An Important Message from BarackObama.com

Usher - Hush Video

With the most significant election of our lifetime only a few days away Usher drops "Hush" to give you something to think about on your way to the polls Nov. 4th.

Mos Def For President

REAL TALK!

iPod Shuffle: Lauren Hill – Doo Wop (That Thing)

L-Boogie is the coldest; the game is truly not the same without her being in the fold, seriously. On this site we posted a blog called “Why Hip-Hop Needs Female Rappers” and this song is a perfect example of it. Songs like Lauren Hill’s Doo Wop is what the game is currently missing, even today the song feels more relevant than ever. The game needs female MC’s spitting relevant lyrics that relate to what’s really going on in the times from a perspective only they can deliver.

L Boggies goes hard from the first verse where she to air it on sista’s that get caught up in the game without even realizing to the second verse where she completely breaks down the nigga with his priorities out of place, the "poppin' bottles, living at his moms house, still trying to act hard while ducking child support" nigga. This song as well as the entire album The Miseducation Of Lauren Hill is an example of hip-hop excellence, being a reminder of Hip-Hop's past glory days while at the same being a tutorial to the next generation of MC’s hoping to bring the game back to its prominence. Next Generation of MC’s good luck….but until then we always have L Boogie.

Here’s a few excerpts from the Doo Wop (That Thing):

It's been three weeks since you've been looking for your friend
The one you let hit it and never called you again
'Member when he told you he was 'bout the Benjamin's
You act like you ain't hear him,
then gave him a little trim
To begin, how you think you really gon' pretend
Like you wasn't down
then you called him again
Plus when you give it up so easy you ain't even foolin’ him
If you did it then,
then you’d probably fuck again
Talking out your neck sayin' you're a Christian
A Muslim sleeping with the gin
Now that was the sin that did Jezebel in
Who you gon' tell when the repercussions spin
Showing off your ass 'cause you're thinking it's a trend
Girlfriend, let me break it down for you again
You know I only say it 'cause I'm truly genuine
Don't be a hard rock when you really are a gem

And the verse she dropped on the men is cold, Im sure we all know 5 to 6 niggas that L Boogie was talking about in this verse:

The second verse is dedicated to the men
More concerned with his rims and his Tims than his women
Him and his men come in the club like hooligans
Don't care who they offend, popping yang like you got yen,
Let's not pretend, they wanna pack pistol by they waist men
Crystal by the case men,
still in they mother's basement
The pretty face men,
claiming that they did a bid men
Need to take care of their three and four kids then
They facing a court case when the child's support late
Money taking, heart breaking
now you wonder why women hate men
The sneaky silent men,
the punk domestic violence men
The quick to shoot the semen stop acting like boys and be men

Act like you know.

Ace Hood, Juelz Santana, Fabolous & Jadakiss BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher

Who do you think got off the hardest? Ace, Juelz, Fab or Kiss?

What's Really Going On With The Nations Financial Crisis?

The circumstances that have led to our current recession are the controlled by many of the same factors that led to The Great Depression in 1920's. The doctrine that our very government has worked very hard to maintain, the doctrine that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. But when the top 1% controls too much of the money "critical mass" hits and a recession is right around the corner. When income inequalities in this country become too skewed, it prevents the system from working the way it was designed to and those at the bottom suffer. According Delaware Senator Bernie Sanders "the top 1% own more wealth in this country than the bottom 90%".

FDR's federal chairman who served during The Great Depression likened this sort of financial catastrophe to a poker game:

"As in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When their credit ran out, the game stopped."

Marriner S. Eccles
(FDR's Federal Chairman)
1951

Game Over? We hope not. But it's up to the people to put the necessary pressure on Washington to get turn this thing around before it gets worse.

Just In Case You Were Considering Voting For McCain

Barack Obama = Jackie Robinson?

Back To The Future

Many of you may not be old enough to remember that days before the commercialism of Hip-Hop videos. Many of you were born into the Bling-Bling / Ghetto Fabulous era of hip-hop videos and completely missed the golden age of hip-hop videos, when they were raw, real and straight from the streets.

On this week’s edition of Back To The Future, we are spotlighting one of my personal favorites "Aint No Future In Yo Frontin'" by MC Breed. This video was originally released back in 1991 before there were video hoes, before rappers was renting cars out (on the labels dime) for their videos and before mutha fuckas was shooting videos with a whole bunch of niggas and bitches they don't even know.

Back in those days they shot the videos in their own neighborhoods with they real partnas and hoes dancing in the videos that probably just happened to be in the hood at the time of the shoot. But more than anything else niggas were riding around in cars and rockin' jewelry they actually owned.

Back then they weren’t rapping about the hood and then hoppin’ on a jet and heading back to their mansion in rural Connecticut (Curtis). They were rappin' about the block and then when the video was over is back to the block. Nowadays rappers are talking tougher then ever and living up to less and less of it. Simply juxtaposing this video with today's rap videos is eye opening in itself.

In Joe Budden's song "Who", he explained the paradox that is todays Hip-Hop videos well:

Honestly I aint know what to think,
A few years ago we had the young kids wearing pink,
I don’t blame them for not knowing a damn thang,
we trained them to be this way.
Training them whatever to sell with no limits,
Since the early 90s sold them a false image,
so when some shit come that don’t fit the mold,
it’s like mole, nigga you wont even go gold.
They watch the videos see you on the corner with a whole bunch of people and think that you hood,
they turn on the TV and see these video bitches and think that niggas girls really look that good
I mean some of them are fooled so easily
by whatever we say or we show em on TV

Rocker Chris Cornell Enlists The Services Of Super Producer Timbo On His Latest Album

Former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell has enlisted the services of none other than super producer himself Timbaland for his upcoming album titled “Scream”. Timbo's had the midas touch as of late cranking out successful pop hits for Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Madonna and One Republic. So it only makes sense that Chris Cornell chose to link with Timbo, who has some unexpected free time now that he’s not producing The Blueprint 3. Earlier this week on Ryan Seacrest's "On Air" radio show Timbo had this to say about the collaboration between himself and Cornell.

This is the best work I've done in my career.

Cornell was equally enthusiastic about the work and had this to say about how it all went down.

For me, it was sort of a natural thing, to go out and make a record I hadn't made before. It wasn't a situation where I sat for a long time and thought about what my next move should be. It was quick, and the idea came to me after Timbaland had done a couple of remixes from the Carry On album. It got back to me that he was actually a fan and was interested in doing original material, and I got on the phone with him, and I suggested we go make a whole album. He was interested in that idea, and before I knew it, we were in the studio.

Reports are that the album should be out sometime next month. But the real question is Do I Care? And the answer is kinda. Since I’m a timbo fan and have been one since “One In A Million” my sheer faith in the quality of his production as well as him endorsing the album as the "best work of his career" will encourage me to at least take the time to check out the album.

Here & Now

America’s Sexual Fascination With Dimwit Sarah Palin (The Anna Kournikova Of Presidential Politics) Reaches New Heights [Read More]

Travis Barker Speaks On Near Fatal Plane Crash [Read More]

Obama: Why Won't McCain Bring Up Ayers To My Face? [Read More]

McCain Campaign Drops Advisor Over Racist Piece [Read More]

Teacher Suspended For Obama Cult? [Read More]

Stuff White People Do: Whisper The Word Black [Read More]

Palin Unlawfully Abused Power [Read More]

Can't Get Enough Alicia Keys? [Read More]

McCain Was Condescending To Young Black Questioner At The Town Hall [Read More]

Why Hip-Hop Needs Female Rappers

The fall is here, and it's a new music season as well. Highly anticipated releases by T-Pain and T.I. will compete for iPod memory with albums by Kanye, Luda, and Jay-Z due out shortly. We are guaranteed a constant refrain of "It ain't trickin' if you got it" and as many jewelry and designer fashion metaphors than most of the working middle classes can handle. My only question is: Shouldn't women be spitting these bars?

Hip-hop needs more female MC's. A lot of these niggas is making songs that bitches should make anyway. Rick Ross did a hip-hop cover of a Kelis pop hit and his correction officer ass was all over your airwaves. I imagine a female MC would have had the leverage against Ross on the topic of being a boss. Mr. Ross spends much of the song talking about what a date with him would be like, coupled with a hook that describes how the money he spent on his hair and his clothes will impress you. From the mouth of a male, this is nothing more than a desperate plea for attention; coming from a woman these actions would be much more acceptable.

Its like the WNBA. Its not about women playing the game, but people playing a different type of basketball. Some people like to see passing in the key followed by increasingly creative layups. This style of play happens to be just challenging enough to women to make for good games. If you see men playing like this though, you can't help but to conclude that they're hella soft.

For example, "Whateva U Like" was obviously written for Janet Jackson. Why didn't T.I. step aside and let a woman sing about such a pussy way of thinking. This song is obviously pro-woman, why don't you stand aside and let a real woman chime in and tell the world what she thinks? That is, if hip-hop today could stand to let some women in the game.

Worst of all, is that nigga Plies. This nigga goes on and on about some soft ass relationship shit "Shawty" & "Bust It Baby" and doesn't rap at all. Even worse, he goes from some soft emotional shit to asking for pity sex "1 More Time" to augment his already insubstantial lifestyle. Just like that emotional ass nigga with no job and a half finished tattoo that women keep letting hit it after he's been kicked out of his mom's house for the third time this week. She knows she should have gone shopping with her friends, but instead she's sweating her sheets up with a nigga that's not putting shit down.

These bitch niggas need to stop taking spots from the females MC's out there who deserve a chance to spit, and the young men and young women who need to be hearing that perspective right about now. A lot of these little niggas, is wearing skinny jeans and trickin' because they believe in these bitch ass niggas. Real talk, we need to have more female MC's on playlists across the country; put some diversity in your hip-hop diet. Don't let bitch niggas occupy a space in the game that would be better handled by a real woman.

T.I. vs. Jim Jones' Swagger

Thanks, SmashTime Radio

Chris Rock: Kill The Messenger

This is Chris Rock's fifth stand up special Kill The Messenger and as with all his previous works this shit is CLASSIC. Rock delivers this brilliant special just months before the most significant election of my lifetime and hits every issues right on the head. Now I know that Chris isn't exactly as big with the female fan base as say Jamie Foxx or Martin Lawrence but withstanding all of that Chris Rock is the King of Kings in stand -up comedy right now and an All-Time Great.

To be so smart, funny, honest and insightful all at the same time is a rare combination in any comedian and Rock has proven he can deliver all that and more. He is truly a comedian ahead of his time. You want proof? Listen to Chris Rock's most famous and controversial segment "Niggas vs Black People" from his Award-Winning Stand Up Special Bring The Pain (1996) and then listen to Barak Obama's fatherhood speech (2008), and you'll see that many of the topics Chris Rock touched on Obama did as well such as low expectations and the self-destructive anti-education/intellectualism ideology within the black community.....only Rock did it 12 year earlier.

In a 60 Minutes interview Chris Rock later said this about the controversial segment:

I've never done that joke again, ever, and I probably never will. 'Cause some people that were racist thought they had license to say nigger. So, I'm done with that routine.

Now for our FEATURE PRESENTATION:

Watch: CHRIS ROCK: KILL THE MESSENGER (VIDEO)

Jay-Z: "If Barack Loses I Really Will Feel Sorry and Sad For The State Of America"

Hov was recently quoted as saying:

If (Barack Obama) loses I really will feel sorry and sad for the state of America. The world is watching. And the world will judge us on that … And I’m not voting for him simply because he’s black. The worst thing ever for black people would be to put someone in who wasn’t capable. (But) what he represents to a little kid in Marcy Projects right now is to make him feel like he’s part of America. We never felt like we were part of the American dream.

I couldn't agree more.

Skillz Speaking On The Changing Of The Guard In Hip-Hop

Check out this video of Skillz discussing the changing of the guard in hip-hop or more so the lack of the changing of the guard and how thats crippling the industry. Skillz also touches on several other very relevant topics during the video.

For those that aren't in the know about Skillz he is a rapper out Detroit best known for his ghostwriting credits. He first burst on to the scene in 1995, but after an unsuccessful run as solo artist he turned to writing hits for other artists to pay the bills, Ghostwriting. He's truly one of the men behind the music in the hip-hop game.

New Heights! Jay-Z @ Glastonbury!

So its official my Jay-Z fandom has reached new heights. I've been a big Jigga fan for years now, I have every Jay-Z solo album known to man including dozens of freestyles and unreleased songs. And even with all that I still had my doubts about Jigga being the undisputed champ until I saw this man tear the muthafuckin roof off the Hollywood Bowl a few months back. That did it for me, that solidified in my eyes that he is still the best. Niggas can not do what Jay-Z can do, the way he memorized the crowd and delivered those songs so effortlessly was amazing. Being there you could without a doubt tell that he was born for this.

So my new found fascination with Jay-Z live performances had me dusting off the old Jay-Z: Unplugged and then I came across Jay-Z's groundbreaking performance @ Glastonbury in the UK. For those that are not in the know about the significance of the performance let me give you a little background on it. Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is one of the largest music and performing arts festivals in the world and had never had a hip-hop artist "Headline" there before Jay-Z did earlier this year. When they announced Jay-Z was going to headline the show it was met with criticism and controversy. Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher had called hip hop at Glastonbury "wrong" and traditionalists in Internet chatrooms had said they would have preferred a band like Radiohead, while critics also blamed the rapper for slow ticket sales.

Needless to say Jay-Z came, he saw and he conquered completely tearing the roof of the place. I got my hands on the MP3 of his full set and have been banging that shit ever since. So I decided to post the link to it for the Hip-Hop fans and Jay-Z enthusiast out there. I've seen Fade To Black and The Hard Knock Life Tour DVD's but this is truly a Jay-Z performance like no other Jay-Z at his best!!!! Pretty Fuckin' Awesome!!!!!!

Listen: Jay-Z Live at Glastonbury

iPod.Shuffle: Common f/ Lauren Hill- Retrospect For Life

This song came up randomly on my iPod and I felt compelled to write a little something on it. Common & Lauren Hill's Retrospect For Life is classic without a doubt, easily one of the best and most thought provoking hip-hop songs of all time. This song embodies everything that is right about hip-hop, If they played this song @ abortion clinics people would walk out. Too bad Common dropped this legacy defining song and the album One Day It'll All Make Sense during a time period when he was still somewhat underground and lacking the mainstream attention and exposure that he has today.

Common- Retrospect For Life:

Knowin you the best part of life,
do I have the right to take yours,
Cause I created you, irresponsibly,
Subconsciously knowin the act I was a part of,
The start of somethin,
I'm not ready to bring into the world,
Had myself believin I was sterile,
I look into mother's stomach, wonder if you are a boy or a girl,
Turnin this woman's womb into a tomb,
But she and I agree, a seed we don't need,
You would've been much more than a mouth to feed,
But someone, I woulda fed this information I read to someone,
my life for you I woulda had to leave,
Instead I lead you to death,
I'm sorry for takin your first breath, first step, and first cry,
But I wasn't prepared mentally nor financially,
Havin a child shouldn't have to bring out the man in me,
Plus I wanted you to be raised within a family,
I don't wanna, go through the drama of havin a baby's momma,
Weekend visits and buyin J's ain't gone make me a father,
For a while bearing a child is somethin I never wanted to do,
For me to live forever I can only do that through you,
Nerve I got to talk about them niggaz with a gun,
must have really thought I was God to take the life of my son,
I could have sacrificed goin out,
To think my homies who did it I used to joke about,
from now on, I'ma use self control instead of birth control
Cause $315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth it

$315 ain't worth your soul! Damn! Damn! Damn! That's something to think about.......

Chris Rock: Niggas vs Black People