Okay! I better watch my back after I publish this post because I am about to keep it so real. It may even be a case of "When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong" :-/
BUT...
My girl Lyndsay woke up early to buy these tickets the minute they were available. Minutes after she purchased them, the tickets were sold out. For months our excitement about the Watch The Throne (WTT) Tour had been building up. Usually when you fantasize about a concert, the actual result is better than anything you can imagine. I have NEVER been let down by any concert, until last night.
Now, when you imagine Jay Z and Kanye West performing live together, the sky is the limit. Especially with this album, you would think they would have went all out. That is not what happened. The concert was at the IZOD Center in New Jersey. Doors opened at 7:30 PM but the show started at around 9 PM (smart because they knew most of the people at that concert were running on CPT). The anticipation was almost unbearable. Jay and Ye came out on separate rising pillars, opposite each other, which definitely demonstrated the equal thrones. They started it off with "H.A.M.", which was perfect, "I'm about to go H.A.M." It was like the introduction of the most miraculous thesis you could ever read. The same with the "conclusion"; they played "N****s in Paris" three times, which was phenomenal. I even loved the part when Jay Z stopped after the first time and said, "No one still knows what that means, [insert Jigga Laugh]". After the third time, Jay closed out with "Encore", which was perfection. However, the "body" was lacking almost everything.
Now, Jay did an incredible job. He did his classics: "H to Izzo", "Jigga What, Jigga Who", "Big Pimpin'", "Give it To Me" (my fave) and several other Jay jump offs. When I saw the two of them sit down, the concert took a turn for the worst. I'm sorry, it was barely half way and served no purpose. It was after Ye did "Jesus Walks" with his classic "Preacher Walk" dance. Were you tired? Are you serious? While they were sitting Jay did "It's a Hard Knock Life". What? Why aren't you getting up in the people's faces trying to get us to sing along? I was shocked. But the real disaster came when Kanye did his 808s & Heartbreak portion of the night. First of all, he had on a metallic gold skirt thing with some sort of leggings/jeggings underneath topped with a Bill Cosby COOGI cardigan. What? I understand, artists like to dress wild but ew. Skirts on men has no place in Hip Hop or anywhere besides Scotland. I believe integration of musical genres are awesome but this fashion statement, absolutely not. During his performance, there was definitely lots of auto tune going on. Now the problem with auto tune at a concert is you cannot tell if the artist is really performing or if it was just the track. Not even T-Pain used auto-tune the two times I saw him. It also didn't help that they had a DJ playing all their tracks that had all the pre-recorded intros and such. I'm not saying that he was lip-syncing but I cannot say he wasn't. To me the problem is, even if it really was him, the fact that I cannot tell is the biggest issue "Heartless" was the most disturbing because it did not even sound like him at all.
Then he went off again on his "Amber Rose Tangent" like he did in Philly. (Read her response to his Philly WTT outburst VLAD TV: Amber Rose's Response to Kanye's "Apology") Interjection, please read that article. No matter what anyone says or believes about Amber Rose, she was very dignified when dealing with that whole situation. He kept saying, "If you love someone, never let them go" and "...I was an a**hole." Ahhh, get over it. She's moved on to better things. Ye, I'm sorry, you went nuts and then came back expecting everyone to fawn over you. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was incredible. I will always support Ye as an artist/producer but as an individual and now as a performer, I do not trust him. It was abysmal.
Watch The Throne is a sensational album and I hope it wins as many awards as possible. Nonetheless, what I am about to say is going to seem disrespectful and as if I am not a real fan. I am a huge fan, I grew up in the 90s, and lived for Jigga. The effort put into this concert was severely lacking. Yes, the lighting and pyrotechnics were definitely up to par but the performance wasn't. They decided not to bring any other artists out. I get it; they are on the throne and the only people that matter. How conceited and cocky. What about up and comer Frank Ocean who did two amazing hooks for your album? What about every artist that helped you on your latest album, Kanye? That was definitely NOT solely a solo project. Why not help those who helped you? It makes me wonder if this beef with Weezy prevented them from having certain guests? Who knows?
We all know that they are two of the best BUT us as fans, still deserve the effort. No offense, but I, like most, more than likely do not want to watch 2 older rappers not bring the heat. I do not want 3 hours of two dudes rapping with a DJ in an arena. That is better for a smaller venue. If you are going to make me spend over $100 on not the best seats, it better be worth it. Listen, I know what you're thinking, "oh what she didn't have good seats so now she's hating?" NO! I saw Weezy in his first NY performance after his release from Rikers for the I Am Music Tour and sat in the second to last row up top at the Nassau Coliseum. That was still one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. Yes, the closer you are, the better it can be, but if the nosebleed is all I can work with, at least I am there. Do not get me wrong, I am glad that I went and still would have done it over again. It truly was a once and a lifetime opportunity but I would still be sad as hell, whether in the front row or the last one.
I thought that this was going to be the CONCERT OF MY LIFE, instead it was one of the greatest musical disappointments. Almost 24 hours later and I am still in disbelief. WTT was a display of "We got the biggest c**ks in the world, look, look." They are way too old to be that obsessed with themselves. Yes I paid money to see Jay Z and Ye but people go to concerts for the surprises the artist's has in store. I was not surprised and my excitement severely dwindled as the night went on. How did Jay Z and Kanye NOT BRING IT? That should be an oxymoron but now for me it is a synonym. I saw Jay once before at TI's Paper Trail album release party. He only performed "Swagger Like Us" with TI but there was so much more energy 3 years ago. The one and only time I saw Ye was at Hot 97's Summer Jam 2008 and he blew my f*n mind. He was live. Nothing could have touched him then. What changes in 3 years; I guess a lot. I am sorry HOV, not so sorry Ye, but I think your time for showmanship is over. (I am 100% OK with blaming Kanye for this disaster). I still support you both and will always buy your albums BUT I WILL NEVER SPEND MONEY ON A TICKET WHERE YOU 2 ARE THE HEADLINERS. Unfortunately, I would have been more satisfied listening to WTT with my two girls. Sad but true...
Today's Mood: "We're Not Gonna Take It" -Twisted Sister (yea feelin' weird today)
YouTube-We're Not Gonna Take It
Possibilities for my Birthday Song: "Girls Girls $" -Theophilus London
YouTube-Girls Girls $
Music is not apart of my life, it is my life. Since November 26th, 1985 I have not gone one day without music. I thank my Caribbean parents for that. My musical preference ranges from Marley to Morrison, from Rolling to Red Hot, from Lykke Li to Lil Weezy. I love it all and most all I APPRECIATE IT ALL! I have the gift of a good ear and have a knack of finding it first. I'm just hear to discuss music and my life...two in the same
Monday, November 7, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
A$AP Rocky: Who is he? What's his deal with Odd Future? $3 Million, Really?
If for some off chance A$AP sees this, Ya Tu Sabes, he is like, "Who the F are You?"
That is fine and dandy. I'm LA, nice to meet you. I love music and when it comes down to it I am emotionally involved with many artists right now. There is no way to truly feel it without committing. I live for new artists that have something NEW to bring.
All throughout the CMJ Music Marathon, I kept hearing and seeing the name A$AP Rocky. At first I thought Aesop Rock was performing and I needed to know where. According to his FB page, (A$AP FB), his government name is Rakim, yes named after the rapper. Rocky became a childhood nickname. A$AP means to ALWAYS STRIVE AND PROSPER. Not mad at it. When you put the name together, "Always Strive and Prosper Rocky" it is kind of a self reminder. How could you ever forget your life goal if it is in you name? Clever. So what does this dude have to bring to the table that my booboo Weezy is all about him? I was extremely curious. Then there was this $3 Million deal with Sony/RCA. How could an independent artist get this huge deal without my knowledge? When 50 and Drake got their original signing deals, I had already been bumping them for months. I am always on the new ish; I figured something was up so I have been investigating.
All my opinions and realizations came from his invterview with Pitchfork on October 28th (Pitchfork A$AP Interview) and his video on AllHipHop.com (AllHipHop.com Video Interview)...
According to the Pitchfork article, the $3 mil breaks down as follows:
"$1.7 million for his solo output and $1.3 million to fund a group label A$AP Worldwide."
Apparently homie got more money than Drake. Now does he really deserve it? Now I am very much biased when it comes to Drake because I believed in him when he was Jimmy AKA Aubrey Graham the actor/aspiring rapper. That dude worked hard to get to where he is. Now people seem to enjoy A$AP because he's a a real Harlem dude. It is sad to say that I reached an age when I cannot understand how a 22 year old rapper, with no REAL life experience, is getting all this glorified respect. A$AP states that the only thing mainstream about him are his investors. Then he goes on to say that he can adapt to radio and adapt to underground because that's what he was for a while. It agitates me because he acts like he has been struggling in the indie rapper scene forever. Yes it is a struggle but there are so many rappers with beautiful/gritty/nasty/sensual words that will never get the $3 million or more that they deserve. And why does he have to adapt to underground, if that is where he has always been? What, is there no more love for the scene that gave you life?
A$AP speaks of his happiness towards his "new" followers. These fans used to be haters and he speaks openly about that. He even admits that he knows that they are on his jock because he's got Capo Jimmy and Weezy standing in his corner. I understand that he has a FU attitude towards the people in Harlem because they weren't feeling it. A$AP is happy that he has white dudes in Corporate America lovin' his stuff. Now there is nothing wrong with that but are you just gonna leave your Harlem people behind? Why don't you try and reel them in for real, not just with big names and numbers? Obviously there is something missing in his flow. Your hometown wasn't feeling you? Really? To me there is something odd about that.
I enjoy his HNIC attitude. He speaks the truth when he says, "When Jay Z was the only one rapping about stuff it was cool. Not it's just so f***ing old. Who gives a f**k?" For real though. That ish did get old. (Says the girl who is going to see Jigga and Kanye on Sunday hehehe, they are legends you know). With that confident mentality, I needed him to back up his statements. However, I am not satisfied. Homie needs work in my opinion. His vocals need to be aged. I do not mean that he needs to get older but he needs to live a little more. A$AP Rocky should take that money and do something worth rhyming about. He is not a doctor of words; he's in the "Swagger Rapper" category. These are the rhymers that talk about Swag. Half of them do not have it or know what it really is. Swagger used to be this exclusive, seductive word that has been misused and abused by the reckless. When Wiz first came out and talked about Swagger, he had it, I saw it first hand a year before "Black and Yellow" was ever heard by the masses. Swagger Rap is only necessary if created by those who have it.
I listened to "Purple Swag" and was not impressed (A$AP-Purple Swag). Seriously, Mary Jane is beautiful and cool but you do not need to put her out there all the time, damn. When you talk about how much "Swagger" you have, it is not cute. Honestly, it is the same thing when men brag about how good they are in "La Cama" department or how much money they got in the bank; that ish is so unattractive. If he toned it down just a little, that gritty sex would ooze out of him so deliciously. Yea, I get the hype about him, he does have Swag, never said he didn't but he's in little boy mode about it. Act like a MAN with $3 million resources. I realized that he wasn't so bad when I heard "Peso" (A$AP-Peso) . Now that was swaggerific. I love the Jamaican in the chorus, nice touch. A great line that is confidence with not too much cocky is "Our presence is a present. Just to kick it is a blessing." That line makes me wanna hang with the A$AP crew. If more songs are like that I can fux with homie. Honestly, I am already sold on Ty Beats. He seems to be a nasty producer. His beats are tough. A$AP will make something over one of his beats that will murder everything, I can feel it.
What is up with him and OFWGKTA?
According to the AllHipHop.com video interview, A$AP has no beef with the LA crew. Apparently, Left Brain, one of Odd Future's producers, stated that A$AP Rocky copied him. Then Hodgy Beats, an Odd Future lyricist, joined in on Twitter, allegedly. The way that A$AP handled himself was very respectful UNTIL he mentioned that he was not a fighter but he will "smack the s**t outta somebody". He said that when he runs into those two he's going to ask them what's goodie. A$AP says that he actually enjoys their music and is a huge fan of Tyler, The Creator, another Odd Future rapper. Now here is when the confusion comes in for me. He mentions that OFWGKTA are a lot wilder than him and like to do stuff like skateboard and be extreme. A$AP says that is not what him and his crew are about. UMMMMM, aren't you under Weezy's wing right now? You know what he likes to do right, yes skateboard and wild out. I don't understand how you don't roll with dudes "like that" but fux with Weezy no problem?
I do not now where I stand when it comes down to all this. These are young dudes trying to prove who is harder; the age old pissing contest. When they all get older, it will be different. When my boy Montoya put me on to OFWGKTA, I was automatically into it. They are weird and wild but I wholeheartedly dig it. They are strange and "odd" but what real things/people aren't? "Orange Juice" is my jump off. I love Earl's raspy ass voice and Tyler's perfect annunciation. For the record, Tyler's deep/rugged voice is that much sexier because he has such a baby face. It is shocking and unreal every time. Check it out: Odd Future: Orange Juice. Frank Ocean is my dude though. My girl Melissa tells me that the song "Novacane" reminds her of me. Thanks Boo! I love him on "No Church in the Wild". Ah, I hope he pops out on Sunday with Jigga and Kanye. I will not sit here and say I am a huge fan of OFWGKTA because I am not. I do not know them enough to be an avid fan but I am into it and have been for a while. As of right now if I had to stand behind a team it would obviously be Odd Future, and for the record, Weezy was at their show last week and was feeling it so...
To me they have always been the same, weird as s**t. I love that s**t.
My Conclusion on A$AP Rocky
All of my comments are before listening to LiveLoveA$AP, his new mixtape that dropped on Halloween. I've been trying to download it for days but all the links have been wack. Obviously, DatPiff.com has it running properly (LiveLoveA$AP Download)! I suggest everyone cop it; it's free and we all need to know what is going to be coming into our cars, clubs and lounges soon. I think homie has a lot of growing to do, as an artist. A$AP needs help in the execution department. He has a maturity beyond his years but doesn't let it come out through his music. Nothing is wrong with that, but me personally, I want some more. He contradicts himself so many times that I do not know what to believe. I just want to ask him, A$AP, what do you want from your career? What do you want to do? Do you want the masses to love you or do you just want to be famous? Honestly, I do not know the answer to any of those and usually I can pick up on it. He's not bad but I do not know if he is a favorite of mine. I love his confidence and his Sexy Boy swag, but is that enough? I need to see more before I make any final decisions on him. I finally downloaded the mixtape today so I'm going to check it out and get back to you with my final opinion. I wish A$AP so much luck because I think he can truly go anywhere.
New Jam #1: "Leave My Body" -Florence and the Machine (She murders this song, it is unbelievable)
Leave My Body YouTube
New Jam #2: "Legendary" -Wale
Legendary YouTube
Today's Mood: "Can't Get Enough" -J Cole
Can't Get Enough YouTube
That is fine and dandy. I'm LA, nice to meet you. I love music and when it comes down to it I am emotionally involved with many artists right now. There is no way to truly feel it without committing. I live for new artists that have something NEW to bring.
All throughout the CMJ Music Marathon, I kept hearing and seeing the name A$AP Rocky. At first I thought Aesop Rock was performing and I needed to know where. According to his FB page, (A$AP FB), his government name is Rakim, yes named after the rapper. Rocky became a childhood nickname. A$AP means to ALWAYS STRIVE AND PROSPER. Not mad at it. When you put the name together, "Always Strive and Prosper Rocky" it is kind of a self reminder. How could you ever forget your life goal if it is in you name? Clever. So what does this dude have to bring to the table that my booboo Weezy is all about him? I was extremely curious. Then there was this $3 Million deal with Sony/RCA. How could an independent artist get this huge deal without my knowledge? When 50 and Drake got their original signing deals, I had already been bumping them for months. I am always on the new ish; I figured something was up so I have been investigating.
All my opinions and realizations came from his invterview with Pitchfork on October 28th (Pitchfork A$AP Interview) and his video on AllHipHop.com (AllHipHop.com Video Interview)...
According to the Pitchfork article, the $3 mil breaks down as follows:
"$1.7 million for his solo output and $1.3 million to fund a group label A$AP Worldwide."
Apparently homie got more money than Drake. Now does he really deserve it? Now I am very much biased when it comes to Drake because I believed in him when he was Jimmy AKA Aubrey Graham the actor/aspiring rapper. That dude worked hard to get to where he is. Now people seem to enjoy A$AP because he's a a real Harlem dude. It is sad to say that I reached an age when I cannot understand how a 22 year old rapper, with no REAL life experience, is getting all this glorified respect. A$AP states that the only thing mainstream about him are his investors. Then he goes on to say that he can adapt to radio and adapt to underground because that's what he was for a while. It agitates me because he acts like he has been struggling in the indie rapper scene forever. Yes it is a struggle but there are so many rappers with beautiful/gritty/nasty/sensual words that will never get the $3 million or more that they deserve. And why does he have to adapt to underground, if that is where he has always been? What, is there no more love for the scene that gave you life?
A$AP speaks of his happiness towards his "new" followers. These fans used to be haters and he speaks openly about that. He even admits that he knows that they are on his jock because he's got Capo Jimmy and Weezy standing in his corner. I understand that he has a FU attitude towards the people in Harlem because they weren't feeling it. A$AP is happy that he has white dudes in Corporate America lovin' his stuff. Now there is nothing wrong with that but are you just gonna leave your Harlem people behind? Why don't you try and reel them in for real, not just with big names and numbers? Obviously there is something missing in his flow. Your hometown wasn't feeling you? Really? To me there is something odd about that.
I enjoy his HNIC attitude. He speaks the truth when he says, "When Jay Z was the only one rapping about stuff it was cool. Not it's just so f***ing old. Who gives a f**k?" For real though. That ish did get old. (Says the girl who is going to see Jigga and Kanye on Sunday hehehe, they are legends you know). With that confident mentality, I needed him to back up his statements. However, I am not satisfied. Homie needs work in my opinion. His vocals need to be aged. I do not mean that he needs to get older but he needs to live a little more. A$AP Rocky should take that money and do something worth rhyming about. He is not a doctor of words; he's in the "Swagger Rapper" category. These are the rhymers that talk about Swag. Half of them do not have it or know what it really is. Swagger used to be this exclusive, seductive word that has been misused and abused by the reckless. When Wiz first came out and talked about Swagger, he had it, I saw it first hand a year before "Black and Yellow" was ever heard by the masses. Swagger Rap is only necessary if created by those who have it.
I listened to "Purple Swag" and was not impressed (A$AP-Purple Swag). Seriously, Mary Jane is beautiful and cool but you do not need to put her out there all the time, damn. When you talk about how much "Swagger" you have, it is not cute. Honestly, it is the same thing when men brag about how good they are in "La Cama" department or how much money they got in the bank; that ish is so unattractive. If he toned it down just a little, that gritty sex would ooze out of him so deliciously. Yea, I get the hype about him, he does have Swag, never said he didn't but he's in little boy mode about it. Act like a MAN with $3 million resources. I realized that he wasn't so bad when I heard "Peso" (A$AP-Peso) . Now that was swaggerific. I love the Jamaican in the chorus, nice touch. A great line that is confidence with not too much cocky is "Our presence is a present. Just to kick it is a blessing." That line makes me wanna hang with the A$AP crew. If more songs are like that I can fux with homie. Honestly, I am already sold on Ty Beats. He seems to be a nasty producer. His beats are tough. A$AP will make something over one of his beats that will murder everything, I can feel it.
What is up with him and OFWGKTA?
According to the AllHipHop.com video interview, A$AP has no beef with the LA crew. Apparently, Left Brain, one of Odd Future's producers, stated that A$AP Rocky copied him. Then Hodgy Beats, an Odd Future lyricist, joined in on Twitter, allegedly. The way that A$AP handled himself was very respectful UNTIL he mentioned that he was not a fighter but he will "smack the s**t outta somebody". He said that when he runs into those two he's going to ask them what's goodie. A$AP says that he actually enjoys their music and is a huge fan of Tyler, The Creator, another Odd Future rapper. Now here is when the confusion comes in for me. He mentions that OFWGKTA are a lot wilder than him and like to do stuff like skateboard and be extreme. A$AP says that is not what him and his crew are about. UMMMMM, aren't you under Weezy's wing right now? You know what he likes to do right, yes skateboard and wild out. I don't understand how you don't roll with dudes "like that" but fux with Weezy no problem?
I do not now where I stand when it comes down to all this. These are young dudes trying to prove who is harder; the age old pissing contest. When they all get older, it will be different. When my boy Montoya put me on to OFWGKTA, I was automatically into it. They are weird and wild but I wholeheartedly dig it. They are strange and "odd" but what real things/people aren't? "Orange Juice" is my jump off. I love Earl's raspy ass voice and Tyler's perfect annunciation. For the record, Tyler's deep/rugged voice is that much sexier because he has such a baby face. It is shocking and unreal every time. Check it out: Odd Future: Orange Juice. Frank Ocean is my dude though. My girl Melissa tells me that the song "Novacane" reminds her of me. Thanks Boo! I love him on "No Church in the Wild". Ah, I hope he pops out on Sunday with Jigga and Kanye. I will not sit here and say I am a huge fan of OFWGKTA because I am not. I do not know them enough to be an avid fan but I am into it and have been for a while. As of right now if I had to stand behind a team it would obviously be Odd Future, and for the record, Weezy was at their show last week and was feeling it so...
To me they have always been the same, weird as s**t. I love that s**t.
My Conclusion on A$AP Rocky
All of my comments are before listening to LiveLoveA$AP, his new mixtape that dropped on Halloween. I've been trying to download it for days but all the links have been wack. Obviously, DatPiff.com has it running properly (LiveLoveA$AP Download)! I suggest everyone cop it; it's free and we all need to know what is going to be coming into our cars, clubs and lounges soon. I think homie has a lot of growing to do, as an artist. A$AP needs help in the execution department. He has a maturity beyond his years but doesn't let it come out through his music. Nothing is wrong with that, but me personally, I want some more. He contradicts himself so many times that I do not know what to believe. I just want to ask him, A$AP, what do you want from your career? What do you want to do? Do you want the masses to love you or do you just want to be famous? Honestly, I do not know the answer to any of those and usually I can pick up on it. He's not bad but I do not know if he is a favorite of mine. I love his confidence and his Sexy Boy swag, but is that enough? I need to see more before I make any final decisions on him. I finally downloaded the mixtape today so I'm going to check it out and get back to you with my final opinion. I wish A$AP so much luck because I think he can truly go anywhere.
New Jam #1: "Leave My Body" -Florence and the Machine (She murders this song, it is unbelievable)
Leave My Body YouTube
New Jam #2: "Legendary" -Wale
Legendary YouTube
Today's Mood: "Can't Get Enough" -J Cole
Can't Get Enough YouTube
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