STREETS OF FIRE EDITION!
This one’s for Matt Brady.

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. . . you didn’t know Diddley. A fond Rest in Peace to a master of the craft.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t knock someone who is about to be inducted into the fraternity of fatherhood, but this is Clay Aiken we’re talking here, the guy who called out his dad for being an ass the minute he got into the public eye and yet has refused to stop making an ass out of himself ever since he stepped into the spotlight.

As far as the baby is concerned, sorry about your luck, kid… on the bright side, maybe in about 20 years you too can act like you won finish second place in the national karaoke contest and call out your old man in the media too.

By the way, he made such a big deal about how he shut off his sex drive… now he’s turned it back on for a turkey baster? I guess “Solitaire” truly IS the only game in town… and was that the same hand he put over Kelly Ripa’s mouth? No wonder she was so concerned about germs…

The Summertime music explosion is right around the corner! While the hip-hop world feverishly awaits for new “ish” releases from Lil Wayne, Game, Nas and Ice Cube (oh yeah, O’Shea is promising a ‘hot’ Summer with Raw Footage); the Lyrical Lounge got you covered with these hearty appetizers:

JR Writer - Do Dat - Break-ups. First, the Fat Boy’s then N.W.A. and now The Dipset. Cam’s, Jimmy’s and Max B’s latestet falling out hasn’t stopped JR Writer’s grind! Check out “Do Dat” from the forthcoming album Politics & Bullshit. Dipset unity or not, looks as if ”the writer of rappers” is gonna continue to drop heat! (Babygrande)

Dame Grease featuring (the recently ousted Dipset member) Max B - Connecticut Kush is the first (and prob the only) single off Dame’s self-produced compilation Goon Musik! (”Light a spliff, nod your head, and zone out to “Connecticut Kush.” - Who knew the good stuff was buddin’ up in New England?)

Count Bass D - Can We Hang Out Tonight - Look up The Count’s discography and you’ll realize that dude’s got enough music in the catalog to make MF Doom envious. I doubt if even Wikipedia can keep up with him! A special shout goes out to 1320 Records for putting a focus on supporting ‘real’ music! And be sure to check for Count Bass D’s new album, tentatively titled L7 droppin’ later this year..

Almost September - Love- A rather coloful collective we have here, as the visual dynamic in the group plays out like a bag of Skittles. Hip-hop meets-chic-meets-punk ???  But what the hey, they got an industree co-sign from none other than Sleepy Brown and the Blastmaster KRS-One-on their debut single -so don’t hate on em’ to hard!! (And yes, that is MC Lyte!!)

Sup y’all, Capt. Westside gets bombarded with free swag like you would not believe! Most of it is “all-filler-no-thriller,” but this free-bee “street album” by Nino Bless definitely got my radars up!

Album features Nino ‘blessing’ the mic with fellow hip-hop luminaries such as Graph, Joe Ortiz (formerly of Aftermath), Saigon, Styles P (LOX), mix-tape king Joe Budden and the legendary Kool G Rap!

Tracklisting w/production credits: 
1.) Intro (produced by Veterano)
2.) Da Livest (produced by Yes Sur)
3.) Peep Game (Freestyle)
4.) Times Are Hard f/Joe Budden (produced by Focus)
5.) My Piano (Freestyle)
6.) Means Of Survival (produced by Scram Jones)
7.) Going In (Freestyle) f/Grafh
8.) Name Dropping (produced by Sivey)
9.) 3^rd Degree f/Saigon and Crooked I (produced by Scram Jones)
10.) When It Rains (Freestyle)
11.) Urban Legends (produced by Veterano)
12.) Ever So Subtle (produced by Gunz N Butter)
13.) Cause Of Influence (Nick’s Story) (produced by Veterano)
14.) Blame It On Hip-Hop (Freestyle)
15.) 4 In The Clip f/Joell Ortiz, Styles P & Kool G Rap (produced by Veterano)
16.) Bright Lights (Freestyle)
17.) Won’t Change (produced by Frado)
18.) Going In Pt.2 (Freestyle)
19.) My Story (produced by Blackout Movement)

Free-bee (and all legal) download here: Untold Scriptures

Hip-Hop hilarity…from the verbally quick witted trio known as Ugly Duckling! (A little dated as the vid is from 2003’s Taste The Secret album. But, a classic piece of hip-hop nonetheless, that I’m sure only a handful of people have ever seen!) Enjoy: The Drive Thru

And if you don’t know, now you know..

I must preface this by saying that the only reason I probably would ever have been interested in this song is because The Rock was in it, but after listening to it again this morning, you got to love a song that can borrow from Ricky Martin and John Denver at the same time.

The video quality isn’t so great, but enjoy… this is one of my kitschy favorites. I forgot at the end that Rock laid the smack down on the big guy.

P.S. If anybody can find me a video of Rock telling The Coach to dance the Charleston, I would love to see it. The closest video of that era that I can find on YouTube is when Rock told Coach he wasn’t praying right when he said, “What up, G?” and then Rock’s eyes got all bulgy and he literally kicked Coach’s ass out of the picture.

I am shocked –SHOCKED, I say — that a network television show that manufactures pop music stars could be accused of ANY malfeasance.
EVER.
Pshaw!!!

Update!
Video of the sorry affair.

Happy 75th birthday to the Redheaded Stranger!

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Mic Boyd has collaborated with his brother, Classified, on quite a few tracks, and now he’s hitting the scene with a full length album of his own.

The debut album, Lost in the Woods has its ups and downs, but definitely shows a strong talent ready to hit the hip-hop scene; his brother produced the album, but Mic is definitely not looking to stand in his shadow for long.

The album opener, and first single, Guess Who’s Back features Classified, and stays very safe. A lot of the lines will sound familiar to rap fans; they are versions of or directly copied lines from other famous rappers’ hits. The song has some good rhymes, but uses generic imagery and hip-hop stereotypes. Based on the first track alone, expectations for the album run pretty low. Then the second song hits, and the story changes.
Ignored features much stronger production, some real music, and fantastic story-telling. The lyrics are smoother, and more original; it’s a complete turn-around all at once. From there on, the album varies a little, but stays pretty strong. When Mic Boyd falls back on lyrics about weed, it gets boring; there are a lot of them, so if you’re not down with the ganj, this is not the rapper for you. When he tells stories and leaves those generic standards behind, he shines and shows why people should listen to his music. His references reach all over the spectrum, from the streets to the geeks. As the album progresses, Boyd seems to get more comfortable with himself and his sound.

The wide range of beats and backgrounds, accompanied by several strong story-telling songs (and a few boring weed ones) make this a good debut. With a focus on the story-telling and leaving the constant drug references behind, Mic Boyd’s next album could leave good behind and be just plain great.

Check out the video for the first single after the break.

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I’m not sure if there’s a backlash brewing out there yet, but if not, let’s start one.

I’m officially sick of hearing about Leona Lewis.

I don’t care that Simon Cowell discovered her on one of his British TV shows. I don’t care that he groomed her for stardom. I don’t care that she’s blee-hee-hee-ding love all over the damn place.

I just resent that’s there’s a vast conspiracy by huge, mediocore-entertainment-promoting entities (American Idol, Oprah’s show, etc.) to cram this woman down our collective throats. The “buzz” around Leona Lewis couldn’t have been more manufactured if had rolled off of a Ford line. Please, America, let this one go. If diva history is any indication, she’s already destined for marriage to an older man or washed-out performer, followed by a slow side to Vegas. The only one to escape the trap is Mariah, and that’s quite frankly because many men of all ages still entertain the thought of banging her like a screen door. Forget Leona Lewis. You don’t have to buy it just because they sell it.

The memoir: an important genre of nonfiction literature designed to give us lowly readers an insider look into the lives of the influential, the powerful, the motivational, the courageous, and some of the most remarkable people of our time.

Miley Cyrus fits none of these descriptions. Yet, she has already signed a book deal and is slated to write her very own memoir.  My revulsion at such a published work is matched only by my revulsion at the knowledge that every pre-teen consumer will be clamoring for it the very day it is released.

Apparently she can’t wait to tell everyone all about her strong relationship with her family. That’s adorable! But we all know that it’s actually Disney prostituting this rising young star’s career even more than it already has.

Also, it’s simply a premature move on her part. It’s only a matter of time before she falls into the vortex of drugs, car crashes, parties, nude pictures, and rehab. And then she has to write another memoir to talk about her fall from grace and her struggle back to the top! She might as well wait and publish it all at once.

The Hoff received eye surgery today.

While he is indisposed, all of his Hoffly duties will be handled by Parker Stevenson.

Get well soon, sir!

Dear Barb,

Forever yours,
7 Year Bitch