black mags..

A year from now when it's no longer cool to be "retro" and "fresh", The Cool Kids will probably go back to their regular lives as a couple of kids with too much time on their hands. Until then, watch their debut video and enjoy!

Please leave it alone, don't throw rocks at the throne

If there is an "older" rapper struggling with being relevant more than Jay Z, it has to be LL. Mr. Todd Smith is like the Madonna of the rap game. Some how, every two years or so LL manages to "reinvent himself". And usually this reinvention amounts to some extremely unoriginal corny club song (remember Head Sprung). Granted, occasionally he hits the nail on the head with his trademark "I can treat you better than your man" hip hop love song, but clearly that is a lane that now belongs to Fabolous. I'm not mad at LL for trying to keep himself "hip" but I am a little disturbed by a video that has been making the rounds on the net. Apparently, LL hints at a possible diss record aimed at Hov. The two have had tensions ever since Hov took the helm at Def Jam, and LL has taken several opportunities to express his disdain for his "boss". But is a diss record really warranted? Is this really a good move for either of the two rappers? Yes, Jay is on the eve of releasing another rushed project to the masses known as American Gangster (I hope for the best). So maybe the beef will serve him well. Probably not, considering he had a beef with the hottest rapper in the game at the time of the Kingdom Come release and it still didn't do much to thwart the "comeback" debacle. Does anyone really care about a Jay v. LL "battle"? Seriously, the 15-23 year old contingent that make up the actual purchasing audience for hip hop, probably doesn't care about this beef. Despite his strong showings in previous battles, I think it's obvious that even in Jay's less than stellar form, he is very capable of destroying anything that LL throws in his direction. I'll be slightly interested in seeing what this amounts to, but either way it won't do much for the world of hip hop but add another "battle" onto the already long list of frivolous rap beefs.

comeback season...

Artists with crossover appeal and pure talent are a very rare breed in this age of trendy and totally unoriginal hip hop. One of the few up and coming artists that I respect and believe has potential to be a star is Drake. All the factors are there. He has swagger, he has great songwriting ability and most importantly he has the substance and clever wordplay needed to capture several different audiences. His "Replacement Girl" single was kind of a dud, but the "Don't You Have a Man" joint with Dwele and Lil Bro was in constant rotation in my iPod. Now I can add "Man of the Year" and you can too. Listen now! And oh yeah, Weezy is on the hook. (ok so maybe he is a little unoriginal)

sucker free sundays...

Stop sleeping on Grafh. Dude gets lost in the shuffle sometimes but he is easily running neck and neck beside Joe Budden as my favorite mixtape artist. Now if we could only get him signed to a reputable label, so he can put out a full length record.



Grafh - Victory.

nike boots...

Fresh off his appearance at the VMAs, Wale is set to release his latest single "Nike Boots". Check his myspace page tomorrow night for a free download.

WALE

the push back...

The Little Brother industry woes continue....I was looking forward to having Graduation and Get Back battle for air time in the iPod but according to Tigallo himself, Get Back has been pushed back to October 23rd. "Industry people are shady!!!" (c) Q Tip

sweet sixteen...

I can't really say that I'm feelin her music too much, but she does have a unique look. Apparently somebody must be feelin her if she's sign to Star Trak and she's doing magazine covers.

get down or lay down...class is in session

For the four or five of you that actually read my blog, you may have noticed the lack of updates. Usually, the slow updates means I've been just too lazy or even simply uninspired to write, but this time I actually have a valid excuse. Last week was officially my first endeavor into the "real/career world", as I began the first week of my life as a poorly paid high school history teacher. The colleagues and I, have been in meetings all week hashing out the finishing touches of our lesson plans as we prepare to welcome 3,000 kids to the first day of a 190 day school year. So, in less than 24 hours my grad school education will be tested by 100 or more immature, hormone-driven teenagers. My position as a high school history teacher is certainly one that is not envied by many but I look forward to giving my students an equal opportunity to succeed even though much of the world views them as hellish little heathens. Contrary to what many may think, I do enjoy working with teenagers and I do not have a death wish. So, my opinions on hip hop and whatever random thing I usually write about here will probably be but on the back burner and replaced with stories from "year one". Tune in for more stories from the front line of America's future. And as we all know, I have my work cut out for me. Wish me luck! Good thing I left SC!!