Pay Attention

B.o.B
With The Adventures of Bobby Ray coming to iTunes and stores near you, we should perk up our years and get to listening. I was first impressed with a little number he’s got called “I’ll Be In The Sky” about a year ago, it’s totally retro OutKast and a lil’ new age ’00s (IDK what to call this era by the way; the 2000’s, the double-o’s, what?). He’s got that ATL cleverness that apparently gets the attention of the rest of the nation (probably cuz all the applications of radio-active purples and greens they use in their wardrobe and music vids). And with an air of cockyness, that’s just enough, this man is breaking waves into the Hip-Hop scene. I think what this album is gonna present is the same kind of creative thinking that my “go-to guys”, KiD CuDi/ Lupe Fiasco, uses to persuade us with. Basically that type of creativity that most people want to immediately write-off as just weird, but my thing is weird isn’t something to be weary of. It’s those silent types you gotta watch out for. Also another oldie but goodie that’s been workin’ this steez to the fullest would be an all time great, Mr. Mos Def, himself. Call it “HIPnosis”, if you will, the combination of off-key singing and lyrical spits that are meant to motivate the masses back into believing in Hip-Hop again. Sorry Nas, I think the genre is coming back from the dead.
B.o.B aka Bobby Ray, I think is one of those brave musicians. He evidently likes to dabble in all types of music in order to re-create a style that reflects something on his own. For instance, the idea to have the lead singer from Paramore and Eminem on the same song…and the lil comical kicker in that situation is that her name is HAYLEY. (you know, Hayley…like Eminem’s daughter’s name is Hailey…we know that cuz he talks/raps bout her all the time…anywhoo). So yea, B.o.B is going to try to wake the scene up by making music that I think we haven’t heard in a while. Which is fine with me, I think we need a little something refreshing.
i first noticed: I'll Be In The Sky

Aloe Blacc
My feature presentation for you today, people, is somebody we should all begin to take a special note. Because I like to believe that if we’re not careful, we just might miss him if we blink. Aloe Blacc. I already mentioned him a couple of times (in my music recommendation lists), and this cat is something I like to call—talented. Speaking of retro, he really puts Hip-Hop music into perspective. Considering that just like everything else that maintains a rotation in this world, music has found a way to evolve and evolve. More specifically genres of music have been changing over time. And as much as I LOVE Hip-Hop, it doesn’t sound like it used to when it was blaring over Ghetto Blaster boomboxes on the stoops of the Bronx or even when it was “rollin’ down the street, and sippin’ on Gin & juice”. It has taken a turn, actually a U-turn, and is incorporating back to the roots where ‘black’ music started in the first place…(no not jazz, but) soul music.
Aloe Blacc has found something by being able to successfully mix the ideas of churchy spirituals and 70s ol’ school R&B into the mega power that is Hip-Hop. I have found a level of respect in the few pieces that I’ve heard, and I’m happy to say that thus begins a new fan. And once again, I have become a fan of somebody else, what can I say I like commitment…to good musical artistry.
Apparently Aloe has been working for some years now, and if you were payin attention to my rants about “How To Make It In America”, then you might already be familiarized with his debut track ("I Need A Dollar") as in the intro/theme song to the show. If not then…his debut track is the theme song to the show. And his 3rd solo album Good Things will paint a better vision of what I’m trying to exclaim right now. To sum it all up, I’m impressed, and when there’s something I think worth knowing, I have to take it upon myself to be the bearer of good news.

kill 2 birds with 1 link: I Need A Dollar

Follow Your Dreams

Earlier this week while listening to an interview, I heard a great quote about the human psyche and how we form ideas or things of the like. From a disclosed source, was probably the best interpretation of how the unconscious mind operates in the most simplistic analogy. In his description, he tried to materialize why things are always fuzzy when we first wake up from an extensive dream. You know, that feeling after you’ve been dreaming of dragons sipping tea and your mom dancing on tightropes with your Pre-school teacher; and then you wake up, desperately trying to remember which happened first—the thirsty dragons or the tightrope dancing. Or better yet WHY either of those situations occurred. Well according to this interpretation, our minds aren’t meant to always make an understanding of something…at least unconsciously.

“The subconscious is like this big party that you’re not invited to. So when your brain shows up—it’s a disaster, totally ruining the party”

Apparently science proves that our minds are circuited to come up with ‘ideas’ and that they flash in our minds a ½ second before we actually get the impulse to do it and carry out what we ‘saw’. This is all according to this interesting interview. Just know: the guy is an independent film animator of dark comedies, so of course he would be intrigued to even wonder about these things in the first place. And of course, my weird desire to understand and know more (a nice way to say nosey)…I found myself intrigued too.
I believe that dreams are a wonderful source of creativity and a small foreshadowing of how our lives are to unfold just slightly. Not that I without hesitation suggest you live by your dreams, but that our minds are designed to show us that we’re unaware of what we’re capable of. The only problem is that, when we first wake up (this is when that interrupting part of our brains tries to crash the party) we try to make sense of what just happened. But how do you make sense of a nimble and talented Pre-school teacher? And I also think that most artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, so on and so forth have learned how to embrace the weird dreams and carefully extract them in recordable systems, i.e. music videos and all time great movies and Warhol-esque masterpieces.

Another thing that reading dreams reminded me of are horoscopes. I don’t want to scare people, but I believe in astrology to some degree. I think it’s true to an extent that our individual personalities are deeply connected to what sign we were born under. And though taking into account that as individuals we all engage in varying life situations and upbringings, we should still take note that, that shit is no joke sometimes. Now don’t go assuming that I believe in the horoscopes that tell you when you’ll fall in love or that you’re gonna fall down a flight of stairs next week just because you’re a Capricorn living your life on the 3rd Monday of the month…I’m just saying that my personality is connected to the Taurean bull that enhances my character.
Ok I’m done, I’ve completed my quota for weirding people out for the day.

Gotta Go, Gotta Leave

There are some things I want to address. Bear with me because I don’t think there is really any type of flow, just a typical exposure of how my mind works—randomly.

1) "The Boondocks" are coming back to Adult Swim (formerly the cartoon network for really big kids late at night) for it’s third and final season. This is unfortunate. The show being on it’s finality that is, not that it’s coming back…because that is a good thing, a great thing. Back in the day when traditionalists still believed in receiving their news of current issues from um, what are they called, oh yea newspapers; I was only peeling that thing open for the Sunday funnies. And specifically I was in deep search for the weekly episode of Aaron McGruder’s "The Boondocks". How could you go wrong when you’ve got a pre pre-teen social radical critically watching the no-sense makers of his neighborhood run amuck, namely his own younger brother. Huey takes note of the American politics that monopolize his surrounding suburb, in which he lives, through his lil pro-Black eyes. The comic strip was hilarious, the artwork personally inspired me, and the animated show literally put voices to the words that needed to be heard.
2) Remember a little while back when I first prompted for the new HBO series “How To Make It In America” to be checked out, well 7 episodes later and we have reached a season closer (NOT a series closer if I pray hard enough). I cannot stress enough how much I would loooove to see this show make it to a season 2. I might just have to write them [HBO] a letter. Honestly it’s quite refreshing to finally see something urban and true hit the screen and I’m not talking about “man-made urban”…man made urban meaning corporate ideas of how hip-hop influences are reflected in actual people and the irony is that THEY DON’T KNOW. Sooo as I was saying, it’s nice to watch a show and completely relate without ever questioning whether the writers behind it all ever experienced what they are making these actors portray.
3) Something else that’s coming to a close: "Ugly Betty". I bet nobody expected that this would be show worth catching my attention. But honestly, how could it not…have you EVER looked at an episode? How could it go under the radar with all those damn bright colors, fabulous style and witty as hell one-liners? It’s gone though hell just within only 4 seasons, and it’s failing mainly because they never could get their ball rolling again after that blasted writer’s strike that took place a couple years back. Oh well, it had a good run and Betty ain’t ugly no more.

Well lookie there, I guess I had a theme after all, and I’m not as random as I thought. But basically I wanted to point out there are some greats that are getting ready to take the final bow and I believe it is worth giving the appreciative attention necessary. Things last if we want it to, so what’s wrong with asking for what you want?

how i feel

tonight is about livin in life. let's have fun.