Archive for March, 2006

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R. Kelly and Brother: Not Each Others Keeper

Friday, March 24th, 2006

Repost from Yahoo Launch

R. Kelly’s Not So Brotherly Love

03/23/2006 3:48 PM, E! Online
Sarah Hall

R. Kelly’s brother, Carey, believes he can’t lie.

The “Trapped in the Closet” singer’s younger sibling has released a low-budget DVD on which he accuses his brother of trying to get him to commit perjury, according to MTV News.

According to Carey Kelly, his brother wanted him to take the fall by claiming that he was actually the star of the infamous sex tape that prompted child-pornography charges against R. Kelly.

On the DVD, released Tuesday, Carey Kelly alleges that his more famous brother offered him $50,000, a house and a record contract if he would agree to testify that he appeared on the tape, but that he turned the offer down because he did not want to lie.

“I got a call about a year and a half ago,” Carey claims on the DVD, produced by Drahma Magazine. “My brother wanted me to do some s–t pertaining to this case that would leave me behind bars with a record deal. It doesn’t make sense, so I turned it down.

“Since I couldn’t lie for him in a court of law, we’re back to beefing again, and we ain’t brothers no more.”

The rumor that R. Kelly planned to finger his look-alike brother as the star of the sex tape first circulated several years back, but the R&B star’s lawyers denied that the ploy was part of their defense strategy.

Carey Kelly also claims that his brother beats his wife, Andrea; tried to molest their other brother’s daughter; molested their 12-year-old second cousin; and–oh yeah–that he’s bisexual.

“He trapped in the closet for real,” Carey Kelly said in a radio interview with New York’s Hot 97.

A spokesperson for R. Kelly declined to comment on the allegations, beyond calling them “ridiculous.”

“This is not the first time Carey has made ridiculous accusations against his brother,” the spokesperson told MTV News. “We’re not going to dignify them with a comment.”

Though Carey Kelly claims all of his allegations can be proven, his own credibility isn’t the strongest, seeing as he was recently released from prison on theft charges. He also openly holds a grudge against his brother, whom he claims owes him royalties for his contributions to several tracks on the 1993 album 12 Play.

For his part, R. Kelly has pleaded innocent to the charges against him.

His case continues in a Chicago courtroom on Apr. 7.

Posted in Society, Tell Me When To Go | No Comments »

Niggaz and White Girlz

Thursday, March 23rd, 2006

Kirb and ChrisStop, before you all jump on me. This is a review of the new Mixtape by Bay Area underground Hip Hoppers, Kirby Dominant and Chris Sinister, aptly titled, “Niggaz and White Girlz.” This is easliy the most ambitious album out this year. They blend a mix of 80’s New Wave, Rock, Pop, and pure Hip Hop to take a look into the taboo subject of Black Men dating White Women. It is highly entertaining and almost reads like a lecture on the subject. Kirby told me they were just trying to be funny and do something different, but they struck a key nerve here with this album.

I know a number of sistas sitting around waiting for this mythical SuperBrother to come flying thru the air with his cape on, open doors, pay the rent, cook dinner and generally be enamored in that Babyface “Whip Appeal” type of way “as soon as we get home from work.” Well, why they’re sitting there, legs crossed and lonely, there is a brother trying something new with a White girl who “justs wants to have fun!”

Kirb and Chris analyze this phenomenom like two tenured professors. Musically it features classic beats from The Cure, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, The Family, Gary Numan, U2, and many more. Filled with many introspective skits and appearances by Z Man, Murs, Micah 9, and Andre Nickatina, they hit the mark here. Check their album out and join in the discussion.

Posted in Hip Hop, Mixtapes, Music Reviews | No Comments »

Flashback Album: X Clan, To The East Blackwards

Thursday, March 23rd, 2006

X ClanLet’s take a trip back in time to 1990. I was a senior in high school, with a high-top fade, a couple of African medallions, and a stopwatch. Yeah, we wore stopwatches in Oakland to put our Town Styles on Flava’s clock. Come to think of it, that dance he did in Eric B. and Rakim’s “I Ain’t No Joke” video was very hyphyish. Well during this period of pro-Black, Public Enemy inspired Hip Hop, a stellar crew emerged, X Clan.

While writing this, I am playing their album “To The East Blackwards” for the second time in a row. I pulled this album out the archives because Professor X was on my mind due to his recent passing. This album takes me back to many fond memories and astounds me that I can play it straight through and every song is a bonafide jam. No filler here. If Chuck D is the Hard Rhymer and Flava, the Joker, then Brother J is the Knowledgeable Rhymer and Professor X is the Ghetto Philosopher. Brother J spits some of the hardest rhymes EVER on many of the greatest Hip Hop samples of all-time to blend a mad fusion of knowledge, trunk rumbling tunes, dance ability and pure Hip Hop. Professor X’s constant refrains of “Vainglorious” and “This is protected by the Red, Black, and Green, Siissssy” were catch phrases of the day. This is easily one of the Top 10 Hip Hop albums ever and should be required listening of any self-respecting Hip Hopper that exists. Some of you might even like it a little more than Nelly. :~)

Sadly, due to all of the samples on their first album and the change in sampling policy, making it more difficult going forward, they were never able to recapture the magic of their initial release. They released other projects and remained active. But none were as good as their first output. Ironically, it was Professor X’s, not very good, solo album that made me decide to always listen to an album first before buying it just on name recognition. Sugar Shaft the DJ passed away back in 1995. In the words of Professor X:

“MALCOLM, MARTIN, HUEY, THERE’S A PARTY AT THE CROSSROAD!”

Posted in Albums, Hip Hop, Music Reviews | No Comments »

See You at the Crossroad Professor X

Saturday, March 18th, 2006

Repost From AllHipHip.com

Professor X of X-Clan Dies
By Houston Williams
Date: 3/17/2006 7:15 pm

Professor X of X-Clan has died in a New York-area hospital after a bout with meningitis, sources close to the situation told AllHipHop.com.

As a member of X-Clan, Professor X gained notoriety for his catch phrases “Vainglorious” and dissed fools by calling them “sissies.”

Additionally, Professor X, whose real name was Lumumba Carson, was the son of the late Civil Rights pioneer Sonny Carson, who produced The Education of Sonny Carson.

He also founded the grassroots organization BlackWatch.

Meningitis is a byproduct of bacterial or viral infections that overcome the body’s natural immune system.

The aggressive entities can be transmitted from other people through sneezing, coughing, kissing, infected blood, or contaminated water or food.

In August 2004, Professor X, auctioned off his time on eBay for a night on the town in New York City.

X-Clan released a pair of critically acclaimed albums, To the East, Blackwards (1990) and Xodus (1992), but soon after the Brooklyn-based collective disbanded.

In December 2005, X-Clan announced a comeback, but it was unclear if Professor X was party to the reunion. In 1995, X-Clan group member Sugar Shaft died from complications related to the AIDS virus.

Funeral arrangements haven’t been announced.

Posted in Hip Hop, Society | 2 Comments »

So Many Styles 3/15/06 Chart

Wednesday, March 15th, 2006

So Many Styles

View the complete So Many Styles Top 40 Chart

THE TOP 20

1. Tell Me When To Go – E-40 / Keek Da Sneak – Sick Wid It
2. Hell Yeah – San Quinn / E-A-Ski / Allen Anthony – Done Deal
3. Blow The Whistle – Too Short – Jive
4. Touch It Remix – Busta Rhymes and Everbody Else – Interscope
5. Gotta Get It – Balance – Ayinde
6. Lean Wit, Rock Wit It – Dem Frachize Boyz – So So Def
7. Grillz – Nelly / Paul Wall / Ali / Gipp – Universal
8. Ms. New Booty – Bubba Sparxx / Ying Yang Twins – Virgin
9. Stupid Dumb Hyphy – Scweez / Mistah F.A.B. – Stack Up Entertainment
10. Yo (Excuse Me Miss) – Chris Brown – Jive
11. Move Around – B.G. / Mannie Fresh – Chopper City
12. Wanna Love You Girl – Robin Thicke / Pharrel – Star Trak
13. Out The Ghetto – Baby / Choppa – Cash Money
14. Camera Phone – Da Muzicianz – TVT Records
15. Go Dumb – J. Valentine / Bailey – City Boyz Music
16. Super Sic Wit It – Mistah F.A.B. / E-40 / Turf Talk – Thizz Entertainment
17. Pump It – Black Eyed Peas – A&M
18. S.O.S. – Rhianna – Def Jam
19. Be Without You – Mary J. Blige – Geffen
20. Get Ya Grown Man On – Hood Starz – Paradise Recordings

Posted in Music Charts | No Comments »

Top 10 Things You Shouldn’t Say To a DJ

Tuesday, March 14th, 2006

This is something that I found circulating around Myspace and it hit the nail on the head for me. Enjoy.

Furious Styles

ATTENTION DJs: REPOST

Before requesting songs, making comments, or asking questions to the DJ please…CHECK BELOW FOR YOUR REQUEST:

1. PLAY SOMETHING GOOD…SOMETHING WE CAN DANCE TO!
The D.J. has to play for more than one person…so, what you may hate may be another’s favorite song and EVERYTHING played here can be danced to one way or another.

2. WOULD YOU PLAY SOMETHING WITH A BEAT?
BE SERIOUS! We know of NO songs played in a club that don’t have some sort of a beat!

3. I DON’T KNOW WHO SINGS IT AND I DON’T KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG, BUT IT GOES LIKE THIS…
Please don’t sing for the D.J.! They have to put up with smoke-filled rooms and dangerous decibel levels all night. Do them a favor and DON’T give them a rendition of your favorite song!

4. EVERYBODY WANTS TO HEAR IT!
Oh sure, you polled EVERYONE in the club and, as their spokesperson, you are requesting the song.

5. I CAN GET LAID IF YOU PLAY IT!
If you are GOOD ENOUGH, you can get laid to anything!! (also been known as “buy the album and get laid for a month!”). If you need ME to play you a song so that YOU can get laid, you’ve got problems. Besides, point your girl out to the DJ and I will play it for her after you get wasted and pass out. ;)

6. I WANT TO HEAR IT NEXT!
The only people who can get away with that statement write the DJ’s paycheck! Plus more often than not, the DJ has the next song already cued up and ready to go, and does not have time to find your song, get it on the decks, and get it cued up in time to be next.

7. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANNA HEAR…WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
It’s a lot easier for you to go have another beer and figure out what you want to hear than it is for the D.J. to recite the name of EVERY record in the booth! Also don’t ask for a songlist! I don’t know of any club DJ’s that actually keep a printed list with them! We keep it in our heads or sometimes in a database!

8. HEY YO, NOBODY CAN DANCE TO THIS!
It is not advisable to say this when the dance floor is packed (but, some people do anyway)! However, even if there is only ONE person on the floor, it STILL contradicts the statement. You’re just being rude. Have an open mind about music

9. EVERYBODY WILL DANCE TO IT IF YOU PLAY IT!
Half the time I hear this, no-one goes to the dancefloor except for the person that asked for it, and when they realize they’re the only one that wanted to dance to it, they bail. If you ask the DJ for a dance song and don’t dance to it, expect the DJ to ignore your requests the rest of the night. However, if we play your song and you dance and have a good time, even if no-one else does, we’ll still take your next request seriously. We like to please, even if it’s one person at a time.

10. MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!! If you’re at a club or event that doesn’t play any Hiphop, don’t ask if “you got any hiphop”? Just go outside to your car and turn on the radio or go home and watch MTV!!

(more…)

Posted in DJing | 6 Comments »

What’s on the mind of Furious Styles?

Monday, March 13th, 2006

There has been so much news over the past few weeks that I have barely had time to keep up with it. I just want to take a moment here to point out a few things that I think are notable.

First I would like to congratulate my black brother, Shani Davis, on becoming the FIRST African American to take home the gold in an individual sport at the Winter Olympics. Shani seemed to stir up some controversy, as many of our black athletes do, by not wanting to participate in the team race he was invited on shortly before. As the only black person, I’m sure Mr. Davis has experienced many hurdles and stumbling blocks in his way and as many African Americans know, at the end of the day we’re all just there to get our gold and you can save all your team rah-rah for later.

The next thing I wanted to comment on was the permanent Hip Hop exhibit that was just opened in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Hip Hop went big-time making it into America’s archive. I went to the Smithsonian during a school field trip to Washington D.C. with Close-Up back when I was in high school. The Museum is vast and covers a lot of American History in what I thought at the time was an unbiased manner. Hip Hop’s story started in the Bronx and is now worldwide and it’s a culture that I have been in since the beginning and grew with it. It’s good to see Hip Hop maturing and getting its props. But it leaves me to wonder if Hip Hop has become old news, an artifact, an exhibit like the Wright Bros. airplane and old sharecropper’s tools I saw on display when I visited the Smithsonian.

And finally I want to pay my respects to Kirby Puckett and Gordon Parks who both passed recently. (more…)

Posted in Society | No Comments »

So Many Styles Pick 2 Click

Monday, March 13th, 2006

Too Short – Blow The Whistle – Jive

Too ShortI was in Jr. High School in 1986 when I first heard Too Short‚s “Girl, That’s Your Life” slamming in the trunk of every tricked out Mustang 5.0 that drove by, as I walked back and forth to school everday. One of his early albums was titled, “Don’t Stop Rappin’” and 20 years later he looks he has taken that to heart.

Too Short and Lil Jon have a great chemistry as they team up to further this Hyphy Movement. Truth be told, Lil Jon’s crunk beats have had the Yay Area going Hyphy since “B.I., B.I.” but now Lil Jon is teaming with the Bay’s best, like Too Short and E-40 to keep kids out here shaking their dreads. This song is a surefire No. 1 out here in the Bay and should be felt throughout the rest of the country.

Posted in Music Reviews, Singles | No Comments »

Singles Spotlight

Monday, March 13th, 2006

Da Backwudz – I Don’t Like The Look Of It – Rowdy

These dirty south cats are ill flipping the Oompa Loompas from Willie Wonka singing “I Don’t Like The Look Of It.” The beat is real tight, reminiscent of how Ludacris flipped that Quincy Jones/ Austin Powers beat. This track should have people bouncing all over.

Pussycat Dolls / Will.I.Am – Beep – A&M

This song is not that surprising. The artists who brought us 2 of hottest dance jams last year, “Don’t Cha” and “My Humps” team up to bring us this song. It’s catchy and should keep people dancing into the Spring.

Heather Park – The Life – Stush Music

Heather Park is a lady who’s out make her name in the crowded female R&B scene. I prefer the Ron Browz remix on this single which samples the “Busta, What It Is Right Now” drums. She deals with a little mature here than the average Ciara, Keyshia Cole jams out right now. With the Busta beat it can work in the clubs.

Topkat – Got Lyrics / Here To Stay
The hills of Vallejo are still spring new MC’s. This time it’s an MC named Topkat taking up the mantle for the V.J.O. “Here To Stay” is a really good song with an oldschool, soulful flavor with a brother crooning the hook about the Bay is “Here To Stay!” On “Got Lyrics?” he became a bit ambitious in his quest for MC supremacy.

Mike Watts / Paul Wall / Jiz Nickelz – Grind Winters Out – Watts Records

Sometimes when I hear “Crack Music” that glorifies dope dealers, grinding, and trapping, I really like it. Such is the case here. This song is a manifesto for those on the grind on how to “play the summer away and grind the winters out.” The beat is a midtempo, mesmerizing concoction. I like this song and think we might be hearing more from Mike Watts.

Black Eyed Peas – Pump It – A&M

The Peas deliver a fast-paced frenzied dance jam on this single. It features a really dope horn with a nonstop drum track. This song has been featured in commercials already so it should be familiar to everyone. This song should do well with Black Eyed Peas core fans.

(more…)

Posted in Music Reviews, Singles | No Comments »

KRS One Teaches Stanford What Keep it Real Hip Hop Is

Tuesday, March 7th, 2006

“KRS One is just the 1 to lead a crew right up to your face and diss you!”

The TeachaKRS-OneBusy B, DJ Styles, KRS One, Joseph

I had never seen KRS One, The Teacha, live in person, performing or speaking ever. I was looking forward to seeing him on a roundtable discussion, Know-The-Ledge: Hiphop Scholarship Meets Hiphop Media which took place Saturday, March 4th, 2006 at Stanford University. KRS was featured on an afternoon panel titled “I am Hiphop,” a reference to the bold pronouncement he made about himself over a decade ago. I was troubled when he first made that statement because as a Left Coaster he was making me feel excluded. I have since worked through that issue and decided that “I am Hip Hop” even though I’ve never set foot down in the Boogie Down Bronx. I have lived Hip Hop’s story and all who have lived it are Hip Hop. I always envision a setting like the end of Spike Lee’s biopic, “X” where all the kids stand up and exclaim “I am Malcolm X” instead they will be shouting “I am Hip Hop” in my scene.

KRS One commanded the building when he stood up, with his statuesque, big body frame. He grasped the mic and affirmed that he IS “still” Hip Hop, he is the Leader of Hip Hop, at some point he seemed to state that Hip Hop started in the Bronx, a duly noted fact, and that if you weren’t there, you are not Hip Hop. He offended those that weren’t from the Bronx and made the Bronx natives staunchly defend themselves. He then waffled on whether those who go to college were Hip Hop or not. I know I was listening to BDP’s “You Must Learn” in high school as I prepared for college. He was joined by Busy B, an oldschool Hiphopper who had a great battle over 20 years ago. Together they sounded like George Gervin and Bernard King complaining that they didn’t get their shine on like Kobe and T-Mac do today. Different times, eras, and places, get over it. LIFE AIN’T FAIR!

But the Blastmaster saved his best barbs for Adisa Banjoko, The Bishop of Hip Hop. The two men seem to have had a personal disagreement or misunderstanding and KRS decided to air it right there, in public, at Stanford University. He called Adisa a FBI agent, spy, an enemy of Hip Hop, agent provecutor, terrosist, and threatened to jump across the table and kick his ass. In true male bravado and Hip Hop fashion, Adisa, an avid Martial Artist implored Mr. Stop The Violence to “Bring it on!” That’s keep it real Hip Hop right there. (more…)

Posted in Hip Hop, Tell Me When To Go | 1 Comment »

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