Its gonna take more than a single Ghostface record, we need the Wu collectively to push lyricism back to the forefront. Hip hop needs to return to form and revisit the gritty sound that made listeners into fans and fans into followers. The Wu is capable of bringing back that feeling to hip hop. Just go back and listen to Only Built For Cuban Linx, Ironman, Wu Tang Forever, Liquid Swordz, and Supreme Clientele, you can't deny that feeling. Those records are classics...this is what the game needs.

On a side note, what the fuck is RZA talking about at the end when he is explaining the meaning of 8 diagrams?! We don't need a long winded explanation!! Damn nigga just rap!