Thursday, August 14, 2008

'Cause I Like MONEY, Bitch!



Let me take a moment out to discuss our friend, Jay Z. There are a few schools of thought when it comes to Hov and the first of which, or the one that I hear most frequently is that he is the undeniable messiah of rap and if he puts out some shit that you may feel is trash, its because you are "too simple minded to appreciate the complexit you're just a fuckin hater, HI HATER, STOP HATIN ON HOV!!" *gnarling noises, foaming at the mouth* Then there is the side that is still sour about the Great Nas - Jay Rap War of 2001 that persisted throughout the first half of the millennium according to Wikipedia (does it not tickle you that this type of shit is in something that calls itself an encyclopedia? Love it!) They feel that Nas was the undisputed victor because 'ether' is now a common colloquialism while 'super ugly' hasn't quite caught on as well, or whatever jackass rationale they have to decide that. I have my own opinions about which blows were the heaviest, and when I develop the courage to address things analytically and thoughtfully I will provide a post on it, but I think we can all agree on who came out on top financially, Sir Camel of Brooklyn doth reign supreme (sorry I been watchin Elizabeth I on HBO again and that shit is superugly, yow!).

In any case, it goes without saying that Jay-Z has been the People's Champion of hip hop for quite sometime now, and barring the way Kingdom Come put a lot of his fans to sleep there are still tons of people that still want to hear from Mr. Carter, myself included. So when that Shade 45 interview hit the net, and the news that the Blueprint 3 was on its way came out I was excited, but apprehensive, and I found some of my apprehensions were justified when I heard Dope Boy Fresh (Jockin Jay-Z).




Jockin Jay-Z (Dope Boy Fresh) - Jay-Z

So I forced myself to give this song a couple of listens because quite frankly the first time I heard it it left a sour taste in my mouth and left me with this question: Yeezy produced this? What the hell is going on boys? The beat is just not what it is in my opinion and the hook is lazy to me. The beat sounds like a watered down, poor man's version of '99 Problems'. That was a song that utilized Jay's flow over hard guitar and every verse mowed through the track in a way that made you feel like you were strapped to the front of a bus barreling through the NY in Jigga's mind, making occasional stops to show you some shit of varying importance. This song doesn't inspire any of that. It has an old school feel but a repetitive sound, and Jay does manage to flow reasonably well but its all dragged down by the beat which has no force, no surprises and ultimately leading me to hope that he doesn't let us down with this album...whenever it decides to come out. I know he's a millionaire and he's allowed to do different things if that's where the breeze takes him, but some of the verses he's tacked on to other artists songs have left me scratching my head.


Put On (Official Remix) (Feat. Jay-Z) - Young Jeezy

I mean his verse on the end of Jeezy's Put On Remix was either an inside joke or a grave misjudgement. First he talks about wanting the T-Pain vocoder on his voice but then at the last minute declares he doesn't need it and dives into a min or so of rambling moronically about putting various things in various places. Maybe I'm being harsh but I expect better considering Ye's powerhouse of a verse, maybe he should have left the 'T-Pain' as he calls it, on his voice and that would have distracted me from that ridiculous ass verse. When Kanye raps slow and deliberately it works for him because that's who he is. His rap bravado has always had an undercurrent of insecurity and sincerity. So when he enunciates its meaningful, and at the very least interesting, because the presumption is that you wouldn't really listen to him otherwise. Jay is not that. Maybe there is an insecure and vulnerable Jay that we don't know about but those themes don't play to his current stage persona so his spaced out flow on the end of this track sounds at best like mimicry and at worst like fuckin retarded garbage that I don't ever want to hear again coming from between the big ass lips of my beloved Jay-Z. In any case i'm going to keep hope alive for this Blueprint 3 and pray that Jay was just joshing when he talked about handing the throne over to Lil Weezy.

Posted by Ms. Shai at 4:37 PM 1 comments  

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Bonus!



And because I dig this song as well, here ya go..


Morningwood - Sugarbaby

Posted by Ms. Shai at 5:30 PM 0 comments  

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Did You Realize...


Champion from videos222 on Vimeo.

Kanye West - Champion

Yeah so I am a bit late on this one..as you'll come to find will be a pattern for me. But this is the new video for Yeezy's 'Champion' off of Graduation. Basically our hero Ye has ambitions of winning the gold in this pseudo Olympics contest. Alas it is only a dream and he must train and endure in order to make it, because as a puppet he is discriminated against. According to the intro to this video, black men especially hate puppets. Can I also say 'yeaaahh buddy' in reference to the spandex clad track stars parading around in this clip, mmm mmm mm (...its been a min).The video is very cute and between this and that song 'Sugarbaby' by Morningwood I really want my own puppet. Like seriously after I hit publish post I'm going to go Google whether or not I can make that happen. These both came out at the same time too, like two puppet music videos out of nowhere..hmm I wonder if Crank Yankers is having some kind of closeout sale going? Cause I'm down.

Posted by Ms. Shai at 5:10 PM 0 comments  

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Monday, August 11, 2008

In Memoriam


Mr. Bernie Mac and Mr. Isaac hayes, two of the baddest muthafuckas on the planet have passed away this weekend and my stone heart was moved. I understand death is all a part of that noble process, that circle of life. But when great characters in our collective influence pass on, it makes me very concerned about what legacy will be left with our generation. These men were one of a kind, but can anyone think of anyone on their way to doing anything that comes close? I hope theres something on the horizon.

Posted by Ms. Shai at 10:48 PM 1 comments  

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Friday, August 8, 2008

...Ask me what?

So I have friends (I know, I can't believe it either) who are daily frustrated by the wasted potential they sit across from (meaning me). So whilst I was bitching at one of my homegirls I demanded that if she wanted to see more from my blog shes going to have to co-author this shit so I can keep my momentum going. I told her to send me topics. She's a journalist so I thought she would send me news blurbs, current events, pop culture gossip, or helloo music related topics. After like a week of asking this broad emails me some 'Ask Annie' type shit and tells me to work with it. So I shall, for it is yet two hours till the raven crows to herald the end of my workday, and ye behold I am very bored. Lets see if I'm any good at this...

First Question

My boyfriend found my vibrator and now wants me to get rid of it. He says he doesn't see a point in me keeping it any longer since we've been exclusively dating for 8 months. I love him, but I love my vibrator too. I mean I barely use it, but I like to keep it around, ya know...just in case. Do you think he's overreacting or am I just being selfish?

My first question is are you even serious with this question? Like seriously, this question is like some Degrassi/ As Told by Ginger...ugh.. I'll answer it anyway, even though Katt Williams has answered it more eloquently than I ever could. If your man is worried about some bullshit like that, then I suggest you stop dealing with bitch ass niggas persons of various ethnic origins. What in the world is selfish about the ability to please yourself, if anything its generous because it gives him the opportunity to take the night off. If he's that paranoid about being able to please you then maybe he's not and if that's the case he better make sure you got batteries on hand because when that toy fails you may be tempted to see what the next dude is working with (Note: This website does not promote adultery...but it totally understands).

Jerry Springer 'Final Thought'
In reality, you can and you can't answer this question simply because you haven't explained why he doesn't like the vibrator, does he fear the competition? does he think that it means he's not doing his job? does he think that your 'just in case' rationale for keeping it signifies that you aren't very invested in the relationship and want to keep the device on hand in case you want to leave him? does he think its a sin for a young lady to own a portable pocket bust it baby?

Each of these questions prompts a different specific response but if you only wanna know whether you should ditch the vibe my answer is an emphatic 'Hell to the Naw' (mine are in a bulletproof safe). I just wanted to know the specifics so I could better explain to you how to tell this young gentleman to go fuck himself while you retain the right to do the same.

Posted by Ms. Shai at 4:37 PM 1 comments  

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Resurrection...I hope

Awe man, wouldn't it have been crazy if I had died? Anyways my last post seems to have been over a year ago. But you'll soon discover I liken myself to President Bush when it comes to responsibilities..let's go.

Posted by Ms. Shai at 4:35 PM 1 comments  

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