Monday, September 20, 2010
In Retrospective: Common - BE
Can we go back to 2005, shall we?
Common released his sixth album, "BE" in May 2005 under Kanye West's record label, GOOD Music. Kanye basically revived Common's career with this album. The production on BE is nothing short of excellent. It brought a soulful, poetic feel to the mainstream. This album is a classic. Besides Late Registration, this is Kanye West's best work as a producer.
BE did fairly well selling just about 800,000 copies collectively and received 4 Grammy nominations. XXL magazine even gave it a perfect rating. I speak for most people when I say that this is Common's best album to date.
The Corner
Chi-City
The Food (feat. Kanye West)
Common released his sixth album, "BE" in May 2005 under Kanye West's record label, GOOD Music. Kanye basically revived Common's career with this album. The production on BE is nothing short of excellent. It brought a soulful, poetic feel to the mainstream. This album is a classic. Besides Late Registration, this is Kanye West's best work as a producer.
BE did fairly well selling just about 800,000 copies collectively and received 4 Grammy nominations. XXL magazine even gave it a perfect rating. I speak for most people when I say that this is Common's best album to date.
The Corner
Chi-City
The Food (feat. Kanye West)
Remember This?: LL Cool J - Luv U Better
Luv U Better was the shit back in 2002. I was in love the beat more than the song itself. The song was produced by the legendary duo "The Neptunes". This is probably one of my favorite beats by the Neptunes (besides Frontin & Hollaback Girl). The first single off of LL Cool J's ninth album, "10" reached top 5 on the Billboard 100 in 2002. I consider this a classic.
Enjoy.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Fall Brings Films: Five to talk about... or not.
Mark my words, this movie will be groundbreaking. It profiles the rise of facebook and its creator, Mike Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg). Their are many struggles and trials Zuckerberg faces, but in the end (obviously) he prevails. This movie is going to be talked about throughout awards season.
127 Hours Nov. 5
127 Hours is directed by the man who brought you Slumdog Millionaire Director, Danny Boyle. It is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralstons (played by James Franco). Franco finds himself in a load of trouble when his arm is immovably trapped beneath a boulder. Over the next five days, or 127 hours he recalls times in his life and significant events, etc. I see this being James Francos Time to shine. I believe he is underrated and will prove himself in his scenes by himself.
Due Date Nov. 5
The plot's simple. An expectant father(Robert Downey Jr.) is trying to race home from a business trip to witness the birth of his child. But their is a twist: The planes are not flying. Now he must hitch a ride with an aspiring actor (Zach Galfianakis), and the chaos ensues. Galfianakis always brings heat, no questions asked.
Tron Legacy Dec. 17
I may be alone, but I'n not buying this. Based on the 1982 video game, Tron focuses on entering the video game world, paving the way for the Matrix and other sci-fi pandemics. The only reason I would (probably) watch is to see Jeff Bridges back as Flynn and his digital avatar Clu.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Pt. 1 Nov. 19
Not going to comment on them splitting it in two. No words. The end is near.
Unheard Voices: The Homeless
The greatest country in the world..The country that God blessed. Most of us cannot even understand, or comprehend the struggles the homeless in america go through. Most of us don't even have the decency to offer the change in our pocket we say we don't have. I have always wanted to offer their life, their pain, and their day to day run ins with society to you. Noctum will be doing a video series starting soon on the struggles faced by the Homeless in Atlanta.
Nikki Jean: The Show
The Chocolate Bar happened to be the second stop for Nikki Jean during her Living Room Tour when it happened to reach Atlanta. The previous night was a success at Agnes Scott College, and I hoped this one would be as well. Showtime was 9, and we were all waiting in patience.
The DJ provided a mixture of tunes throughout the wonderful night, there was not one spot of music that was not touched on the wiki wiki. He set the mood of the night with the first few sounds heard from the speakers being smooth soulful tunes...Happened to give the whole night a nice, calm setting. Much love.
The first performer happened to be a talented poet that had strong words to share with the crowd. He seemed to capture the crowd more, and more as the words came out. With the last line, the crowd showed their appreciation towards him as everyone applauded.
Next up happened to be the much talented Zamir Green. He happened to provide comic relief, and not to be outdone by the poet before him, his own thoughts to share with the crowd.
The talent continued to flow throughout the night with a Junior from MoreHouse whose weapon of choice happened to be the guitar, and his voice. The story of choice for me happened to be the song he wrote about his ex, loved every word.
Things seemed to start moving slowly when Nikki Jean took the podium. I expected to hear melodies, but was surprised to hear her induce the crowd with each word she chose to speak. I witnessed one more talent that Nikki Jean happened to have.
As she took a seat, and started interacting with the crowd, magic was produced. Nikki Jean shared the song that caught the attention of many people, Hip-Hop Saved My Life. Every song had a special story that was shared along with it for the audience to enjoy. With each song passing, and story told, I caught the feeling that we were watching her journey as an artist & a song writer from start...to the finishing of her record. The center of attention of the night was Nikki Jean...and she stole the hearts of many with each melody. I walked out of the concert feeling as if I owed her so much after her performance, thinking.... I have to buy at least 20 copies, and the unique "Pennies In A Jar" T-Shirt. It is really hard not to love Nikki Jean.
Cole Haan Fall 2010 Shoe Collection.
I've always appreciated what Cole Haan has had to offer, it's always been the standard "Sunday Morning Service" shoe (when i did actually attend church haha.) Now that I'm older and fashion can be more appreciated, their newest collection/campaign for fall and winter is a complete package of dress shoes, boots, and sneakers (all soles are made by Nike air).
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Cover Grace's: Kid Cudi
Cudi covers Complex magazine for their October issue. In the article Cudi opens up about cocaine use, the night he spent in jail and his highly anticipated sophomore album, Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. Mr. Rager is believed to be Cudi's alter ego, the "bad" in him. The article is cool and the outfits are even better.
Read the article and see the pictures on www.complex.com
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