Post #101!!!! My Favorite Beats EVER

I think a fun way to celebrate my completion of 100 posts is to share my favorite instrumentals, not songs. 101 & beyond...

5. Nelly Furtado - Do It (Prod. Timbaland)


4. Common - Real People (Prod Kanye West)


3. Common - It's Your World (Prod J Dilla)


2. Kanye West - Last Call (Prod. Kanye West & Evidence)


1. MF DOOM - Coffin Nails (Rapp Snitch Knishes instrumental) (Prod. MF DOOM)

SWAGGER X G-Shock "Shock the World" DW5600VT

pics via freshnessmag.com

As much as I hate looking like a lumberjack (I never liked Biggie) or the word "Swagger", it's no secret I love cyber-windowshopping a new G-Shock watch. For a watch with a lumberjack print, I really like this. I wouldn't pay for it, but it's interesting. I do think the timing could have been better though. Wouldn't a lumberjack plaid watch sell better at the start of Fall and through Winter. Then again, I do not work in marketing. Here's the rest of the pics:

SWAGGER x Casio G-Shock - "Shock The World" DW5600VT Watch | FreshnessMag.com

Cam'ron & DJ Drama - Boss of All Bosses 2 mixtape review

After a long wait, the sequel to the summer’s Cam’ron and DJ Drama collaboration is finally here. I reviewed the last one when it came out…6 months ago, and I remember hoping that the sequel Cam’ron alluded to would be better. Well, half a year later, that mixtape really grew on me, and I appreciate the “mixtape-ness” Boss of All Bosses 1 had. The real purpose of a mixtape is to promote; not necessarily to be a cohesive project, which is what the album is for. Over time, the rap game evolved into a genre of music where some artists don’t even get an album before their 5 seconds of fame is up, so mixtapes have been treated like albums to ensure the rapper gets their fare shot. Because of this, ironically, these days an artists’ mixtape can come out better than the album meant to promote. When comparing this mixtape to Cam’s last album “Crime Pays”, honestly the album’s high’s were higher (as they should be), but this tape was a lot easier to listen to throughout the whole way, compared to Crime Pays’ lows, not to mention this tape’s predecessor, Boss of All Bosses 1. This tape’s flaws are that of any Cam’ron project; The tape seems too long, too much filler, too many unfunny skits, and not enough solo Cam’ron. Like part 1, Cam’s new protégé Vado is on virtually every song and he is not a bad rapper, however he does not have the character of Juelz Santana and Jim Jones or raw lyrical ability of JR Writer or Hell Rell. Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned former protégés of Cam are present (again). However, as ususal Cam’s trademark off kilter rhyme scheme and dry wit are the highlights of the tape. Lines like “Her blackberry, color of strawberries/my pradas were blueberries, she tweakin’ like starberry/ listen boo them boys silly like Mark Curry (comedians)/ girl don’t miss the boat so Ma hurry!” on the Oh Boy-esque “Ohh Baby” or “Fuck all the press and the media/I’m vest with the heater/ my dudes come to see ya, dressed like Madea” on “Do Wrong” show Cam is still master of his craft. One difference from the 1st Boss of All Bosses is that the production value is consistently much better, courtesy of Aarabmusik, who has been getting a lot of hype himself lately. Boss of All Bosses 2 turned out to be worth the wait… even if the wait was 6 months from when Cam said it would originally come out.

7/10: Listen to “Ohh Baby”, “Stop It Slime”, and “Point the Finger”
Avoid: “Get Away” and “Nothing Personal”


Download Mixtape Free | LiveMixtapes.com Mixtape Player

Nike SB Zoom Stefan Janoski "Army”

I spotted these on Hypebeast today. I like the Stefan Janoski’s. I know they’re supposed to be skater shoes, which I let it be known I want nothing to do with “skaterdom”, but the Janoski’s have a casual look, similar to a deck shoe. Last year I found myself literally with a pair in my arm and my hand on my wallet. That was until I realized they were in fact skate shoes. They really are cool though and this colorway is no exception.

Here's the link to Hypebeast's full post:
http://hypebeast.com/2010/01/nike-sb-zoom-stefan-janoski-army/

You’re Favorite Music May Be Used To Torture at Prison Camps

So like 2 weeks ago, I was watching ABC’s World News, since I like to keep up with current events, and I found out something interesting. Apparently at Guantanamo Bay and prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan, they use music to torture detainees in interrogations. The music is played extremely loud and looped over and over again for hours, and in a video from Russia Today, a former prisoner explained afterwards the interrogation detainees “could barely walk”. It has gotten so bad that musicians have banded together to get the government to declassify when music was used for torture and to stop the practice. I can understand it though. Music is supposed to be an art form that people devote their lives to creating. It’s kind of a let down, to say the least, to know what you have put so much into is actually seen as so bad for a person it can be used as torture. Like that those awful Kesha & Lil’ Wayne cds I reviewed recently. They were painful for me to listen to at normal volumes only once. I could not imagine listening to them at sound barrier breaking levels for hours. Here’s a list of some artists they use as torture and the 2 videos:

ACDC
Barney
Sesame Street
Marilyn Manson
Christina Aguilera
Eminem
Metallica
Queen
Bruce Springsteen
The Bee Gees
assorted commercials

ABC World News
Music Used to Torture at Gitmo

Russia Today

Kesha - Animal cd review

With the success of her hit “Tik Tok”, I guess I felt I may as well see what the hype was about. If it was some random pop song, I would have overlooked Kesha (I a m not going to make the effort to put a dollar sign in place on place of an “s”), but she had the nerve to make a rap (-ish) song, so I had to investigate. I thought rapping would be her gimmick, but she does not rap on the whole cd. Actually, I did a little research and found out not only is she the voice behind the chorus of Flo Rida’s hit single “Right Round”, but she has done background vocals for Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears. That being said, you can tell Kesha is not going to be the voice of the generation, but in a cruel, ironic sort of way, she already is. The songwriting for the album is awful. There is no other way to put it. I was actually surprised that she only co-wrote her songs. I mean who would really pay money for lyrics like “lookin’ like pimps in my gold trans am, got a water bottle full of whiskey in my handbag, getting my drunk text on… dirty freak for all” (Take It Off) or “you’re looking like a tool not a baller/ you’re acting like a chick why bother” (Kiss N Tell). Subjectwise, it’s like an MTV reality show put to music; it really is all partying, getting drunk, other girls being “bitches”, and random sex. Not that all of those things are awful, but 15 songs of the same thing – C’mon. On the horrific, rather than just simply lackluster, collaboration with 30h!3 (I know, was I really expecting anything more) she flat out says “Turn around boy let me hit that”. I didn’t even know girls could do the turning around and hitting. To make matters worse, the whole album pretty much has the same dance floor ready beat, drowned with beeping and buzzing synthesizers. Honestly she is probably the voice of this generation, because she is a blatant product of pop culture. The music is horrible, because our culture (youth culture) is horrible. “Tik Tok” remains the album highlight, because it is one of the rare times the album is quotable in a good way. The only other few highlights seem like horrible rip offs from other artists. “Boys & Boots” is tolerable only because it sounds like a Lady Gaga B-side and “Dinosaur” is Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl”, except about old men. About two weeks ago I remember watching ABC World News and they reported how they use music to torture prisoners at Gitmo. Well, this collection of songs could subdue Osama Bin Laden himself. I officially have an appreciation for Lil’ Wayne’s Rebirth album now. This really is that bad… but I am sure “Tik Tok” will not be her only hit single from the album. It is the soundtrack of the generation after all.

2/10: Listen to: “Tik Tok”
Avoid: honestly the rest of the album, but in particular “Blah Blah Blah”, “Kiss N Tell”, and “Party at a Rich Dude’s House”

TOO FUNNY: Lady Gaga x Lord Gaga Bad Romance Parody

I actually spent an hr watching this over and over Not only is this funny because of the video, but the lyrics are an accurate parody of Stefani Germanotta. It gives Al Yankovich a run for his money.