novaslim.com

Young and different, uh
She looked at a condom, uh
And could still see the sun, uh
Do you remember 21, uh?
Can I stay to wait huh?
Grow up today huh
Can you really blame her?
Shit you couldn’t even stay home
When the world feels like it’s coming and
And you don’t know what you know
And you think about what’s holding you
It’s relatives and close
Just leave it all behind, you gotta get away
You gotta get away
Everybody
-Kelis, “Young, Fresh & New”

1. Who’s the Greatest Rapper?
   Am I the only one that thinks this argument is played out? Since when did opinion become fact? The Notorious B.I.G., ‘Pac, Jay-Z, Scarface and Nas are usually the ones mentioned. I like who I like for the reasons I like them, but that doesn’t make what I say the standard that everyone should go by. I can give you a million different reasons why I think one is better than the other, but in the end, it’s a matter of personal opinion. Debating facts is more worth it than this, and if I see or hear this discussion on one more hip-hop site or on the radio, I don’t know what I am going to do.
2. Judging Celebs for Their Personal Lives
   When a celebrity commits a crime, it might be worth debating, when they have a new significant other every year, that’s their business. J-Lo is the main one that receives this kind of grief. I am not a fan of this woman, but I think it totally sucks that people refer to her as “J-Ho” simply because of the way she handles her relationships. I know several other people that are non-celebrities doing the same thing and worse, and they aren’t judged nearly as harshly. We pretty much need to get a life and move on.
3. Same Ol’ Lame Ol’
   This bandwagon busniess in music is really starting to irritate me. When an artist blows up for having a certain sound and everyone else jumps on it, the quality of the music is diluted and the integrity is shot. Does Usher really need to be doing a song with Lil’ Jon because Lil’ Jon is supposedly what’s hot right now? And why are new artists coming out that sound no different than established ones? I want to hear something new and fresh. I want to feel the way I felt when I first heard N*E*R*D, or Aaliyah’s “One in A Million”, or countless OutKast records that are worth naming. In 2004, I want more creativity, thought, and originality behind urban music, intead of this seemingly endless piggy-backing.
4. A Third One? No Thank You
   I can cut Lord of the Rings some slack considering the source material, but this whole trilogy business going on in Hollywood is getting to be a bit much. For The Powers That Be in Hollywood, it’s all about the money and franchising, less about the story. On paper, it sounded like a good idea, going back to the old days of cinema where they had serials and cliffhangers, but now that’s it’s a reality, I think it’s the next worst thing to overkill. Now we have to worry about this upcoming Star Wars film, and who knows how bad it will be given George Lucas’ current state of mind? I’m not saying wipe-out the trilogies altogether, I just say do it right.
5. Ignorance is Cool!
   My people, my people… When will we learn? Why do we allow our children to be influenced by the bullshit they see on TV and hear on the radio? I think a good way to illustrate this would be the idea behind “Pimp Juice”, the product. Pimps are not heroes, people. At best, they are funny characters we saw in blaxploitation films, and at worst, they’re the guys you never want your 13-year-old daughter to meet. When you market products like this for the mainstream, you are making ignorance even more commercial than it is in the music. Do we really want the rest of the world to see us this way?

There are a few more things I’d prefer not to be exposed to in the new year, but they all basically point to the same sentiment: If pop culture can be considered the politics of the new millenium, then we need to check how it all affects us as a society. There are several trends we follow either consciously or subconsciously, and not all of them are for the greater good. This especially goes for us African-Americans since we seem to watch TV more than anyone else, buy into the product placement we hear in hip-hop, and put a cute bag higher up on our list of priorities.
We are being led down the wrong path because of a lot of the things we’re exposed to, and we’re dragging our children with us. I guess I went through all this to say we need to focus on the important stuff, not the trivial.
One.

“New year, new record, time to do bigger shit…”
-Talib Kweli, “Put it in the Air”
So here we are, I have finally made over my lair and I must say I am more than cool with it. I’ve been doing a lot of designing lately, and I must’ve gone through 10 ideas before I finally settled on this one. You like? You don’t like? You must like it, young, ‘cuz you still here.
In the midst of all this, I got around to redesigning ~SunRay~’s site. It’s girly, it’s flashy. She’s happy. That’s all that matters. So go check out her new look if you haven’t already.
There is also a new addition to the nOvaSlim family, that’s my boy Ray. Head over to his joint to see what in dee hayle he’s talking about, because most of us don’t know. (Just kidding) By the way, if you don’t visit him, he probably already knows who you are. He’s been stalking my blogroll for a minute…
Speaking of changing clothes and going somewhere, it has been confirmed that I will be in Atlanta for New Year’s. There, I will finally have the opportunity to meet Pookie, Mookie, Sexy Chocolate (hopefully), and most of all Too Smart For His Own Damn Good in person. I am really looking forward to this, moreso than I looked forward to Los Angeles. Hopefully I won’t forget to take my camera like I did when I went to New York.
So, if I don’t get to say it before this week is over, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year all of you, and thanks for your constant support and attention.
One.

New York, New York! Yeah, where my troopers at?
Where my hussa-las, where my boosters at?
Honestly I think I was a bad passenger. Driving up to NY with Anfanee was fabu, when I was awake. The night and a few hours before the big trek, I had one of my Diva Crises. What do I wear? Do I have enough money to survive? Why am I being saddled with an umbrella that doesn

1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?
Hell-to-the-nawh! I don’t unna-stan these people tom’bout they “like” the snow. The only time I liked the snow was when I was in school and they gave us a day off. As an adult, the snow does NOTHING for me but give me the blues. It looks pretty on TV, but in the ‘hood, it’s a shit of a mess. I remember one time as a child we all got together and decided we were gonna make a snowman. Since the snow at our disposal wasn’t really all that fresh, the snowman looked like he had Vitiligo or something.
2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect?
I am all about the food, ya nahmean? Feed me Seymore! Feed me all night long…
3. Do you do have any holiday traditions?
Turning on the Christmas lights and watching the roaches scatter. Sike! I am so over traditions and stuff. Me and Dad don’t really celebrate much. We’ve both found a way to stay consistently broke throughout the year.
4. Do you do anything to help the needy?
The needy giving to the needy? Now that would be a good way to earn my wings.
5. What’s one gift would you like for yourself?
Peace of mind, not having to worry about things all the time. I really hate depending on that check that is supposed to come every other Thursday. No amount of tangible gifts can help me the way a major break can.
FRIDAY FIVE

No “21 Questions” this month, so I decided to fill the void with the following entertainment news:

• At this year’s Billboard Music Awards, Stevie Wonder had trouble presenting Sting’s 2003 Century Award. Apparently the cue cards were written in a different language.
• Supermodel Tyra Banks is gearing up for the second season of her popular UPN reality show America