What is this ..... DISCUSS

Ok ... I like the song lets get that out of the way.  But WATCH the video and answer these questions for me .......... PLEASE.

• I can't be the only one freaked out at 0.07-0.09 
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• Cool Whip expression .... Priceless?
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• Young girl at 1:45 ... HILARIOUS!!! 
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• Did we REALLY need 2:07-2:09?
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• 2:55-2:57 ... UNNATURALLY DISTURBING .... YES ... RIGHT?

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.

============




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!

I expect this new album to go HAM....

Just a few more hours before my Itunes starts to download the newest from KANYE WEST and Jay-Z as THE THRONE (the duo) and the name of the Album is WATCH THE THRONE). The album is ONLY available through ITUNES on August 8, 2011 and will be available in stores 8/12/2011.

And if you know me I am a Kanye West fanatic. See pics from GLOW IN THE DARK TOUR in Miami and CANT wait for the release.




This album was recorded all over the place in hotel rooms and throughout France, Australia, New York City, and Los Angeles and was intended first as a five-track EP. Thank goodness for the change of heart especially looking at the track list from iTunes:

• No Church in the Wild
• Lift Off (featuring Beyoncé)
• Niggas in Paris
• Otis (featuring Otis Redding)
• Gotta Have It
• New Day
• That’s My Bitch
• Who Gon Stop Me
• Murder to Excellence
• Welcome to the Jungle
• Made in America
• Why I Love You (featuring Mr Hudson)
• Illest Mutherfu&$er Alive
• H.A.M.
• Primetime
• The Joy (featuring Curtis Mayfield)
  

This line-up and colabs sound as if this could be a keeper (well ALL of Kanye's albums are keepers) especially with a team-up with Mr. Hudson again. You remember his voice on Paranoid (808's) Supernova (colab with Kanye) and who teamed up with Jay-Z on Forever Young (The Blueprint). Beyonce is surprisingly featured as well (sarcastic voice).

If you pre-order on iTunes you get one track immediately--OTIS (featuring Otis Redding) even though it has been leaked on the internet for sometime.

Also THE THRONE TOUR is launching as well. Check it out here>>> Im hoping someone finds a way to get me there. HINT HINT! There's a stop I think in Chi-town but I suspect that one will be CRAZY. Here's the list of tour dates and three aren't highlighted for no particular reason (sarcastic voice):

10/29/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena

10/30/11 - Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum

11/1/11 - Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena

11/2/11 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center

11/3/11 - Wasington, DC @ Verizon Center

11/5/11 - East Rutherford, NJ @ IZOD Center

11/6/11 - East Rutherford, NJ @ IZOD Center

11/14/11 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ BankAtlantic Center

11/21/11 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden

11/22/11 - Montreal, QC, CA @ Bell Centre

11/23/11 - Toronto, ON, CA @ Air Canada Centre

11/26/11 - Detroit, MI @ Palace Of Auburn Hills

11/27/11 - Pittsburgh, PA @ CONSOL Energy Center

11/29/11 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center

12/1/11 - Chicago, IL @ United Center

12/3/11 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena

12/5/11 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center

12/6/11 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center

12/9/11 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena

12/10/11 - San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion

12/12/11 - Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center

12/16/11 - Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome

12/18/11 - Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena

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)