Monday, June 28, 2010

BET Awards 2010

So i don't think I need to speak on how whack the 2010 TOMFOOLERY...I mean BET Awards were but I will post the performances that I thought were pretty dope.



Now even though I wasn't exactly that impressed by this performance, just for the simple fact that this is the first time we've seen Kanye in 6 months I had to post this. I think I would've liked it more if he wasn't wearing that obnoxious chain -_- but oh well, Kanye's back and I can't wait for what he has in store for us in 2010.



This was the first performance of the night that I truly enjoyed and you could tell that T.I. and everyone else was enjoyin it too (just look at Willow Smith jammin lol). T.I. looked great on stage and showed no signs of rust in the performance. There were a lot of returns that night now that I think of it.



I was just expecting Drake to perform Over and be done with it so when I saw him open with Fireworks I was automatically glued to the TV screen. Of course he did end up going into Over which sounds great live and then brought out Jeezy to perform a remix of Lose My Mind (thank GOD Plies didn't get on stage -_-). Drake continues to grow as a performer and it was dope to see him very confident on that stage. Oh and people need to stop with the Illuminati stuff jeez -_-.

I was gonna post Trey Songz performance but it wasn't on youtube in good quality. Trey continues to solidify his spot as the new king of R&B and definitely outdid Usher's somewhat spastic performance. He kept it low key and intimate performing Yo Side of The Bed (one of my favorite songs by him) and then went into Purple Rain by Prince. Great performance overall



And the best performance of the night goes to Chris Brown who did an amazing tribute to the late great Michael Jackson that will definitely be talked about throughout the week, most likely because during Man in the Mirror he broke down on stage and cried. Now some people out there thought that it was all a publicity stunt to gain sympathy but I really feel like it was genuine. Anyone who's followed his career knows that MJ was his biggest idol/influence and Chris was supposed to do a tribute for him a while ago but because of the backlash he received from the Rihanna incident he was denied that oppuriunity which I can only imagine destroyed him. After all the bad press, emotional battles and loss that he'd went through in the past year I can only imagine that it all came to ahead during his tribute to his hero. It definitely tugged on my heart strings and I can only hope that Chris only continues to venture upward out of this hole that his career was in.

Besides these the rest of the Award show was just a bunch of random nigga shit to me but if you guys have different view or had performances that you think I should've posted you know what to do. Till next time, Rock on from Krypton!

Dueces Up!

-Vision.Air.y-

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Return of the Random Bulk Post

Wass good people? It's been a while since I've just done a post chronicling a bunch of random things that have been on my mind lately and I think it's long overdue so here goes nothing.

-So after months and months of scouring the Earth to find a job I finally struck gold. I'm working with one of my best friends cleaning up office buildings after everyone leaves (If you've seen ATL it's pretty much what the main characters do). While it's not the most lucrative job it's a good job to keep me stable until I find something better. It feels good to not have to stress about being dead broke anymore =D

-I'm currently in the rebuilding stage of my life where I'm getting more used to these newfound responsibilities. I still have a lot of growing and learning to do but I finally feel like I'm heading in the right direction.

-I have a lot of things that I plan to get or change in the coming months so that I can TRULY start on this whole film thing starting with getting a new camera and a MAC. Don't be surprised if you see more of me in the foreseeable future.

-I'm currently in the best physical shape that I've ever been in and that's all thanks to working out practically everyday at home lol. Who needs a gym when you can do so much at home?

-The whole Nikki Minaj/Lil Kim fued thing is retarded to me. Why can't older rappers just leave the newcomers alone? I don't ever remember Nikki outwardly dissing Kim in any of her songs, so if you ask me it seems like Kim's trying to spark something up to make herself relevant again because she's fallen off in a BIG way smh.

-Why are interracial relationships so frowned upon? it's 2010 people grow the fuck up. It gets a little annoying when I hear some close-minded individuals talking about how I'm "turning on our kind" because I date a white girl. I'm not dating her because of the color of her skin, I date her because she's an amazing person. If she was black, yellow, tan, purple or whatever then i'd STILL date her so step the fuck off. I swear people need to grow up. I think people should be grateful that we even live in a day and age where we can make that choice.


-It's kind of funny how a lot of people have turned on Drake as of late. He's like the new person to hate on for some odd reason. I remember like last year everyone loved this dude and now all of a sudden he's "not living up to the hype". No he's not the greatest rapper alive (but then again who really is?) but he sure as hell is talented and one of the hottest artists in the game right now. I'll agree that he is a little oversaturated but then again is it his fault that everyone wants him on their song? No it's not. Music fans can be real fickle sometimes smdh.

-While we're on the topic of Drake, it's good to see that critics are liking his debut album alot. I'm happy for the guy and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'll let all this go to his head. I wish him nothing but the best in his future.


-If you haven't seen The A-Team yet then go see it because it's the most fun movie that's dropped this summer so far. Even more so than Iron Man 2. It takes everything that made the original show great, fleshes it out a little, puts it on the big screen and breaths new life into it. It's fast paced so you don't find yourself getting bored, The action sequences are top notch and the actors mesh together really well. While the critics might not have liked it much, everyone that I know enjoyed it alot. I've already seen it twice lol.


-Eminem's new album is his best work since The Eminem Show. I know I gave Relapse a positive review a while back, as I listen to the album more I began to realize that there was a lot of filler in there and that after awhile it lost a lot of it's appeal. You can tell that Em was still a little off during that period of time. On Recovery though we see Em more focused, mature and hungry than I think he's ever been. While you'll still hear some of the signature "shock value" lines that we've all grown accustomed to from Em, this album is a lot brighter than his past albums with songs like Not Afraid and Won't Back Down. Another thing that sets it apart from his other albums is the fact that he reached out to other producers for the beats on this album which he has never done. He's got beats from DJ Khalil ("Fear" by Drake), Alex Da Kid ("Airplanes pts 1 & 2" by B.o.B.), Just Blaze, Havoc from Mobb Deep as well as a couple of unknowns. I think because of this it allowed him to really focus on lyrically MURDERING every beat on the album and he really does. Also we all know that Em's albums are never really feature heavy but the few features that he does have on the album are definitely different than what you'd expect. The most eye catching of these are Pink and Rihanna who both are awesome on the songs that they're on. While I think some Eminem fans will initially be disappointed in this album because it doesn't feature any crazy accents or songs about his fucked up childhood, I personally view this as a welcome change and it goes to show you that he doesn't need drugs to be a MONSTER on the mic. Go pick up Recovery when it drops on June 22nd.

-I love how the world seems to be sitting back on Kanye's dick again after Power dropped =D

-Lupe really needs to drop a single sometime soon because the buzz for his album has died down immensely with all the delays and lack of material. He's really being criminally misused by his record label.

-I think I can speak for everyone when I say, that this weather is fuckin ridiculous. It hasn't been this humid in a long time and it's not even officially summer yet! If it's like this now, I'm scared to see what I'll be like in July >.<.

-Has anyone seen Prince of Persia? I've been trying to see it but everytime I try to go something derails my plans. I've heard mixed things about it so lemme know what you thought if you saw it.

-Chances are since I'm working now I'll be posting more movie reviews once I see them so be on the look out for that -

Too many people nowadays live their lives devoid of passion and ambition and it saddens me. I think that when people start thinking "realistically" in everything they do then the less happy they are with their lives. I'm not saying that thinking that way is necessarily bad, but when you let hold you back from pursuing your dreams then I think you're missing out greatly on the amazing things that life has to offer.

-I recently found out that my ex (aka my first love/heartbreak) has been redeveloping feelings for me as of late. Why do females do that shit? When I'm available I get taken for granted but once someone else shows me some appreciation I'm all of a sudden a hot commodity? fuck outta here with all that.

-I've been feeling real quotable lately and one of my favorite quotes that I made up is "Love is like a rose covered in thorns. you can either just grab it and massacre your hands or you can take your time picking off the thorns so you can hold that rose safely. how you get to love determines the end result"

-Twilight fans may be the most annoying people on the planet -_-

-I know I'm gonna get judged for this but I think Justin Bieber is a cool little dude. No this doesn't mean I'll go out and by his albums (Though me and my girl do like his song "U Smile"), But I do think he's a talented kid and if he keep on growing he could end up a dope artist. Only time will tell.



-I've been listening to the Blueprint 3 alot lately especially So Ambitious. That's like my theme song. "The motivation for me, is them telling what I cannot be, Oh well!" <--- Me in a nutshell.

Well I gotta finish this post up here because I gotta get ready to head over to my girls house to help her set up for her grad party. Hope yall enjoy the post and be sure to comment on this and the post before this one, thanx. Till next post, Rock on from Krypton.

Deuces Up!

-Vision.Air.y-

Revolution of Evolution



"Where will you be for the Revolution?"

New Cudi surfaced yesterday and it serves as just another part of what I think is G.O.O.D. Music's hostile takeover of the second half of 2010. Cudi's been performing this song live pretty frequently lately so I knew it was only a matter of time because we heard it in CDQ. On REVOFEV (which is an abbrev. for Revolution of Evolution) we hear our "big brother" Cudi preparing for "the Revolution" and rallying the listeners to follow him. The Revolution he speaks of can be taking in many different ways but I'm guessing he's talking about the current evolution in the music industry. This song showcases Cudi's affinity for 70s psychedelic rock and new age because the beat on this song reminds me of something The Beatles would've put out during their Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band days. Cudi doesn't rap at all on this song (which apparently had irked a few people) and instead brings his drowsily sings through this call to action for evolution in music. The structure of the song and the lyrics are kept simple and this works perfectly because I believe it was made to be an anthem and it will quickly get stuck into your head. It's uplifting, militant, melodic, spacy, epic, ridiculously catchy and all Cudi. Do yourself a favor and REVOFEV. You already know what to do after you hear the song, hit up them comments! Till next post, Rock on from Krypton!

Dueces Up!

P.S. CONGRATS TO THE LAKERS FOR THEIR 16th CHAMPIONSHIP AND KOBE FOR THE 5th RING, YOU GUYS DESERVED IT!



-Vision.Air.y-

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Somewhere



So I've been slackin on the posts lately because I've been job searching like a mad man as of late. I actually wasn't gonna post tonight but I came across this trailer that for some reason really struck a cord with me so I thought I'd share it with yall. Don't know what it's about or when it's coming out but for some reason I'm very intrigued. Plus it stars Stephen Dorff who stars in one my favorite movies of all time Dueces Wild and hasn't been in a movie for a while so I'd love to see what he'll be doing with this film. But anyway check out the trailer and give me your feedback as always. Hopefully I'll have a legit post for yall by the end of this week. Till then, Rock on from Krypton.

P.S. the song in the trailer is I'll Try Anything Once by The Strokes in case ur wondering.

Dueces Up!

-Vision.Air.y-

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Not Afraid



"I'm not afraid to take a stand..."

The video for "Not Afraid" off of Eminem's Recovery album dropped earlier this morning and it's quit possibly the most well produced, impactful and definitely the most optimistic video that he's ever released. You can definitely tell that Eminem is in a new refreshed frame of mind of this album and this video is a perfect indication of his newfound focus and maturity. The video takes place in two different locations, one is in a city and the other is in a dark and dreary basement very reminiscent to some of his older videos. Early on in the city scenes after contemplating what looks like a suicide attempt we see a stoic and stonefaced Em walking around aimlessly almost completely detached from his surroundings until he catches a glimpse of himself in the window of a parked car and realizes that his reflection is distorted. From this moment on he begins to realize that something is very wrong and soon he is surrounded by mirrors casting the same distorted reflection back at him causing him to panic and jump through one of the mirrors. Meanwhile in the basement scenes we see Em (who looks a lot younger than he does in the city scenes for some reason) acting very similar to the way he used to in his darker videos. He shows off his angrier and more passionate side in these scenes as we see him throwing things all over the room until he throws a chair at the stone wall and it cracks revealing a small glimmer of light. At this moment he begins to punch through the wall revealing more light and walks into it. Back at the city, Em gets up and walks to what seems to be the edge of reality and hesitantly jumps off the ledge. Then the video turns into that scene from Matrix Revolutions and Em starts flying around the city Neo style. As he's flying we also see Em shrouded in light after getting out of the dark basement rapping the last verse of the song. At the very end of the video we see Em fly back up to the tall building that he was standing on in the very beginning of the video and looks out over the city. What makes this video so impactful compare to alot of his other videos is the fact that I think this is the first time we're TRULY seen a growth in Eminem. He's had mature videos in the past but this is the first time that I've seen such an optimistic and hopeful side of his music, and it sends out a powerful message to the listeners. While I'm sure that we'll still have some of the signature shock value songs on Em's new album, I'm really looking forward to hearing the material that he puts on this album which is sure to be a classic. You guys already know the drill so till next post, Rock on from Krypton.

Dueces Up!

-Vision.Air.y-

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Thank Me Later


Music: 5/5
Lyrics: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

So today Drake's album leaked to the net and the way I do things with albums is unless your name is Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem or Lupe Fiasco, I listen to the leak and that determines whether or not I'm gonna pick up your album once it drops in stores because money just ain't the same as it used to be. Now unless you've been living under a rock in the most remote location in the world you know who Drake is and if you know who Drake is then you know how much hype there is surrounded damn near everything the guy does. Ever since So Far Gone dropped Drake became a phenom literally overnight and he hasn't stopped riding that wave of impossible hype ever since. Now this is both a very good and a bad thing because while he's doing very well for himself, one wrong step and it could all be over. Because of this Thank Me Later is either going to catapult his career to a level even higher than it already is at or it'll cause to nose dive directly into the ground. With all eyes on Mr Aubrey Drake Graham is he able to deliver or was his overwhelming hype and expectation simply too much to live up to? Well after listening to his album as a whole in my honest opinion he delivered and THEN some. This album is one of the most complete sounding debuts since Kid Cudi's fantastic Man on The Moon and most definitely one of the best albums to drop this year, in my top 5 as a matter of fact. Not once did i hit the skip button because the songs cohesively mesh together so it almost feels like the songs were made to play out like a movie and it forces you to listen all the way through. On this album Drake doesn't sound like a rookie at all, but then again in my eyes he hasn't sounded like a rookie since So Far Gone. Speaking of So Far Gone, I will go ahead and say that Thank Me Later really needed So Far Gone to come out because it wouldn't have made as much sense stylistically if it hadn't come b4 it. So Far Gone provided the prolouge and the platform for Drake to step up and take his story to the next level. In many ways Thank Me Later is the sequel to So Far Gone. Where on So Far Gone we saw a unsure, insecure and emotionally confused Drake, on Thank Me Later we see that he's risen above that fog and shows a more victorous and confident side while still maintaining the relatable vulnerability that made So Far Gone such a hit. While there are a solid amount of features from outside artists on the album this is still very much a Drake album, none of the features take away from Drake's musical journey which is what a lot of people worried about once the tracklist leaked. Lyrically Drake still showcases his signature punchline heavy stop and go flow, you can tell that he's been working hard to stepping up his game to hang with everyone. He's continuing to grow as an emcee and it shows. But if you ask me I'm most impressed with Drake when he comes up with these great melodies that we've come to know him for. He shows a lot of growth as a singer on the album and does a lot of experimenting with his vocals throughout each of the songs. You can tell that he took notes and ques from Sade and other smooth jazz artists because there are times where the beat will just keep going and he'll just be singing as if he was in a trance. It's almost like when they were in the studio, they just left the beat and his mic on and let him vibe out until he was finished. Sonically this is one of the strongest albums that I've heard all year. Sticking with in house producers Boi-1da and 40 for most of the beats on the album (Two beats from Kanye, and one from both Swizz Beatz and Timbaland), each beat on the album caters perfectly to Drake's melodic rapper style and he never once sounds out of place. The landscape of the album is very large without being overwhelming and solemn but not enough to be considered dark. I could compare this album to dawn rather than the night that was So Far Gone. The thing that I appreciate the most about this album is that it feels like Drake all the way through. Not once does it feel like he's trying to be something that he's not. He's not your typical rapper so this isn't your typical rap album. You can hear his appreciation for indie rock, jazz and even orchestra in the musically diverse beats on the album but it still remains very hip-hop by the end of the day. You can tell his label really gave him full creative control on this album and really trusted him to bring forth something great. While this may not be the straight up hip-hop album that fans of Comeback Season would be hoping for I feel like once people really take time to sit down and listen to the content on the album they will find themselves as impressed as I was. Thank Me Later is what you get when the underdog get's unsuspectingly thrust into the spotlight and has to deal with the sometimes overwhelming accolades and responsibility that come with the fame. Like a lot of the up and comers in this new school of hip-hop, Drake has let us into his life with his music and shares his fears, dreams, pain, happiness, losses and successes with anyone who will listen and if you ask me that is what true artists are supposed to do. In my book you can add Drake to the list of rappers that made impressive debuts along with Cudi, B.o.B., Kanye, Jay-Z and several others. I'm not very sure how people are gonna receive this one once it drops because of how different it is than anything else out right now but then again that's why it's called Thank Me Later now isn't it ;). Do yourself a favor and check out Thank Me Later when it drops because it's definitely worth a listen. Till next post, Rock on from Krypton.

Deuces Up!

-Vision.Air.y-