*Crickets*

It's been a bit quiet here lately, but don't worry. Cheer up. We ain't going nowhere.

Now Introducing, Gnarls Barkley

If you haven't caught the buzz yet, DJ Danger Mouse, the guru behind The Grey Album and its subsequent craze some months back, and the soul machine himself, Cee-Lo Green, have collaborated on a new album under the name Gnarls Barkley. Please, do yourselves a favor a peep their song "Crazy", hosted by the nice folks at Spine Magazine. It is one of the hottest things I've heard in a long time.

Also, be sure to check out Dangerdoom, Danger Mouse's collabo with London-born emcee MF Doom.

And just an FYI, Berman gave me the heads up on this, so even though he isn't posting, Zoothonia is still graced with his presence.

Shock and Awe

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Talib Kweli's new album, Right About Now, would be coming out on November 22nd. That was a strange bit of news, considering that there had been no discussion or buzz about a new album whatsoever. However, if you haven't caught on to the internet revolution quite yet, good luck finding the album, because only 70,000 copies are being sold. Read more at Okayplayer.

New Outkast to Drop Dec. 6th

From SOHH:

The album will serve as the soundtrack to the duo's My Life In Idlewild movie and the first single is dubbed "Idlewild Blues." The film is slated to hit theaters in January 2006. The movie is set in the 1930s, and according to Big Boi, the film's period influenced the soundtrack's music.

I guess that means 10 the Hard Way isn't going to drop.

Maybe this could be hip-hop's Purple Rain?


*cough* Glitter *cough*

Or not.

Reason #6

I think I jinxed myself with yesterday's post about my past iPod problems, because I broke my iPod today. Yes, today, as in October 13th, as in three hours ago. I dropped my iPod on the bathroom floor at the gym (I'm getting bad vibes from that place), and now my iPod no longer plays music. I can browse through the songs but I they won't play. My iPod harddrive goes ballistic then it just skips to the next song; wash, rinse, repeat. Too bad the only Apple Store in Atlanta is on the other side of town. Fun times.

**Update**
After spending 3 hours at the Apple Store today, only to discover there was nothing that they could do with my iPod because my warranty has expired, and that it would cost $150 to get it fixed by a 3rd party, I went ahead and bought a $199 2 GB iPod nano. Hopefully I'll be a bit more careful in the future. Oh, and don't sleep on that Apple warranty stuff, it's key. It really sucks because I didn't want to spend that much money in the first place; I had to back out of going back to Denison for Homecoming because I can't afford the $300 plane ticket. So now I'm looking for a second job. Funner times.

Five Reasons

In light of today's announcement of the video iPod from Apple, I'd like to share with you five reasons why I should not only not buy a video iPod, but why I shouldn't be an iPod owner in the first place. These are in order of chrnological occurance:

1.) Allowing the Environment to Kill My Battery
Last summer, I bought a nifty device that would allow me listen to music from my iPod through my car's radio. I even used it on my way to work in the mornings. But considering I had few places to put my iPod at work, I'd leave it in my car. As you can imagine, it can get pretty hot in Georgia during the summer time, and the temperature inside the car is only magnified. I apparantly fried my battery; the only way I could listen to my iPod was to have it plugged in while I was using it.

2.) Crushing My iPod
So last year at Denison, my roommates decided to throw a party in which our suite (among others) would be included. To take precaution, I locked my door so that drunk underclassmen wouldn't wander and do things they shouldn't be doing. Noticing that my iPod was in my coat pocket, I decided to be lazy and just simply slide it under my door. Well, after the festivities were over, I walked into my room forgetting about my iPod. Crunch. It was face up and stepping on it caused the front plate to be wedged into the metal back casing.

3.) Headphones, pt. 1
I finally got my iPod replaced at an Apple Store in Columbus, getting a refurbished one of the same generation in return. But not before I stepped on my headphones in one of Denison's computer labs. I learned later that you can only purchase Apple earbud headphones with the remote, which costs $40 together.

4.) Headphones, pt. 2
My cousin got himself an iPod, but he hated the headphones, so I was happy to take them off his hands. However, extensive use and tension (I guess) caused this to happen over time. They no longer work, so I'm SOL for Apple headphones once again. You can find another pic of my headphones here.

5.) Dropping It In the Toilet
Yup, you read that right. I dropped my iPod in a toilet. Not just any toilet though. The public toilet at my local gym. Luckily the stall was clean and no waste was in the toilet at the time, but it certainly gave me a scare.

Just thought I'd share, especially as with the new nanos, Shuffles, and the video iPods, I've been thinking about renewing my investment. I'll try to do a write up on the new iTunes 6.0 sometime soon.

Review: Little Brother - "The Minstrel Show"

With their major label debut The Minstrel Show, North Carolina trio Little Brother has advanced their ideological stance while maintaining the tight production and sharp lyricism fans have come to expect.

The album is modeled as a caricature of black networks like UPN and BET. Ironically, BET refused to play the video for LB’s first single, "Lovin' It," because it was deemed “too intelligent for the BET audience.” Although I found the whole TV show theme to be a bit annoying at times (especially some of the skits like "5th and Fashion"), it certainly seems more appropriate when you listen to the album with BET in mind.

Although they are less than 2 ½ minutes each, the opening two tracks are some of the albums best. Their lack of length is made up for the fact that they work together, with “Beautiful Morning” leading into “The Becoming.”

One of the best tracks on the album, "All for You" is highlighted by Phonte's verse where he forgives his father for his absence during his childhood, especially as he is going through many of the same issues himself. At the end of the verse, he says "So pop, how could I blame you 'cause you couldn't maintain/ I did the same thang".

One of the strangest tracks is a song called “Cheatin’” which works as a parody of modern R&B. Strangely , it sounds remarkably like “Piss On You”, a parody of R. Kelly’s “Feelin’ On Your Booty,” (and of his allegations associated with sex tapes).

There aren't many guest appearances on the album, and they are mainly in the form of background singers like YahZarah and Darien Brockington. The only other emcees on the album are Slum Village's Elzhi and fellow Justus League emcee, Joe Scudda.

Minus the skits, you can just pop the album in and listen from beginning to end (I really hate those skits, although "Diary of a Mad Black Daddy" is pretty funny). The album is rock solid, especially with 9th Wonder at the production's helm. This is quinessential head nodding music, and the The Minstrel Show never disappoints in that regard.

I Officially Hate Lil' Kim

Okay, so I finally heard Lil' Kim's single the other day, and I thought to myself, "oh wow that sounds a little familiar." So I thought about it some more and played some of the Damian Marley that I have. And sure enough, Lil' Kim bit off of Marley... hard. I mean, so hard that that shit will still be in her teeth when she gets out of prison. Like, it's bad enough she bit the hook, that's common in a rap song. But she bit the melody, rhythm, chord progression, and even does the song in a fake ass Jamaican accent. I mean, wow. What makes it so bad, is that Marley's album came out less than a month ago. Hhhhhhwwwwwwwhat? It just incenses the mind how far folks will go for a single.

You can see the video yourself here.

If you haven't heard Marley's song, you can check it out here ("Welcome to Jamrock" is the name of the track).

I also think it's pretty funny that she bites Missy Elliot's "Gossip Folks" in that video as well.

That's only part of my new-found disgust for this woman. Apparantly, she has beef with 50 Cent because:

“I can’t front. I don’t have a lot of respect for 50 Cent because his music is hardcore ... violent,” said Lil’ Kim. “And I love his music sometimes, but I feel like in his personal life, his real life, he carries that on, and that’s not a great message, you know what I mean? I think he promotes it.”

Apparantly Lil' Kim isn't familiar with irony, because saying that shit right before you go to prison for perjury because you wanted to lie for your violent-ass friends is pretty damn ironic to me.

And I will say nothing of her new found love of heavy layers of Barbie Doll make-up.

Review: Miri Ben-Ari - "The Hip-Hop Violinist"

We, the black delegation, choose...

Miri Ben-Ari? So it seems, as the Israeli phenom has now cemented her place in the world of hip-hop. Although members of the Jewish faith have been a part of the hip-hop culture since its humble beginnings, most notably the Beastie Boys and producer Rick Rubin, they have done so through traditional channels, whether it be in front of a microphone or behind turntables. And that is what makes Ben-Ari so unique; she doesn't rap or deejay. She doesn't even sing. She plays the violin.

And that's really what The Hip-Hop Violinist boils down to. It's the manifestation of a gimmick into a full length album, but it works.

You've probably recognized Ben-Ari's playing from her appearance on Twista's "Overnight Celebrity". Take that, mix and match several different artists, and you pretty much get the gist of the album. In other words, The Hip-Hop Violinist plays like a mixtape in a way, as the album goes many different directions in terms of style.

The two singles off the album thus far are "We Gonna Win" (featuring Styles P.) and "Sunshine to the Rain" (featuring Scarface and Anthony Hamilton). I'm not too much of a fan of "We Gonna Win", which sounds suspiciously like "Higher" by The Game. On the other hand, "Sunshine to the Rain" is catchy and has that "On My Block" vibe.

"Jump & Spread Out", features Fatman Scoop and a reggae singer named Vicious. It's an interesting enough song, sounding like a combination of reggae and the Middle East (whatever that means). However, it is that song's reggaeton remix, which includes Zion and Lennox, that really shines. Really, it's the same song with a slightly different artist arrangement, but it somehow sounds much improved.

There are a couple of tracks produced by Kanye West. The first West track to appear, "Fly Away", includes Fabolous, Musiq, and West himself. "New World Symphony", which features Pharoahe Monch, is the better of the two. It sounds like vintage College Dropout Kanye, including choir-esque background vocals and, obviously, Ben-Ari's violin (her playing and production actually appears on 90% of The College Dropout). Too bad it was already featured on the Fantasic 4 Official Sountrack, otherwise I would have been more pumped about it.

"I've Been Waiting for You", which features Consequences and John Legend, is a solid track. I'm not a fan of the hook, but Consequences verses work well with the song.

The weakest tracks on the album are those featuring exclusively R&B artists. While "Miss Melody" (featuring Akon) is catchy, I really wasn't feeling "She Was Just a Friend" (featuring Anthony Hamilton and Algebra) and "Hold Your Head Up High" (featuring Lil' Mo).

I absolutely hated the "4 Flat Tires" with Baby, Lil' Wayne, and 6-Shot. I really don't know how to describe this track except it doesn't sound like a Cash Money record. (And my goodness, 6-Shot is bad)

An interesting track is Ben-Ari's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with Doug E. Fresh. While it isn't an instant classic like Marvin Gaye and Whitney Houston live performances of said song, it is certainly worth a listen.

Overall, The Hip-Hop Violinist is a decent album. Although none of the songs are particularly noteworthy, they are at least consistantly slightly above-average. Bruce Leroy is satisfied.



Oh, and on strange note, I dug up this article from over a year and a half ago which claims that Mya was also supposed to appear on the album. Which leads me to this question, what happened to Mya? The last we saw her, she appeared in a shitty horror film. Enquiring minds want to know.

And Then What?

YEEEAAAH. I'm here to help you with your problems... THAT'S RIGHT!

It appears that after he finishes stacking his flows and hiding the rest of his yams at his aunty's house, Young Jeezy will be writing a self-help book which would promote quality education and parenting. I shit you not:

On his hit album Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy boastfully refers to himself as ''Don Trump in a white tee'' as he talks up his drug-dealing past with little remorse. So why is this unapologetic cash-worshipping gangsta rapper shopping around to publishers a proposal for a book to promote quality education and wholesome parenting? ''You can only do so much with music, but with words you can touch somebody — send chills up their spine,'' emotes Jeezy.

Oh the irony. I mean, that's like a reverend joining G-Unit. Oh wait...

A-Town Connection?

This might require y'all to dig through your music collection a little bit, but am I the only that thinks that the Jermain Dupree produced "Shake It Off" remix sounds eerily similar to Ludacris' "P-Poppin'" (it's on the Chicken & Beer album).