from MTV News:
“A lot of the music that comes out of the South is kind of simplified and I think it’s kinda ’cause they just wanna have a good time,” he explained. “They don’t wanna think about what [they] just said. … They really didn’t make sense, but they made sense in a way and they just wanna hear something while they’re actually partying and it works for them. But when they don’t take the time to make it the highest quality possible, it hurts the actual hip-hop [genre]. People wanna make music they can get away with as opposed to the best possible music they can make.”
What did you just say? Dude, you are seriously making my head spin.
“They’ll lower the grade of music,” he continued. “It changes the range you can go and then it causes confusion amongst artists that don’t have their own direction at that point and they all start making music that is similar. Like if the record comes out and it’s a hit and it’s the simplest thing on the planet, all of a sudden the new artists start writing records that are similar to that hit. Their motivation is to have a project that’s successful and that will allow them to move out of the financial situations that they’re in when you’re in the ‘hood or in the ghetto. They make it sound like the record that they hear playin’ on the radio as opposed to just creating their own lane.”
All this reminds me of three of my favorite quotes:
- “If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought” –Dennis Roth.
- “Brevity is the soul of wit”. – William Shakespeare.
- Cause you don’t understand him, it don’t mean that he nice/It just means you don’t understand all the bullshit that he write. –Shawn Carter
This isn’t a piece slamming Babyface. He’s an enormous talent responsible for a lot of the hits I grew up on. But damn him for his belated use of such an overused phrase. I’m with Fresh on this one; this shit has reached overkill.
I am now officially anti-”grown and sexy”. Not because I’m neither. I’m kinda grown, and my sexiness has never been called into question. For me, the phrase’s usage marks a certain kind of desperation. The thirty- and forty-somethings are declaring that they are indeed relevant and “cool”. They have no need for the baggy-clothes-wearing, disrespectful youngin’s. They question the media’s obssession with youth. They listen to smooth R&B and have “dress to impress” parties.
In about five more years, I’ll be right there with them.
But let’s be real. People are always looking for some way to define and validate themselves, and you’d think “grown” folks would denounce these kinds of trends. Make no mistake, our older brothers and sisters are just as influenced by pop culture movements as the rest of us. And I suppose “grown and sexy” is a lot more enchanting than “young and promiscuous” or “seasoned and preserved”.
Let’s just let Face’s declaration be the deathknell. The phrase is tired. I’m grown and sexy, you’re grown and sexy, we’re all grown and sexy. Whenever I see those words on a club flyer, I immediately think I need to bring my pillow. It’s gotten so out of hand there’s a stigma attached to it. I’m begging my black people to just make it go away, ok?
I get it.
Most of us were excited when we learned that not only was Desperate Housewives adding a black family to its canvas, but that it would be headed by none other than the fabulous Alfre Woodard. But now I’m starting to wonder if it was even worth it. Her presence on the Wisteria Lane has very little impact on the lives of the other families. Although I love the idea of having a spooky, gothic storyline and having a mysterious neighbor on the block, the show has done very little to integrate her storylines into that of the other moms and wives.
That’s been one of the main issues if DH this year and why ratings aren’t what they were last season. There was a huge umbrella storyline last year involving dead narrator Mary Alice Young and it affected everyone on the canvas. There was a certain kind of unity and cohesiveness in the storylines, and the mystery of Mary Alice made it all the more immediate. Now the mystery has been solved and we’re left with… Caleb?
Caleb, I’m sad to say, doesn’t interest me. His plotline is way too isolated. Even though the Applewhites have interacted with the other characters (namely the Van de Kamps), the writers have done very little to link everything together. That’s not to say everyone on the show needs to be connected by some deep, dark secret, of course. But why should we only be interested in the Applewhites every other week as opposed to every episode like everyone else? There’s nothing innovative about the way this story is being executed. Most of the people I know are only into it for Mechad Brooks’ superior torso.
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No Frontin’ recently posted a list of forthcoming hip-hop releases for 2006. While NF maintains that “This isn’t a comprehensive list, just a list of stuff I’m interested in”, there are some items that stood out to me.
Bubba Sparxxx: The Charm
I am the only person I know that owns both Dark Days, Bright Nights and Deliverance and I love them both. Bubba’s latest, “Miss New Booty” follows “Wait (The Whisper Song)” and David Banner’s “Play” and borrows heavily from both courtesy of Mr. Collipark. (Have you seen the video? This, coupled with the track, is the joint the FCC warns parents about. But the video knows that, and that’s what makes it hot.) In the track, he sounds like a ghost bursting out of a child’s closet (“boogedy-boogedy boo!!”) and it should scare the white shit out of unsuspecting ears. But I love the track, and so far the response at clubs and parties has been pretty favorable. I’m looking forward to Bubba’s third and with the help of Big Boi and longtime collaborator Timbaland, he should do respectable numbers this time around.
Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury
It took forever for Lord Willin’ to be released and Exclusive Audio Footage never saw the light of day. While I think Malice and Pusha are respectable MCs, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t into it for the Neptunes’ production. Beats by Chad and Pharrell have become something like trading cards and every impending single is a must-listen until we’ve pretty much gotten sick of it. I’m still, however, waiting with breath that is bated.
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Over the next few days (or hours if I can help it), I will be re-vamping this baby. So if you happen to drop by and something looks out of place or just totally malfunctions, it’s only because I don’t possess as much dexterity as her. I’m taking my time, and it’s a lot of trial and error since I haven’t done this in a while. So please pardon my dust.
Or eat it.
It’s totally your choice.