When I fell in love with hip-hop .....

As I wrote about the release of Kanye West's / Jay-Z's album WATCH THE THRONE, one of my friends (Jennifer Martin) reminded me about a trip we took with NABJ to the 2005 Heineken House Party / Hip Hop's The Power Summit. We had gone to my home country for a short course in radio reporting at the Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort in the Grand Bahamas.

Freeport, Bahamas came alive with the top names in hip-hop and really music in general. After a long day, we had heard about a Listening Party for Kanye West. We went to it reluctantly.

As we got there I was mesmerized. Ye had angels in the corner, Common was just on the couch chilling. But then I got knocked down with the richness of lyrics, the passion in his voice, the deepness of his message. He hit out with now classics like "Drive Slow" but then he went back to his freshman album with "Spaceship"--- THAT WAS THE SONG, the song that did it for me. I felt struggle in the lyrics and his voice. Oh did I mention I was like 7 feet from West who was singing this. That was the point that I became a Kanye Fan and fell in love with hip-hop. He talked about struggles in music but I knew the struggle could be any struggle really.

"Y'all don't know my struggle
Y'all can't match my hustle
You can't catch my hustle
You can't fathom my love dude"
--- Spaceship (College Dropout)

"We all self conscious I'm just the first to admit it."
---- All Falls Down (College Dropout)

These were powerful ideas back then and still powerful now. West commented on society and its inequality:

"Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shortys hollering "where the ballas' at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordans, crackhead buy crack
And a white man get paid off of all of that."

---- All Falls Down (College Dropout)

That was music and music that mattered.

Thanks for that Kanye. Thanks.

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CAPTION: Another picture from the Heineken Beach Party. And no Jennifer I aint forget you. I just can't find the original. And YES that's Luda!!! He' short but funny!

MAN (and album) OF THE YEAR - So$aman

"My ultimate goal is not a destination, it's a journey. I've met a million people with a million dreams. I will probably meet a million more. A dream without action is simply nothing at all."

- Brandon "So$a Man" Major

BAHAMIAN ARTIST DROPS PHENOMENAL ALBUM

You've heard him perform We Winning on local Bahamian radio and seen him on Tempo with Shawty and you have even seen him proclaiming that he's too sexy for the whole daummm world (his words) VIDEO. But now So$aman takes his music to a completely new level with Dreamland dropping today.

I've known him as Brandon (well MUFF) -- y'all know him as So$a Man. Through it all he's been Major and Dreamland continues that trend.

Dreamland kicks off with one of the hottest and my favorite (and often quoted) track: iDream. This inspirational track reminds us all to dream and asks: "How you gonna see reality if you don't ever dream?" He makes an intentional effort to take the Bahamian dialect and culture (Every Ting Cool, Bahamas 2 the World) well to the world.

The album though it wrapped up with positivity and a real grittiness about it. We're reminded that all of us--including S0$a--have made mistakes "but mistakes have made me a man" (Brighter Days, Dreamland).

Hard to really pull any of the tracks out as the best because they each showcase a different part of So$a's mastery and skill--from bravado to optimism. But here are my top 6:

6) Every Ting Cool (Its just too funny)

5) Brighter Days (Reminds us that everything will be allright eventually)

4) Welcome(With the Prime Minister of Music, this weaves Junkanoo though an eventual club hit)

3) So$ Major (We should all live by this message)

2) Man of the Year (If your head don't bang listening to this then YOU'RE SOME MICHAEL NO JORDAN and YOU'RE JUST BORING)

1) iDream (This has been my favorite for some time. BUY it here on iTunes and listen when you need a pick-me-up.)

So$a has really taken the game to the next level with Dreamland intergratting R&B, Hip-Hop and Junkanoo. He's definitely proved that HE'S THE MAN!


Dreamland will be available on iTunes soon. Sign-up on iTunes for updates on the latest from So$aman!

"You have to follow your dreams to know where you headed ... When you make a wish don't ever forget it."
- So$a Man (iDream)