Wale and Skyzoo Perform Together in NYC

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My slept on album of the year

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I know it is early, but after sleeping on The Show by "supergroup" eMC (made up of Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Punchline and Strick) I finally gave it a listen. The only member I have really gotten into was Ace, thus I wasn't expecting too much nor such a high level of production (produced by Ayatollah, Marco Polo, Nicolay and many more). Anyway it is sort of a concept album, similar to Masta Ace's album A Long Hot Summer. The album describes the groups journey as they are traveling to perform a show. I just wanted to spread the word and recommend everyone give it a listen. Not sure if this site promotes media sharing, but i'll upload this album in hopes that if you like it you will cop it with your own money cause everyone knows underground artists need all the support they can get.

DOWNLOAD HERE

3 reaons why Obama should not pick Clinton as VP

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1. Senator Obama has run a campaign emphasizing change in Washington, D.C. His message allowed him to defeat the powerful Clinton brand. Wouldn't it be hypocritical if he chose a Washington insider as his Vice President? I think so.

2. Senator Clinton and her campaign attacked him in every way possible. If someone insulted me with half of the intensity that Senator Clinton and her campaign attacked Senator Obama, I would probably deck that person when I saw him (not her, because I don't hit girls) in public. Is Obama supposed to turn the other cheek? If he does, he looks weak, and Republicans will spin it just so.

3. Dick Cheney proved that the Vice President can have incredible power. Do you really think Senator Clinton (and former President Clinton!) is going to play a complimentary role to Obama? No. She'll (they'll) want to be co-President. Here's an example that some of you might follow: The Lakers are in the championship. Obama is Kobe. If you brought T-Mac and Vince Carter on the team because they can score a lot of points (they're cousins, not husband and wife, you get the idea!) in the NBA Finals, what would happen to the Lakers chemistry? Would they still be able to win that championship? Maybe, but not without a lot of internal conflict.

"The Kramer: A Success or Failure?"

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Who is this Wale guy?

Wale’s “The Kramer” is the only track on “Mixtape About Nothing” that shines a negative light onto the Seinfeld series. Using Michael Richard’s intolerant rant from November of 2006, Wale brings up the highly charged and highly taboo topic of racist hate speech in America. But does his response to Michael Richards succeed in providing a conscious discussion of this difficult topic?

Wale’s lyrics are fierce, obviously emotionally charged and provide a dramatic call for help for those who have been hurt by hate speech, “who gonna listen to us? Who gonna speak for us? Who gonna plead for us? Who gonna be the head NIC for us? Who gonna defend us from crooked police on us? I’m just an insecure N-I-G-R.” His second verse is an alternate perception of the N-word saying how, “N***** ain’t bad, see N***** just had a clever idea to take something they said into something we have, something we flipped into something with swag.” Wale makes noteworthy jump after jump addressing different opinions and perspectives about hate speech culminating in a vicious self-reflection that ends the track.

“The Kramer” follows a similar lyrical strategy of political tracks by other Hip-Hop superstars like Eminem (with Mosh) and Jay-Z (with Minority Report) in the sense that it pits two parties at ends using “us” and “them” but “The Kramer” seems to flounder with whether it is trying to deliver the message that all white people are like Michaels or whether white people should attempt to learn from Michaels’ mistake. However this blending of “us” and “them” serves a purpose for Wale, it shows how hate speech is universal in whom it impacts. His ambiguous delivery criticizes the response people have to hate speech, some view it as a clear-cut “us” vs “them,” others have a tendency to ignore entirely, while still others believe that it is a difficult and multifaceted topic.

“The Kramer” may not provide the spark that both “Mosh” and “Minority Report” attempted to emphasize but it does strive to educate not just those who are racially intolerant but everyone who suffers from hate speech, “and make sure, everything you say can’t be held against you in any kind of way and any connotation is viewed many different ways ‘cause under every n**** there’s a little bit of Kramer, self hatred, I hate ya and myself.” With “The Kramer” Wale is able to show his audience the difficulty of dealing with hate speech from many different angles. His point appears to be less about how people like Richards are racist and more about the confusion and division of opinions people have about the N-word. This particular track can be interpreted in a vast variety of ways and I would love to talk about other people’s thoughts.

You can listen to “The Kramer”: here

Lil Wayne's Carter 3 would be a hip-hop classic if...

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...the track list looked like this

From the Underground Up's Carter III.

1. 3 Peat (Prod. by Cool & Dre)
2. Mr. Carter ft. Jay-Z (Prod. by Infamous)
3. Lollipop ft. Static Major (Prod. by Deezle and Jim Jonsin)
4. Let the Beat Build (Prod. by Kanye West and Deezle)
5. Tie My Hands ft. Robin Thicke (Prod. by Kanye West)
6. Phone Home (Prod. by Cool & Dre)
7. Shoot Me Down (Prod. by Kanye West)
8. Comfortable ft. Babyface (Prod. by Kanye West)
9. Dr Carter (Prod. by Swizz Beatz)
10. You Ain't Got Nothin ft. Fabolous and Juelz Santana (Prod. by Alchemist)
11. Misunderstood (Prod. by Kanye West)

That's an album. Universal really screwed Wayne's chances of having a classic. The artist should get to make their own track list.