Cream of the Planet

Let the record show that Da Sharon Getty's fondness for Mos Def is river deep, mountain high. It's no secret.  He's not listed as Jayne's Addiction on the right  panel for no good reason.  I could sit here and lick off countless verses and songs which showcase his limitless talent- but I'd rather just let you hear for yourself.  The following video by Ski Beatz featuring Mos is for the single, Cream of the Planet off the new album 24 Hour Karate School by the former. Seriously. How can you not love that album title?  It's been rumoured that all of Mos Def's work on the Creative Control project had been pulled before the September 7th release, but I don't know how true that is. I hope not.  That would be an injustice. Anyway- a friend of mine floated this one my way and incidentally, it played flawlessly on my phone without pausing once.  (You know how it goes: Buffering...buffering...buffer...oh screw this! Effin' Crackberry!) I love everything about this joint. The jazzy horns.  The hypnotic beat.  But the lyrics, man.  The lyrics... "Listen, life is fantastic.  Beautiful and tragic. Plain. Classic." I couldn't have said it better myself, Mos.

Dear God 2.0

Truth be told...I haven't seen, heard or felt anything this powerful in quite some time. Word.   

"If I don't make it through the night, slight change of plans. Harp strings, angel wings and praying hands."-Black Thought

Editor's Note: Throwback Thursdays will return next week.

The Climb

Let the record show that Sharon Getty will always get you the goods when the giving is good.  My girl Jean Grae has done it again. From her collection of songs called "Dusty Jeans" comes The Climb.  Love this chick.  No homo. I guarantee you'll hit replay as soon as it's done just to catch what you missed.  The bitch is bad.

Don't say I never gave you nothin'. 

Son of a...

This is it. What?

Three words: Ooh Muthaf*ckin' Wee!

Credit where it's due. Shout out to my peeps, Crazy Al Cayne for putting me on

White Drapes

You know when I come up on the goods I have to share.




One word: Dope.

Radio Killed the Young Money Star

"I suppose,
I just wanna be,
I just wanna be successful."

It wasn't that long ago that I first heard about Drake. I had no idea what he looked like. I had no clue that he used to be on DeGrassi High. I just knew that I liked what I heard. He had a different sound and his production was tight. Drake has a laid back arrogance that I really haven't seen in a long time. He was fresh, yo. But before I could blink he was everywhere and got stale faster than an open bag of Coco Bread. With no concrete album release date in sight- his singles could be heard in steady, dizzying rotation on the airwaves. At first it was cool but I started to tire of him quickly. By the time he announced that he was signing with Li'l Wayne's Young Money label, I had pretty much had enough of Drake. It's not entirely his fault. Overexposure of new artists happens all the time. When the powers that be find a formula that works- they are not quick to deviate from it. Especially when the Artist Du Jour crawls out from under a virtual rock and captures the attention of the public with ease. The problem with that is it gives the listening public more of a chance to critique what they are hearing. They form a more decisive opinion. For someone who claimed, "The game need change and I'm the muthafuckin' cashier..." he started to sound more and more like Kanye West and Li'l Weezy rolled into one to my ears. Ordinarily this wouldn't affect me, but recently I've been subjected to a lot more radio play than I am accustomed to. So much so, that at this point I don't give a shit when his album drops. Through radio, Youtube and other online media resources I've had enough of Drake. And this is coming from someone who just merely months ago was backing this promising young rapper. I say rapper because I don't really consider him a lyricist. He has witty lines and a decent delivery. By the time he debuted the video for what would be better called "Breast I Ever Had" I had all but lost interest. Seriously, jugs galore won't distract everyone- just mostly everyone. Who's fault is it? I dunno. But if Video Killed the Radio Star, then Radio should definitely do a bid for killing the Young Money Star before he truly got it poppin'. Just my two copper coins on this matter.

Out.

Can't Hardly Wait

Hello Boys and Girls. Does anyone remember when I threw Mos Def out of the car some time ago? I'm speaking figuratively of course, but he ended up at the side of the road when we were through. Actually, it was a tailor-made CD that included a song of his that I still am not fond of hearing to this day. That's actually what got tossed out of my moving car. Nothing personal against Mos. I love Mos. Really. Let your eyes travel a smidgen to the right of this blog and you'll know I'm not fakin' jacks on that one. My appreciation for him as an artist transcends that of a typical "fan". His insight, talent, delivery and relevance is a gift from the Creator that he happens to share with the universe. He actually takes me some place else. So much so- that I can still close my eyes and be transported back to Carnegie Hall last year where he tore it down with his live band, The Watermelon Syndicate. Talk about a tight show. Best birthday gift I've ever received- hands down. Anyway, Flaco Bey does not stay idle for long. Case and point: The Ecstatic has a projected release date of June 9, 2009. I don't care who is waiting with bated breath or not. The man is the truth. This Bug is all tingly inside. To be honest...I'm Ecstatic!

Mos Def - Words - The Ecstatic - available 6/9/09

Please. Make. It. Stop.

This is why I don't listen to the radio. It's the Attack of the Auto-tune and nobody is safe. I just want to know how the hell this happened? Alright. It's catchy, we can all agree. Computer Love is still my shit. Even Tupac's California Love wouldn't quite be the same without Roger working his magic on the hook- but it really should have ended there. Wait- I really didn't mind Cher working her Auto-tune skills on her song Believe, either. What can I say? She rocked it. But c'mon, Man...

Now every time I turn on the radio, my eardrums are assaulted by the twangs of T-Pain as if he invented the shit. To make matters worse, Kanye West just released an entire album of mostly Auto-tune assisted songs instead of singing. Really, Kanyeezy? You mean to tell me nobody on Robocop's Mr. West's team asked him how the hell he expected to perform these songs live? How wack will that sound? Apparently there are only a few songs on 808's and Heartbreak that doesn't use this nifty little program to ride out. Whoever that album is dedicated to should take offense that he couldn't go it alone when it came to expressing his sorrow. Man Up!

Okay, I think I'm done venting. I just want real beats and authentic singers again, even if they don't hit all the right notes. Think Blu Razberry or Tekitha on some of the Wu Tang songs. Nobody said they could give Patti LaBelle a run for her C.R.E.A.M. , but at least it was their actual voices without that annoying, reverberating racket trying and failing miserably to pass for skills.

Anyway- I'm not the only one who feels this way.





Photo Courtesy: Corbis

Aight- You Got That.

Okay, so some of you may recall a previous post where I mentioned that the Jigga Man has not enthused me since his first album. I would like to say here and now that I retract that statement. And while This Bug goes "Nom Nom Nom" on a savory slice of Humble Pie, you can view the very reason why Mr. S dot Carter has officially rocked harder. Wow. I stand corrected. Lemme find out trading vows with Hurricane B brought out the best in ya boy!