Cut to Free

Sometimes I wish I could just get a huge pair of scissors and free myself from everything I'm tied to.

Left Out

Never be dependent.

Musica

Because J. Cole is so
ridonkulously good & jizz-tastically worth listening to.

Selfishness

I want to listen to every kind of music in the world.
Greedy ears.

Asher Roth - G.R.I.N.D.

Get
Ready
It's a
New
Day

Rhymefest

Underrated:

Musica

I suck at it,

but I like making my own music.

Summer 2010 what up!

Whoop that trick, bitches!

First Try

I love Hip Hop music in different ways.  Whether it be the soulful bootyshakin' beats, provocative female-degrading lyrics, or random dance fads, I love the music genre as a whole.  However a lot of these qualities of Hip Hop thin out the true soul and passion put into music.  In R&B and Soul, it's easy to see passion when you listen to that kind of music; you know when a singer is really singing their soul out or not, as if the song they're singing is a part of them that they're releasing.  They hit tones and octaves not normal to their regular speaking voice.  They squint their face as if the lyrics they sing are painful, yet pleasurable at the same time.

One thing I love about Hip Hop is that it's nearly impossible to tell passion just from looking at a performance.  It's all about the lyrics.  A performer can make the most genuine, painful/pleasurable face ever, but the lyrics could be about banging a hooker with blingbling and a gun.

That leads me to first albums/mixtapes of Hip Hop artists.  People say Hip Hop is washed up, full of stupidity involving only money, hos, bling bling, and violence.  These people are correct - a lot of commercial hip hop concerns only those bootylicious topics.  BUT what you can't say is that Hip Hop is completely engulfed in that stuff.

This REALLY leads me to first albums/mixtapes of Hip Hop artists.  When rappers want to make it big, they put their HEARTS and SOULS into the first tapes/cd's they make.  Some people spend years perfecting lyrics and sounds to make it as presentable to listeners as possible.  They open their hearts and show you their lives through the lyrics they spit on each track.  Listen to Nas's Illmatic, and you'll be blown away.
Eminem's Infinite.
Blu's Below the Heavens.
J. Cole's Come Up and Warm Up.
Biggie's Ready To Die.
Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt.
Even Kanye's College Dropout.  Amazing stuff.

I'm not saying everyone's first albums/mixtapes are good.  But definitely take the time to listen to an artist's first album/mixtape before you judge their arrogant superstardom.  As much as I hate Kanye's stupid arrogant selfish antics in his recent albums and in public, I still have a place in my heart for him and his music because of College Dropout.

With that said, due to this theory of mine, I have been listening to J Cole's Warm Up NONSTOP.  Can't stop listening to it.  He definitely pours his soul out on each track.  Doesn't try hard to be good; he just is.  I highly recommend his mixtape.  And as sad as I am that he got signed with Jay-Z, I'm extremely happy that a dude as talented as he is is with a huge name like Jay-Z.  No matter how commercial he gets (like Drake - RIP), I will always have a place in my heart for this mixtape, along with all those other classics.

I <3 Hip Hop.


College Dropout fan forever,
Charles

S-S-S-SOOOOOUL

Can't stop listening to these songs:









"If we make each other happy then we just can't lose"

Radio

Song of the Week

DON'T LEEEEEEEEAVE ME GUUUUUUUURL

Jay-Z Concert

My head is hurting.

People were smoking weed all around me and my crew, but it didn't matter. If it was going to enhance their concert experience, then more power to them. All I felt was joy and love all around me.

My already sore arms are killing me.

I could only be a slave to the commands of Jay-Z when he said "Bounce your arms like this!" I was bumping my hands, waving my shirt around my head, and throwing my arms from side to side in overflowing excitement.

My voice is gone.

Singing/screaming every Jay-Z lyrics I know was maybe a bad idea... hm... no way. Think about all the Jay-Z songs you know, and the lyrics you know to those songs. A lot huh? Losing my voice was so worth it.

My mind can't think straight.

I won't be able to recover from this epic concert. Seriously, I think I'm going to need a few days to recover and get over it. Every moment of that concert was just perfect. I was in my own world for those 4 hours.

$50 tickets,

being on the floor section ALL NIGHT,

seeing Jordan Farmar, Baron Davis, Jamie Foxx (he was literally less than 4 feet away from me) in the crowd,

watching J. Cole (seems legit) and Wale (freaking SICK end performance) open up,

being 10 yards away from Pharrell when he performed with N.E.R.D.,

and finally

just being able to experience a Jay-Z concert.

I will never ever ever be able to forget this concert.

I will forever throw the ROC in the sky.

The Blueprints, Reasonable Doubt, Life and Times, Black Album, Kingdom Come, every remix or song he was featured in... I have a newfound LOVE for Mr. Carter.

Blown away,

Charles

Felt - Hot Bars

"Take a journey through the mind of a one of a kind,

Self-made motherfucker that's enjoying his time,

On land, on air, on mics, and on seas,

Let it all just be, good times on me,

It's California fooooo, the flyest breezies in the world,

and we can roll up a bleezy that'll make your toes cuuuurl..."

-Murs

"Just jump back, kiss yourself
And thank your God for your breath and your health
Life is short and all days a surprise
Keep your nose clean, open your ears and your eyes..."

-Slug

These dudes are genius.

"So if you're Sleepless in Seattle
Disturbed in Pittsburgh
Lost it in Austin
Ann Arbor firestarter
Fuck me, Kentucky
You got me, Millwaukee
And the devil wore jeans in New Orleans
From Los Angeles, to Minneapolis
We want to thank all of y'all for havin' us
Make it pleasure, make it sting
Whatever the way you swing
From the A to the Zing
I would never change a thing"

Song of the Week

People Under The Stairs - "Acid Raindrops"

Props to my k-pop superstar roommate Michael Dominic Lee for introducing me to PUTS.

Short Hair

I have always been a fan of long hair on girls.

I think when girls pony-tail their long hair up is hot.

But now I like short hair.

Yeah, so recently all my posts have been on either Korean entertainment or music or.... that's about it.

I hate myself.

Sharing

I never understood the "mixtape" era of the 80's/90's.

People recorded songs onto actual tapes and gave them to each other. But the way they recorded was through a radio with a cassette deck. They would sit and sit in front of boombox and wait and wait until the song they wanted came on the radio; then they would hit record and wait for the song to end.

It always seemed like an ancient art compared to the mp3's and recordable CD programs that are basic on all computers for us now. We are able to visually see the songs we want, what order we want them in, and easily start over if we happen to mess up. But back then, people took so much time and put in so much meticulous thought that it seems like artwork. I guess that is the reason why mixtapes had so much reason behind them.

I'd say we have it 3105835935 times easier than the folks back then, but I still enjoy putting lots of thought into the songs and the order I choose when making CD's. After pouring over the sound and transition of the CD, the completed product is always something to be proud of.

Let's go back to mixtaping and thoroughly engulf ourselves in the music we share. I'd be glad to take a CD that you make. =]

It's almost 5 am. This is crazy talk. Goodnight.

Koreans

Koreans are the ultimate drama kings/queens.

If you don't believe me, ask any Korean and they'll be able to tell you extensively about Korean dramas or movies that they've come across in their lifetime. It might have been their parents, siblings, friends, and/or themselves who got SUCKED IN to the Korean manmade masterpieces; either way, the evidence that Koreans LOVE drama and that they love MAKING drama is inevitable.

This is common knowledge to most Koreans, and I of course have experienced the power of Korean dramas/movies firsthand. But once in a while, I forget how crazy Koreans can get about their drama. I forget how they can turn CANCER into a LOVE story. Or how PLASTIC SURGERY can turn into a story of self-love and content.

But it's just good to be reminded of how crazy it is that Korean directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors can produce such strong emotions from people.

Movie that I just watched tonight:

슬픔보다 더 슬픈 이야기

which literally translates to

A Story Sadder Than Sadness

This freaking movie made me think so much.

Man A loved Woman B so much that he couldn't tell her that he loved her. HOW DOES THIS MAKE SENSE?? Woman B loved Man A so much that she married another man. HUH???

But it also made me think, "Would I be able to do the same in their positions?"

SIGH...

Damn you Korean entertainment.

Speaking of Korean entertainment, if you don't know "Abracadabra" by Brown Eyed Girls, then you don't know what's up.

DAMN YOU KOREAN ENTERTAINMENT.
Gotta stop watching this video.

PEACE.

Song of the Week

Blu - "The World Is"

Every time I listen to this song, the lyrics hit home.

"Every man has his own heaven
The difference is the way that he envision it
So if you make your heaven picture less
By the time you die
You'll be driftin' in an imageless field
So build your heaven full of blessed thoughts
That's real, you can stress it or just let it walk
I got a question
If a man can make his own heaven
Can he make his path to get to it too?
I only spit through a truth
And I spit it for the listeners
So I'm spittin' to you
You say it's hell
I say it's bullshit we getting through
Just think about it every man has his own heaven
But shit you gotta go through hell to be a man first
And understand first
Hell is what you choose to call the present
That's why you're going through it
I just choose to call it stressin'
To tell you fools the truth
I don't feel that's why I'm destined
So you can call it hell but bro
I'll just say I'm below the heavens"

Update

Alicia?



Jane Fonda the Honda?

Almost Famous

"So Russell...
what do you love about music?"

This is probably one of my favorite scenes from the movie.

Music is real.






"To begin with...
EVERYTHING."