The Last One!!

Wow....it's the last blog.

Or the last one required for MED 381.

I wasn't sure how I felt about doing this blog at first; I wasn't sure what I would consistently find to write about that would be interesting.

I've really enjoyed it though. Some weeks it was harder than others to find a topic, but I started learning to look at sites like Rolling Stone, BET, or other music sites. I loved coming up with ideas to make these blogs interesting.

I might keep this blog up actually. It really depends on how busy I am, but I enjoy having something to write about and it gives me an excuse to look up music news. I guess excuse isn't the best word, more like an  incentive to keep updated with the entertainment world.

This is going to be a short and sweet blog post. I just wanted to wrap this blog up in case I do not continue writing it.

I hope you've enjoyed it!

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent” 

- Victor Hugo     

"Live for today. Plan for tomorrow. Party tonight."

Those words were tweeted by rapper/singer Drake on Nov. 6.

The problem with this phrase is the emphasis which so many entertainers place on the first and last part. A good example would be Drake's mentor - Lil Wayne - who was just recently released on Nov. 4 from his eight-month sentence at Riker's Island.

The article "Lil Wayne is Out of Prison. Now What?" had some interesting paths that Lil Wayne could take now that he is out of jail.

The positive paths that previous rappers have went down as they continue their path through hip hop have been turning into producers or actors and creating a name for themself outside of a performer. Jay Z, Diddy, and Ice Cube are all well-known for expanding their careers beyond the stage.

But, there are also rappers who have found a more tragic path, like 2Pac Shakur, who was breaking into film, but after being in prison, was plagued by unsavory characters and tragically ended up dying at a young age. T.I., arrested in 2007 for gun possession, was convicted and sentenced to jail. His life looked promising up to that point - he had been in the film "ATL" and had numerous albums out. He was even using his conviction in a positive manner by having a show on MTV where he helped kids learn about mistakes. However, just recently, he violated his probation by possessing narcotics.

Entertainers can take so many paths, good or bad, and the world will watch and judge regardless. But maybe if entertainers want to be known for being the best in hip hop, they should emphasize the middle part of Drake's tweet, "Plan for tomorrow," before they end up ruining their own lives.

Can Women Truly Break into Rap Without Using their Sexuality?

That's the question that popped into my mind when I started reading the editorial posted on AllHipHop.com entitled "Jasmine Mans Explains 'The Mis-Education of a Barbie Doll.'"


Jasmine Mans is a spoken word poet who released a poem entitled "Nicki Minaj" or referred to as "The Mis-Education of a Barbie Doll" - referring to Nicki Minaj's habit of calling herself Barbie. She targets Nicki Minaj in her poem and editorial, she says, "because I am a long time fan and follower of her work. I recognize and applaud her lyrical abilities and the affect she has on women older and younger than myself. If we, as an audience, do not hold up a mirror to our artists, then who will?"


Nicki Minaj has been one of the breakout artists of the year, winning such awards as the BET New Artist of 2010 and the Best Female Hip Hop Artist. She is also the first female artist to top the Rap Songs chart unaccompanied since 2002.


It is not hard to see where Jasmine Mans is going with her criticism of Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj is a role model for many young girls and Jasmine Mans is recognizing this fact. She says in her editorial that she wants Nicki Minaj to provide a less shallow basis for her lyrics. She also questions Nicki Minaj's use of calling herself "Barbie," saying, "How can we expect our male rappers to pay homage and respect to women when the voice that is representing us is tainted with sexual innuendos and “child’s play?”


While I agree that Nicki Minaj should have a less shallow base to her lyrics, I do not have an objection to her using Barbie as a nickname for herself. To me, Barbies can be looked at as more than an anti-feminist  plaything, based solely on looks and sex appeal. When I was a kid, the Barbie dolls of my play were pretty - yes - but they were also highly successful because of what they did. I think it is perfectly okay for Nicki Minaj to use the idea that, like Barbie, a woman can be beautiful and sexually appealing and also carry weight in her skills and personality beyond that.


As for Nicki Minaj's lyrics, I do agree that some are much too shallow. So far, Nicki Minaj has only released mixtapes, or been featured in songs with other artists or the Young Money family. Her debut album, Pink Friday, will not be released until November 22, 2010. I'm looking forward to listening to it and seeing if she has matured in her lyrics.


Nicki Minaj's past lyrics have sometimes bordered on the vulgarity that Lil Kim was famous for, using such lines as:


Maybe It's Time To Put This P**** On Ya Sideburns,
He Say I’m Bad, He Problly Right,
He Pressing Me Like Button Downs On A Friday Night
 -From "Bedrock," a Young Money song


As seen by those lyrics, she could be more into empowering women as opposed to speaking merely about sex.


Here's a link to Nicki Minaj's first single - Your Love.  And I hope you read the poem linked at the top (it's included at the end of the article). I found the flow to be quite beautiful and I appreciate where Jasmine Mans is going with her proclaimed dare to Nicki Minaj:


"I dare Nicki Minaj to be a PHENOMENAL WOMAN and not a phenomenal 'Barbie.'"
-Jasmine Mans

Tim Burton!!

Halloween movies. Creepy movies. Ridiculously creative and off-the-wall movies.

Those all describe how I feel about Tim Burton and the movies he creates. Ok, so Halloween is not an accurate word to describe all of his movies...Alice in Wonderland for example.

Tim Burton's productions are beyond normal description. His movies often have almost a form of irony to them. It's almost as if you think they are going to be terrifying but then they are not. Creepy, yes. Scary, no. For example, I thought Sleepy Hollow was going to be decently scary, but then I watched it and Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane was ridiculous. His acting was wonderful and I loved the portrayal of Ichabod Crane as somewhat a sissy, but it was not what I was originally expecting.

Speaking of Johnny Depp in a Tim Burton production, they have worked together a large amount of times. Here's a list of their collaborations:

• Edward Scissorhands
• Ed Wood
• Sleepy Hollow
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (remake)
• Corpse Bride (I'm watching this on Family Channel right now!)
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Alice in Wonderland

Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Burton's wife since 2001, also appears in a lot of his movies, including:

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (remake)
• Corpse Bride
• Big Fish
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I found a website of Tim Burton poems with illustrations. They're quite funny. Here's the link! HERE

Also, here's one of the poems that really made me laugh.

The Boy With Nails in His Eyes

The Boy with Nails in his Eyes
put up his aluminium tree.
It looked pretty strange
because he couldn't really see






Sorry this blog is all over the place today. I was just watching Corpse Bride and I really wanted to talk about the fact that Tim Burton is basically a genius....or at least I think so.

Have a great Halloween! Watch a Tim Burton movie!

Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne is a fabulous artist. He was recently voted the second greatest rapper for the 2000-2010 years - second only to Eminem. He has released seven studio albums, twenty-three singles, and twelve mixtapes. It's not hard to debate that he is a hard-working individual.

Beyond his own music releases, he often collaborates with many different artists. A few include:

• Weezer
• Birdman
• Jay Sean
• Amerie

And quite a few more. Quite, quite a few more.

I like a lot of different things about Lil Wayne, but there are three things that make me respect him the most.

1. His work ethic
• As stated above, Lil Wayne seems to always be in the studio. Besides his own multiple releases, he also is the head of Young Money Entertainment, which includes such artists as Drake, Nikki Minaj, Tyga, Shanell, and a few more.
2. His lyricism
• The raps he comes up with have ridiculous rhymes I could never even imagine coming up with. Besides that, they just have a certain poet feel to them. Here's an example from "Runnin'" from his album Rebirth.
• "But if I fall, I fall up and let the clouds hug me.
• And if I fall down, I bet I hit the ground runnin'
• Bet you searched and found nothin', lookin' for the finish line
• Stop short cuttin', you're f***in' up your finish time
• Here's a link to the video if you want to listen to the whole song - Runnin'
3. His dedication to his fans
• Lil Wayne is currently in jail for having a loaded gun in his possession. Despite the fact that he's in jail he answers his fan mail and continues to thank them for his support. 
• He writes overall letters to his fans when possible, which are published on the website Weezythanxyou.com.
• I was reading the letters and I noticed that at the end of a lot of his letters, he went through and personally thanked people by name for sending him letters.

I hope you take the time to consider listening to a Lil Wayne song or if you already like him, yay!!

BET Hip Hop Awards

At 7 p.m. this evening the BET (Black Entertainment Television) Hip Hop Awards, hosted by Mike Epps, will air on channel 78 (if you have Mediacom Cable, that is).

Bah! I'm excited. I love hip hop and I think that awards shows are always exciting to watch.



Tonight Salt-N-Pepa will be honored.
This dynamic duo debuted in 1985 with their record "Showstopper." In 1987, they received a Grammy for their song "Push It," which is my personal favorite. That song never fails to have me jump to my feet and start dancing like a maniac.



Something interesting about the awards is that there is a "Best Hip Hop Blog Site" category. The nominees (links included) are as follows:

• AllHipHop.com
• Nahright.com
• Rapradar.com
• Thisis50.com
• Worldstarhiphop.com

All the categories for awards and the nominees for this evening's show can be found HERE.

The performers for the evening include:

B.o.B. 

Yelawolf and Big Boi

Digital Underground

Waka Flocka Flame

Rick Ross

Antoine Dodson

Soulja Boy

J Cole

Gucci Mane

MC Hammer

Cali Swag District

Now, the website does not list him, but my Trey Songz Facebook fan page says that Trey Songz will be performing tonight....so.....I am definitely going to watch and see if he does!

DeStorm Power - A YouTube Musical Genius

DeStorm Power is my favorite Youtuber.

I don't even know if that's the correct term or even a word, but it should be if only to describe this fabulous man.

I stumbled across him while I was searching for new YouTube videos to watch and automatically fell in love with his videos.

What DeStorm Power does is take challenges from comments on his posted YouTube videos and his Facebook page (probably other places as well) and makes songs.

For example, one of my favorite videos is called 20 Voices and it consists of him making a video using 20 different versions of his own voice. It is absolutely amazing. You should watch it by clicking HERE.


Your life just might be changed. I know mine was. Now I spend endless amounts of time during which I should be doing homework watching his YouTube videos instead. Whoops.

So watch that video! And please leave a link for your favorite YouTube video!