Music of Tha Moment

So, I don't really get a lotta time to watch TV these days, so unless I hear somethin new online, seeing as how the radio stations in Chicago don't play new shit, I'm usually late when it comes to the new music. I did however get the opportunity to hear 4 relatively new tracks this week. So, I decided to blog about them.

The first of which is my favorite of the 4 tracks, and the current Song of Tha Moment, the song "I'll be In The Sky" by Decatur, GA musician, B.o.B. If the name B.o.B sounds familiar to you, you may remember it from the late 2007 track "Haterz Everywhere", or maybe from the track "On Top of The World" by T.I., which featured B.o.B on the hook as well as a verse from Ludacris. But trust me, those tracks pale in comparison to B.o.B's musical talents, which have led me to label him as a "musician" as opposed to a rapper. "I'll Be In The Sky" delivers a breath of fresh air to the music game, especially in southern urban music, combining beautiful production, which features a piano track played by B.o.B himself, that draws comparison to the works of OutKast with a beautifully composed hook, and a topic that differentiates from basic rap music of today. Overall, it's a terrific track, but despite being the current Jam of the Week on MTVJams, I don't look for it to climb too high on any chart.

The second new track I've heard this week was the Song of Tha Moment from January 12 until January 15, "Crack a Bottle" by Eminem featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. The track definitely has a few positives going for it, one of which being the fact that Eminem appears to be returning to his old lyrical form which he assumed in the late 90s and the early 2000s. After the whole Murder Inc. beef, a very noticeable decline in Em's lyrics was apparently, but he has appeared to have shaken the dust off. Great production and a solid, Eminem-written verse by Dr. Dre add to the pros of the track. 50 Cent and his lack of lyrical ability is the one huge negative this track has, pun intended. Point blank, 50 is wack as fuck, and as they say, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so his verse unfortunately stops this track from reaching its full potential.

The third track is the Neptunes-produced track by Lil Wayne, "Yes". The best things this track has going for it is it's sick beat, and Pharrell's first verse, which is sadly, only 8 bars (half of a traditional verse). The one negative it has for it: Lil Wayne. I won't be completely biased however; Wayne does return to the flow that gained many fans, as well as elevated him into the status of "Best Rapper Alive", a much needed contrast from the auto-tune based singing he's been doing lately. Average Wayne dick-riders--oops, I mean fans will definitely eat this track up, and hang on to every elementary line that Wayne spits out, but I for one, would've loved to hear fellow Virigina-based artists Clipse, or anybody besides Wayne rip this track.

The fourth and final new track I heard this week is Jamie Foxx's latest single "Blame It", featuring T-Pain, from his new album Intuition. This track has a nice sound to it, thanks to a nice instrumental and a clever hook. The topic of the track however, getting drunk in the club and not being held accountable for your actions, has been sang about many times over, even by Foxx himself on his last album Unpredictable (see the track "Extravaganza"). "Blame It" however, features a more "modern" sound than "Extravaganza" did, which leads listeners like myself to wonder why a 41-year old man is following the formula laid out by other sings, most of which about half his age. Also, Jamie Foxx's beautiful vocals are buried by the dreaded auto-tune effect. Overall however, I think the track will be a transition track in the clubs, meaning it won't instantaneously fill the dance floor like, say "Birthday Sex" by Jeremih would, but it won't empty it either.

So yeah, these are the main songs that caught my ear this week, and if they aren't new to you, then that's too bad. -Trufe

The Final Four

Well, with one stop left before Tampa, FL and Super Bowl XLIII (43), this year's NFL postseason has been unpredictable to say the least. My January 5th post told of the peculiarities of Wild Card Weekend last week, and this weekend's games provided just enough surprises.

Kicking off the weekend was Saturday's AFC showdown between the #1 seeded Tennessee Titans (13-3, best overall season record of 2008) and the self-billed "Team that nobody wants to play", the 6th seeded Baltimore Ravens (11-5 regular season, 1-0 postseason), riding high off of their 27-9 blowout of the feel good story of the year, the 3rd seeded Miami Dolphins (11-5). In a game in which the final score mirrored that of the week 5 meeting between the two teams, the Ravens edged the Titans, 13-10, following placekicker Matt Stover's 43-yard field goal with :57 seconds left in the game. It can be argued however, that Tennessee, like Miami the previous week, defeated themselves with a plethora of turnovers (three for Tennessee, five for Miami), and all of Tennessee's came in Baltimore territory.

Saturday's second game featured the #2 seeded Carolina Panthers (12-4) hosting the 4th seeded Arizona Cardinals (9-7, 1-0). Carolina, much to the pleasure of it's raucous home crowd got off to a fast start, scoring on their first drive led by a 31-yard scamper by running back Deangelo Williams and, capped off by a 9-yard touchdown run by running back Jonathan Stewart. They kept the energy flowing as they forced Arizona to punt on its subsequent first drive. Everything was downhill for the heavily-favored Panthers from that point on. Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme eventually threw 5 interceptions and lost a fumble as the underdog Arizona club jumped out to a 27-7 halftime lead, ending in a 33-13 victory and an NFC Championship berth for the Cardinals, and the beginning of a long offseason for the rejuvenated Panthers. Arizona was led by Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald's 166 receiving yards on 8 receptions and a touchdown in the absence of fellow Pro Bowl wide-receiver Anquan Boldin, sidelined by a hamstring injury.

On to Sunday. The first game featured the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants (#1 seed, 12-4 regular season record) squaring off against NFC East rival, the red-hot 6th seeded Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1 regular season, 1-0 postseason). The Giants too possible defeated themselves, as they were unable to score a touchdown despite traveling into Eagle territory 5 times. All of which resulted in field-goal attempts, 2 of which were unsuccessful. Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning threw 2 interceptions in the 4th quarter, squashing any comeback hopes as the Eagles defeated the Giants, 23-11, advancing to the NFC Championship for the first time since 2005, where the were Super Bowl XXXIX (39) runner up to the New England Patriots.

Sunday's second game proved to be the only one of the weekend, or the entire postseason thus far, to follow the script. I didn't catch all of this game however, but the #2 seeded Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) defeated the 4th seeded, overachieving San Diego Chargers (8-8, 1-0) by a score of 35-24, following a dismal performance by backup running back Darren Sproles, who couldn't keep the fireworks he displayed in last week's defeat of the heavily-touted Indianapolis Colts going for two consecutive weeks. The Bolts' star runner LaDainain Tomlinson did not play.

So there you have it. 4 teams remain in this year's Super Bowl chase, in which the road appears to be in the sky seeing as how 3 of the 4 remaining teams feature a bird as their mascot (Cardinals, Eagles, Ravens). Baltimore rookie quarterback Joe Flacco became the first rookie QB to win 2 playoff games, which may be the final accomplishment needed to win the Rookie of the Year award over fellow quarterback, Atlanta's Matt Ryan. Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb appears to want to end his career in Philadelphia with a bang, as he is in his final year of his contract, and possess little to no desire to re-sign. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner may not have very many years left in his career (he's 37 years old), but he has very much so returned to the form which made him famous during his days in St. Louis, as a part of the "Greatest Show On Turf", and everybody appears to be on Arizona's bandwagon at this point. I'm not sure how many fans the Steelers will have in this final stop before the Super Bowl, seeing as how every one loves the underdog, and the Steelers are the only team yet to fall victim to this year's trend of upsets. But once more, we are gearing up for an exciting Championship round in the NFL Playoffs. -Trufe

Thr33 Skreenz

So, check it out. I had the (dis)pleasure of seeing the video for T-Pain's latest single, "Freeze" featuring Chris Brown this morning. And seeing as how it's the Jam of the Week on MTVJams, you'll be able to catch it every hour on the hour till next Monday.

I ain't even got no fancy way to put this. The video looks just like the videos for "Can't Believe It", and "Chopped N Skrewed". All that's changed is the guest appearance between the 3 (Lil' Wayne, Ludacris, and Chris Brown respectively). The only video in which he's ventured away from the green screen, only to add the same circus effects that are seen in the 3 aforementioned videos, was "Karaoke", which is not even credited as a single from T-Pain's third album, Thr33 Ringz.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not challenging the songs themselves. While "Can't Believe It" and "Freeze" lack depth, they both are catchy tunes guaranteed to get backs off of the walls at parties, and "Chopped N Skrewed" is just a surprisingly great song all around. It takes a popular concept in music (the chopped and screwed effect, which slows music down, while "chopping" the lyrics, made famous by late Texas DJ, DJ Screw) and adds a twist to it; women in the club who are misleading, a scenario I'm sure many men have experienced, all the while covering a great instrumental, and Ludacris' lyrical genius is the icing on the cake. But the singles being great songs doesn't cover for the fact that the videos are tremendously unoriginal.

But this only proves my theory correct. Originality in today's music, does not sell. And I apologize for the mediocre quality of the "Freeze" video, but it was the only full, official video on YouTube able to be embedded. -Trufe

Wild Wild Weekend

What's good my fellow Trufe seekers? Wild Card Weekend is officially in the books. If you are unfamiliar with Wild Card Weekend, it is the nickname for the first weekend of the NFL Playoffs, and this weekend definitely put emphasis on the word "wild".

My December 29th post listed the order of the playoffs, so if you need a refresher course feel free to either scroll down, or click the link posted at the beginning of this sentence. Kicking off the wild weekend was Arizona's 30-24 victory over Atlanta. Now, just by looking at the bracket, it wouldn't be surprising that the Cardinals defeated the Falcons, seeing as how Arizona landed the 4th seed in the NFC, while Atlanta finished with the 5th seed. But keep in mind, Arizona posted a 9-7 regular season record, the worst win/loss record in the NFC Playoffs, but still won their division, which guaranteed them a top 4 spot in the playoffs; while Atlanta posted an 11-5 record.

Saturday's second game featured the 4th seeded San Diego Chargers (8-8) hosting the 5th seeded Indianapolis Colts (12-4). San Diego also landed a higher seed than deserved due to them winning their division, the dismal AFC West. Despite the higher ranking, the Bolts came into the game underdogs on their own home field for obvious reasons, one of which being the fact that their star running back LaDanian Tomlinson was battling a groin injury, which held him to 25 yards on 5 carries and kept him out of the entire second half. But LT's backup Darren Sproles proved more than worthy of backing up the all-pro back, gaining 105 yards on 23 carries and 2 touchdowns, the last of which being the game winner in overtime. All-pro tight-end Antonio Gates was also battling an injury for the Chargers, but you really couldn't tell. He finished with 8 receptions for 87 yards as the Chargers upset the Colts 23-17 in overtime.

Sunday continued the trend of shockers, as both 6th seeded teams won their game on the road. The 9-6-1 Philadelphia Eagles defeated the 10-6 Minnesota Vikings by a final score of 26-14, and the 11-5 Baltimore ran through the feel good story of the year, the equally 11-5 Miami Dolphins on their field, 27-9. The Ravens were led by their dominating defense, forcing Comeback Player of the Year Chad Pennington to throw 4 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by all-pro safety Ed Reed.

Overall, the Divisional round of the playoffs should be very interesting. The Baltimore Ravens face off against the 13-3 Tennessee Titans, who spent all of the 2008 season atop the NFL standings, and the Arizona Cardinals face the rejuvenated 12-4 Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

Sunday will showcase the Philadelphia Eagles battling the 12-4 New York Giants, last year's Super Bowl champions in an NFC East showdown, as well as the San Diego Chargers battling the 12-4 Pittsburgh Steelers. And with the clock finally striking 12 on the Cinderella stories known as the Miami Dolphins (1-15 in 2007) and the Atlanta Falcons (4-12 in 2007, led by a rookie quarterback Matt Ryan, and apparently finally past the Michael Vick situation), the playoffs appear to be getting serious. I expect a hard-hitting weekend. I'll holla at y'all next week, previewing the Conference Championships. -Trufe

The Clock Is Tickin' On Your Career...

What the fuck is wrong with this kid?!?! DeAndre Ramon Way (Soulja Boy Tell 'Em) has got the be the most ignorant, feeble-minded, stupid, talentless, ungrateful waste of sperm to EVER walk the earth! This dude seriously needs to be shot. Not killed per say, but just shot, with a life-threatening wound that will hopefully give him a different outlook on life. His teachers and parents alike need to be repeatedly slapped across the face for the horrible job they did on this boy. I try not to get upset at things I can't change, and this dude's blatant ignorance concerning everything in life is something I don't think anyone can change. But still, with all the senseless killing going on in the world, can somebody please shoot this young male? Remember, in the words of Robert DeNiro, "it's nothing wrong with shooting, as long as the right people get shot.

Allow me to take this time to explain why I want some sense to be implemented into this young male's body via bullets. Money is definitely the root of all evil, because once this dude started getting paid, he started getting an ego that is light years larger than his amount of talent. Kicking off his string of idiotic public statements, this dude has once stated that because of the popularity of his imbecilic debut single, "Crank Dat Soulja Boy" that he is hotter than Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil' Wayne. Personally, I am not a fan of Lil' Wayne, but he does have a lot of dick-riders. And I mean a lot. So for Soulja Boy to say that he is hotter than any of those 3 rappers was just an insult to everyone involved, especially himself.

But that incident pales in comparison to the point of this entry. Here's the deal: Soulja Boy actually said, on camera that Nas killed hip-hop, due to his 2006 album, Hip Hop is Dead. Let me elaborate before you begin cocking your pistols. Not only does a statement like that show that he, among MANY rap "fans" believe that rap music and hip-hop are one in the same, but he even went on to say that Lil' Wayne proved him wrong by selling a million copies in one week. He even went on to compare Nas to President George W. Bush, stating that "the same way Bush fucked up America, that's how Nas fucked up hip hop."

First of all, hip hop and rap music are not the same. Hip hop is a lifestyle. Rap is a genre of music. Hip hop is something you feel. Rap is something you do. Hip hop is how you live, how you dress, how you walk, how you talk. Rap is how African-Americans publicly demean themselves. If you don't get what I'm saying, you more than likely think they are one in the same as well.

Using Soulja Boy's political analogy against him, just because one rapper sells a million copies in a week, does not mean hip hop is alive. It just means that he has at least a million dick-riders. Furthermore, large groups of Americans have been known to make stupid decisions in the past, hence our president for all of the last 8 years. Granted, Al Gore did gain more popular votes than president Bush in the 2000 scandal, but Bush won the 2004 election as close to fair and square as you're probably going to get from a Republican candidate. But back to the topic. Hip hop was dead long before Nas made the 2006 album. I don't think there is a clear culprit as to who killed it, but it became apparent that it was over in the late 1990s after 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. were killed, thus beginning the "Shiny-Suit Era". But hip hop had been on the decline since about 1993, when rap music first began getting commercialized, losing it's Afrocentric qualities that are representations of hip hop to this day. But for the record, in the words of KRS-One, hip hop culture is eternal.

Rap music in fact is taking a turn for the worst though, and backing Ice-T, Soulja Boy Tell'Em is a big reason for that. Rap music has been more about materialistic things and less about topics that are relatable to average people for the majority of this decade, and as far as the mechanics go, lyricism has taken a backseat to delivery, catchy hooks, dance records, and most recently, swag. I'm sure this is what most people mean when they say "hip hop is dead", not knowing the difference between hip hop and rap music. The day that rappers-- no, lyricists-- such as Cassidy, Jadakiss, Papoose, and Fabolous, in addition to emcees such as Andre 3000, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Talib Kweli, and in my opinion the real best rapper alive, Nas start moving the units that a rapper like Lil' Wayne, 50 Cent, or the dreaded Soulja Boy Tell'Em (yes people, his debut Souljaboytellem.com did sell a million copies sadly) are, then rap music, not hip hop, is dead.

And soon will be the career of Soulja Boy Tell'Em, if he continues to make statements like this. And to conclude, I leave you with a quote from Chris Tucker during his role as "Smokey" in the 1995 film Friday, recited during the fight between Craig and Deebo and say... "Shoot him!!!"

-Trufe