Welcome to an awkward day! A day where we usually are pumped up to get the week started, but instead we are going to talk the opposite! A day that is programmed to be a grind day, but instead, we say take another day off! Today’s Daily Word is dedicated to Being Ready for W.A.R!! (Work And Relaxation)
As far as time can remember, the weekend had been the only time you had to relax! Like clockwork, you worked 50+ hours, then relaxed for less than 16!! We rationalize this by telling ourselves that we have to make a living in order to live, but in doing so, we never do the latter!
As I’ve mentioned before… What good is a luxury car with no gas? Effective immediately, I need you to relax more! We know the saying…Work Hard! Play Hard! But if you don’t stay true to that, then all your work will be in vein!! Don’t run yourself so ragged that the free time you eventually get is in a hospital somewhere with IVs trying to rehydrate you…. May sound a bit harsh, but trust me, there’s a lot of this going around…
As AJ. Materi once said, “So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.” #WorkHardPlayHard #RelaxRelateRelease
-Ash’Cash
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” -Etty Hillesum
“Most people for the sake of getting a living forget to live.” -Margaret Fuller
“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” -Jim Goodwin
“God didn’t do it all in one day. What makes you think you can?” -Unknown
“Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.” -John De Paola
“Spend each moment in genuine joy rather than in stressful combat.” -Ralph Marston
“The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.” -Unknown
TO HEAR THE AUDIO VERSION OF THE DAILY WORD – CLICK HERE.
Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.
(AllHipHop News) Before A$AP Rocky drops his debut album, LongLiveA$AP, this September on Polo Grounds/RCA, his group A$AP Mob, which includes A$AP Ferg, A$AP Twelvy, A$AP Nast, and A$AP Ant, will release their own project, Lords Never Worry, on August 28.
Over the weekend, Rocky tweeted, “A$AP MOB ALBUM #LORDSNEVERWORRY 8/28 OFFICIAL DATE NEW VIDEO FROM ME COMING THIS MONDAY.” Rocky and A$AP Ant both appeared on the first single from Lords Never Worry, “Bath Salt” featuring Flatbush Zombies.
The newest addition to Universal Republic is Michigan native Angel Haze. The 21-year-old rapper, who currently reps Brooklyn, signed with the U.S. based label just weeks after her most recent project, Reservation, was released. “I am the newest artist signed to Universal Republic in the USA and Island Records in the UK. ;),” she tweeted.
Following the news that Meek Mill‘s debut album, Dreams & Nightmares, had been pushed back from its original August 28 date to October, HHNM has confirmed that the Maybach Music Group artist will be now hit stores on October 30.
With the album’s current single, “Amen” featuring Drake and Jeremih, seeing much success at #8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, fans can expect a follow-up in the coming weeks.
The tour, which has been running since early August, will be stopping in Miami tonight (August 13), Atlanta tomorrow, and then seven more cities before wrapping up in New York City on August 28.
For a hot second September 22 was the date for the Drake / Chris Brown fight in Las Vegas with NBA star Tony Parker as referee. Here’s the press release that was issued: “After several offers, both hip hop Stars Drake and Chris Brown have just came to an agreement to duke it out in the ring for charity as both men have accepted the five million dollar purse from Celebrity Boxing promoter Damon Feldman and the boxing match which will be 3 one-minute rounds with 24 OZ Boxing Gloves will be the Grudge match from their Nightclub Brawl that injured several people including NBA star and the man who has agreed to referee the match Tony Parker who will be the third man in the ring. There will be several other matches involved here with the charity [and] awareness [for] Hands Up Guns Down 1on1boxing.com will benefit and raise awareness to keep the violence off the streets. Both stars will wear headgear also.” Part of the press release even reflected statements from Drake and CB reps: Brown’s rep Frankie Moreno says this is going to be a great event for charity, as well as Drake’s rep Tony Davis says it will be a battle and Drake will end it in two rounds. Both Brown and Drake have signed the contract through their reps and this will be the Celeb Fight of the Century, [said Feldman].”
They maintain its all false. Representatives for both stars issued a statement saying that there’s no truth to the rumors and that the promoters are just looking for publicity. Sh*t just got un-real!!!
Email me who you think WOULD win a fight with these two. ki*********@***il.com!
R&B singer Trey Songz recently spoke with San Francisco’s KMEL 106 on NeYo’s recent comments saying that the he feels the singer hasn’t reached his “potential.”
Well, clearly, Songz does not like these comments, seeing how he and Ne-Yo are friends. Peep the video here.
In the meantime, they go completely different routes on their latest – Ne-Yo’s uber-sexual “Lazy Love” and Trey Songz’ rapper-heavy “Hail Mary”.
First and foremost, 2 Chainz isn’t the type of artist you hold to a lyrical standard of, say, a Lupe Fiasco or a Jay-Z. His music is created in a different vein; a charismatic, ridiculous, entertaining vein that can easily go from ludicrous and blatant to devilishly clever within a span of a bar, while keeping an ear to the street, so to speak. That’s not to imply that 2 Chainz isn’t a good rapper; on the technical side, he’s actually as solid as they come, as he’s known for flipping deliveries in order to maintain his unpredictable verse-structure.
With that being said, Based On A T.R.U. Story isn’t the album of the year candidate I secretly hoped it to be. This is also not 2 Chainz best project, or even him at his best due to a few tracks in the early half of the project sounding too redundant. However, move past that, and it’s a solid, fun output with a few singles that should turn heads.
The intro has 2 Chainz at his BEST as far as bars and charisma in “Yuck” (too bad Lil’ Wayne couldn’t have a “Drought 3” style relapse here), and it serves as a barometer to measure the rest of the album. Unfortunately, aside from the “No Lie” single with Drake and the Kanye feature on “Birthday Song“, nothing here truly stands out as great, although there are a notable selections. “I’m Different” has an early 2000s Southern sound to it (as we’re now in 2012, the production sounds almost too simple), “Extremely Blessed” has The-Dream and 2 Chainz sharing on the subject of a fine female, and “Stop Me Now” has him trading bars with Dolla Boy over a soulful sample.
The great tracks start as soon as he begins to take chances, and the Mike Posner feature on “In Town” is as big of a chance you’ll see on the regular edition of the LP. Surprisingly, 2 Chainz handles the song quite well, considering the vibe seems more suited for Posner. “Ghetto Dreams” is more of a lock as far as standout tracks; featuring John Legend and Scarface, it serves as a reflective track that has everyone at their best. 2 Chainz wisely chooses to avoid the punchline-every-bar approach and sticks to the subject of the song (mostly), and proves to be one of the strongest songs on TRU Story that even select Hip-Hop heads should appreciate.
Although there’s a regular version, the deluxe LP is the way to go, as the extra singles help to bring up the replay value of the project as a whole. 2 Chainz takes a huge shot with Chris Brown on “Countdown” due to the nature of the Dubstep-influenced hook, but it works. Another huge gamble pays off as he flips a Weeknd sample and goes into his mixtape form for some of his most flagrant bars to DATE on “Like Me:”
“Me and your girl network, now she wanna know my net worth/
Woodgrain, chestnut, t*ttyf**k, CHEST NUT!”
The vibe continues as the last two tracks has him returning to the familiar sounds of the Don Cannon-produced “I Feel Good” and the previously heard “Riot“.
As it stands, it’s a fun play for 2 Chainz fans, but due to the redundancy for the first half of the LP (which could be due to its sequencing), it suffers. It’s not his best, but it’s not as bad as Internet critics would have you believe as well. Listen to it for yourself, and act accordingly.
“Every brother ain’t a brother/ ’cause a color could just as well be undercover” – “Welcome to the Terrordome”, Public Enemy
They had procrastinated for years, but unable to ignore the issue any longer, the Hip-Hop Supreme Court put the hottest rapper in the game, Fake Graham a.k.a. Frizzy, on trial for hate crimes against the Hip-Hop community. The rap justices ran off a list of charges against the artist, including tarnishing the legacy of real Hip-Hop, disrespecting women. and most damaging, excessively using the N-word, when, technically, he wasn’t even Black. While the charges were being read, Frizzy just yawned and nodded in agreement. It took five minutes for the justices to come up with a guilty verdict. But when it came time to decide what the punishment would be, they argued and debated so long, that finally Frizzy told them to call his people when they reached a decision, got in his limo, and sped away…
People have been complaining about the atrocities done in the name of Hip-Hop for decades, and how the rapper of the month has sold out to corporate interests at the expense of the culture. However, when the question becomes, “ So, whatcha gonna do about it?” there is never a definite answer.Perhaps the best example, today, is Hip-Hop’s glamour boy, Drake. The issue here is not the former kid show actor’s lack of “street cred,” nor whether you find his music irritating to the eardrums – but the fact that he drops the N-bomb in so many of his lyrics. Even on his latest track, “Enough Said” with the late Aaliyah , Drake seems to have a certain affinity for the word.
In all fairness, rappers have been saying ‘n*gga’ since the first Hip-Hop park jams, and you would be hard pressed to name one Hip-Hop artist that doesn’t use the derogatory term. But the difference with Drake is – he ain’t Black.
If you look at the Jewish mother rule, if your mama is Jewish, that makes you Jewish. And since Drake’s father is an AfricanAmerican but his mother is a white, Jewish Canadian, that makes him the latter. (I didn’t make the rule, I’m just telling you what it says.) This is also compounded by the fact that you would be hard pressed to see where Drake even identifies with the dark side of his family tree, unless you consider hangin’ out with Lil Wayne and excessive use of the N-word as evidence of his African roots.
Although, one may argue that the one drop rule and the dominance of melanin in his skin may make Drake racially “Black”, that has nothing to do with what that makes him culturally. So, what we are dealing with here is not race but the politics of cultural identity.
Who can and cannot say n*gga has long been debated in Hip-Hop. Latino entertainers like Fat Joe and Jennifer Lopez have gotten by on the “Latino’s are n*ggas, too” argument, and White women like V Nasty and Gwyneth Paltrow, supposedly, have obtained signed ghetto passes from Hip-Hop’s elite, allowing them to use the word. However, it is an unwritten rap rule that, while a Black rapper can use the word at will, a White rapper is subject to a beatdown for even using “nickel” in a sentence without clarifying his statement.
And most white Hip-Hop artists aren’t that stupid. Although, they may hire Black rappers to use the word on their CDs, they will never utter the word themselves.
Case in point is when Dave Mays and Benzino, formerly of The Source Magazine went on a wild, witchhunt to find evidence of Eminem saying something even remotely disrespectful about Black people years back, and came up with nothing really tangible besides a lyric in a long lost unreleased track. But, what if the person has dark skin, but, culturally, is a card carrying member of another ethnic group? Should he be given a pass to use racial slurs without being called on it?Herein lies the Drake dilemma.
There is a certain amount of hypocrisy surrounding Drake’s use of the word. Although he will, undoubtedly, use the Black half of his genetic makeup to justify using the N-word, I doubt very seriously if he would ever use his Jewish half to justify using the “K” or “H” word. Nor would he hide behind the First Amendment and get a s####### tatted on his arm. Nor should he. However, if Drake did use anti-Jewish terms with the same frequency as he uses anti-Black terms, he would not be celebrated in the media as the greatest thing in Hip-Hop since Run DMC, but would be demonized in the press for “spewing venomous hate speech “ and forever condemned as an anti-Semite on some organization’s hate group list. To date, nobody has tagged him an “anti-Hamite” or “anti-Khemite.”
Every ethnic group has the God-given right to defend its culture; that is the only way to secure its survival for future generations. However, it becomes problematic when the blatant disrespect of a culture is roundly applauded on one side but, vehemently, condemned on the other.
Ultimately, it is not Drake’s fault for disrespecting the Black community. Nor does the fault fall at the feet of any individual commercial Hip-Hop artist. The blame lies with every rapper who grabs a mic, every Hip-Hop writer with a laptop, and every Hip-Hop fan who listens to the radio…because we co-sign the madness.
Even the most militant critic who continuously blasts the state of Hip-Hop would become a 13-year-old teenage girl if Drake just looked in his direction.
“OMG…Like…did you see the way that Drake just smiled at me? Awwww!”
At some point, we have to begin to stand on principles.
Let’s be clear. No one should use the N-word, whether it be the hate speech of White people or the self-hate speech of Blacks.And until we come to a general consensus as to what should be done to those who diss Black culture, we will still be talking about this 100 years from now.
Like Drake asked on the Aaliyah song, “Is this even still a discussion?/ don’t you ever wake up disgusted?”
(AllHipHop News) Los Angeles Lakers forward/rapper Metta World Peace has signed on to play a vampire in a new comedy series titled “Real Vampire Housewives.”
The original scripted series will feature Metta World Peace as “a gregarious and overly sexual vampire elder.”
The “Real Vampire Housewives” series follows a group of women who are married to vampires.
The show focuses on the women’s devious exploits during the day, while their vampire husbands rest at night.
Metta World Peace will play the vampire “Gossamer,” according to producer Robert A. Parada of Streetwise Entertainment.
“Metta is charismatic, very funny, one of a kind on and off the court and throws himself into everything he does,” Parada said in a statement. “All of these are traits you’d expect from one of these mythical creatures.”
The independent series, which is slated to begin shooting this fall, is being co-produced with writer/director Andre Jetmir.
“Robert mentioned Metta World Peace and it was yes in an instant. Metta is perfect as a vampire; he is physically intimidating in an Alpha-male way, very charming, a little mischievous and he has a raw sexuality I think most actors try to find when they play a vampire,” Jetmir said.
(AllHipHop News) Compton, California Game is the subject of a $250,000 lawsuit, over two canceled concerts in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Crystal Group filed a lawsuit against Game in Manhattan Federal Court, claiming they wired the rap star $30,000 for a July 2011 performance.
According to the lawsuit, The Crystal Group suffered massive damages when Game canceled at the last minute.
As a result of the cancellation, The Crystal Group lost money on promotions, hotel and travel expenses, ticket sales and refunds.
To make matters worse, The Crystal Group claims they agreed to reschedule the canceled show, only to have Game skip out on a second, make-up date, in Dubai.
The Crystal Group is suing Game, born Jayceon Taylor and his touring company, BWS Touring, for breach of contract.
To this day, I have never heard a song from Chief Keef. Now, that’s not hate. That’s just a fact. Ooops! Let me take that back. I heard the remix to “I Don’t Like” which featured Kanye West, Pusha T, Big Sean and Jadakiss. That joint was a big move for the kid. Now, even though Keef is making major moves, that’s the only song I have heard. But, despite the gesture, Keef insists that he did it all my himself. Keef was buzzing in the streets, but Keef says otherwise. Peep the tweet!
What do you all think about this? I hope the lil feela doesn’t talk too slick. Anyway, the tweet was later erased so perhaps he realized that was CRAY.
The radio is loving Caribbean-flavored rising star Sterling Simms, as he showcases his voice on a banger with Maybach Music Group’s Meek Mill entitled “Tell Her Again”.
Philadelphia’s other resident hot-boy Meek Mill goes in with his quick-flow here! (Who knew he could do that?) Listen to the audio here.
The City of Brotherly Love is certainly on a roll this year, so it’s a good look that Simms took it “home” for the video backdrop.
Check out behind-the-scenes footage below for their upcoming video for “Tell Her Again” collabo:
Known for their all-encompassing production and accompaniment of lyrical and metaphorical cliff diving off every track, The Brown Bag Allstars (BBAS) are back at it with their latest project, Brown Label. AllHipHop.com caught up with the Brooklyn Bunch and chopped it up about current projects, the group’s growth, and where they are going from here:
AllHipHop.com: Alright, let’s just jump straight in fellas! What was the concept (No pun intended) behind the EP? [laughter] And who all produced on it?
J57: This EP, Brown Label 2 is a bigger and better follow-up to the free project, The Brown Label EP Part 1 that we dropped back in February. It has production from me, Audible Doctor, Rhettmatic of the World Famous Beat Junkies, and our homie, EP of the Dopplegangaz. Plus, it includes remixes from me, Doc, and Deejay Element, all family, in the usual BBAS fashion.
AllHipHop.com: With the other BBAS projects, the listener was able to learn a little about each artist on the majority of the tracks. What can we expect to hear from you personally on the new joint? Are there any songs that you felt a serious personal connection with?
Koncept: There is a verse or two where I get personal or deep on them, but for the majority of this project I’m letting you know how much fun I’m having.
Audible Doctor: I think this is a perfect example of where we all are artistically at the moment. The new project shows how we’ve evolved as individual members as well as a group. But the song I probably have the most connection with is “406”. It’s a tribute to the Fat Beats NY store, the place we formed our group. Having worked at that store so long and having that environment as such a big part of my growth as an artist, it’s hard not to have a connection to that song.
Soul Khan: My most emotionally resonant moments on this EP would be like Audible Doctor’s on “406” due to our history at Fat Beats, as well as on the song, “Say It Now,” because I use the word ‘areolas’ really charmingly.
AllHipHop.com: With each project you put out, your collective team seems to be demonstrating a lot of growth from the previous effort, what would you say shows your growth as an artist/producer on this particular EP?
Audible Doctor: I think that would be the overall sound of the record. I feel like it’s a more eclectic sound than people are used to hearing from us. We’ll always have that ‘boom bap’ foundation, but we’ll never stop growing.
Soul Khan: I think I sound more comfortable with not trying to make every song a ‘rappity rap-off’ with ridiculously dense rhyme schemes. We’re all better team players now and have more chemistry than we ever had. Also, I lost like 20 pounds.
Koncept: I think with every release, we get better. We put a lot into our work and make the best music possible for our fans.
J57: Only speaking for myself, I have to say that I worked harder on the MC side of things on this project than I ever did for any projects in the past. I never half-assed any verses in the past, but this time I spent far more time on my technique than I ever have before, and I got pretty damn close to hitting my 10,000th hour as an MC.
DeeJay Element: I feel like this EP really made me step my game up as a DJ and a producer. I knew my scratches had to be perfect, because I did them over a beat by a legendary DJ like Rhettmatic. As far as production goes, J57 and Audible Doctor’s beats are crazy, so I knew I had to keep up with them.
DJ E Holla: If you listen to some of our older work, such as The Brown Tape and songs like “Boss Is Back”, then fast forward to joints like “Workhorse” and various tracks off Brown Bag Season Volume 1, you hear the results in the crew getting better sound-wise and knowing how to make better records. There is more instrumentation involved and lyrical improvement with every song. All this is before an official debut album, which is truly awesome.
AllHipHop.com: There’s a lot of buzz going on about all of the different projects that you guys are currently working on. Would you like to update the readers on what you all have been involved in?
Audible Doctor: Other than this EP and the debut Brown Bag album, I have a free EP titled I Think That, dropping September 25, an instrumental album titled Doctorin’, executive produced by Large Professor dropping later this year, and a few other singles and videos dropping as well.
Soul Khan: I have a solo album available for free called Soul Like Khan, along with three EPs, Acknowledgment, Resolution, and Pursuance, produced respectively by all released independently and for sale at soulkhan.com. Most recently, I dropped a free EP at DJBooth, Wellstone. I also am learning to cook something other than meth, while I work on my next EP and first full-length, commercially sold album. [laughter]
Koncept: I dropped my solo debut album titled, Awaken, on Soulspazm Records, as well as the Vinyl EP for that project titled, Watch The Sky Fall, on Nostomania Records. Both were distributed by Fat Beats Records. I’m currently working on two more EPs and a new album.
J57: We all tend to work on three or four projects at one time. I’m currently working on the production for LPs with Soul Khan, Koncept, Brown Bag, Blame One, Numonics, 6th Sense, Co$$, and Mr. Green. I’m also working on beats for EPs with Torae, Jefferson Price and Booda French, Tenacity, Mike Maven’s Young Pandas, which I recently joined, and DJ Brace.
DeeJay Element: I have an EP coming out soon with Koncept and a solo EP coming out hopefully early next year. Plus, I DJ for Brown Bag, Soul Khan, and Sene.
DJ E Holla: Even though I am not been in the public eye like the rest of the group, there is still a lot of work behind the scenes to be done to get the EP and album done. I will still DJ for the group and for Koncept at his shows. I am also Torae’s DJ and an artist on his label. Tor and I dropped his mixtape, Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself 2. I have a couple of mixtapes in the works, and an official mixtape entitled So It Begins.
AllHipHop.com: Will you be touring in support of this project?
Audible Doctor: We’re locking in our New York release show for the week after the EP drops, and we have a few other shows lined up that we’ll announce. But we’re still working out the logistics for a full tour. We will keep you and the fans posted.
AllHipHop.com: Should we be expecting to see any videos any time soon?
Soul Khan: We have two videos already filmed and primed for release from this upcoming EP. The first will be released on August 28, and the second is dropping after we release the project.
AllHipHop.com: What’s next for the BBAS?
Koncept: Right now, we are working on our debut album. We are in the process of branding the world with Brown Bag. Don’t believe the hype, believe the talent. But for now, our Brown Label 2 EP is dropping on September 4 exclusively at www.BrownBagAllStars.com.
Be sure to check out Brown Label 2 coming soon.
SkyyhookisCEO/FOUNDER/General Manager of Skyyhook Radio and a contributor for AllHipHop.com. Follow her on Twitter (@SkyyhookRadio).
(AllHipHop News)A lawsuit has been filed against popular Miami personality DJ Khaled, over back rent for his luxurious Miami apartment.
Misci LLC rented an apartment to DJ Khaled last September in Miami, according to documents filed in court.
According to the original agreement, DJ Khaled agreed to make two bulk payments of $66,000 for his rent.
The producer made the initial payment, but failed to make the second one.
Misci LLC’s lawsuit claims that the deal was re-worked, to allow DJ Khaled to pay $11,000 to Misci, with the remaining $55,000 balance due the following month.
But Misci LLC’s lawsuit claims that DJ Khaled has also reneged on the new deal, yet he is refusing to vacate the property.
DJ Khaled is being sued for the rent, plus attorney fees.
What do you all think about this? I hope the lil feela doesn’t talk too slick. Anyway, the tweet was later erased so perhaps he realized that was CRAY.