Happy Birthday Mr. President.

Amber Rose's spread from her YRB Magazine shoot...

"Tell Me About It.....STUD."

I don't know what it is, but I'm OBSESSED with studs. I bought my first studded belt in 7th grade at PacSun, and ever since then, I've been obsessed with all things studded. So here's a little tribute to some of the studded things that I love.

Really Joseph???

Joe 'Gangsta' Jackson is at it again! On Sunday, Joseph was featured in a video, blaming Katherine Jackson for their late-son, Michael's death. SHAKING. MY. HEAD. God bless Janet, Katherine, Paris, Prince, and Blanket, but the whole Jackson family is ONE HOT MESS. I think I may have to make a special feature dedicated to the Jackson family alone, because they just get more bizzare by the day...

My Two Cents: Kanye's "Power", and the Nicki Minaj and Lil' Kim "Beef".

Happy June 8th everybody! I know it's been a long time since my last post, but with school coming to a close, (last day is tomorrow!!), I've been really tied up with work; you have my apologies. But more importantly, let's get into today's topics. First: Kanye West's new jam, "Power".

                                                                                                                                                                           I don't know about you guys, but I was BEYOND psyched when I first heard "Power" about a week ago! It was really the first thing that ANY ONE'S heard from the "Kanye Camp" for some time, and in true Yeezy fashion, "Martin Louie the King Jr." did not disappoint. With a sample from King Crimson, Ye flows over the beat with such attitude and swag that is very familiar to Kanye fans and critics alike. Only time will tell how great his album will be, and until then, Kanye fans have something to bump to until the full product is unveiled.                                                                                                                                                                                             Now for the topic of conversation on every blog/twitter/entertainment news page: The Nicki Minaj and Lil' Kim "beef". Now, I hesitate to call it a beef for one reason: It's one-sided. While Kim has been showing animosity and ultimately, jealousy, Nicki has been the bigger person through this whole ordeal, avoiding the nonsense that Kim seems determined to keep going. KUDOS to you Nicki Minaj! I'm glad that you don't have to resort to calling people out in order to get publicity like SOME people. And Kim, don't think that I'm done with you! You should be VERY ashamed of yourself! When a new MC female comes into the game, it's your responsibility, as one of the BIGGEST female MC's to EVER do it, to herald them into the game, not fire cheap shots out of jealousy. And maybe you could also do a reality check and hand her the baton,  because it's QUITE clear that your career is VERY close to being over.                                                                                                                                                         *I apologize for the weird way that it broke up the paragraphs/sentences.*

The Justin Beiber Nomination, and My Problem with BET.

OK, here's my question: "WHY ARE BLACK PEOPLE SO UP IN ARMS ABOUT JUSTIN BEIBER'S BET NOMINATION?". While I'll admit that I was a little shocked to hear that he was nominated, I'm certainly not going to gather my pitchfork and call an angry mob over it. I think that by getting so upset about the whole situation black people are only making themselves look VERY RACIST. Real talk. Now, I do understand where SOME people are coming from; maybe BET could've used JB's spot to promote another black artist who needs the exposure, but I don't think that BET should become so exclusive that we neglect to recognize ALL of the artists with talent, in respects to each award category. If it gets to that point, then white people will soon be complaining about BET in the same way that we complained about MTV when they refused to play black videos. Make sense? Good. But there is one more thing that I'd like to talk about in regards to BET. A lot of people credit BET with promoting black artists who don't get a lot of mainstream exposure. 100% true. But what about our "Rihanna's", "Lupe Fiasco's", "Janelle Monae's", and "B.o.B's" who can BARELY get spots on shows like 106 & Park because their music doesn't fit in with the rest of the music on the channel? I think THAT'S a REAL problem that should upset people. BET mainly caters to the hip-hop and rap culture these days, and I think that's very sad since black music is MUCH MORE than that. Maybe we should be focusing our energy into making sure that ALL of OUR artists get recognition on OUR channel instead of criticizing others (like Beiber) who are able to cross over into our (occasionally hostile) waters.

Can Someone Tell Me What's With All the Gaga Comparisons??

As some of you may know, Christina Aguilera's music video for "Not Myself Tonight" premiered on April 30. I've seen the music video, but for purposes of time I'll keep my opinions to myself. But what I WON'T keep to myself about are the countless comparisons that people have drawn up between Aguilera's video and Lady Gaga's videos, mainly "Bad Romance". To be nice and keep it simple at the same time, I'll say this: "ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS??!". How come people compare EVERYTHING that's different and "out-there" to Lady Gaga these days?! It's as if people think that Lady Gaga invented being different or eccentric in the music business. Really?! People like Boy George, Grace Jones, and Madonna (all of whom have had Gaga compared to them) have been "doing" different things for YEARS before Gaga was even a thought in her own mind. And the most ridiculous thing about this whole situation is that Christina Aguilera's been rocking the electric blonde hair and making a unique image for herself WAY before Lady Gaga. So why are we not comparing Gaga to Aguilera?? But hold on and let me backtrack. Gaga surely didn't create individuality, but she definitely did help bring about a new "wave" of creativity in music, and I can't fault her for that. But when there are only two shots that the two music videos seem to share, (both stars wore Carrera Aviators, and Aguilera did seem to be wearing a Bad Romance-esque "jewelry bikini" type thing that looked similar to an outfit I saw in Bad Romance) there is no justification in websites saying that Christina "copied" Gaga. Let's get real people. 

"I'm Beamin"....The Steppin Lasers Tour

So on last Friday night, (April 16th, 2010) I was listening to my radio in my room, when I heard it. Lupe Fiasco. UNC Charlotte. April 23, 2010. Of course I was ecstatic. A concert on my birthday?! And a Lupe Fiasco concert at that?! Immediately I began getting plans together with two of my good friends who I knew are Lupe fans. And on Tuesday afternoon, I had the tickets printed out. So from then on, I tried to go about my week as calmly as possible until Friday came, (which was a HARD thing to do). Finally Friday morning came with hundreds of "Happy Birthday" Facebook messages and all that good stuff, but all I could think about was the concert that night. So somehow I ended up making it through the day in a calm manner, and me and my friends arrived on the (beautiful) UNC Charlotte campus at around 7:00 pm, and I immediately ran into the arena section to catch a glimpse of the stage (pictured above), and at that point it hit me. I was really about to see Lupe in about an hour. So 8:00pm met me sitting anxiously in my seat waiting for the concert to begin with B.o.B, who would be the opening act for the night. Eventually the lights dimmed and "Airplanes" filled the stadium....Now, let me sidetrack for a minute. I know that the mainstream radio is just now getting used to the sounds of B.o.B, but I was fortunate to have a friend introduce me to his music a while ago, and at first I didn't really appreciate him. But experiencing B.o.B live was a totally different story. The way he owned the stage with his hybrid rap-pop-country was amazing, and was essentially all that I needed to decide upon buying the album when it comes out on Tuesday. So after about an hour, B.o.B wrapped up his set, and it was time for Lupe to come on. When the lights dimmed for a second time, the crowd went wild. Then the stadium was filled with the sound of an electric guitar playing the beginning of "Shining Down", and in a matter of seconds, Lupe was on the stage, and the show had begun. If I wrote about the whole show we'd be here all night, so here's my quick "summary"....Lupe is an AMAZING performer. The booming drums and roaring guitars mixed with Lupe's rock-esque energy made one feel like they were at a rock concert. My favorite song of the night was probably "Hip-Hop Saved My Life", a song that made the stadium go nuts with excitement, and set the tone for the rest of the night. All in all, the show was AMAZING, and only made me more anxious for the release of Lasers..........So, if you have the opportunity to catch Lupe and B.o.B on the Steppin Lasers Tour, I BEG you to go see it. Sorry for not being as thorough as possible, but I just wanted to give you guys a quick preview of the show. So as always, Kato mate.