Amerie will always have joints, but a cursory skim through In Love and War by this blogger resulted in not a little ambivalence. Most of my indifference comes courtesy of tracks like “Heard ‘Em All” (adding Weezy is insult to injury but I understand how calculated this was, though it was too contrived) and “Swag Back” (based on title alone). With that in mind, I can’t write a proper review. Let’s see what other folks had to say, since my soft spot for her has become a callous:
Did you know Hidden Beach, record label to Jill Scott plus a bunch of other artists, was still releasing those atrocious Unwrapped “jazz” compilations? If not, I’m here to fuck your day up: They are. A long long time ago, “jazz” renditions of popular Hip-Hop songs seemed like a novel idea, but as Hip-Hop becomes more grotesque, what we need less of is multiple versions of played-out, shitty songs.
Unwrapped Vol. 6: A Tribute To Lil’ Wayne Give The Drummer Some features a 24-year-old drummer named Tony Royster, Jr., who is too young to be sucked into this Old People Fail. Who decides, at 24, that they’re gonna totally fuck up the crappy songs their peers love by oldifying them? Also, this album is mostly a bunch of songs we got sick of until they became parodies of themselves: “Best I Ever Had”, “Every Girl”, “Turnin’ Me On”, “Single Ladies”, etc, with a couple tracks by De La Soul and Craig Mack tossed in for ornery Hip-Hop elitists such as myself. Whatever, Hidden Beach!
Imagine being Chris Brown. You have to do quite a bit to endear yourself to the masses all over again, which means lots and lots of special effects. Special effects are good at distracting people, as is Lil’ Wayne. So, it’s fitting that Chris Brown’s new song and video “Transform Ya” employs a motif from one of the loudest, most obnoxious, pandering film franchises in recent memory, movies so visually stunning that you suddenly forget that you have been hoodwinked because of all the pretty colors and sparklies. Such is the trajectory of Chris Brown’s career.
“Sweet levitating Christ, What is this?” you wondered all of 2009, as you reflected upon that faraway time when we questioned Puff Daddy and his crew of Shiny Suit Warriors. Good times, those. But no more. Recent months have given way to a new strain of atrociously dandy fashion choices within Hip-Hop. You have here Lil’ Wayne and his Smedium Money crew, who like to sing in auto-tune and laugh at their own jokes. Then there’s Kanye West and his merry band of Mariannes, who all made a big colorful statement early this year at Paris Fashion Week, and that statement was “Beat me up.” Fashion is all about standing out from the rest of us common folks, declaring to the world that you are cooler-than-thou and therefore confident enough to look like a complete asshole and suffer no repercussions which, of course, is the true essence of Hip-Hop–simply not giving a fuck.