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I got a laptop and thus have re-entered the 21st century. It feels good to be home.
Showing posts with label Jay-z. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jay-z. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Friday, July 5, 2013
Jay-z - Magna Carta Holy Grail
Sean Carter is 42 and is unequivocally still the champion of the rap game . He has released a must-hear record in three different decades. He has more #1 records than Elvis. He is 1/2 of the most powerful couple in America not in the White House. So it was with a high-octance cocktail of hesitation and nervous excitement that I listened to Magna Carta Holy Grail yesterday. I wanted it to be great but I also knew that it was made by a man with every reason to slack off. This acknowledgement, coupled with an ad campaign that set expectations at Empire State Building-level heights, SHOULD have made this record a disappointment; but it didn't. Aside from immaculate production and the dexterous flow that are prerequisites for a Jay-z record, Hova impressively employs new approaches on his twelfth album, leaving you with the feeling that you are talking to an old friend who just returned from a trip abroad--it's the same guy, but he has a slightly new outlook on the world.
Jay-z is always ahead of the curve when it comes to making money, whether it be starting his own label, heading a clothing line, sponsoring a vodka, owning a club or the 360 deal with LiveNation, he simply won't settle for the status quo. It is no surprise, then, that he released this album with Samsung to ensure it had a million copies moved before it even dropped. He is also a man that has never shied awy from picking up on trends in the industry and putting his own spin on them. The influences of Kendrick Lamar (longer tracks with beat changes and different flows) and A$AP Rocky (a song entitled Tom Ford) are prevalent on Magna Carta Holy Grail. But by studying new talent and adding his favorite aspects of their approach to his own game, Jay-z has managed to sound fresh with each successive release. This same approach led him to making a gem at a stage in his life where many are on their second or third profession. By being both forward-thinking and decidedly present moment, Jay-z makes Magna Carta Holy Grail a candidate for album of the year in a year replete with deserving selections.
Jay uses the dialectical yin and yang approach to perfectly strike a balance between the thought-provoking and the playful, the sentimental and the gritty, the rear-view recollections and the Gringotts-level of luxury he lives in presently. And it is beautiful. After Yeezus, there was a lot of talk about Kanye surpassing Jay-z in the race to have the best catalog (mostly by me) but with the drop of Magna Carta Holy Grail, Mr. Carter retakes the crown. Long live the King.
Jay-z is always ahead of the curve when it comes to making money, whether it be starting his own label, heading a clothing line, sponsoring a vodka, owning a club or the 360 deal with LiveNation, he simply won't settle for the status quo. It is no surprise, then, that he released this album with Samsung to ensure it had a million copies moved before it even dropped. He is also a man that has never shied awy from picking up on trends in the industry and putting his own spin on them. The influences of Kendrick Lamar (longer tracks with beat changes and different flows) and A$AP Rocky (a song entitled Tom Ford) are prevalent on Magna Carta Holy Grail. But by studying new talent and adding his favorite aspects of their approach to his own game, Jay-z has managed to sound fresh with each successive release. This same approach led him to making a gem at a stage in his life where many are on their second or third profession. By being both forward-thinking and decidedly present moment, Jay-z makes Magna Carta Holy Grail a candidate for album of the year in a year replete with deserving selections.
Jay uses the dialectical yin and yang approach to perfectly strike a balance between the thought-provoking and the playful, the sentimental and the gritty, the rear-view recollections and the Gringotts-level of luxury he lives in presently. And it is beautiful. After Yeezus, there was a lot of talk about Kanye surpassing Jay-z in the race to have the best catalog (mostly by me) but with the drop of Magna Carta Holy Grail, Mr. Carter retakes the crown. Long live the King.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Magna Carta Holy Grail Preview
I haven't been so excited for an album to drop since back when Kanye dropped Yeezus!
Saturday, June 22, 2013
All Moved in to the City of Wind
I'm back like I never left. Did you miss me? Of course you did. Bullet point catch up blog:
- I have finally finished my move to Chicago. (CHICAGO AIN'T LOOKED THIS GOOD SINCE THE BULLS HAD MJ!!) Accompanying me on my drive in was the new Kanye CD which is pretty damn impressive. Nothing that I can say about it will top this write-up by Steven Hyden so click here. I will say that this album puts 'Ye as the hip-hop artist with the best catalog, passing Jay-z. It takes a lot for me to say anything that could be construed as negative about Hova, so take that as the utmost compliment, Yeezy. ( I feel confident speaking directly to Yeezus 'cuz I know the Illuminati track this website and he will see it.)
- In related news, Jay-z is dropping an album in July that will be free to all people who own a Samsung phone because he is Jay-z and he loves guaranteed money.
- Kanye and Kim named their kid North West. I swear to God. I am not making this up. Be on the lookout for the child's autobiography North by North West.
- I listened to a lot of "Rewind" radio which has now become music from my childhood because I am getting old. A few takeaways about the weird and wonderful late 90's/00s top 40:
- Christina Aguilera sings like a beached mermaid and "Beautiful" is one of the most trite songs ever recorded.
- Nelly legit used the word "dirty" as a pronoun and people accepted it. As in, "Come here, dirty" and "I know you and dirty got ties for different reasons". What were we thinking, America? We are all to blame for letting that happen.
- I'm pretty sure Blu Cantrell is the reason why they developed identity theft technology.
- EVERYTHING I LOVED AS A KID AND DISOWNED AS A TEENAGER I NOW LOVE AGAIN
- I am currently in the developmental stages of creating a film with a good friend of mine that is a re-make of Saturday Night Fever. The music will be exclusively from the new Daft Punk record. It will star Zac Effron, Get on board, America.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Orson Scott Card, French Montana and Our Role in Art Consumption
I just finished reading Ender's Game a week ago (late to the party, I know, but fashionably late). I loved the book and gushed about it to anyone that would listen. I discussed it with friends, recommended it in casual conversations with near-strangers, and made a concerted effort to incorporate as many Ender's Game references as I could in my life (the most drunk successful of which was an Ender's Game freestyle over an Azealia Banks beat).
It is easy to imagine my disappointment when I read that the author of this splendid tale, Orson Scott Card, turned out to be homophobic. And not just Granddad homophobic (the type known to say things like "It just ain't right"), more like the militant homophobe (the type known to say things like "I want to destroy this government and rebuild a new one because it allows gay marriage").
Whoa.
It turns out Card was gearing up to write an arc of Superman for D.C. Comics until a gay-rights advocacy group (which I am a member of) created a petition and got some 16,000 like-minded individuals to pressure D.C. Comics into not enlisting the help of this anti-gay genius. They have convinced some comic book stores to not carry any issues that Card writes, and one illustrator has backed out of collaborating with him.
I reacted with surprise--shit, a petition actually made a change?!--and clicked out of my e-mail, but the story stayed with me throughout the day, pulling at the back of my brain like a malt liquor hangover.
The more the thoughts simmered, the more upset I became, which is the usual way these things go with me.
The twist was that I was pissed at the activist community. I actually found myself defending the scumbag author and rooting for D.C. Comics to stand strong behind him.
You might think I feel this way because I love the ideal more than the reality, that I like to romanticize more than cope, or that the persons I most admire are typcially people I would never associate myself with in any way, but it is actually because I don't think that people should be denied making art simply because they have moronic (even caustic) views. Plain and simple. Even more importantly, I don't like barriers of entry about who is allowed to make art dictated by public opinion.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
If we were to limit who we allow to make art to just those persons who are good people, we would be left with no art.
This is a problem.
Many artists are bad/crazy/ignorant/abhorrent people--always have been, always will be. A quick list: Bukowski, Hemingway, Morrissey, Kanye West, Ike Turner, Whitney Houston, Michelangelo (probably, right?) Geoffrey Chaucer, et al. Though far from perfect, these incorrigible fucks left behind some works of staggeringly brilliant beauty that will continue to inspire generations to come. I believe that the pros of letting them create and distribute their art outweigh the cons.
Think about what the world would have lost if we hadn't allowed them to make art-
I wrote a one-scene play for emphasis of this point. It's called, Charles Bukowski Gets Badgered by Theoretical Us-es.
Scene: Southern California
Year:1970
Theoretical Us: Hey, Chuck, you should prolly cool it with the debauchery.
Bukowksi: Go fuck yourself.
Theoretical Us: We are gonna petition your publishing company to stop you from writing. Also, we're gonna make sure no local bookstores sell your shit if you can find a publishing company stupid enough to print it.
Bukowski: *Throws up on self, attempts to punch another woman, doesn't write Ham on Rye, Post Office, any short stories or poems.*
END SCENE
You can imagine this scene playing out again and again through history with varying degrees of damage to the intellectual world at large. (In fact, I'm thinking of turning all of these moments into one scene plays, bundling them, and them teaming up with an on-the-rise songwriter and a down-on-his-luck lead man to forge a bond strong enough to take us straight to the top! Broadway, here I come!)
By pushing for certain stores/publishers to stop allowing an artist to make money, we are collectively saying that a person can't have a living because we don't agree with their views. And all this time, I thought we lived in a democracy!
I am often heard degrading Chris Brown, calling him a spineless waste of human life. And this is true. I even once said that Jay-z should stone-wall him from the industry, giving an ultimatum to any artist/producer--something to the tune of "You either work with him or me. Choose". I still agree with this, though I disagree with the petition to D.C. Comics. The reasons are two-fold.
For one, as much as a dick as Orson Scott Card may be, he hasn't actually broken any laws. He has called for the outright cancellation of basic human right to love and be happy, but he hasn't done anything that could find him in prison. Chris Brown should be in jail for assault. Card, however, is just in the Kanye/Morrissey realm of asshole--if douchebaggery were a crime, they'd be buried under the jail. But, alas, it isn't (mostly due to the strong pull of the Bro Lobbyists), so these guys are just people we disagree with, not actual criminals. We are not allowing Card to make art because he isn't someone we would want to be around, essentially. Because we don't want him as a role model. That's fucked.
I don't want Chris Brown to have money because he is a scumbag, so I don't buy his record. I fucking talk shit on him. I criticize others who do buy his music. And, Should Jay-z try and blacklist him, it would be each individual artist making the decision as to whether or not they should collaborate with Chris Brown. The freedom of choice for the individual is completely lost with this D.C. petition.
The intention, it seems, of the petition is to limit the exposure of this "bad person" so that he has as little influence as possible, thus making his pernicious views socially irrelevant. This is an admirable, albeit misguided, position to take. Homophobia is a big problem, and those who espouse it deserve to be reprimanded with a good "BOO!". I have qualms, however, with the actual execution of the petition's sentiment. Strong-arming a company to not allow an artist to create is a dangerous, and asinine, maneuver. It prevents every consumer not on the petition of 16,000 from having a choice in the matter about supporting Orson Scott Card's art.
(Neither of these points, by the way, address how censorship often draws MORE attention to the would-be censored artist because I don't have the energy at present)
D.C. Comics, presumably, will back away from supporting Card because theysee the error in their ways believe the negative publicity surrounding the Card-penned Superman was going to hurt the company image and, in turn, sales. Here is where the folks at D.C. would have benefited from playing some Wrath of Caine--had they been spinnin' this mixtape, dear friends, they would have heard the sage words of French Montana, and by doing so they MAY have been able to avoid this horrendous decision.
Mr. Montana implores us to hold dear to our hearts a simple mantra on the chorus of "Doesn't Matter"--You shouldn't give a fuck what people say about you! Shit, D.C. Comics, worry about doing YOU. Other people's opinions don't matter, but this will not stop them from having something to say. No matter what you do, you won't please everyone.
And, as French adroitly identified in the intro, there will always be a portion of the public who espouse some "nerd-havin' opinions" about how you should be living your life and making your art. Fuck those people!
If D.C. Comics actually enjoys the work of Card, and they are comfortable with co-signing a homophobe's art, then they should back Card to the end. I would never deny the right of a comic store owner to not stock a comic, but I think it would be a disservice to the people to not allow a book because the person who wrote it is a shithead.
The table has now been set for you, D.C. Comics; you can either cave to the pressure of society and allow the vilification to make you a villain in the war against popularity, or you can stand strong behind your convictions, like Superman stands behind his.
And in the event I read this ten years from now and shake my head at my stupidity, I will ask that you fly around the world as fast as possible to turn back the years and allow me to right my wrongs.
One Love.
It is easy to imagine my disappointment when I read that the author of this splendid tale, Orson Scott Card, turned out to be homophobic. And not just Granddad homophobic (the type known to say things like "It just ain't right"), more like the militant homophobe (the type known to say things like "I want to destroy this government and rebuild a new one because it allows gay marriage").
Whoa.
It turns out Card was gearing up to write an arc of Superman for D.C. Comics until a gay-rights advocacy group (which I am a member of) created a petition and got some 16,000 like-minded individuals to pressure D.C. Comics into not enlisting the help of this anti-gay genius. They have convinced some comic book stores to not carry any issues that Card writes, and one illustrator has backed out of collaborating with him.
I reacted with surprise--shit, a petition actually made a change?!--and clicked out of my e-mail, but the story stayed with me throughout the day, pulling at the back of my brain like a malt liquor hangover.
The more the thoughts simmered, the more upset I became, which is the usual way these things go with me.
The twist was that I was pissed at the activist community. I actually found myself defending the scumbag author and rooting for D.C. Comics to stand strong behind him.
You might think I feel this way because I love the ideal more than the reality, that I like to romanticize more than cope, or that the persons I most admire are typcially people I would never associate myself with in any way, but it is actually because I don't think that people should be denied making art simply because they have moronic (even caustic) views. Plain and simple. Even more importantly, I don't like barriers of entry about who is allowed to make art dictated by public opinion.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
If we were to limit who we allow to make art to just those persons who are good people, we would be left with no art.
This is a problem.
Many artists are bad/crazy/ignorant/abhorrent people--always have been, always will be. A quick list: Bukowski, Hemingway, Morrissey, Kanye West, Ike Turner, Whitney Houston, Michelangelo (probably, right?) Geoffrey Chaucer, et al. Though far from perfect, these incorrigible fucks left behind some works of staggeringly brilliant beauty that will continue to inspire generations to come. I believe that the pros of letting them create and distribute their art outweigh the cons.
Think about what the world would have lost if we hadn't allowed them to make art-
I wrote a one-scene play for emphasis of this point. It's called, Charles Bukowski Gets Badgered by Theoretical Us-es.
Scene: Southern California
Year:1970
Theoretical Us: Hey, Chuck, you should prolly cool it with the debauchery.
Bukowksi: Go fuck yourself.
Theoretical Us: We are gonna petition your publishing company to stop you from writing. Also, we're gonna make sure no local bookstores sell your shit if you can find a publishing company stupid enough to print it.
Bukowski: *Throws up on self, attempts to punch another woman, doesn't write Ham on Rye, Post Office, any short stories or poems.*
END SCENE
You can imagine this scene playing out again and again through history with varying degrees of damage to the intellectual world at large. (In fact, I'm thinking of turning all of these moments into one scene plays, bundling them, and them teaming up with an on-the-rise songwriter and a down-on-his-luck lead man to forge a bond strong enough to take us straight to the top! Broadway, here I come!)
By pushing for certain stores/publishers to stop allowing an artist to make money, we are collectively saying that a person can't have a living because we don't agree with their views. And all this time, I thought we lived in a democracy!
I am often heard degrading Chris Brown, calling him a spineless waste of human life. And this is true. I even once said that Jay-z should stone-wall him from the industry, giving an ultimatum to any artist/producer--something to the tune of "You either work with him or me. Choose". I still agree with this, though I disagree with the petition to D.C. Comics. The reasons are two-fold.
For one, as much as a dick as Orson Scott Card may be, he hasn't actually broken any laws. He has called for the outright cancellation of basic human right to love and be happy, but he hasn't done anything that could find him in prison. Chris Brown should be in jail for assault. Card, however, is just in the Kanye/Morrissey realm of asshole--if douchebaggery were a crime, they'd be buried under the jail. But, alas, it isn't (mostly due to the strong pull of the Bro Lobbyists), so these guys are just people we disagree with, not actual criminals. We are not allowing Card to make art because he isn't someone we would want to be around, essentially. Because we don't want him as a role model. That's fucked.
I don't want Chris Brown to have money because he is a scumbag, so I don't buy his record. I fucking talk shit on him. I criticize others who do buy his music. And, Should Jay-z try and blacklist him, it would be each individual artist making the decision as to whether or not they should collaborate with Chris Brown. The freedom of choice for the individual is completely lost with this D.C. petition.
The intention, it seems, of the petition is to limit the exposure of this "bad person" so that he has as little influence as possible, thus making his pernicious views socially irrelevant. This is an admirable, albeit misguided, position to take. Homophobia is a big problem, and those who espouse it deserve to be reprimanded with a good "BOO!". I have qualms, however, with the actual execution of the petition's sentiment. Strong-arming a company to not allow an artist to create is a dangerous, and asinine, maneuver. It prevents every consumer not on the petition of 16,000 from having a choice in the matter about supporting Orson Scott Card's art.
(Neither of these points, by the way, address how censorship often draws MORE attention to the would-be censored artist because I don't have the energy at present)
D.C. Comics, presumably, will back away from supporting Card because they
Mr. Montana implores us to hold dear to our hearts a simple mantra on the chorus of "Doesn't Matter"--You shouldn't give a fuck what people say about you! Shit, D.C. Comics, worry about doing YOU. Other people's opinions don't matter, but this will not stop them from having something to say. No matter what you do, you won't please everyone.
And, as French adroitly identified in the intro, there will always be a portion of the public who espouse some "nerd-havin' opinions" about how you should be living your life and making your art. Fuck those people!
If D.C. Comics actually enjoys the work of Card, and they are comfortable with co-signing a homophobe's art, then they should back Card to the end. I would never deny the right of a comic store owner to not stock a comic, but I think it would be a disservice to the people to not allow a book because the person who wrote it is a shithead.
The table has now been set for you, D.C. Comics; you can either cave to the pressure of society and allow the vilification to make you a villain in the war against popularity, or you can stand strong behind your convictions, like Superman stands behind his.
And in the event I read this ten years from now and shake my head at my stupidity, I will ask that you fly around the world as fast as possible to turn back the years and allow me to right my wrongs.
One Love.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Justin Timberlake "Suit and Tie" Video
This is what happens when David Fincher directs your music video:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Jay-z Speaks With Old Lady on Train, Remains Classiest Man Alive
And you're going by subway?
Yes.
I'm proud of you.
Yes.
I'm proud of you.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Jay-z Live Tonight on Youtube
Jay-z is streaming his last concert of the Barclays Center christening tonight at 9:30. If you need me, I'll be on my couch, hunched over my laptop.
Also, this is pretty great:
Also, this is pretty great:
Stereogum Rates Jay-z Albums
Stereogum has compiled a list of Jay-z albums from worst to best.
I think they have it wrong.
How can Vol.3 really be above Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint and Black Album? I'm dumbfounded.
My top 5 goes as follows:
5. Vol.2...A Hard Knock Life
4. Watch the Throne
3. The Blueprint
2. Reasonable Doubt
1. The Black Album
Depending on the day, one might rise or a drop a spot. On no day does Vol.3 come into the top 5. Never. Not even once.
I think they have it wrong.
How can Vol.3 really be above Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint and Black Album? I'm dumbfounded.
My top 5 goes as follows:
5. Vol.2...A Hard Knock Life
4. Watch the Throne
3. The Blueprint
2. Reasonable Doubt
1. The Black Album
Depending on the day, one might rise or a drop a spot. On no day does Vol.3 come into the top 5. Never. Not even once.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Captain Murphy "The Killing Joke"
For most rappers, cribbing your title from a seminal comic and using the same sample as Kanye in a cult-classic Jay-z track would be too much to overcome.Then again, no one has ever mistaken Captain Murphy for most rappers.
For Murph, the allusions are just setting the scene for a walk in the park--a park filled with demons and black magic and Batman references.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Jay-z's Blueprint Turns 11
Despite Jay-z's lack of understanding about the Occupy Movement, he remains the best rapper of all-time. Today marks the 11th anniversary of his classic The Blueprint. Happy bday.
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