Thursday, January 22, 2009

Throwback Thursdays: Ja Rule feat. Ashanti - Always On Time (2001)


Don't even try to front like you didn't like this song.

I remember seeing this video for the first time back when it came out. (Remember back when people still watched music videos? You know, back when MTV and BET actually played music videos??) I didn't know who Ashanti was, because this single actually jump-started her career. What I did know, however, was that I thought shorty was fine. I know she caught a lot of flack over the years from people who said her voice wasn't that great, or females hating on her by talking about her sideburns, but bump all that... shorty could still get it. What up, Nelly.

I know a lot of people hated on Ja Rule, too, especially after that whole beef he had with 50 Cent. And yeah, he lost that war, and he's all but disappeared from the rap scene since then. But despite what you jokers think, I liked Ja Rule. Granted, I don't own any of his albums, and I'm not saying I'm a stan or nothing like that, but I enjoyed pretty much ever single he put out. Now front and say you didn't like this song. Or that this one wasn't your jam. Come on, man... the guy made hits.

"Always On Time" was one of my favorites, which is why I decided to post it on this lovely Thursday. The song, in short, is about Ja's relationship with a female in which both parties are each other's jumpoff. Cool topic, especially since this type of relationship exists with so many people in real life. Too bad it never really works out without someone eventually catching feelings...

This song was on his Pain Is Love album, which was apparently his highest-selling album of a pretty successful career. That was, of course, eight years ago. The last couple tracks I heard from Mr. Rule were this semi-annoying record with Lil' Wayne, and this other song, which I actually liked. Both songs were supposed to be on his new album entitled The Mirror, which was supposed to come out in Nov. 2007. Apparently, a gang of songs from the album leaked, so the project got shelved. He's currently working on... something. I guess.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Black Chicks, Marriage & 44

Congrats to Barack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

Today's blogcast might hurt some feelings, but...what's up with black chicks nowadays? I pose some questions, and hope to gain some feedback on the situation. Also, some discussion on our latest President, and some commentary on whether or not happy marriages still exist.



Previously: Men, Women & O.J.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Throwback Friday: Sporty Thievz - No Pigeons (1999)


My fault, y'all. I got caught slippin' yesterday, so Throwback Thursday is coming a day late this week. No worries; the consistency will come back soon enough.

This song was so refreshing for many men like myself when it came out (or, boys like myself, since I was like 12). This song was a direct rebuttal to TLC's "No Scrubs", which was basically a gold digger anthem about how men without money were good for nothing.
There were a number of R&B songs during the late 90's that were about no-good men (i.e. "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Independent Women", "Bug A Boo", "He Wasn't Man Enough", etc.). It was nice to finally have males come up with a response. I was surprised, though, that they were able to get away with putting out a single using the exact same beat as the TLC record. The punchlines in this song especially hit the spot, specifically gems such as "Ya flat ass gets enough laughs/ Take it to the salon, pluck your mustache." You couldn't help but laugh when you heard this song, especially if you were a male.

According to the Sporty Thievz's wikipedia page: "They are notable for their minor debut hit "Cheapskate (You Ain't Gettin' Nada From Us)" and perhaps more so for satirically providing a male counterpoint to the female-oriented, anti-male R&B music popularized in the late 1990s and early 2000s, something that was not done by ANY other group at the time. This makes them the FIRST Hip-Hop group to champion the cause for equality (and against double standards) between men and women."

As a somewhat unrelated note, that part at 2:11 mark where ol' buddy is standing there with all those birds on him reminded me of the pigeon lady from Home Alone 2. I guess I'm just weird like that.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Immigrants, Resolutions & Tattoos


Only in America.

For the first post of the new year, I discuss the citizenship process, New Year's resolutions and the idea of getting tattoos. Welcome back, y'all.