the end is near...

2007 has wrapped and I most admit it was a good year for me. I finished up school with my Master's, got my first "real" job and moved to the DC area all within a few months. Since I've been up here, I've been lucky enough to see Little Brother, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Dwele and on Jan. 30 I'll be able to add Lupe to the list. Surely I wouldn't have been able to see them back home. So overall '07 was good to me. But to fully appreciate the "ups", you must have your fair share of "downs". So while '07 had several enjoyable moments, there was certainly no lack of stressful ones as well. While maneuvering through the "ups" and "downs" some of my favorite artist went along for the ride. They may not be the years best but here's a list of songs that kept me sane throughout '07...


Pharrell and the Yessirs (Questlove & co.) - Stay with me Face it, In My Mind sucked. Nothing like I anticipated it to be. After releasing it, apparently Pharrell wasn't satisfied either. Luckily, Questlove came through to save the day. His live instrumentation version was the soundtrack for my summer.


Wale - Waledance - Months before I moved to DC I caught wind of Wale and just feel in love with his style and charisma. His 100 Miles and Runnin Mixtape was easily my most played cd all year. I really hope he blows up.


Jay Z - Roc Boys - Horns. Need I say more?! Black superhero music. Why wasn't this the first single?


Talib Kweli ft. Kanye West- In the Mood - Eardrum was definitely one of the years best but Kanye stole the show here. Surprisingly, this was my fave from Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing Mixtape. Personally, I didn't like that mixtape that much. Sorry.


Common ft. Dwele- The People Finding Forever didn't turn out to be the record I wanted it to be but "The People" kept me interested. It had the Be feeling to it. Common proves again that he is one of the greatest EVER.


Kanye West ft. Dwele - Flashing Lights
"Big Brother" was hot and so was "Barry Bonds", but "Flashing Lights" was just incredible. Kanye succeeds in pushing the envelope without going too far into left field.


Robin Thicke - 2 the Sky Yeah I know this was released in late '06 but I was still rocking this well into '07. The Evolution of Robin Thicke was one of the most complete R&B records to be released in recent memory.


Lupe Fiasco - Paris, Tokyo Lupe damn near ethered his own career with Fiascogate. Ironically enough, this ATCQ-esque song is one of The Cool's shining moments. I can't stop listening to it.


Talib Kweli - The Show This was from the Liberation collab mixtape with Madlib. It was released early in '07 so alot of people forgot about it. I didn't. Kweli murdered it. Prelude to Eardrum.


Little Brother - Dreams Dreams definitely don't keep the lights on, so until I figure out how to get paid to do what I love, this song will be my motivation.


Drake ft. Little Brother and Dwele - Don't You Have A Man I really don't understand why dude is still unsigned. I loved this song. If you don't have his Comeback Season mixtape, I suggested you go find it. And if you think dude is weak, check the "Barry Bonds" Freestyle.


And in case you didn't notice, Dwele was featured on three songs from this list. So yeah I really like Dwele!

back off hiatus...

In the world of teaching, there is a thin line between consciousness and insanity. So to prevent us teachers from flirting with the possibilities of the latter, we are granted breaks periodically throughout the year. First it was Thanksgiving, and now its Christmas. Though I haven't reached the brink of insanity just yet, I can definitely say that I needed the break. I went back home to South Carolina for the holidays and thoroughly enjoyed being around family. But now it's time to get back into work mode and return to the trenches. It's been awhile since I've posted here but I promised myself that I would get off my ass and put something up. Be on the look out for my thoughts on the year that was 2007.

where it all started...

"they said it was coming back around...back to the lyrics"

So I'm probably the only one that hasn't succumb to the urge to download Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. I haven't even listened to the stream over at mtv.com's The Leak. With only two days before the official release, I thought now would be an appropriate time to travel back in time and look at the clip that started it all.

Blender: Easier question, then: Excluding anyone on Def Jam, who’s your favorite rapper these days?

Jay-Z: I’d say, Lupe Fiasco. I love Lupe. He’s a genius writer. In his approach to making music and the depth of his lyrics, the guy is incredibly smart. I’m sure he goes over people’s heads, but I love him for that.

santa are you listening???

Looks like the life of my trusty Nano is finally nearing its end. It only holds a charge for about 45 minutes and the earphones are beginning to crackle. Besides, with all this new technology out and about, why should I keep the nano? I went to the apple store last weekend and I haven't been able to stop thinking about the iPod touch. WiFi, youtube, touch screen....it's definitely time for this upgrade.

more LB...

who needs Joe Scudda??

when everything is new...

Big Pooh was at home last night on stage at The Black Cat in Washington, DC. Literally, at home. His brother and sister were both in the audience for last night's performance and Pooh announced to anyone that didn't already know, that he was originally from Alexandria, VA, just 15 minutes away from the stage where he, Phonte and Darien Brockington were currently breathing life into hip hop. They began the set accordingly with one of the standout tracks from the Get Back "When Everything is New", sort of a symbolic way of reassuring "us" that Phonte and Big Pooh are Little Brother. What followed was alot of material from Get Back and The Minstrel Show coupled with an occasionally joint from The Listening and of course a little bit of the Phonte Coleman comedy hour; all of which made my first Little Brother experience a good one. Just look at their t-shirts if you want to get an idea of just how much they put into their live shows. And no it wasn't that hot in there. If they are anywhere near, I suggest you go see them. You won't regret it.