I Want A Divorce

I've been thinking lately that I need a divorce from rap music. Not hip hop, although its becoming increasingly difficult to find the distinction nowadays. I never thought I would be that guy. You know the one that waxes philosophic about the good old days, I have to admit that I am. I've always had an appreciation for the music I grew up with, but I used to be able to keep an open mind about new stuff. Whereas, I would rather listen to Rakim, I could still appreciate T.I.'s music. Or, Nas has been my favorite, but that wouldn't preclude me from listening to Ludacris. To me, it wasn't as good as the music I grew up with, but I still liked it. Maybe I couldn't listen to an entire Fabolous album all the way through like I did with Das Efx, but it still had its moments.

But lately, rap sucks. If you can even call it rap anymore. There are too many adolescents copying each other's wack styles, using wack similes, rapping over wack beats, exhibiting total and utter wackness. Its not the subject matter to me. One thing that hasn't changed about me is that I don't care what you rap about, as long as you have a good flow and some clever lyrics. I mean, I listened to NWA talk about murdering dudes and selling drugs and causing general mayhem. Stuff that was far from my reality, but it sounded good so I dug it. Don't get me started on Jay-Z's materialism and drug smuggling rhymes. I don't know nothing about that, but he had a flow that was amazing and his rhymes weren't just run of the mill. I know this was a serious digression, but I just want you to know that I haven't grown into a prude in my old age. I will still rock some old gangsta stuff. Just gangsta stuff from the 90's.

I turn on the radio and I hear, for lack of a better word, garbage. And I'm aware that there has always been garbage on the radio, and will always be garbage on the radio. It never used to bother me. In fact, I would take pride in the fact that I hated that garbage. The only difference between now and then, is that I used to have an alternative. I could watch Rap City and Yo! MTV Raps and hear stuff that didn't get played on the radio. Hell, I could even turn on Hits From The Street, or Miss Cita's World and hear some non radio songs. I bought albums nobody ever heard of (for instance, I had that Jay-Z Reasonable Doubt album before anybody in my city even really knew who he was.) I can't tell you the last time I bought an album. (Actually, I can. It was Kanye's Graduation album) With the exception of a few cats out, I'm just not moved by any of the new music, underground or commercial.

So, yeah, I digressed majorly. The point of the post was to say, I want a divorce from the rap game. I don't care about all the fake beef, I don't care about people that can't seperate their real lives from their rap lives. I don't care about these ringtone rappers. I don't care about people that rap about the same thing people been rapping about for 20 years, and can't find a new way to say anything. I don't care about these rappers that don't even enuciate enough for you to realize that what they are saying doesn't really rhyme. I don't care about these rappers with no craft, no talent, no intelligence, no other word in their vocabulary besides swagger. I just don't care. I want a divorce from rap. If you need me, I'll be laid up in the cut listening to some neo soul or my Boogie Down Productions CD from 1988.

Can We Talk About Something Else?

Anything? Please? I don't want to be anti social (okay, that's a lie), but do we really have to have the same conversation every day? I know we aren't exactly friends, but if we must converse, can we talk about a topic that doesn't involve sports, music, or some woman you think is hot?

I know the Falcons lost. I saw the game, I saw SportsCenter, I read about it on the Internet. I know the college football championship game is on Thursday. Yes, I'm gonna watch it. I know the Celtics have been slumping even losing to my Knicks the other day. Basically, I'm up on all the sports news. I don't really need to recap it with you every day.

And the music? No, I haven't gotten anything new. Even if I did, when I tell you about it, you have NO IDEA who I'm talking about, so why do we continue to have this facade of a conversation? We don't listen to the same music. You like that down south hood music. I like hip hop with actual lyrics and beats that don't sound like they were made on a Casio keyboard. And while I can appreciate a clever line about drugs as much as the next man, "quarter brick, half a brick, whole brick ayyy" doesn't exactly qualify. If that's your ish, as you say, we don't need to talk about music ever again.

And the women? Dawg, for real. I'm 34 years old. I think you are even older than I am. I left the locker room talk when I was actually required to be in a locker room. That's high school stuff, dude. There's nothing wrong with looking at women, but do you really have to look like you been in jail for two years and they done let you loose (Andre 3000, 2008). Do you not see women every day? Is it really a surprise that in a building that is 75% female, there are some attractive ones? Is calling them b*tches really what we are still doing in the '09? It's time to grow up.

Basically, I'm saying this on my blog, because I'm not gonna say it in real life. I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU! But if we must can we please find another topic? I don't care what it is. We can talk about the migratory patterns of monarch butterflies for all I care. Anything but sports, music and women. That's been overdone. You're about to make me go back to the old school Rashan that spent his lunch break in the car to avoid these inane conversations. I guess this is why I don't have male friends.

I Just Might Be Crazy

Crazy

That’s me… Why am I crazy this time, you ask? Go ahead and ask...
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I’m glad you asked. I’ll tell you. I’m crazy because I was up until well after the sun came up this morning. What in the world was I doing awake until 8:09 AM, you ask? Again, go ahead and ask…
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Thanks for asking! I was up until 8:09 AM playing around with ITunes. This is what happened. I’ve had the same 806 songs on my iPod for ummm, about 3 months. When Jameil was here the 1st time, she accidentally took my iPod charger with her. She brought it back Thanksgiving, but I’ve been too lazy to go through my thousands of songs and pick new ones to put on there. I only have the 4 gig joint, which is more than enough, but that means I have to switch my music out. Anyway, last night, I decided to give Kanye another chance (I actually like it now that it’s been mastered properly. The bootleg joints I was listening to were pretty annoying), so I downloaded his CD. THEN… I decided to add some more old music from my cd collection. I found my Faith CD that I’ve been looking for for awhile. The Mary J My Life was all scratched up, but then I found my old favorite group from high school: Gang Starr. THEN… as I was importing these, I noticed that a lot of my bootleg mp3s didn’t have the correct information on them. Like they would be missing an artist name, or the wrong album was listed, or the name of the song was just totally wrong. That’s what you get when you don’t actually pay for the songs. Well, I started editing the information. THEN.. I saw that I had duplicates of some songs, so I figured I should go through and delete those to free up more space on my computer… THEN…I noticed I had some stuff in my iTunes that I would never ever listen to, so I deleted those too.

Next thing I know, its 7:30 and I still haven’t picked what songs I was gonna put on my iPod. Since I had to get up in 3 hours, the prudent thing to do would have been to just go to sleep and deal with that tomorrow, but I’ve never been one to be a slave to prudence… In the words of Eric Cartman: Whatever I Do What I Want!!! (That would have been more effective I wasn’t at work, and could link it. I’ll just go ahead scratch out this whole sentence. LOL I really need to go to sleep!) I went through my library and picked about 400 songs, and then couldn’t take it anymore, so I crashed. I knew if I went to my bed, I would never in a million years actually wake up, so I curled up on my loveseat, turned my Netflix instant viewing to a PBS documentary about the Statue of Liberty and fell asleep. Two hours later, my phone started yelling at me to wake up and I somehow managed to wake up and make it to work on time. Crazy, huh?

You may ask why I would do something like this. You know how this works by now… ASK ME!!!
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Well, I’ll tell you. Refer to the title of the post. I’m crazy! Not all the time, but sometimes, I just can’t control the way my brain works. It’s almost like OCD, except I don’t have to go in 5s or 3s. I just can’t stop a task until I’m finished. Anyway, I’ve written enough in this sleep deprived diatribe. I guess I should do some work now. Peace!

Rest In Peace (edit)

I can’t believe she’s gone. I mean, she was way too young to die. Why do the good ones always die young? I’m really at a loss for words. I don’t know what to say. This is just bugged out. I mean I didn’t even know she was sick. In fact we just were hanging out last night. She didn’t even tell me she was on the verge of death. I’m just so shocked right now. And sad. Is this what grief feels like? I don’t like it…one bit. Right now, I’m at work trying to function but my thoughts are with her. I may need to go home. I can’t show weakness in front of the coworkers. But I just want to cry. If anybody asks, I’ll tell them my eyes are watering because of my allergies, but on the real, I’m about 2 minutes away from letting the tears flow. It’s a tragedy that she died so young. I just got to know her and now she’s gone…

IPod Nano 9/7/2007 – 9/17/2008.

You will be missed…


EDIT: I WAS BEING EXTRA DRAMATIC. I WENT TO MY CAR AT LUNCH AND AFTER THE BATTERY DIED, I CHARGED IT A LITTLE AND NOW IT'S WORKING. LOL - PLEASE DISREGARD THIS POST. LOL

Aaayyy Shawty, She's Independent, Ain't That Right Luda?

Aaayyyy…

That is quickly becoming the most annoying sound in the world to me. You may not be familiar with it, or you just maybe paid attention to it. But in every other rap and R&B song out now, there’s some dude or dudes in the background yelling “Aaaayyy” Let me see how I can explain it in words… You know that Usher song Love in the club, in the chorus while he’s crooning about getting it in in a public place, his boys are saying “Aaayyy”

“I Wanna Make Love In This Club (aaayyy) In This Club (aayyy)”

Next time you listen to the radio, check it out. You gonna hear this aaayyy in way too many songs. The Dream, Jeezy, Young Berg, LL, and countless others. I was listening to my co workers horrible music all day yesterday, and I heard it in like 4 songs in a row.

Shawty...

Its bad enough when I hear this around the A or rather around DeKalb County, cuz I don’t be going out in the A anymore. But now it’s everywhere. It used to just be Atlanta cats, now its rappers from wherever, or even worse singers. And I’m not talking just hood singers like T Pain and them, but established R&B cats are calling women, “shawty” in their songs. I don’t know much about picking up women, but from what I read, they don’t like being called names like “shawty” or “lil mama” or “ hey you with the big booty and the overbite!” LOL

She’s Independent...

How many independent woman anthems are there gonna be? I mean, it’s one thing if they are coming from women, but men singing about this are simply pandering. Yes, Ne-Yo, I’m talking about you. Besides, all these faux empowerment songs are not really about independent women, they are about rich women. Last time I checked, you don’t have to be a boss to be independent. You don’t have to be balling out of control in order to handle your business. Some real independent women are just normal women that have to struggle, that don’t know how they are gonna pay their bills, but still do. Also, how independent do you think that these women are gonna feel when you are actually just still using them as sex objects, albeit sex object you don’t have to spend money on? Okay, I’m probably thinking too much about this one, but that’s what I do!

Ain’t that right, Luda, Wayne, Pain, Ross and Tip…

The south is taking over. They been done took over. And yes I’m aware that is not correct English. But really, do they have to be on every song? Can you make an R&B track without one of the aforementioned cats rhyming on it or a rap track without them guest starring on it? I just don’t wanna hear Wayne’s greatest hits back to back with only an interruption for some Rick Ross or Luda. And then when they get up on the posse cuts… I’m like oh no.. all of them on the same track? Please just slow down on it. I get bored easily, especially when you are talking about the same things in the same way with sometimes the same lyrics. Perhaps, that’s just me.



I don't think all this music is bad. I just get annoyed quickly with the lack of originality and repetitiveness. Also, I don't seek out these songs. I only hear them at work or if I forget my ipod. It's a long drive to work without any distraction, even if it is wack or cliched music that's distracting me.

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Ways I Am NOT Hip Hop

Everybody who knows me, knows that I am hip hop. Yeah, except for when I'm not. Here are 13 ways I am NOT hip hop:


1 Buffy Gilmore in the OC – I be watching some of the whitest shows in the history of television. It doesn’t matter to me. I just enjoy good writing, compelling plots, acting ability. At the same time, I don’t watch a lot of the black shows. It’s not a self hating thing, it’s a them hating thing. I hate wackness and I won’t settle for it just because we are the same race.

2 French Club President – How hip hop is that? I was French Club president in high school. I wish I could still speak French, but I can’t. I remember my French teacher, Mrs. Lebos found me a French rapper’s cd. His name was MC Solaar. I would link stuff, but I’m at work and lazy. He was okay, but I didn’t understand much of what he was saying.

3 Can’t Take That Away From Me – yeah, I know way too many songs from musicals. I don’t even know how I know them, cuz I don’t be watching musicals. But invariably at some point of a conversation, one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s greatest hits may pop in my head. Not very hip hop I know, but if Jigga can sample Hard Knock Life and get a hit, then I can randomly tell people that once you’re a jet you’re a jet to your last cigarette…

4 DJ Overrated On The Wheels of Steel – I really think the DJ gets too much credit. It’s not like back in the day when they would actually produce and scratch. Why do you get props for playing already made music? I can do that. I can put my ipod on shuffle and achieve that. And the talking over the beat? Just mad annoying!

5 Scared of guns – Can I be part of the hip hop culture without owning or ever firing a gun? I guess its even worse that I’m deathly afraid of guns. I have good reasons (almost getting shot 3 times) but I guess that ain’t really hip hop.

6 Radio Ethics – Okay, follow me on this one. Rappers are all about saying whatever they want. I don’t have a problem with that. But I do have a problem with the radio playing all kinds of lewd, profane, and drug promoting music when kids can hear it. The obvious “Lollipop” should by no means be played when kids can hear it. That’s why you got lil 4 year olds talking about giving head and not even knowing it. Or even worse, they do know what they are talking about. If you gonna make a radio edit, then edit it right. If you say mother fu.. its very obvious that the next part is cker. I don’t believe in censorship, but I do believe that there is a time and place for everything.

7 Hate jewelry – Yeah, no bling for me. Even back in the day with the truck jewelry like Slick Rick, I wasn’t interested. Now cats are finding new places to encrust with jewels. It’s ridiculous to me. I really don’t need to see platinum eyelashes with diamond teardrops. You are men, so how about not overdoing it with “Girls Best Friend”

8 No homeboys – I ain’t got no posse, no clique, no crew, no mob, no thugs, no wack dudes that I want to sign to my record label. In fact, all my friends are women. Is that hip hop?

9 Sneaker Pimp – I’m not so much into sneakers. I’ve only owned one pair of Jordans – the first ones Red and Black, but I’ve just never been into them. I know that’s a big part of the hip hop culture. We love our kicks, but that’s just not my steez.

10 Dancing Machine – I can’t dance. Phil Collins 1992. How can I be hip hop when all them cats do is make songs telling me to dance? You know what I’m talking about. I can 2 step, but I’m not about to be walking it out to the left and dip baby dipping while doing the butterfly, uh uh that’s old..lemme see you tootsie roll…

11 Chorus – Harmonizing, sight reading, tuxedo shirt, bowtie, cummerbund, singing Christmas Carols. I did manage to keep it hip hop though. I rocked my box and my pants sagged a little and I pimp walked on the stage. LOL

12 N.E.R.D. – I’m a big fat nerd. I know this, and I don’t accept it, I embrace it. I like being the smartest guy in the room. I like knowing about stuff I’m not supposed to know about. I like being weird, odd, whatever you wanna call it. I’m a proud nerd, but a cool one!

13 Start Snitchin’ – Yeah, I know you ain’t supposed to snitch, but there are some times where dropping a dime is necessary. I’m not saying I would snitch on the weedman, but the crack man? Shooooooot! You kill somebody and confess to me? You better hope that I wanted that person dead too… and there’s no reward… and I don’t think that I could possibly be next. I’m a tell. You my co defendant and it comes down to either you or me going to jail? I’m straight snitchin on you! I’m a be just like Mike Vicks homeboys. I’m a be like OJ’s co –ds? I’m too pretty for jail, dawg!!! LMAO!

Thursday Thirteen: Rashan's Favorite Hip Hop Albums

I don't feel like doing a long preamble to the post. This is what it is.... My 13 Favorite Hip Hop Albums (and some extras at the end).

1. NAS - ILLMATIC
A perfect album. The beats are on point. The lyrics are amazing. It's just an enrapturing album that keeps me drawn in from the beginning to the end. It's kinda of short, but that keeps it from having a bunch of unnecessary filler tracks. I still listen to this at least once a month.

2. RAEKWON - ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX
Another perfect album. Call this one 1B. Rza's beats were top notch. The wordplay between Raekwon and Ghostface (and all the other members of WuTang to a lesser degree) seems like the most natural thing ever. It's a cinematic album. The story telling makes it seem like a movie on CD. Another at least once a month joint.






3. THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. - READY TO DIE

I remember when I first copped this joint. I wasn't really a fan of the first single, "Juicy." I took a chance and boy was I rewarded. Biggie was the illest. I often wonder how ill he could have been if he wasn't killed. I'm pretty sure I can recite every lyric on this with or without a beat.




4. OUTKAST - AQUEMINI
I had a hard time deciding which Outkast album to put on this list. Between Aquemini and Atliens, you can't go wrong. I chose this one mostly because it has "Liberation" on it. 'Kast is so much more than just the Southern perspective, although they do that too. These brothers have something to say, even when dealing with familiar topics. Pure lyricism.

5. A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS

Another hard choice for me.. I like all the Tribe albums, especially the first 3. I chose this one mostly because of where I was when it came out. I remember bumping this joint almost daily in my VW Fox while riding around Savannah State's campus. The beats are melodic and diverse. The lyrics are dopeness personified. And they just give off a vibe of being cool cats. I love Tribe. I even named my blog after one of their albums (even if it's not as good as this album.)

6. MOBB DEEP - THE INFAMOUS
This joint came out of nowhere. I don't even remember how I first heard this. It probably was from "Shook Ones." But Havoc and Prodigy were spitting that thug stuff without mercy on this album. The production was surprisingly tight especially considering how young they were when this came out. Even though I'm far from a thug, I still like to get my tough guy on and rhyme along with this joint. Don't believe me? Check out this video from a couple of years ago! (excuse the shoddy camera work I was driving. Also don't listen while at work.)




7. JAY Z -REASONABLE DOUBT

I remember being in Best Buy one day and trying to find a new cd to cop. I saw this joint and was a little torn. I had only heard one song, and though I liked it, I had recently been burned by buying an album off the strength of one song. Something told me to go for it. I took it home and gave it a quick listen and liked it. Then I listened to the lyrical ability of this cat I had never really heard of before. Sure the topics were the same, but the metaphors and similes were so much better than most. Never woulda thought he would have ever became a big star. I figured Jay would be one of those cats that I liked, but nobody else gave any shine. Glad I was wrong.

8. SNOOP DOGGY DOGG - DOGGYSTYLE
My west coast pick. This is another classic. Dre's production was crisp and Snoop's delivery was the best it's ever been. Heavy rotation for like 2 years. I'll still pull it out from time to time when I need a fix. So many classic and popular songs on this one.







9. KANYE WEST - LATE REGISTRATION

One of the newest albums on the list. I've always been a Kanye fan. Even when he was just producing. The beats he picked for this album were perfect for his flows. The lyrics were clever and the braggadocio to me hearkened back to that old school hip hop, with an updated feel.




10. LITTLE BROTHER - THE MINSTREL SHOW
"Dope beats, dope rhymes. This hip hop really ain't that hard." - That's what this album is to me. Dope beats, dope rhymes. LB is one of my favorite current groups. Phonte is one of the illest lyricists in the game now.



11. PUBLIC ENEMY - IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK
This was Rashan X's favorite album. It was revolutionary. It was inciting. The beats were frenetic and banging. Chuck D. didn't have the best flow in the world, but it works over the frenetic and banging beats. This was the soundtrack to my discover of my racial identity. (I always knew I was black, but then I realized I was Black! capital B)




12. BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS - CRIMINAL MINDED
This was 86. It changed the whole rap game. It made rap more lyrical than it used to be. A whole lot more words and more being coherent than rap songs used to have. A little bit of everything on this one. Battle raps, gangster rap, social commentary... whatever you wanted. It was just so different than anything I had heard before.



13. PETE ROCK AND CL SMOOTH - THE MAIN INGREDIENT
I love the production on this joint. The music is very melodic, but still with the elements of hip hop: boom bap beats, scratching. And Cl was never better lyrically than on this album. I had to put this on the list because the album is just so consistent. It just flows right. You never get that track that you want to skip or that sounds out of place. One of my favorites to chill out to when I still want to listen to hip hop, but don't want cats berating me in their lyrics.

Honorable Mention:



ICE CUBE - DEATH CERTIFICATE


N.W.A. -STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON



ERIC B. AND RAKIM - PAID IN FULL




GANGSTARR - STEP IN THE ARENA



DIAMOND D. - STUNTS BLUNTS AND HIP HOP

I Killed Plies

Charlotte, North Carolina August 10, 2008

I was hanging out with Jameil and some of her friends. The topic of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes’s deaths came up. Somebody, I can’t remember which somebody it was, made the comment that death often comes in threes. I’d heard that before. It was one of the old ladies I worked with at St Joseph’s hospital favorite phrases. Granted, she would know. She often perused the obituaries looking for people she grew up to be dead. In fact, I don’t think she ever read the paper other than to find out about somebody passing. Digression, I know, but that’s what I do. Anyway, it was at this point that I became a potential murderer. I don’t know why I said it, but I did.

“Can number 3 be Plies?” (click here if you don't know who Plies is..)

The room fell silent for a few awkward moments before erupting into laughter. Maybe it really didn’t, and that’s my overactive imagination, but that’s what it seemed like to me. Oh my God, I killed Plies…

Why Plies of all people? I don’t know. I guess he was just in my head from my ride up to Charlotte. It seemed like if it wasn’t Lil Wayne on the radio, it was Plies. He’s pretty ignorant, but I’m not particularly hating on him. To me he’s amusing. I laugh when I hear his inane, profane and mundane lyrics. I chuckle at how since he did Buss it Baby, he now samples other late 80’s music in an attempt to recapture the magic of that hit. It’s mad obvious to me that he’s trying to find his niche amongst the millions of other wack rappers out there. But I don’t hate him. I don’t really want him dead. God, I hope I don’t really have the power of life and death in my tongue. I would hate to be responsible for someone’s death by one of my insensitive jokes.

So, if any of you know Plies, I need you to do me a favor. Be a bodyguard for him. If you see some goons threatening him, get his back. If you see him bout to drink and drive, tell that friends don’t let friends do that. If you see him about to eat a baconator from Wendy’s, educate him on the dangers of trans fat and heart disease. I know thugs don’t really get down with the bungee jumping too tough, but if he does, check his straps. Make sure them platinum teeth are set properly, I don’t want him choking. Okay, maybe that would be a little funny, but for God’s sake, give him the Heimlich!!! I’m saying…don’t let Plies die. I can’t deal with that on my conscience. LOL

PS – What’s the statute of limitations on me speaking death on somebody? Like if he dies in a year, am I still responsible? 5 years? What about 7 years? That sounds like a good legal number! Do I have to carry the weight of my reckless words for the rest of my life? Somebody, please… anybody help me out here! Heaven, I Need A Hug (Gratuitous excuse to post a video. LOL)

Thursday Thirteen: Old School Rappers

As you already know by now, I am a hip hop head. Been that way since 1983. Don't ask me that question from Brown Sugar, or we'll be here all night. I got stories of how I fell in love with hip-hop. For the most part, I still got love for hip hop, but its getting increasingly hard to find some that I actually like. I don't wanna say that hip hop is dead, because there's always been bad music that was popular. I can't blame Soulja Boy for killing it, because there were always jokers that I felt should never pick up the mic. For Thursday Thirteen, I'm gonna show some appreciation to some of the cats I used to rock with, and others that were put on my sucker list. Some of the people I didn't like may surprise you, so stick around. For the most part, I've gained an appreciation of what role they played in my upbringing, so I don't hate like I used to. Anyway, without further adieu, here are my 2 Thursday Thirteen lists: The Old School Rapper edition...

13 Artists I Used To (And Still) Dig:

1. Big Daddy Kane
2. Eric B. and Rakim
3. GangStarr
4. Public Enemy
5. Boogie Down Productions
6. EPMD
7. NWA
8. Pete Rock and CL Smooth
9. Tribe Called Quest
10. MC Lyte
11. LL Cool J
12. Special Ed
13. De La Soul

13 Artists That I Did Not (But Might Now) Dig

1. MC Hammer
2. Vanilla Ice
3. Run DMC
4. Too Short
5. 2 Live Crew
6. Beastie Boys
7. Easy E
8. Roxanne (any of them)
9. Kool Moe Dee
10. Rico Suave
11. Marky Mark
12. Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MC's)
13. Any R&B cat that tried to rap

The Slow Jam Deluxe Get The Draws Tape!!!

Anyone wanna help me with my new Ipod playlist? It's called The Slow Jam Deluxe Get The Draws Tape!!! (gotta have 3 exclamation points.) Full of slow and sensual music to get your lover in the mood. Yo, you remember back in the day, when you used to make them slow jam tapes and then you would go to your girl's house and wait for her mama to leave and then turn the lights down low and offer to give a massage and pop in your tape and hope she let you get under her shirt??? No??? That's just me??? All right, then. LOL! Anyway, this is a throwback to them good old days. I have so many more songs in my head, but I wanna hear your ideas too, so I'll stop at 15. Here's what me and a relative stranger friend came up with the other day.

1. Lay Your Head On My Pillow - Tony!Toni!Tone!
2. Adore (the extended mix) - Prince
3. Freek'n You - Jodeci
4. Whenever, Wherever, Whatever - Maxwell (That was her pick, although I like Sumthin Sumthin -Mellosmooth mix) better
5. Knockin' The Boots - H-Town
6. Between The Sheets - The Isley Brothers
7. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye (Can also be replaced by "Let's Get It On")
8. Flex - Mad Cobra
9. Turn off the Lights - Teddy Pendergrass
10. So Anxious - Ginuwine
11. Now That We're Done - 112
12. Bump N Grind (Remix) - R. Kelly (don't side eye me Diva)
13. It's Getting Late - Floetry (or Say Yes. I haven't decided yet.)
14. Cruisin (Wet Remix) - D'Angelo
15. I Like - Kut Klose

Aiight, let's get interactive with it. Go ahead and throw some more joints in the comments. Maybe I'll come back and YouTube link some of these. But I'm going to sleep now. Bon soir!

Flashback Friday: 90's Music Quiz

Since my homey Diva aint doing it anymore, I decided to steal her Flashback Friday title. What you gonna do about it? Huh? Huh? I'm gonna hit you all with a music quiz. Since a lot of you are mad young, I''ll restrict this to songs that were released in the 90's. You should remember at least some of these. I'm gonna break it down into 2 sections. 10 rap and 10 R&B joints. I give you the lyrics...you try to name the song title and the artist. I know it's hard, but also try to refrain from reading everybody else's answers until you have made your guesses. It'll be more fun this way. Lurkers, feel free to jump out of lurkdom to answer some of these. Tell all your musically inclined and/or competitive friends. It's time for Rashan's 90's Music Quiz...

The Rap Quiz

1. Broken glass everywhere
if it ain't about the money, I just don't care (that's right)
I'm that Goodfella fly guy, sometimes wiseguy
Spend time in H-A-W-A-I-I

PUFF DADDY AND MA$E - CAN'T NOBODY HOLD ME DOWN

2. Niggaz wanna try, niggaz wanna lie
Then niggaz wonder why, niggaz wanna die
All I know is pain
All I feel is rain
How can I maintain, with mad shit on my brain
DMX "RUFF RYDER'S ANTHEM"

3. Check it, fifteen of us in a three bedroom apartment
Roaches everywhere, cousins and aunts was there
Four in the bed, two at the foot, two at the head
I didn't like to sleep with Jon-Jon he peed the bed
Seven o'clock, pluckin roaches out the cereal box
Some shared the same spoon, watchin saturday cartoons
GHOSTFACE FEATURING MARY J BLIGE "ALL THAT I GOT IS YOU"000

4. At night I can't sleep, I toss and turn
Candle sticks in the dark, visions of bodies bein burned
Four walls just starin at a nigga
I'm paranoid, sleepin with my finger on the trigger
GETO BOYS "MY MIND'S PLAYING TRICKS ON ME"

5. Time to drop these bows, like Dusty Rhodes
Then I yell ho
We knockin em off they feet like a Southern hustler supposed to do
I's in the house, house like, a joint is lit fo my kin folks
And all the niggaz that was down, since we been broke

OUTKAST "SOUTHERNPLAYALISTICCADILLACMUSICK"
6.Girlies wanna ride with a brother like me
Cos they be hear me gettin funky frequently
They tell me don't drink and drive, I say what is this
Pass the Heinekin and Mind your business
Roll up a fat one and pass it around
Laid back, hypnotized by the funky sound
LL COOL J "THE BOOMING SYSTEM"

7.your simple words just don't move me
you're minor, we're major
you all up in the game and don't deserve to be a player
don't make me have to call your name out
your crew is featherweight
my gunshots'll make you levitate
I'm only nineteen but my mind is old
and when the things get for real my warm heart turns cold
MOBB DEEP "SHOOK ONES PT. 2"

8. I wonder if I blasted a little Elvis Presley
Would they pull me over and attempt to arrest me
I really doubt doubt it, they probably start dancin
Jumpin on my tip and pissin in they pants and
Wigglin and jigglin and grabbin on they pelvis
But you know my name so you never hear no Elvis
MASTA ACE INC "BORN TO ROLL"
9. It's been three weeks since you were looking for your friend
The one you let hit it and never called you again
Remember when he told you he was about the benjamins?
You act like you ain't hear him, but gave him a little trim
LAURYN HILL "THAT THING (DOO WOP)
10. Just wakin up in the mornin gotta thank God
I don't know but today seems kinda odd
No barkin from the dog, no smog
And momma cooked a breakfast with no hog
ICE CUBE "IT WAS A GOOD DAY"

The R & B Quiz

1.In the thunder and rain
You stare into my eyes
I can feel your hand
Movin up my thighs
Skirt around my waist
Wall against my face
I can feel your lips
Oooh
JANET JACKSON "ANYTIME, ANYPLACE"
2. And I can't stop thinkin' about
About the way my life would be
No I can't stop thinkin' about
How could your love be leavin' me
And I can't get you outta my mind
God knows how hard I tried
And if you walk right out my life
God knows I'd surely die
TONI BRAXTON "BREATHE AGAIN"
3.Don't think I don't see them looking atcha
All of them wishing they could have ya
And as a matter of fact
A bunch of them are itchin' for you to scratch them
D'ANGELO "LADY"
4. Baby I'm so tired of the way you turn my words into
Deception and lies
Don't misunderstand me when I try to speak my mind
I'm only saying what's in my heart
112 "CUPID"
5. Here I am, and there you are,
your eyes are calling me to your heart.
All you gotta do is knock, I'll let you in,
And we will feel the passion that flows within.
I don't mean to be bold, but I gotta let you know,
I gotta thang for you and I can't let go
AALIYAH "AGE AIN'T NUTHIN' BUT A NUMBER"
6. Still have your picture in a frame
Hear your footsteps down the hall
I swear I hear your voice, driving me insane
How I wish that you would call
BRIAN MCKNIGHT "ANYTIME"
7.I started to write you a letter
But I wanted to be more clever
I wanted to get down and sweet talk you
Hey, baby
TEVIN CAMPELL "CAN WE TALK"
8. No more empty conversations
Next time I will be totally sure, oh yeah
Don't want the pain of falling in and out of love
It's more than my poor heart should endure
BRANDY FEAT BOYZ II MEN "BROKEN HEARTED"
9. Promises you made me
All the things you told me
You said you'd never leave me
We'll be together for eternity
Now it's all in the past
Now I know our love will las
tLady I will do all I can
Lady I will be all I am
JODECI "LOVE U 4 LIFE"
10. Sorry didn't notice you then
Then again you didn't notice me
We remain passers by until the next time we speak
I'm hopin I can make you mine
before another man steals your heart
and once your beauty is mine
I swear we will never be apart
DRU HILL "BEAUTY"
Have a good weekend. I may post something if the mood strikes me. One!

Concert Recap

By now, you are either tired of waiting for me to write about the concert, or tired of hearing about it. I'm in the latter category, but I'll write it up anyway....

I left work on Friday and rather than trying to fight traffic to get home, I met my friend Kristie at her house. Its closer to my job, so I brought my clothes with me and got dressed there. After procrastinating for a while, I finally ironed and got ready. Once I was looking appropriately fly (LOL) we headed to the train station in separate cars. Since we live on opposite sides of the metro area, we took separate cars, so that when the night was over, I didn't have to go all the way back up there. To say that I didn't know where I was, would be an understatement, but I followed her down all those desolate roads and eventually wound up in civilization. We got on the train and headed to downtown Atlanta to the Fox theater.

When we got there, there was a crush of Black people in the atrium. Usually when I go to concerts, even hip hop concerts, the crowd is at least half white. Not for this one... it was all colored. LOL. We get in and they didn't check us for cameras or anything, so I could have brought mine. Oh well, the usher took us to the seats and they were great seats. I had seen the seating chart online, but I didn't realize I was gonna be that close. I wasn't front row or anything but I had a good view of everything. Raheem DeVaughn came on first and ran through some of his singles. He was high energy and gave a good show. He had on a suit with a bow tie and some sneakers, looking like as Stace said, "a hip hop hippie." Very Andre 3000-esque. He only performed for about 30 minutes, which was disappointing but totally understandable once Jill came on. After his performance he was taking pictures for $20 in the lobby. My homegirl got one, wait... remind me to get my $20 from her. She didn't have cash on her, so technically, I paid for it.

Next up, after a long intermission, Jill came on. I'm not gonna go down the list of all the songs she did, but lets just say she was amazing. I'm a Jill Scott groupie now. I always liked her, but even more now. The band was ridiculous. Her voice was flawless, she was getting down on the stage. Some of my favorites... when she did "Long Walk" and mixed it with Roy Ayer's "Sunshine", the bluesy version of "He Loves Me", "How it Make you feel"... Really all of it was just great. She did a good mix of the old and the new. Before I knew it 2 hours of straight performing with no breaks went by. At that point she left the stage, but no one in the audience left, so she came out and did a couple more songs. Then she really left, they turned up the lights and people started to leave. Jill then came back and said the show was officially over, but she wanted to share a new song with us. It started out with just Jill onstage, beatboxing and then singing. Then the entire band came back and joined her, then it morphed into an audience participation thing. It was mad cool. All told, Jill put on a 2 and half hour show by herself.

After the show, Kristie and I walked back to the train station (I remember one year at Freaknik, I asked a cop "where's the train station, yo?" He responded by saying "we don't have trains. We have MARTA" Not sure why I inserted that sidebar in...) and saw some interesting characters while waiting. Like the guy that had on a suit and some crocs. I didn't know they made those things for grown men. Or the guy that was playing a sitar on the train... but not asking for money. Or the guy that we thought was a woman at first that decided that he wanted to stretch on the train, and was about *thisclose* from putting his leg behind his neck. It was a character fest, and me without my camera. By the time we got back to the cars, it was too late to go get some food, so we just headed home. All in all, a great night.

Musical Notes

Just a few notes about music. I'll try not to be too much of a hater, even though it's in me.

Do people not realize that J.ay-Z is talking from the perspective of dope in his song I Kno.w? They play it on the radio like he's actually talking as a man to a woman. He's actually talking as heroin to a dope fiend. Even though I don't really like the Ame.rican G.angster album, his lyrics are on point.

Never was much of a Ciar.a fan, but in that new video she's looking kinda nice. She's like a mixture between a fitness model and pole dancer. Me likey!

That Chr.is Br.own song "Wi.th Y.ou" sounds to me like a retread of Beyon.ce's "Irr.ep.laceable." I wonder if N.e-Y.o wrote that one too. At the least, it must have been produced by the same people (whoever they are.)

My embarrassing stupid song that I like of the moment Ro.ck.o Da D.on: "Um.ma Do M.e" My favorite line: "You like dancin' I just two step/You like to trick off but I don't do that." Something about the phrase "trick off" just cracks me up. I can't believe this dude is with Mo.nica. Is there no justice in the world?

Is that R.Kelly rem.ix to "Fla.shing Lig.hts" a real remix or did he just Deebo the track? It sounds like he just made his own shit up and delivered it to radio.

S.is.Q0 is doing a country music show? Wow... I wonder if he still got that platinum blonde hair cut. Anyone remember when he had that dance show on MTV? Sis.qo's Shak.edown, I think it was called. Remember I was telling you about my homeboy Tony last week. Back in the day, he got that blonde S.isQo-esque hairstyle. We clowned him incessantly about that.

My niece got Alici.a Ke.y's album this week. Why did she play "No O.ne" 50-leven times in a row. I was like can you go to the next song...please? I beg of you...no more "N.o One." I guess it's better than that Han.nah Mo.ntana she was listening to a couple of months ago. Okay, full disclosure time... I actually like that show and even sometimes watch it when the kids aren't around. LOL, I know that sounds strange, but hey, I'm just being honest.

It pains me to write this sentence but I'm gonna do it anyway. W.uT.ang's album is fuckin' horrible. I was the biggest W.u fan back in the day. I will still zone out to their first 3 albums, not to mention a lot of the solo albums. I know they've been out of the spotlight for a minute, but I was expecting something a whole lot better from them. On the contrary, Gh.ostface (from the Wu) delivered another hip hop classic album in my opinion. I need him to share his beats with the rest of the clan.

Someone do me a favor, please? Tell Lil Wa.yne that he doesn't have to be on every song, mixtape, video etc. There is a such thing as over exposure. Even though, he did deliver one of my favorite lines this year ("I'm so fucking good like I'm sleeping with Meagan" I tried several times to write a post using that title, but I couldn't ever come up with anything. LOL), he really is not that good to be diluting himself on everybody else's songs. Just tell him to slow it down, and while you're at it, tell him to stop getting arrested for drugs. Thanks!

I rode by the Lu.pe Fi.asco concert tonight. I didn't buy a ticket, cuz I just don't know about him. He's cool, but I don't think I would want to see him perform live. W.yclef was in Atlanta last night too. I know I don't wanna see him. He's one of those cats in the game I respect, but whose music I don't like.

I could be wrong, but isn't falsetto a male thing? I was listening to TheDr.eam's song of the same name, and he was talking about making a girl talk in a "False.tto." Wouldn't that just be her natural higher pitched voice? I don't know, and I probably should look it up before I post this, but I got enough damn links in this post.

Ame.rie! Don't have anything to say about her, just wanted an excuse to post a picture of her. Good Lawd!!! She is running a close second to Ga.brielle Un.ion in the celebrity crush field.

You ever have a crush on someone that was based on something totally other than looks? Fait.h Eva.ns used to be my music crush. Her voice is just amazing and I hope she releases something new soon. I heard a new??? song the other day that just reminded me that I was missing her.

I know I said I would try not to sound like a hater, but I have nothing but contempt for B.ow Wo.w and Om.arion. Their music makes me want to smash whatever outlet is playing it. It's on the radio - HULK SMASH! Video on BET - HULK SMASH!. On the internet - HULK SMASH! I know that a lot of artists will sample other artists, but when they used "Goin.g B.ack To C.ali" for their new song, I wanted to just find them and beat the shit outta them. Well, mostly Bo.w W.ow. I don't like O, but at least he's not a poseur and actually has a modicum of talent. Okay, rant over.

Even when I intend to write a short post, I find a way to make it long as hell. LOL! Anyway, these were Rashan's Musical Notes for the day. Happy Saturday!

Music Is My Girlfriend

I can associate a song with just about every girl I dated. Whenever I hear certain songs it just makes me reminisce on the old days. The women come and go, but the music and the memories last forever.

I can take it back to the early days. Whenever I hear "Rock wit you" or "Tenderoni" by Bobby Brown, I think of my first real girlfriend Dedra. I think about how much of a lame I was back then who had no business trying to have a girlfriend that I was scared of. I think we "went together" for about a month and never even talked on the phone.

When I hear BoyzIIMen's "Uhh Ahh (the sequel)" and Shai's "Comforter" I think of the times me and Shay spent at her crib while her mama was out buying weed. You can get away with a lot of stuff when the girl's mama is high as hell all the time.

Mary J Blige and K-Ci "If Loving You Is All That I Have To Do" always reminds me of the time when D2's mother walked in on us right before it was about to go down. She came to tell us to turn down the music and that song was playing. I never did get that close to sealing the deal with her again.

I spent 3 years with Lisa in college, so I have plenty of musical memories of her. The ones that come to mind the most though are Faith and 112's albums. Many nights we stayed in that little room in her sister's house listening and being inspired by those albums. I also can't listen to Al Green without thinking of Lisa. When we finally ended our relationship, the upstairs neighbor was blasting Al Green's Greatest Hits. If our breakup was a movie, then that was the soundtrack. To this day when I hear "For The Good Times" I smile because the song just mirrored what we were going through.

Don't look so sad I know its over
But life goes on and this world keeps on turning
Let's just be glad we have this time to spend together
There is no need to watch the bridges that were burning

Lay your head on my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body close to mine
Hear the whisper of the raindrops
Blow softly against my window pain late at night

It ain't all R&B though. When I hear anything by Master P or Mystikal, I instantly think of that wild night at "The Zoo" when "Bootleg" (That was her actual nickname. I didn't give her that name) tried to rape me in the corner of the club. I need to write that story out one day, shit was straight comedy. I was drunk or high, or both and some stuff happened that I try to block out of my memory. But if I hear "Make 'Em Say Uhhhh!!!", the repressed memory just comes back.

"Jazzy Belle" reminds me of Aries Chick # 2. She was from Atlanta and was always playing the Outkast whenever I snuck in her dorm room. That and "My Boo" by Ghosttown DJ's. She was a real party girl and that was required party music back when we were kicking it.

Or when I hear "Gotcha Open (Remix) by Black Moon, I instantly think of the one that got away. Her name was Kailee and we were vibing the whole night at the Soul Kitchen, one of the few spots where they played hip hop in Savannah. I was enthralled with her because she knew the lyrics to all the East Coast hip hop songs that only I liked. Oh yeah, and she was dead fine. She wrote her number on 5 dollar bill, and I think I accidentally used it to buy a drink. You should have seen me trying to remember that number. I still remember it was 912 236 but I couldn't remember the last 4. I was sick about that for a minute. I tried everything I could to find a way to bump into her again, even hanging out with some hip hop heads from the Savannah College of Art and Design (where she went) that I couldn't stand hoping that someone knew her. I never did find her.

"We Can't Be Friends" by Deborah Cox always reminds me of my stalker chick. The times before I knew she was a stalker. That song was always on the radio when I was taking that long ass ride home from her apartment in the morning before work. I wish I would have known at the time that she was planning our wedding without my knowledge and planned to use "Happily Ever After" by Case. I can't listen to that song to this day.

The girl I lived with songs were "Fortunate" by Maxwell and "Beauty" by Dru Hill. "Fortunate" was the first time that I had ever did the corny "that's our song" thing. We were together 2 years, so we got a lot of musical memories too. Like smoking out to 8Ball and MJG's "Space Age Pimpin'" or her turning me onto Jill Scott and me turning her on to Nas and Mobb Deep and her subsequently taking all my Nas Cd's when we broke up. (What up, C! If this is one of those rare occasions that you are reading this, you know I had to put you on blast for that ish!)

I can't hear "With You" by Tony Terry without thinking of Tweety. We were so incompatible musically that this was probably the only song that both of us liked. She liked Ruben Studdard and cats like that, while I was more into the hip hop and neo soul type music. I remember we took this road trip once, and she was listening to gospel music when she drove and I was listening (or trying to) Ghostface. We couldn't agree on much of anything including music.

I got so many more musical associations, but I didn't really intend for this to be this long. It's about 7:30, and I haven't been to sleep yet, so I'm gonna just stop this. But before I go, let me ask: Is it just me that associates music with people from the past? Do you do the same things? Tell me some of your musical memories. One!

Greasy R&B

For the youngsters reading the blog, you might not get this post, but if you are anything like me, you dig music from before you were born. Everybody that knows me knows that I'm a hip hop head. But I also dig R&B music. I don't get down too tight with these young kids that are all dancing and no singing, but give me someone who can actually sing and I'm there. I was just playing around with my ipod making a playlist and I was looking at some of the old R&B files I have on my computer. I noticed I had a lot of stuff from the 80's, when cats rocked jheri curls and looked half feminine. I call it Greasy R&B.

I started out with some Debarge. Remember them cats? They were definitely greasy. They had big hair and if you didn't look closely at the pencil thin mustaches, you couldn't really tell the men from the women. I had to put "I Like It", "All This Love" and Love Me in a Special Way" on the Greasy R&B playlist. Anyone remember when El Debarge did that song "Who's Johnny?" from that movie Short Circuit? I can't believe I used to listen to a song about a fictional robot.

I had to throw on some Ready For The World. These cats were extra greasy. They had the curl and always looked like they were sweating. They had some hits though. I added "Tonight", "Digital Display" and of course "Love You Down" I had so much more, like "Oh Sheila" and "Mary Goes Round" but I didn't want to have too much of one group on the Greasy R&B playlist. True story: In 7th grade, I played RFTW's "Long Time Coming" album every day on my walkman on the way to school. I never got tired of it.

Full Force Get Busy One Time!!! Another super greasy 80's classic group. A bunch of big tough guys that looked like they just got of jail singing love songs and wearing jackets with no shirts. The look was crazy, but the music was undeniably good. "Temporary Love Thing", "Friends B4 Lovers" and "Ain't My Type of Hype" are some of their songs I added to the Greasy List. They also produced a lot of the old hip hop and R&B joints back in the day. Like "Roxanne, Roxanne" and most of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's joints.

Force MD's are best known for their greasy R&B classics "Tender Love" and "Love is a House." Another true story: I used to tape songs off the radio when I was a kid. I remember I was waiting all day to get "Tender Love" on 98.7 KissFM (My New York people: Is that still a radio station?) I finally got it, and they cut off the end of the song. For some reason, I remember that made me really mad.

Kashif and Colonel Abrams - I don't have any of their music, but I remember they were really greasy and wanted to include them. I can't remember any of their songs.

Lionel Richie was the ish back in the day. I know he comes across as corny now a days, but don't tell me you weren't tryna "Dance on the Ceiling" "All Night Long." Or you know that when you saw the "Hello" video, you didn't even care that he was a creepy stalker. Remember when he won all those American Music Awards and kept yelling out "Outstanding !!" Lionel was the man with his greasy curl. True Story Part 3: In 8th grade, I was supposed to sing a duet of "Say You, Say Me" with my first girlfriend Dedra in a chorus concert. I chickened out and pretended to be sick. LOL

Kool and the Gang were not only greasy, but borderline feminine looking in the 80's. They made some good music though. "Celebration" is ubiquitous, so I stayed away from that. Instead I have "Fresh' and "Get Down On It" on the playlist. Most of their songs I like were from the 70's pre-greasy, so I left those off.

Billy Ocean was another greasy cat that I liked. "Carribean Queen", "Suddenly" and who can forget the 1980's stalker's anthem "Get out of my Dreams, Get into my Car." Have you seen this cat lately? He has long grey dreads and a beard. Looks totally different.

Prince and Mike Jax could have been on the Greasy List, but they have their own playlists. Besides, its time for me to get some sleep instead of reminiscing about old Jermaine Jackson songs and trying to remember the name of that singer that was married to Jody Watley. (Note to self: Download some of that tomorrow.) What did I miss? What other greasy singing cats should I add to my playlist? Who were you rocking to in the 80's?