Drake's ' 'freestyle' and SURPRISE Universal Deal

Are you guys REALLY upset that he read this from his Blackberry? Really? As many a motherfucker who has spit writtens? As many times as said written has LATER BEEN USED ON AN ALBUM by your favorite rapper? Do we REALLY have amnesia like that? Really? Come the fuck on. He wrote the shit. Period. Do you know when he wrote it? Get on him for the performance on BET. No problem. This shit here wasn't wack though. Every last one of ya'lls favorite rappers that have spit on Flex's show has spit writtens with probably the exception of KRS or someone of THAT CALIBER. This is nothing new and surely not nothing to be up 'in arms' about.





Here is something else for you to hate...Like we are surprised he signed with the label whose name he says on just about every release. Like any one in his position would do, he waited 'till the money, bidding and the his first BIG TV PERFORMANCE to sign. Now he needs to hurry up and get us some more music. ASAP.

MTV Shows

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2009 NBA Draft

In the midst of MJ's passing, all my posts (and thoughts) on the NBA Draft were put on hold. I will get into it a 'lil bit' now...

First and foremost, you can't blame the Clippers for taking Blake Griffin. I mean he is a machine. He may not end up being the best player in the World but him and Al Thorton, Eric Gordon, along with a healthy Baron Davis should be pretty entertaining to watch.

Thabeet going second is not that much of a surprise. I guess people thought Rubio was going there and it would have been a place where he would have actually 'welcomed' coming to the L (more on that in a minute) with Marc Gasol playing there. You can't fault them though. They wanted a defensive presence. They got one. He won't be scoring like that though. Also, as good as Dajuan Blair was/is and the way he got DOMINATED by him makes me worry about how he will play down there in the post against grown men. Still has a lot of growing to do then again he has not been playing basketball for that long.

James Harden. This one shocked me not because I did not think he deserved to go this high. I thought someone would screw it up and not take him this high as in the Top 5. He deserved to be taken this high. He can PLAY. Simple player. Simply effective. Period.

Tyreke Evans. He is a Philly area player through and through. Looks methodical yet is surprisingly quick. Heady player. When he puts his mind to it, his basketball intelligence shines through. Big guard at 6'5 and can play point. May end up a two though or a Joe Johnson type of player in time. Pairing him with Garcia and Martin could be a pleasant problem for the Kings. Gives them another over 6'4 ball handler who can create his own scoring. Needs to work on decision making and putting his 'mind to playing correctly' at all times.

Ricky Rubio. Flashy player. They have built him up so much that the boy might not be able to live up to it. He is young though so he can grow. Good passer. Not a good shooter. Would love to see him stay and play this year. Talks are that he won't stay per his Dad. I can't blame him. They took three guards and only traded one. One of the guards they took can play. Flat out. He probably won't stay though because of...

...Jonny Flynn. He is going to take the aforementioned Rubio's minutes. He just has 'it' to me. He is not a true point per say but can play like one if need be. He is just an assassin man. He GOES AT HIS MAN with a tenacity like on other. A cold blooded scorer. Finishes at the rim stronger than you think. I like him. He has heart.

Stephen Curry. My boy! Not bad for a kid 'no one' paid attention to coming outta high school and who went to a small school. Projected to go to New York (and really wanted to go there too!) he STILL fits in with Nellie's small ball concept. Him and Monta Ellis together? With Corey Maggette? Really? Interesting! He can play off the ball like Monta can and they can take turns bringing the ball up. Defensive liabilities you say? Aren't you the same person that said they do not play D in the League ANYWAY?? Yeah. Thought so. They will simply try to outscore everyone. Won't win a chip (at least it hasn't worked yet) but IT WILL BE FUN TO WATCH. For sure. Good pick Nellie!!!!


More draft picks and stuff like that to come later as their season does not kick off for awhile. There is still going to be plenty of movement. Watch!


Vince Carter goes home to Florida? Bye Hedo! Nice seeing you in the Sunshine State. Go get your money.

Shaq to Cleveland? Oh wow. Just wow. Him and Z on the same team? Can you say High/Low offense? Should be fun.

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The BET AWARDS..

Need I remind some of you that Michael Joseph Jackson passed LAST THURSDAY. In the middle of the day. We here in the United States did not 'wake up' to the news. We watched the day unfold to his passing. So that left two days for the channel that most of you said sucks anyway in which to 'chef a miracle' and pay some homage to the GREATEST ENTERTAINER that we have probably ever seen. Two days. Friday. Saturday. That's it. Some people STILL HAD OTHER GIGS TO ATTEND. Beyonce was JUST HERE (Philadelphia) on Thursday night. When was she supposed to 'come up with a performance' to REALLY pay homage to Mike? On the plane? I know that wasn't her only date prior to the Awards. Same with a lot of the artists. The Awards were on Sunday. I think it was INCREDIBLY silly to expect this grandiose tribute to Mike. You know good and damm well if they had done some 'middle of the show' tribute to him, you STILL would be complaining. Talking about they could have done more than that! Just like you are doing now.

Some of you seemed to be under the impression that they were going to do a 'whole' show about him. Did they not tell you at the beginning that 'all throughout' the show, there would be tributes to the man? I think they did that. It opened up with one. They TOOK AT LEAST TWO months to finalize all plans, coordinate schedules and the like for the show THEY HAD PLANNED. You want dance tributes, songs sang and all of that outta two days prep time? Seriously? I don't care if YOUR FAVORITE underground singer/rapper could do it or not, the results would have been the same. It was a pretty damm good show considering all the ADDED EXTRA ACTS. A good twelve or so of those people WERE NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE ATTENDING THE SHOW, never mind performing in it.

There will be TONS of Tribute shows for Michael that will have the proper time and preparation for you guys to tear into. Let's face it, if Jesus himself came down and sang for Mike some you would find fault in it. This awards show was not that HORRIBLE.

New Edition, Tyrese, Trey Songz, the host Jamie Foxx, Neyo and others did the best they could for such SHORT SHORT SHORT notice. I will say that the timing of Young Money's performance (with a surprising subdued Drake opening up) was weird. I am going to assume that they had been originally slated to 'close' the show. Not sure who told Wayne that it was a great idea to have 'lil girls' on the stage while performing either song that they did. That was in poor taste. Again, I am going to chalk that up to last minute changes to the show that just got overlooked.

For a network that I admittedly don't mess with too tough these days, they did a pretty good job of turning a show that had 'little to do with MJ' into one that had his presence in it the whole show. Anybody expecting them to have some 'great' show though was delusional from jump. You shoulda known better.

My boy (@Jose3030 on Twitter) has pretty much the whole performances, including Hov's new video HERE at his beautiful site:

http://www.3030fm.com/2009/06/29/bet-awards-performances-6282009/

Tagged in these videos:

bbd, beyonce, cash money, ciara, don cornelius, drake, fabolous, guy, jamie foxx, janet jackson, jay-z, johnnie gill, keith sweat, keri hilson, keyshia cole, lil wayne, mary mary, maxwell, monica, ne-yo, o'jays, queen latifah, snoop dogg, souljaboytellem, t-pain, tevin campbell, trey songz, tyrese


Oh and while I am talking about the Awards the O'Jays would outdo 85% of the acts out now. That dude Pleasure P is probably a beast when he is in Florida. He was TERRIBLE last night. Weezing on the stage, struggling through his performance and with the okay vocals. You got to see why Diddy makes his artists jump through hoops 'cause Mike and them (Day 26) didn't sound like that. Tyrese, Trey Songz and Johnny Gill did not sound like that. Take notes Pleasure P. You too @ ole boy who sings that 'Birthday Sex' song. My boy Drake performed and it was not good either. I know he tore his ACL so he has to 'chill out' on stage but I was not too happy with his performance or the timing of it.

The Aaron Hall/R.Kelly debate that used to happen should have a CLEAR WINNER NOW. @ Aaron's voice. He pulled a broke down Eddie Kane out there last night. I was hot about that.

Joe Jackson out there promoting his record label?? smh He was probably sliding business cards to homegirl from True Jackson that got up there and sang.

I love Keisha Cole but she got murdered on her own song. Period.

Thou protest too much @ the "I'm Not Gay." showcases.

Mary Mary sounded great but that is not my type of gospel music. Sorry. The outfits? I don't have to say much. I am sure you have already said enough in your own mind about them. The song itself? Again, they sounded GREAT. Queen coming out with them was good too but I like my gospel music to SOUND like gospel music. I am not really with the incorporating of secular sounds in music. I understand that it 'draws' the younger folks in. I really do. They did not conjure up images of anything Holy to me with that performance though.

Maxwell came out and gave a great performance. The album is banging too. PETA WILL BE CALLING THOUGH. @ the feathers.

More coming..As I feel like it..@ the Awards.

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The word 'help'.....

1: to give assistance or support to 2 a: to make more pleasant or bearable : improve, relieve barchaic : rescue, save3 a: to be of use to : benefit b: to further the advancement of : promote4 a: to change for the better b: to refrain from : avoid we couldn't help laughing c: to keep from occurring : prevent they couldn't help the accident d: to restrain (oneself) from doing something 5: to serve with food or drink especially at a meal 6: to appropriate something for (oneself) intransitive verb1: give assistance or support —often used with out2: to be of use or benefit

As you already know if you have read through my whole blog, I LOVE TO HELP people. I do not mind doing it at all. I will help you move. Help you with your relationship problems. Help you cook. With work. Whatever. Helping is okay..Doing however, is a whole other animal.

Those one man jobs? Not fair to ask for help on a one man job to me. I don't want to be just standing there 'watching you do the job'. Also, if you know that you can't do the job anyway and need me to REALLY do the job, just ask me to do it. Just come right out with it. You will do us all a favor. You won't get mad when I look at you funny when you ask me. I won't get upset when I find myself doing the job by myself 'cause that is really what you intended and we both won't be mad.

The jobs that may be done by one person by you either don't feel like doing it by yourself or you want to 'supervise'? Miss me with those too. I am liable to get upset with you. Again, either suck it up and do it yourself or let me do it my way. Pick one. I do all the time. It is okay. Really. If you start loafing, I am going to get mad. You start sitting back and 'supervising' and I AM REALLY GONNA GET PISSED. You aren't at work. I am not a slave. Please don't do that.

If you ask me for my 'help' in the way of advice, PLEASE expect the truth. I am under the assumption that is the reason why you are asking me. I assume that you have seen my body of work and that I am known for telling you what you need to hear. Not just for the sake of being mean either but for sake of helping you with the situation. I am only the messenger though so DON'T SHOOT me. Ya dig? You want your ego coddled SOLELY? Go get at your flunkies not me. You want the truth or what I think? Ask for my help.

The BET Award are up next. This ought to be good. I see people talking shit to each other already via Twitter. Sad shit. As I thought we all learned this week, death don't give a shit about what town you are from, how gangsta you are, or any of that. You can die anywhere. Doing anything. I feel sorry for those caught up in the ideal that they have to

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Michael Joseph Jackson.....

You know that moment when you realize that people around you that YOU MIGHT CARE ABOUT do indeed die? You remember it don't you? From that day forward, a piece of you is changed. Usually though, you still are reserved about showing remorse for people that you have never met when they pass. Even if you liked their music. Liked the way they played sports, etc, etc. That is until one of THOSE DIE. (There are usually several) THOSE SPECIAL PEOPLE who WERE CHILDHOOD icons for you dies. Those special people that have been present throughout most of if not ALL OF YOUR CHILDHOOD AND ADULTHOOD or was one of the persons that you could relate to a special time in your lifetime.

It happened for me when Biggie died so I thought. I was torn up. I mean, the greatest rapper of that time (and some say of all time) had passed. I was growing from a teen to a man and he spoke on things that I knew all about too well. Some that I never admitted to people and some that we all readily admitted to each other on the reg. It was a sad time. However, Biggie was not around my whole childhood. I was already VERY fond of his 'rival' and fellow Brooklynite. One S. Carter. To me, they were neck and neck and his 'career' takeoff allowed the loss of B.I.G to be absorbed. I got over it. I don't think that is gonna happen this time though....

.....cause today I lost a part of my childhood. Someone who was there from the beginning until RIGHT NOW. Someone that I loved as child. Someone who I could feel was suffering. The person I stayed up late and watched moonwalk on TV. Did extra chores for to get that Victory Jacket in '84. Someone I watched people throw rocks at 'cause it was easy. Stupid allegations that did not make any sense after awhile. I watched him make mistakes. He was not perfect. I watched him leave us, come back again only to leave us again for what ended up being for good musically. Someone that EVERY LAST ONE OF THESE LIL R&B dudes now has taken a piece of. (And would readily admit it too.)

All over the World tonight though, people will be talking about him. Some people will hurl their usual vile that they throw at anyone who has not 'done anything for them'. Or take the time to make stupid jokes at his expense. Those that have listened to things that just don't make sense. Those that will judge him for things that he either did not do, had no control over or happened to him because he is (gasps) human. All because the same media that is 'loving on him tonight' put these things out there like they were the gospel.

Only thing you will hear over this way is this:

THANK YOU MJ. I hope that you find that peace and happiness that you were searching for. I got the message in your music. I know you were unhappy here and tried your best to make anyone else who could use your help happy. Especially the kids. As a child, you succeeded because I was happy! I know you did it because you were unhappy as a kid yourself. It was that simple. Thank you for that.


R.I.P to you and to Farah Fawcett.

I salute you and thank you for the memories. Both of you.

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Mos Def vs. Jay-Z, Wayne, others?, Idalis Deleon

Well well well...Looks like Mos FINALLY wants to play at the Big Boy Table bad enough to resort to the this....I am probably 'bout to hurt some of ya'll feelings too so be prepared. I know Mos is ya'lls baby and shit..But I thought I would tell you how I REALLY feel about the situation. I am one dude. I don't expect ya'll to agree. I would be surprised if any of you do. This is probably where we fork off at the 'love of music' highway. It is cool with me though.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bbBuL2ewRc




The second one is disabled that is why I didn't embed it.

My FIRST QUESTION IS THIS?

When Hov was dropping 50 on cats (making these claims of being the best MC out period) and Mos was still dropping 12 pg (making nice lil songs for those that like what he does), WHY WASN'T HE SCREAMING THIS THEN???

I mean I feel like this is a stunt and a half. I am looking for the video where he 'clears' up his comments but still challenges him.

Here is the audio of it...


http://smartenupnas.com/2009/06/10/mos-def-interview-with-angie-martinez-challenges-jay-z-greatest-mc-alive-claim/


I actually had to GO BACK and watch the first video 'cause I didn't know he came that 'flagrant' with it. @ the youtube joint. The first one I saw was the one he did with Angie. (Sorry, I don't see EVERYTHING on the Net. Sue me.)

After actually watching the first one and then hearing the second more 'politically' correct one where is he is wavering AGAIN, I REALLY DON'T RESPECT THE NIGGA for this one.

Sorry.

You made the video.

You looked into the camera ON THE FIRST VIDEO and said "I am glad you recording this...." so you can miss me with the 'It wasn't meant to get out for everyone to see..." shit that you said in the Angie interview.

You DID MEAN FOR IT TO GET OUT.

The ORIGINAL VIDEO IS HOW YOU FELT. You were on whatever truth serum that you took that night (weed,whatever your vice is..) and it came out. You talked MAD SHIT TOO. Putting up pics of a REALLY hot car. Talking about how cats are gonna have to drive you around..All of that. lmao I hear you. So will all of those things be fair game in this battle? I know you have movie money so you might have a bit of bread but when those rappers you are talking to go in about that stuff what then? I know, your fans will start screaming "It ain't about the money though..". Even though you opened that door....Okay nigga.

Own up to it my man. You feel like you are better than Hov? Leave it at that. You SHOULDA BEEN SCREAMING THAT SHIT WHEN HE FIRST SAID 'He was the best rapper alive' but you weren't gonna do that shit in his 'prime'. Why? 'Cause YOU KNEW BETTER. That's why. You woulda got your head chopped off. Period.

I am not one of those people that have to say people suck to make the person I like in the situation better either. YOU ARE A DOPE RAPPER. Real talk. You can GOOOOOOOOOOO.. But all this 'head and shoulders better than Hov' shit? Please. The timing of it? DOUBLE PLEASE. Mentioning Dame Dash? Yeah, that just makes it REAL CREDIBLE. You having a project coming out? You are starting to pull stunts that the 'so called industry rappers' you despise pull. You looking REAL FAMILIAR my man.

Another thing, if this is really about Rakim and Slick Rick like you say, PUT THEM ON YOUR TEAM Mos. Since they are 'alive and well' and that is the reason that you say Hov can't claim that he is the best rapper alive. I am assuming you are referring to them actually still living & breathing that their body of work 'affords' them the position to still be respected right? NO PROBLEM WITH THAT. I can dig that. Stand behind that then and put them up there. I think we ALL HEARD THE WATCHER. Rakim can STILL GO. @ rap. Hov didn't sound outclassed on the joint either. Who was better is subjective to the person, their favorite and all of that but no one was outclassed to me. Come to think about it, WE ALL HEARD YOU AND HOV together on 'Get By'. You DIDN'T OUT CLASS HIM THERE EITHER. Fuck is you REALLY TALKING ABOUT AGAIN my man?

I have no issue with any rapper that says that he is the best. That is what anyone in any profession should feel. Cool. I do take issue with how some people view this though. The people have spoken on this issue. Loudly.


You want it one way- The Wire

By the way fans/music lovers/elitist, etc, etc, you don't get to discredit sales 'cause one hundred or so of you and your closest Internet.industry friends, whoever attend shows that only you guys go to said so and the other 'people who like music that you know' don't. Not when it goes up against MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE who buy music/listen to and support it. You can't have it both ways. You can't say 'This is music for us' then turn around and try to sell it to 'others' and complain and diss those that do that better than you or your artist. Sorry. I have seen and been to some of the shows. Unless it is in a HIGHLY urbanized area, it is not 'US' at that shows my man (woman). @ the underground joints. It looks a lot like a bowl of vanilla ice cream with flecks of vanilla bean in it. @ the crowd. So you can't get mad at that. I have pictures in this very blog that prove that! Be easy.

That said, I am tired of that copout that 'record sales' don't count at all. Yes, Suzy and them bought Wayne's record. Okay cool. A million people bought NWA record too ass. You don't discredit NWA. Pac went platinum. You saw the response to him ALL DAY. All over. On the radio stations. On Twitter. On the Net. FROM US! Dr. Dre, arguably the best producer we have, HAS GONE PLAT. But when Hov does it, it is 'because people are brainwashed'?? When such and such an artist that YOU aren't feeling does that, it is 'the machine' pushing them? You delusional fuck. Shut the entire fuck up with that bullshit man. You and your peoples don't like him. Fine. Stop trying to insinuate that people are stupid/ignorant/don't know music 'cause they don't fuck with the artist you do. Yes YOU! You with the 'brainwashed, popular, or my personal favorite 'the white people like such and such' kickstands for arguments as to why you 'hate' certain artists/fans of said artist.

Are record sales the the end all be all? No. But they count people to some extent. I love certain groups. Fortunately, I have their music on my phone show I can show people what they are about 'cause they don't 'sell' when I tout them. That is just the reality of the situation. Everyone can't be a superstar. Sorry. They are still NICE though and I can still like them even though THEY DIDN'T SELL EVEN THOUGH I LIKE ARTIST THAT DO. It is called being a grown up. Try it out sometime. Shit works wonders. We aren't in the 5th grade anymore. It is okay to drink tap water and still like to do nice things. @ the mentality some of you have now.

Just like the in the NBA, if you have talent, you will be found. If the dudes you mess with can't make a damm song, that is not MY FAULT. I know PLENTY OF NICE 'UNDERGROUND' dudes that can make music and songs. I listen to them. I support them. I love their music. No need to diss the people who are 'on' because at the end of the day, YOUR LIL ARTIST WANTS THAT SHINE TOO. Believe that. If they did not, they would GIVE THEIR MUSIC AWAY. Trust me. I have always challenged any artist that claims to love it so much and complains about big artists/labels/etc. Give it away then. You know what I hear 9 times outta 10? Fucking CRICKETS. That's what. I know making records is not cheap but if you LOVED it like you say you do, you would make that sacrifice. For real. People do it all the time for things that they truly believe in. The artists that do what I just said, I have not had to challenge them. They do that shit on their own. I have seen Tanya Morgan give music away. Literally. Seen Phonte do it. Stat Quo. The list goes on. So I am not talking about them. So I don't wanna hear your artist is not in it for the 'money' if they aren't doing what I just typed. They are. They want that fame and shit too. Believe that. It ain't hard to tell who does and who truly doesn't.

It wouldn't matter if your fav. artist blew though. You will turn and hate on them like ya'll did Lupe. 'Cause it is never about the artist. It is about you and your warped sense of entitlement. We all have that in us I guess but some of you boy. You take it too far. The end result is shit like this here. You guys end up gassing up the cats that do make the music that you DO LIKE to do DUMB ASS SHIT like Mos just did 'cause he feels like it what you guys want it seems. He wasn't screaming that shit when they did "Get By' was he? He didn't say "I don't think lyrically he can fuck with me so I won't be getting on that record.." No. That nigga happily got on that shit. And praised it. As he did with 'Ye.

You knew me before (the) records, you never disrespected me. Now that I am successful, YOU PULL THIS SHIT?- Hov

That is how this looks to me. @ this whole Mos thing. He went at the boy Wayne too but that ain't my lane. I am not too sure he will flat out destroy him either and I don't even 'LOVE' 'Wayne's music like that. My other question is this?

Why not make a 'record' and do it that way? That is part of 'hip hop' too is not?

Oh that is right, that is NOT HIS STRONG SUITE. @ making records I guess I can respect it but it doesn't make it right. Again, you don't get to 'pick and choose' which elements of hip hop that are important for your agenda if you 'claim to embrace all of it'. You wanna bring something back? Fine. But don't hide your hands about it. You said what you said. Period.

Oh and how are you gonna have a Battle of the Bands in Southern and Grambling's backyard and NOT INVITE THEM? WPOTGIT???? More proof that this is shamish..Out of all the bands in the MEAC, you picked Morgan's? (Shout out to Steph too!)Really? I went to a MEAC school and I CERTAINLY HAD FRIENDS IN OUR BAND AND WOULDN'T PICK them or Morgan. The Rattlers man. For real. For serious. FAMU at least. smh Hell even, HOWARD'S band.


No Talib? @ your team.



In the Where Are They Now category, I was watching bad TV on rare Saturday morning in the house today and stumbled across Idalis Deleon. Well, originally I was watching New York Undercover on SiTV for Lauren Velez. The next show, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner came on and low and behold IDALIS DELEON pops up on the screen. Still looking pretty good. Funny lil quirky show. Use the Google search bar on the side to look it up.

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After all of that, Donte' Stallworth will be out in time

to report to camp.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1099564.html

Wow. Just wow. I mean, I know it is a vehicular charge and he didn't 'mean' to/maliciously kill that man but wow. I guess on one hand, if I was in his shoes I would be THANKFUL as hell. I know his L's were suspended forever and he has 10 years probation but damm. I also see he is going to pay the family too. Won't bring homeboy back but that will help ease whatever burden financial burden his loss caused. They agreed to the agreement too so that probably helps.

Somewhere, #7 is like "Oh, I shoulda killed a person? Is that what you are saying?"

This just in... White Jesus on Earth has just weighed in...Indefinite Suspension. Which we all know means anything from a 'slap on the wrist' to telling him he can play when he is 45' or some shit. I hate that word or rather the way it is used. It is as if we don't know that the Commissioner ALREADY doesn't have several scenarios as to how this will play out and what his plan of action is. That's even if he takes anymore action than suspending him. smh. Come on man. Lay it out. If Stallworth does "XYZ", he gets back in in "XYZ" years or "He ain't getting back in on my watch..." One or the other. Quit playing God wit it.

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What I have been waiting on..Young Jeezy

Now as you can see, I listen to ALL TYPES OF MUSIC. I love traditional hip hop. I love R&B. Don't know if you figured it out or not but I also love Southern based hip hop. To death! I don't apologize for it either. I am a grown man. You don't like it? Hey....-Jeezy. That said, I have been WAITING for Jeezy to address Gucci and OJ flappin' their gums for a minute. Shout out to all my Gucci and OJ fans too. It is not like I think they suck but I like Jeezy. Sorry. I mean, he has addressed Gucci on just about every album but this is the first time he out and out addressed OJ I believe. (That I have heard anyway) Click off the music player down at the bottom and come back up and listen if you are interested. If not, don't worry. You are gonna hear the song eventually anyway. I told ya'll I was going to get a lil less stingier about my music. Lets see how ya'll respond.




And this is why I like him...Listen to the interview. It is telling. Credit to Miss Info for this interview. Gucci's is there too if you want to hear what he has to say..

http://57thave.com/?p=5341

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Bryce Harper & Jeremy Tyler

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Why-I-mostly-support-Bryce-Harper-s-decision-to-?urn=mlb,170270

http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/04/23/high-school-junior-heading-to-the-pros/


If you don't know these two names, don't worry you will. Both of these young men will BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT SOON ENOUGH. One is the 'future of baseball' while the other is said to be pretty much a lock to go to the League in basketball. Both are leaving school for preparation in their respective sports to go Pro before their senior years in high school.

Bryce will be attending JUCO after getting his GED to be eligible to do so. He is basically been THE PROSPECT in Major League Baseball in America for quite some time. If the boy is that good, I say it is a smart investment. He is scheduled to be the 1st round pick in that draft. I have friends who got drafted and they were PRETTY good and made out fine. Education and signing bonus given to them. Here's a hint, one of them plays for the Camden River Sharks now and and attended the Unv. of Miami. None of the people I know were the number overall pick either. I think the boy will be fine as long as he either pans out or is smart with his dough. It isn't like he ISN'T GOING TO SCHOOL EITHER. Lets not forget that.

Jeremy is taking it a step further. He is actually going to GO PRO now and hopes to play in Europe a la Brandon Jennings. This may seem odd to us Americans but QUITE HONESTLY, that is how all of those Euro cats you see balling here in the NBA do it. They have been playing professionally since age 14 for the most part. So it is NOTHING NEW to them. Of course, we are all going to be in an uproar. He is spoiled. He is this. He is that. Look, like people have always said before, if that is what you are destined to do, it will work out. If not, you will adjust. For every six or so Korelone Youngs and his like that had to do something else, we got a Kobe Bryant or a Kevin Garnett or hopefully a Brandon Jennings. The young man plans to go to college while there as well as get his GED prior to going too.

I want you guys, especially those of you who have REALLY regular jobs (no knock either) to do the math with me. @ those who think this is stupid.

Take $40k per year and see how many years it is going to take you to make a million? We aren't talking AFTER TAXES either. Before.

After you finish, you tell me just how 'dumb' these two young men are then for taking the chance they are. Both will have GEDs. Both will be taking college credits. One abroad at that!

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Jadin Shropshire "Artist That You Might Want To Check Out'

Every once in awhile, I will do this. I ,like many people, am pretty selfish when it comes to who I listen to. I don't like to share 'em and love to say "I knew about him/her back in (insert date)". I also have a love/hate relationship with people who do this.....so....I am going to attempt to change. What I will do is showcase people that I like. They MAY NEVER BLOW but you never KNOW. Ya dig? Also, they may never blow if people don't spread the word. So that is what I will attempt to do in my lil part of the Internet. Spread the word. I will probably prec



This is a kid that I know from another place (You may know him from Twitter too!). Yeah, I saw he did music and of course I respected that he did so. I just didn't honestly 'hurry up' and listen to it. That's the God's honest truth. I usually don't do that to people. I know how I am about my music and I would much rather 'stumble' upon it than have you say 'Yo, it's hot'. So in my own time, I checked out his music. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DID.

This song RIGHT here made my workout mix IMMEDIATELY. After 5 straight spins, I was sold. The kid has the goods. He hails from Baltimore, Maryland but lives in Highland, NY now. You can see the blending of both cities in his music. He also, like most good MCs, crafts his own sonic backdrops, thus he rarely sounds outta place on his tracks. A MAJOR FLAW that most people have. Banging beats that just aren't 'them'. Not that they suck but the beat doesn't match 'them'. There is something to be said for being universal. There is also something to be said for matching beats that compliment your style. He seems to understand that concept. His raps are about every day things, life and situations which of course make them refreshing to hear. He does not lack PRESENCE THOUGH and he is not a 'woe is me' rapper. (Can't stand those) Clever word play and good timing. He is young too so I feel like he will get even better. Hopefully, he can get on.


Here is my (for now) favorite track by the young man (the one that made my 'workout' playlist), his last full joint "A Good Dude' and where you else you can catch him on the Interwebs..

http://www.imeem.com/people/R2oGHTj/music/kaMpj-jZ/js-understand-me/



http://www.zshare.net/download/607703988b694b6f/


http://www.myspace.com/jadinshropshire

I am NOT SAYING you have to like him because I do. I am not here for all of that. Not here to change your mind. Ya dig? What I am saying is that I like his music and that you won't be able to say I didn't tell you about him. (This will be a theme. You can look for it after just about after every one of these I post.)

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Melanie Fiona info found! Finally...Game 5 and the Poll.

Awhile ago, I posted about wanting more information on this young lady. I like her style and her voice. I present more tidbits from the young woman. Hoping to catch her in concert soon.


















Game 5. They won. You saw it. I won't talk too much about it. They are not my team so I will not go into some long spiel. I still don't have a team actually at this point. Waiting on Allen Iverson to see where he will go. Wherever that is, that will be who I root for. Or at least who you will hear about from me. Congrats to Kobe though. Sorry your coach outcoached himself Skip and Dwight. I enjoyed talking about it while it was going on because I love basketball period. No matter who is playing.

I will ask this. Who do you keep? Trevor Ariza? Lamar Odom?

If you are Kobe, do you take the kids back to the 'lil Disney' or do you go down Celebration Drive and take 'em to see the BIG DISNEY? Decisions, decisions, decisions....


I put up a poll. If you guys respond to it, I may make the post that I want to make that goes with it. I am just curious though to see who is doing what and why.

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Game 4, D.O.A Death of AutoTune and Michael Vick

Free throw shooting. I imagine that Orlando will spending PLENTY of time, win or lose this series, shooting free throws when they go to their respective homes this summer. I mean, one can usually go back to a miss here, a make there but the way they shot them in that last game was criminal. The kicker is, with the exception of Howard, the cats missing them are good 'shooters'. They have no real excuse.



Kobe said the right things in the press conference before the game about not being tired but anyone can look at that man and see that he is. He is DRAINED. Getting the ball ripped at the top of the key or at least touched every 3 possession. Not being able to 'blow by' either Lee or Pietrus and thus having to resort to some other crafty moves to get shots off. Not that having the ability to do the latter is a BAD THING. They are great things. Just saying the young man looks tired. He is giving it his all though and I know he is hurting.





Stan my man? Did you get amnesia? You FORGOT TO PUT YOUR BEST PG BACK IN THE GAME again. I know...I know...He wouldn't have been able to warm up properly. Yada..yada...yada..Look man, he should have been IN THAT GAME. What part of that don't you get? I guarantee you Fish wouldn't have had a 'clean look' at the bucket had he been in. I'll tell you that. Looks like you have not learned. Skip is your best pg right now. Period.


Looks like my favorite rapper has 'the Internet going nuts' with his Death of Auto Tune record. In case I have not made it clear, JAY-Z is my favorite rapper. (Maybe one day, I will work on my own personal list of rappers..Who knows?) Many were hoping and PRAYING he was talking about the "Rapper Ternt Sanger" (T-PAIN), but if you have half way good hearing you could see that the song wasn't directed at him at all. Some of ya'll wish malice on that man so bad it is a wonder you don't have lock jaw from sipping on the 'ade. Yet ya'll wanna 'Jump Out The Window' and all that mess. Okay...The song is dope. I am not surprised. If you have not heard it you can look at my music player. It should be there for a while at least. Changing the game once again! Like he always does. What do you people who don't like him have to say now? Especially since he is telling the truth about it. Still one of the nicest MCs out and the nicest to me. (I don't expect you to agree either. As I always say, I am not here to change your mind.)




http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4253231&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

'Bout time. You have told the League he isn't worth a damm and distanced yourself as far away from him as you could. You should have been cut Vick. Lets see if that man gets a second chance at this thing called football. I hope he does well. I also hoped he learned some valuable lessons along the way.

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(Looks around and SUDDENLY notices all the 'new'

PEOPLE) @ hits on the site.

Waves to those that had no clue this even EXISTED. Thank you for coming by. You caught me while I was straightening up the place but that is quite okay with me. I hope that whatever bought you here from now since lets say last Saturday, keeps you here. Even it was just the Picnic pictures. I know I have a couple of new friends from there alone. You will find that I am blunt. I curse a little bit. I usually have to add a MF here or there 'So you ignorant n####@ hear me- Lauryn Hill' so please don't let that taint the message that I am giving out. I am not apologizing for it.I can't because this is ME. My spot. Just letting you know why it is the way it is. If you go through the posts, you will see just how this all started and will have a better understanding as to how it came to be what it is today before you.


For those of you who have BEEN coming through, PLEASE give some feedback to any and all changes that you notice. I tried not to be TOO DRASTIC with the changes but yet smooth things out a bit to make it easier to wade through the information I give out. From beginning to end. Good. Bad. Does not matter. I need to hear it all. You may have noticed a post count 'drop' on the counter if you look at that sort of thing. Not to worry. I know all about it and did some things to make the 'unique' hits of the blog show. No worries and no funny business here. I just wanted a true measure as to who was coming here.

Whether you are new or old, I thank you humbly again for even reading what I have to write on a semi- daily basis.


P.S

Hey ya'll, it is OKAY to use the comment section. I know I moderate the comments but unless you just come outta your face on some complete nut type time, I will post the comment. At this point, I want to hear SOMETHING from the people who have taken the time to click on the blog.

Speaking of the Picnic, I have a couple of more people to give a 'Nice to meet you' to BUT I do not know all of your Twitter names and such. I know we will link up though.

One person that I do remember meeting is the one of the Co-Founders of that magazine that I mentioned. Very humble gentleman. He did not even MENTION that was the founder of the very magazine I was holding in my hand. He probably does not remember meeting me and that is okay. It is my job to make sure that I bring it back out of his mental Rolodex. I can accept that. :) However, that same humbleness he displayed in person, he extended over the Interwebs (Twitter) to me. Really nice dude.

http://twitter.com/215tayyib

Here is a interview that he did with another one of my Favorite MCs in the game (and actual 'computer friend' (Gotta find another phrase for that!). Phonte from Little Brother as well as a link to his magazine's site.

http://www.twoonefivemagazine.com/features_detail.cfm/feature/261/


If you are looking for an example of how to get things done with your art, music, blogging, writing, etc, etc, FOLLOW HIM PEOPLE at his Twitter address. Just soak in whatever he puts out.

Oh, I talk about Twitter a lot on here. Not realizing that not everyone who comes here knows me from Twitter. Especially at this point. If you TRULY WANT TO HAVE MY TWITTER NAME, I will be more than happy to provide it for you. Just ask me and I will get it to you. You have to ask though. Sorry.

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Since 140 wasn't enough...Straight offa Twitter

Any dude is gonna go after easy pu$$y...it's up to you to suppress your whore tendencies & prove him wrong.- @divaSmistress

Of course, I retweeted this and got a quick and 'succinct' response from my homies @Shamecca and @KhiaJD. As you can imagine, they weren't 'happy' at the one sidedness of the comment.

The Gift and the Curse of Twitter. 140 characters at a time you have to explain what you meant QUICKLY. LOL

Anyhow, that statement was actually a middle statement of a rant by Diva. She went on to say some other things that basically balanced it 'sorta'. She did not go all the way in though. Nor should she have to. One should be able to speak on the faults without having it assumed that the 'whole blame' is being shifted on that person. It is like a built in excuse not to talk about that side's role in the fault of things.

Especially when we are talking about male and females. Both SIDES DO THIS SHIT. It burns me up a little bit. Actually more than a little bit. If we are talking about pregnancy to a guy, the first shit he comes up is "Well she has to carry it..". WTF? No motherfucker, you shoulda put something on your dick or not have sex 'cause guess what happens when you do that? A DAMM BABY MIGHT HAPPEN. That's what. God forbid we say anything about what a man has to do because he was 'trapped'. Do your part or shut the fuck up. Period. You can complain to yourself maybe or get mad at yourself for the pregnancy but after that, that is it. (That is not a free pass to act an ass on the woman's part from that point on either. More on that in a minute)

Women? You can stop that sniggling over there. You are not exempt from this AT ALL. All I hear are about these 'no good' dudes you encounter, how he 'drives your car while you are at work', expects you to do 'XYZ'. Or my favorite. The above scenario up top that I used for the guys. Yes, he was supposed to 'strap up' but YOU TOO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY too. Weren't you there too? Fact is FACT. You are carrying the baby so having that part of the responsibility comes with the responsibility of you DOING YOUR PART to prevent it. It isn't 'blaming you solely' because someone takes you to task on that. Sorry. You have a part in it. Do your part too! You certainly don't have the right to complain about extra shit or SHIFT IT ALL ON HIM and act indignant about being pregnant talking that "It is his fault he didn't wear a condom and I have nothing really to do with that." Miss me with that shit. You know you can get pregnant. Just stop that. It is even funnier that this is usually done 'quietly' by ya'll and accepted. @ toss the blame out on him. You don't even have to say the rest of what I said. It is implied AND ACCEPTED. Just like it is for the dudes when he gives the bullshit excuses he does and ducks his responsibilities.

This is just a lightweight example of what ticks me off about having a discussion though. We can't get the words out fast enough before someone is crying to the 'argument referee' about who isn't getting enough blame. Take the criticism people and at least either ask or wait to hear the the whole idea.

Now I can't speak for Diva. Maybe she does think it is all a woman's fault on that issue. Wait......Hold up..I CAN 'CAUSE SHE JUST DID IT FOR ME...


Straight from her....

of course it's both genders...@carolinaware BUT some females really need to stop the desperateness...take care of yerself, kids, etc

Back to what I was saying..

I do not. Never had. I happen to think that the whole way we decide who is a 'whore' and the like is flawed like a motherfucker. It is stupid. ESPECIALLY ON OUR PART @ THE DUDES. I have said as much. So we want some pussy, said girl gives us pussy in some magical non existent timeline (aka whenever we feel it is too soon for which we really don't have a 'set' time period for) and we label her. Bullshit. There is no Fairy Godslut running around fucking niggas and there surely isn't just one 'good' dude that every girl is marrying/So'ing up. Almost everyone has done SOME SHIT. Period. We ALL HAVE PLAYED A PART IN IT. Sorry. Knowingly. Unknowingly. Somewhere in between. We all have.

I also REALLY happen to think that some dudes are wearing panties when it comes to these subjects. That does not mean I don't see the other side of it. I retweeted what Diva said though 'cause she is right. A woman not being forced to do something has a responsibility to make sure she does her part in having sex AND ALL THAT COMES WITH IT. She DOES have a say after all and with that say comes the responsibility to make the correct choices time in and out. She is gonna mess up too. Just like the dudes pick do!! Dudes that whine and complain about the 'normal' shit that comes with having kids? My heart pumps piss for 'em- My Dad. For real. I have NO SYMPATHY. Nigga, you laid down with her. You know what it was. Period.

As you can see, this scenario played out exactly how I thought. She said something albeit a lil 'tender', I retweeted and the assumptions started flying. (Shout out to those that didn't have the ovaries/nuts to at least not direct message me about it You know who you are.) So now I gotta clear it up. Hopefully, 'the mirror' statement I made on Twitter makes more sense now 'cause as you can see, I call out any and all parties on their bullshit. I don't give a fuck. Most days, I am even calling out shit I HAVE DONE. Now how you LOVE THAT? -Baby from Cash Money. All a day in the life of a loquacious Capricorn I tell ya. It is what I do though. Fuck it.

As ya'll were...Carry on.

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The Roots Picnic Experience

UPDATE: Here is a link for the 3rd Annual Roots Picnic

A visual mirage of the day first....
































First things first, I have to give a very special thanks to Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC),http://www.flickr.com/sneakshot/ http://samuelsrepublic.zenportfolios.com/ and www.restinbeats.com for their tremendous support, access and photo services. The 'professional' pics were provided by the fine folks at sneakshot and samuelsrepublic. Thank you guys!

Now that we have all of that outta the way, allow me to tell you a little bit about my day at the Roots Picnic 09. From the sounds of those that went last year, Saturday's temperature was perfect in comparison to the heat of the previous event. It was neither too hot or too cool of a day to enjoy music outdoors. There was a main stage and then a huge tent with another stage inside of it which made going from one set to another pretty easy. The Tent, was air conditioned and was a pretty good sized one to boot. More on who performed where to come..Follow me through my journey.

I came into the experience only knowing the music of five of the acts and hearing by word of mouth of the remaining ones on the schedule for the day. So for me, it was a music learning experience. I came away appreciating some new groups' stage presence and abilities. One even converted me into being their fan on the spot. Read on and I will tell you all about it.

I did not arrive down at Penn's Landing until I would say around 3 or so. Like with any show of this size, there were delays, but I expected that. I expected them to be longer actually. They were not. Of course, the place was jumping already and full of a very mixed crowd of old, young and in between. Now for those of you have never been to an out door music festival of this fashion, it will probably be hard to fathom having the acts you just saw onstage or artists period, intermingle with the crowd. Remember this is a 'picnic' and the ambiance of event pretty much fit that. That is just what you saw too. With exception of a few artists, all day long you could see the person you just saw on stage a few sets ago, checking out other artist's sets or walking around. It was a beautiful thing. Try that at your big 'concert' and see if it happens.

Bajah and the Dry Eye Crew from Freetown, Sierra Leone were jamming out. I had heard of this group and actually had them on my 'list of groups to see'. They had great energy and seemed to have supporters through out the crowd. At this time, the crowd was not too bad. You could move around relatively easily but there were definitely many in attendance already. The place started to really get packed though after the The Pipes, Bus Driver, and a band appearing twice on the bill Antibalas. DJ Cash Money was providing a great mix of entertaining songs ranging from Dawn Penn to all types of old school hip hop.

Now, I have NEVER HEARD OF Antibalas. (Don't shoot me!) I DEFINITELY know who they are now though! They gave a good performance. They also provided a perfect backdrop as I got a chance to speak to the likes of some of Philly's finest artists like Ursula Rucker (Famous poet/the DOPE YOUNG LADY AT THE END OF THE ROOTS ALBUMS), Bahamadia, Writtenhouse and Charlie Mack among others. All parties involved were very gracious with both time and advice on all things music related. We also spoke on those topics that were not music related, as we delved deeper into other areas such as children, life, and even some politics. Bahamadia's son was also very gracious with him time as I spoke to him about various life topics including his famous mother.

So after staying outside to catch a couple of acts, I moved inside into the Press area to catch Miss Amanda Diva whipping up the crowd. Surprised again because while I expected someone to holding court in the tent, I had no idea it would Amanda Diva! She was holding the crowd over, looking lovely doing it too might I add, until Dave P, a very good Club DJ got on and did his thing. Not my type of music at the particular club music he was spinning but I could appreciate his talents. Very skilled at what he does. This was the time I took a well needed 'break' and began reading through my Two.one.five magazine book with Tariq and Questo on the cover that I picked up. It is a really good magazine and it took my attention for quite some time...so much so that I...

....almost MISSED Santigold. You see, I was inside the tent reading the mag and I heard this ROAR AND JUST BASS EVERYWHERE. Even over whatever Dave P was spinning. So I rushed outside to see her on stage. I quickly made my way down to the left side and took what you will see in the gallery later on. She was AWESOME. Stage presence. Dancing. She is one of those "I was made to perform on stage not in a studio' people that I love. My nonchalantness may not mean much to you but prior 'till coming to the event, I just thought she was 'okay'. Out of everyone there, she is the one WHO MADE ME A FAN. She blew me away. I get it now. You can't really hand me a late pass but you can smack me for not punching my ticket and getting on the bus earlier. I will take that gladly. I was even inspired to Facebook about her and her dancers getting it in to Soldier Boy's "Turn My Swag On".

After SantiGold ripped down the stage, The Black Keys came on. Another group I had no prior knowledge of until the Picnic. So I did what any person interested in music would do. I positioned myself so that I could hear both The Black Keys and hear when Miss Diva took the stage again. I must say that The Black Keys were also impressive, as one would expect any band performing on a bill with the Roots as the organizers. They kept my attention throughout until Amanda got back on to warm it up for Kid Cudi.

Now this was an artist that I needed to see for myself. I am not a fan per say of Mr. Cudi but my children DEFINITELY are. I have heard the ravings. Seen him in passing on MTV. Never had a chance to really sit down and watch him. Rather, never made an attempt to. This made seeing him a top priority since he was going to be standing a few feet in front of me. Literally. First back to Miss Diva (Recurring theme no?) though. In one of the many highlights of the evening, she had her DJ take us back through some hits of the pasts to 'test' the crowd's knowledge of hip hop. The Choice Is Yours by Black Sheep, some Wu Tang, Luchini, a lil Daytona 500 and a favorite of mine Looking At the Front Door by Main Source. That last one lost the whole front section as it was full of Kid Cudi's adoring younger set of fans. Much to the delight of the older people in the crowd, as we proudly sang the lyrics line for line. With her point 'proven', Diva then proceeded to bring Cudi out.

Now you have to remember that this young man DOES NOT HAVE AN ALBUM OUT. That did not stop him from rocking a nice size crowd with a medley of hits from his mixtape BEFORE HE HIT HIS BREAD AND BUTTER SONG, including a song that I did not realize was him, 'Cudi Spazzin' which was done over the "Spaz" beat by N.E.R.D. So I guess I can say I do like a Cudi song after all outside of "Day & Night"? Anyone who can recognize talent can see that the young man is a star even if they do not like his music like that. He was really impressive and the crowd was super hype. By the time he finally did get into his main song "Day & Night", he had put on quite an impressive showing. He did a regular version of the song and then morphed into a club version that had the whole tent JUMPING.

No sooner than we had finished enjoying Kid Cudi's performance, we were informed by Miss Diva (and the schedule on our passes) that it was time for P.E.

First though, I got a chance to peak back stage for a spell. Let me tell you, once again the vibe was all LOVE. My photographer Mr. Ron got some GREAT SHOTS with just about everyone on the marquee. I will let the photos speak for themselves. We had a great time, but it was time for P.E. and I did not want to miss it. So I went back out front to the main stage.

Now THIS is who I REALLY CAME TO SEE. I knew The Roots were going to back them up but had no idea who else would pop up on stage. First things first though, ALL OF P.E WAS ON STAGE. SW1s. Flav. Chuck. Griff. All of P.E. For someone who really thought that in the summer of '91 when I last got to see them perform, they would never be on stage together again, that was GREAT TO SEE IN ITSELF. 'The boys' as I refer to The Roots, as usual ABSOLUTELY showed out, with Black Thought providing backup for both Chuck and Flav throughout hits like Fight The Power, Night of the Living Bassheads and many others. Flavor Flav did his thing. As you can see by the pictures, he was all over the crowd. Chuck sounded great as well. The aforementioned Antibalas also chipped in on the help out, giving the sound JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED in the way of a musical backdrop for the MCs on stage. They even brought Beanie Mack A.K.A Beanie Sigel A.K.A The Broad St. Bully to the stage. Charlie Mack was holding court in the press box and Malik B. was moving in and out of the area. I believe I even saw a glimpse of The Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother. My sources pointed him out to me.

By now it was well past 8 and while P.E. was on the main stage and Asher Roth was holding court inside the tent. I missed most of that performance though due to the P.E. show, mingling afterward with folks in the crowd and pure loss of time forgetting the fact that he was indeed performing. I did get to catch Asher doing an encore performance. Like with Kid Cudi, I can see why he has the following he has. Not necessarily my style per say but the young man can perform. On a side note, I saw Beans make a bee line to get to Asher back stage after his set after asking someone "Is the boy Asher on now?" Collabo perhaps? I would not be surprised if we saw the seeds of that being planted. I wouldn't be mad at hearing Beans at all.

This is the part where the soon to be infamous Amanda Diva picture that I have floating somewhere around cyber space was taken. Matter of fact, it is floating around up top. (There is a TREMENDOUS HINT THERE. Take it and run with it if you have no clue what I look like.)

I was just going to take a random FACE PICTURE of Miss Diva as all the pictures that I had were from my backstage vantage point, thus only getting her from the side and the back. I thought, "Well I might not want to use those so let me get something in front." She had just finished shutting it down for the night in the tent. I had spoken to her earlier about a pic and she said "Wait 'till the end'. So I did. After she let two OVERJOYED girls back to meet Mr. Roth, who almost went across the stage to get to her instead of going around it, much to the chagrin of Diva and I, she came out. I only wanted a picture of her.

"That's weird tho. You only want a picture of me? You don't wanna be in the picture?"- Amanda

(Looks into imaginary camera) Let's do it!- Me

End result is that picture with her kissing my cheek.

So I am a good seven hours into this event and 'The Boys' are about to come on. Thing is, Mr. Ron http://samuelsrepublic.zenportfolios.com and I have another gig that we need to be at. So the day for me ends here....I get to hear the opening songs of The Roots, snap some 'footage' (read between the lines PEOPLE!) that I really HAVE NO INTENTION OF EVER SHARING on a big media platform and ride off into the Philly night with the voice of 'Riq still in my ears from that good music. Fortunately, my other great source, http://www.flickr.com/sneakshot/is taking pictures that I will be using as well. Thank you for that again!! So I do have some stills of that last part but I had to go.

I had a GREAT TIME and am already looking forward to next year's event. I made a day out of it but might be looking into making a weekend out of it...that was one of the best times I have had musically yet. Top Four time for yours truly. Got to put some names with some faces. I see, titi_215 from Twitter. OKP Dan, pleasure to meet you as well as the many others that I met on that day.


There will be MORE PICS TO COME IN THIS POST.

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Game 1 Finals, The Roots Picnic,etc, etc...

Well, that was easy. I don't expect the games to be blow outs like that Game 1 was. I do believe a couple of things will happen. Stan Van Gundy will probably see that pulling Rafer out is a mistake so early. I know that Jameer is back (and looked good actually) but the threat that Alston was posing by straight showing Fisher's age on some drives was too good to pass up in my opinion. I mean, he was going RIGHT BY FISH at times. He keeps doing that, then there will be even more open shots. I don't expect the Magic to stay cold either so that should make some type of difference. The Lakers players cannot get complacent and watch Kobe do Kobe either. That was a hellafied game by the young man but they can't count on that every game. They have to all improve on what was a pretty good performance. Look for Dee White (Dwight) Howard to get more touches in game 2, for better spacing and better effort from the Magic in the second game. Not sure if that will equate to a win but it should make for a better game. They got embarrassed that first game. For sure.

Saturday is the 2nd Annual Roots Picnic. I will be in attendance. It sounds like the weather will break JUST IN TIME for us to have a good time. Hopefully, I can get some good pictures. For more info go here..


http://www.okayplayer.com/rootspicnic/

I may even 'Twitpic' a photo of what I might have on that day and if you see me out and about, YOU WILL KNOW it is me and you can speak. Unfortunately, my 'smartphone' isn't that SMART so I can't do it from my phone. But I may do it from the house before I leave. We will see.

Before I go take these with you. I try my best to live by them.

"Sometimes, you have to give your ears the same chances that you give your mouth."

"Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part..."

These are things that have helped me through many a tough time. Hopefully, they can be of some use to you.

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