Put 'Em in Their Place

Doesn't the beat to the new Mobb Deep Single Put 'Em in Their Place make you feel kind of invincible? Makes me wanna clap somebody, yo.

Nigga, Please

Damon Wayans is trying to trademark the word "nigga" for use in a fashion line. I have mixed views on the casual use of the word by niggas amongst themselves, but I don't think I'm down with the idea of buying Nigga wear at Macy's. True enough, they already sell nigga wear at Macy's - it's called Rocawear, Sean John, G-Unit, Phat Farm, etc., and most of it is too expensive for the average nigga to afford, but that's a different story.

My favorite tidbit from the article: Ol' Dirty used the word "nigga" 76 times on his album Nigga, Please, and that's *not* counting repeats in the chorusses. Wow.

News Flash: Holy Shit, Bryant Gumbel is Black Again!

Despite what niggas think about Bryant Gumbel (an upstanding fellow of color, in my opinion), and despite his high white-people-compatibility rating, I think they might send him back to us, and ask for their refund after his comments about the wretched, stultifying Winter Olympics.

Incidentally, I've been told that my white-people-compatibility is also quite high. Maybe one day, I'll develop a scale of some sort.

Kool DJ Red Alert

Kool DJ Red Alert
Originally uploaded by FlySi.

Yeeeah...

It's the Kool DJ Red Alert, seen here lurking on the uptown-bound subway platform at Union Square in Manhattan. Ok, so he's not really very discernible, because after all, I only had my camera phone with me at the time, and its lens was covered with pocket lint, but you'll just have to take my workd for it. He's the dude standing by the pole in the center of the frame.

Can I Get an Amen

Ok, self-professed B-boys and girls - learn your history. And learn what excessive copyright restriction means to you.

Good lookin out, dog.

Does anyone else take issue with American Idol judge Randy Jackson's flagrant misuse me the phrase "good lookin' out, dog"? I think the common usage of the term in the vernacular is to show appreciation when someone (your "dog") does something for you, or "looks out" for you. I think Randy's use is usually in congratulation of the aspiring Idols after they've given a satisfactory performance.

I guess nobody's bothered to correct him. He must be one of those black dudes that is out of touch with the 'hood, but because he's surrounded by mostly white people, he's obviously more "down" than they are, so he's the best dancer by default.

Hey, sometimes I'm that dude.

Busta Crimes: The Saga Continues

So the plot thickens. Was Bussa-Buss actually on the sidewalk, as opposed to in the studio when the shooting of Israel Ramirez took place? Did the gun-man flee the scene with Tony Yayo? You know, this is already shaping up to be another addition to the long list of Unsolved Hip-Hop Mysteries. Why? Well, because of the iron-clad and often misplaced "Stop Snitching" policy that exists within the world of hip-hop music and culture.

Now, before y'all bastards show up on my doorstep for uttering such hip-hop heresy, realize that I can appreciate how truly despicable a breed the so-called "dry-snitch" is. This is someone who seeks personal gain by the act of snitching or transferring culpability to someone else, or even insisting that if they're going down, they ain't going alone; and this type of person is appropriately vilified in scores of hip-hop tracks (the one that first pops into mind is Jay's A Week Ago). But I find it inconceivable that in what had to be a massive group of hype-men, hangers-on, body guards, and even your mans an' em, nobody knows what really happened. I bet we can expect heavily (or not-so-heavily) veiled references to the evening's proceedings on the various mix-tape disses that are likely to spew forth in the fallout of this mess.

Well, it's not all bad: poor old Israel's family lucks out with an all-expenses paid funeral for their son, courtesy of Busta Crimes.

Album Review: Let's Get It: Thug Motivation

This has got to be one of the most monotonous, bland, repetitive, redundant offerings I've heard in a long time, and yes, I'm aware of the irony in that statement. The album is, in fact, quite un-listenable. Well, that's not entirely true - I think it might be okay if you have your iPod on shuffle mode, and one or two songs pops up every once in a blue moon, and you're not really paying attention. Then it's fine. I thought I had accidentally had one song on repeat, before I realized I had indeed made it about two-thirds of the way through the album. Somewhere in the midst of the chaff that makes up this album, there's a line that says something like "I'd rather listen to your instrumentals". Um... yeah, that about sums it up.

Rating: 1/5
Bottom Line: If you paid for it, you're a sucker. If you bootlegged it, you're still a sucker.

Throwback Joint of the Week: Tell the World My Name

I won't front - I never owned this album, and think I only heard the 3 songs that got airplay or had videos, but on the strength of Fugitive and Your Mom's in My Business I had to give this one props. It could be the fact that I'm an aging hip-hop fan, and have lost patience with today's pablum; or it could be that I'm an aging hip-hop fan, and am reaching the point where my music appreciation has more to do with the nostalgia value attached to a particular track than whether or not it's actually any good. But - I digress. A lot of that spelling crap K-Solo was doing was just as gimmicky as Das Efx's diggety-diggety crap (which sounds so dated now), and I can do without it. On the other hand, Fugitive, in particular, is a stellar example of the narrative element that was such a huge part of hip-hop for a while, and that seems to have faded away in much of the contemporary stuff that's out there.

On a side note, does anyone know why DMX dissed Solo on Get At Me, Dog?

A Nigga Moment Gone Horribly Wrong

But then again, don't they usually go horribly wrong?

Willy Wall?

Aww... Paul Wall and his wifey are having a kid, and they're naming him William. I like the name William - it's so normal compared to most celebrity baby names.