My Soul Reflected

nprmusic: “And as always in parting, we wish you peace, love...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:51:04 -0500

nprmusic:

“And as always in parting, we wish you peace, love and soul.”

R.I.P. Don Cornelius.

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Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:06:51 -0500

My Top 25 Songs of 2011

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:11:00 -0500

**Honorable Mentions***

“Dance Remix” - Big Sean f/ Nicki Minaj

“Motivation Remix” - Kelly Rowland f/ Trey Songz, Busta, & Fabolous

“Look at Me Now” - Chris Brown f/ Busta & Lil’ Wayne

25 - “Gucci, Gucci” – Kreayshawn

24 - “Marvin’s Room” - Drake

23 –“Can’t Get Enough” – J.Cole f/ Trey Songz

22 - “Party Rock Anthem” - LMFAO

21 –“Make Me Proud” – Drake f/ Nicki Minaj

20 - “Shot for Me” Drake

19 –“N****s in Paris” – The Throne

18 –“Gotta Have It” – The Throne

17 –“I’m on One” DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross, Lil’ Wayne

16 -“Countdown” - Beyonce

15 –“You Da One” - Rihanna

14 – “Run the World (Girls)” - Beyonce

13 – “You the Boss” – Rick Ross f/ Nicki Minaj

12 - “How to Love” - Lil’ Wayne

11 - “In the Morning” J.Cole f/ Drake

10 –“I’m a Boss” Meek Mill f/ Rick Ross

9 – “I Do” Jeezy f/ Jay-Z & Andre 3000

8 - “Sure Thing” - Miguel

7 – “F*** You” – Cee-Lo

6 – “Otis” – The Throne

5 – “Lost Ones” – J.Cole

4 - “H.A.M.” – The Throne

3 - “The Show Goes On” Lupe Fiasco

2 - “Lights Please” –J.Cole

1 – “Who Gon’ Stop Me” - The Throne

“Columbus Nights, a brief synopsis of the best times of...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:04:53 -0500

“Columbus Nights, a brief synopsis of the best times of this life I am living out at the moment, told through the microphone in hopes that a few of you can relate.” - Freddie Mac

My Top 25 Songs of 2010

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:38:46 -0500

25. “Dear Old Nicki” Nicki Minaj

24. “Airplanes” B.O.B.

23. “Skin” Rihanna

22. “Got Your Back” T.I. f/ Keri Hilson

21. “Superman” Monica

20. “All I Want Is You” Miguel f/ J.Cole

19. “Nissan, Honda, Chevy” Joell Ortiz

18. “Aston Martin Music” Rick Ross f/ Drake & Chrisette Michele

17. “Whip My Hair” Willow Smith

16. “Tears of Joy” Rick Ross f/ Cee-Lo

15. “So Appalled” Kanye f/ Jay-Z, Pusha T

14. “No Hands” Waka Flocka f/ Wale & Roscoe

13. “Home for the Holidays” J.Cole

12. “The Way You Lie Part 2” Rihanna f/ Eminem

11. “All of the Lights” Kanye f/ Rihanna

10. “Right above It” Lil’ Wayne f/ Drake

9. “You and I” Ricky Blaze

8. “Lay It Down Remix” Lloyd f/ Patti Labelle

7. “Shut It Down” Drake f/ The Dream

6. “One in a Lifetime” Monica

5. “Man Down” Rihanna

4. “Black Friday” Lil’ Kim

3. “Roman’s Revenge” Nicki Minaj

2. “Power” Kanye West

1. “No Love” Eminem f/ Lil’ Wayne

My Top 25 Songs of 2009

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:33:00 -0500

(This is an old list I did in 2009 - It may not reflect my views today)

25. Jim Jones “This Is the Life”

24. Soulja Boy “Turn My Swag On Remix”

23. Ciara f/ Young Jeezy “Never Ever”

22. GS Boys “Stanky Leg”

21. The Dream “Rockin that Thang”

20. Rihanna “Wait Your Turn”

19. Lady Gaga “Paparazzi”

18. Alicia Keys f/ Maino “Sleeping with a Broken Heart”

17. Jay-Z f/ Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind”

16. Keri Hilson “Slow Dance”

15. Trey Songz “I Need a Girl”

14. R. Kelly f/ Keri Hilson “Number One”

13. Pleasure P “Gotta Have You”

12. Drake “Best I Ever Had”

11. Demi Lovato “Here We Go Again”

10. Young Money f/ Llyod “Bed Rock”

9. Fabulous f/ Drake “Throw It in The Bag Remix”

8. Letoya Luckett “Not Anymore”

7. Beyonce f/ Kanye “Ego Remix”

6. Melanie Fiona “It Kills Me”

5. Maino f/ T-Pain “All of the Above”

4. Jay-Z f/ Rihanna and Kanye “Run This Town”

3. Lady Gaga “Bad Romance”

2. Joe Budden “Pray for Me”

1. Cam’ron “I Hate My Job”

My Top 25 Songs of 2008

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:32:00 -0500

(This is an old list I did in 2008 - It may not reflect my views today)

25. “Ride” by Ace Hood f/ Trey Songz

24. ”The Way I Love You” by Ashanti

23. “Need U Bad” by Jasimine Sullivan

22. “Teenage Love Affair” by Alicia Keys

21. “Did You Wrong” by Pleasure P

20. “Go Girl” by Ciara

19. “Whatever You Like” by T.I.

18. “Roc Boys” by Jay-Z

17. “Disturbia” by Rihanna

16. “Bust It Baby Part II” by Plies f/ Ne-yo

15. “I Put On” by Young Jeezy f/ Kanye

14. “Live Ya Life” by T.I. f/ Rihanna

13. “She Got It” by 2 Pistols f/ T-Pain

12. “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry

11. “Mrs. Officer” by Lil Wayne f/ Bobby Valentino

10. “I’m Illy” by T.I.

9. “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis

8. “Love in this Club Part II” by Usher

7. “T-Shirt” by Shontelle

6. “Paper Planes” by MIA

5. “Misery Business” by Paramore

4. “Let the Beat Build” by Lil’ Wayne

3. “You’re Welcome” by Jay-Z and Mary. J.

2. “The Business” by Yung Berg

1. “My Life” by The Game f/ Lil’ Wayne

Victim Treats His Mugger Right

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:55:05 -0500

Victim Treats His Mugger Right

Memories!

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:02:30 -0400

Memories!

youngblkpl: But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:01:53 -0400

youngblkpl:

But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?

Robert Kennedy

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Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:31:03 -0400

icecreamritual: DAYUM

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:38:53 -0400

icecreamritual:

DAYUM

"For President Obama, this is the Season of Doubt. There is in the American air — some 13 months..."

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:03:50 -0400

“

For President Obama, this is the Season of Doubt.

There is in the American air — some 13 months away from the 2012 election — a whiff of suggestion that Obama might not be re-elected. Or re-electable.

A recent poll reveals that most Americans — 55 percent — believe Obama will be a one-term president. On hearing the results, Obama told ABC News: “I’m used to being an underdog.”

Another survey by CNN reveals that if the 2012 presidential election were to be held today, Obama would narrowly beat Republican hopefuls Ron Paul (by a mere 4 percentage points) and Rick Perry (by 5 points), and he would be neck and neck with Mitt Romney. And, according to Gallup’s most recent weekly approval rating average, Obama’s approval rating is around 41 percent today.

“Since the poll shows that voters tend to support candidates based more on how they ‘feel’ about them and less on whether they line up on the issues,” write James Oliphant and Kim Geiger in the Los Angeles Times, “that’s a worrisome trend for Obama.”

Uh-oh. Underdog. Worrisome trend. Are the storm clouds of uncertainty gathering over the Obama presidency? Is the once-popular Illinois politician headed for defeat in 2012? Is the next “Change We Can Believe In” perhaps — what only a few months ago would have been unbelievable — a change of the guard? And is it really possible that the “Yes We Can” man can get not only panned, but canned?

”

- One Term, Or Two? Obama Faces Season Of Doubt

npr: Haha! — Tanya Ballard Brown hilarious

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:16:36 -0400

npr:

Haha! — Tanya Ballard Brown

hilarious

Facebook - Twitter - iTunes - Google: The Rise of Digital Monopolies

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:52:49 -0400

Facebook - Twitter - iTunes - Google: The Rise of Digital Monopolies

Need You Now

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:33:31 -0400

Need You Now

"and your heart don’t have the heart to say goodbye"

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:48:19 -0400

“and your heart don’t have the heart to say goodbye”

crashinglybeautiful: “That is what the world needs above all else: not people who “say prayers”...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:01:30 -0400

crashinglybeautiful:

“That is what the world needs above all else: not people who “say prayers” with greater or lesser regularity, but people who are prayers.”

—Kallistos Ware, The Power of the Name, 19.

Via Faith & Theology, with thanks to dreaminginthedeepsouth.

Cole World: The Sideline Story

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:20:00 -0400

“That s**t these rappers kick is nothing like real life. You made a milli off of serving hard white? Yea, right. My mom will tell you what addicted to that pipe feel like”. -J.Cole “Breakdown”

After much anticipation, rapper J.Cole finally released his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. I had every intention on writing a review of J.Cole’s album song by song, but, once I listened to it, I realized that this would not be appropriate. To understand why I decided this, let me take you back a little.

Shortly after Watch the Throne was released, I was asked to critique the album and decide who had the best verse in every song -Jay-Z or Kanye. As I started this, someone asked me why I chose to do this. I replied that I was asked. This person told me that he felt I was taking away from the music by comparing verses instead of taking it in its entirety.

Back to Cole World: The Sideline Story.

I decided not to critique the album song by song, because this is truly an album that must be evaluated in its entirety. Cole takes you on a journey throughout the album, and, as you listen, you’re able to identify with bits and pieces of his story. The facts may not be the same, but, if you identify with the struggle, then you can identify with Cole World.

It took me hours and hours to get through this album, because there was so much that couldn’t be quickly digested. There were verses I heard, but, yet, I hadn’t heard. I was listening, but I had to be sure that I was listening.

“I got the nerds rapping hard s**t… dummies rapping smart s**t.” -J.Cole “Dollar and a Dream III”

J.Cole successfully made the transition from mixtape artist to mainstream with this album. Throughout Cole World, he carefully treaded that line between the two. He grabbed new fans with the commercial sounds but also didn’t fail to please his long time fans with the real life storytelling. I appreciate Cole’s genuine effort to bring “real life” to the mainstream. I couldn’t knock the more commercial records either (i.e. “Can’t Get Enough f/ Trey Songz), because, to my surprise, I liked them too. ~~Sophisticated ignorance.~~

I truly can’t say what the best quotes were, because every song on the album has what rap fans call “quotables”. It’s equally as difficult to say what songs are the best. All I can say is that if you haven’t already, go out and purchase this album. Support good music. We don’t have many others with the honesty of Cole, and, arguably, no one out can match his storytelling skills. He doesn’t give us the “champagne wishes” that Jay or Kanye give us. He doesn’t give us the hustler music that Ross gives us. He doesn’t even give us the catchy hooks and flowing flows that Drake gives us. However, he gives us hope; he gives us determination; he gives us pain; he gives us laughs; he gives us his story. He gives us his story through hard verses and nice word play in this hip-hop narrative.

“How did he manage? With all the cards against him, he used ‘em to his advantage.” -J.Cole “Sideline Story”

P.S. I do wish “Home for the Holidays” made it to the album. It would’ve been a nice commercial record in my opinion. Oh well…

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Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:17:58 -0400