the shuffle. [5/5/07]

So yeah, ya boy got a temp. gig. I'm still hunting, but now I actually have something to do during the day. And I'm planning on starting a part time gig as well. Shit's falling into place - I might not be where I want to be, but steps are being taken. It just sucks when shit takes longer than normal, eh?

This week has its share of odd stories, but fear not: I will play your nutty travel guide. My MP3 player is loaded with fresh DNB and Fishbone (big up, Perpetuum), and I'm ready to take that trip. Let's Go!

01/The NAACP is going to have a funeral for the word nigger this summer. You know, after all of this Don Imus stuff, I can see why they would want to do this (publicity), but I'm not sure if, aside from the symbolism, this is truly going to change anything. I mean, on the surface, yeah, educated Blacks and popular rappers might stop using the word. They aren't hitting where we need to hit: the ghetto. A shorty in the ghetto has no concept of the NAACP, nor do they give a shit if they are going to symbolically bury a word. And what happened to the age-old adage "sticks and stones might break my bones..."? If you have to put so much power and spotlight on one word that you are going to have a funeral for it, aren't you accidentally giving the word more play and emphasis that it truly needs? Maybe the youth's embracing and reflipping of the word is more than just being ignorant...

02/Before his team was eliminated by my New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell was upset that Jason Kidd didn't look like he was playing hurt, despite the fact that Kidd has a known knee injury. I'm trying to look at dude's comments as sarcasm, but he seems dead ass serious. OK, Kidd played his heart out and actually pushed him team over the hump: why not, instead of questioning what Jason Kidd is doing, start asking your Raptors why they let a crippled point guard stomp all over them? I can't see how a coach can still be employed when he is so willing to pass the buck. Does he think Kidd was trying to set himself up to look helpless or something? I don't see why Kidd would need to lie about an injury, only to play great the next night. That thinking is too far out... and at the end of the day, if his own estranged wife can look at him in a different light now, why does Mitchell have to hate?

03/Don Imus is in the news again, this time suing CBS for breach of contract. I saw his attorney working his magic on GMA, and gleamed the following info: essentially, CBS was supposed to offer dude a 2nd chance before firing him; also, if they were to fire him, they had to do it within a certain amount of time. They also brought up the five-second delay that CBS never employed previously when Imus reportedly used similar remarks during his tenure. Essentially, based on language in the contract, they are arguing that CBS hired Imus on to be controversial, to say what he says, and now feel like they fired him for what they hired him to do. All well and good, and in a court of law that looks peachy. Check it, though: has Imus ever apologized this publicly over remarks he's made in the past? Aside from Howard Stern speaking about him, I never heard of dude, and surely if he was making similar remarks regarding race, he would have had to answer to SOMEONE! In any case, dude has never been t his vocal about feeling bad about his remarks, so if you are admitting your wrongdoing, why then try and throw the blame on CBS? Yes, you got fired b/c your idiotic persona caused advertisers to bounce from the show. Tough tits, suck it up and go start anew. Don't rehash this bullshit like you are the victim, chief. That's not even the case.

04/With everything going on in 'urban' music, I'm surprised that Vibe's website is so stuck on the Ray J/Kim Kardashian sex tape fiasco. On the one hand, they are posting up pics and making fun of Ray J attending the release party, although it is kind of odd that the tape hit the streets a month ago and they are just NOW celebrating it, but they then report on Kim getting a reported $5 million out of Vivid by settling the lawsuit she had. She kind of pimped them: she denied that the tape was out there, and sued them, then dropped the suit for the loot. I got a feeling she got broken off with the dick AND the loot, and Ray J is just getting shine because people feel sorry for how low he's gone...

05/So the girl Britney Spears has been performing 'randomly' under the name "The M+M's", to mixed reviews. I love how big news channels report it as a secret show, but you see how fucking ramjam those venues are! And to the people who are dissing homegirl for lip-synching: did you not notice her lip-synching back when she first came out, or were you too caught up and are now trying to act like you don't give a fuck, even though you spent good money to see her work it for 15 minutes? I do wish she hadn't cut that hair, her wig/headband combo is wack. What's wacker, though, are these topless photos of her with flowers over her nipples. I can't even begin to comment... And for some added fun, Idolator predicts the near-future of Brit's career.

06/The newest, latest and YOUNGEST mogul in the Rap game is this lil dunn named Big Korey. He's 9 years old, and has already worked with both Jermaine Dupri AND Jazze Pha. He is the subject of a reality show, which follows his efforts to build his own label. You think, yo dude is 9? Check out this video of neph @ Jazze Pha's MPC, making a beat. It's kind of crazy when you realize he was 7 during the making of that video... I just now realized, I seen him before: he is down with the Oomp Camp, and introduced Unk before his BET Hip-Hop Awards performance last year. And before you guys start with your "wow, Rap is in such a sad state that 7 year olds can made dope Rap beats!" That's funny, but let me see some of the hot work YOU made at 7...

07/Speaking of Rap, let's dive into a bunch of Rap/R&B-related news bits: T.I. is working on his T.I. Vs. Tip album, and just recently wrapped up a track with Eminem that will either be very hot or a hot piece of shit... In response to Australia's repeated hate towards Snoop Dogg, his lawyers released a statement that claimed, among other things, that Snoop has no gang ties. OK, so why do I have to hear him about wearing his rag "on the left side/yeah that's the CRIP side"? Why all the C-walkin'? You perpin' now, dogg?... During his book tour (which has helped Do You debut on the New York Times' Bestseller list), Russell Simmons got cut off during a radio interview for correcting the DJ on the radio. In listening to the audio (which is provided on the site), dude does come out of his face. If it wasn't for Russell, nigga, you wouldn't be where you are right now. Remember that... The boy Akon got his Verizon partnership pulled over a sexual dance involving a 15 year old girl... Busta Rhymes loves being in the news, no? Reports say that a shot of Henny did it for Busta, for he got pulled over for having too-darkly tinted windows on his whip, but when they smelled alcohol on his breath, they tested him. Nigga blew a 0.67, was arrested for DWI, but it's only a violation. Now, if he only did this shit when his LP was coming out... Erykah Badu and her friends are taking their weed-love a bit too far with their "Cannabinoids" collective, although the idea of recreating Hip-Hop production live is sick... The boy Ludacris got shitted on by two magazines this week: Vanity Fair's Lisa Robinson was interviewing for a Tribeca Talks panel, and was just on some "I don't get this rap stuff" nonsense; why do they do that? Why send someone with no knowledge of Hip-Hop to interview one of the scene's bigger stars? Flip over to Ebony, which replaced his cover picture for their "new Black fathers" issue with Boris Kodjoe, after the uproar and hate against Rap lyrics due to, you guessed it, the Don Imus situation. Luda can't catch a break!... PaRappa The Rapper is coming to the US on the PSP. If you missed the original, you missed a funny ass game...

08/Now, let's bring you the best from the rest of the Entertainment field: Courtney Love is holding a Christine's auction for the remainder of Kurt Cobain's things... I love how the Playstation 3 just came out last year, but they already have plans for Playstations 4, 5 AND 6!... This year's MTV Movie Awards is just asking for trouble: a live, non-tape delayed show hosted by Sarah Silverman and produced by Mark Burnett? Do they want to have another one next year?... Speaking of MTV, they are hoping that the name change from "TRL" to "YouRL" will help keep what small number of viewers they still had... David Hasselhoff's daughter (at his request) videotaped him in a drunken state, eating a burger shirtless on the floor... Justin Timberlake is bringing his FutureSex LoveSounds to HBO via a taped concert set to air this September... Bruce Willis let it be known that he is pissed about the forthcoming Die Hard sequel is going to be rated PG-13... Lindsey Lohan is set to get chopped up and fucked in an upcoming horror flick... Paris Hilton got sentenced to 45 days jailtime for violating parole, to be served starting in June, just in time for the premier of the new season of The Simple Life (you see that, Busta??)... Sacha Baron Cohen is NOT going to be playing former Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic, although the resemblance would have made for as good flick.... Watch out: records shops are giving you the option to make your own mix CDs that you can burn in the store. If I could have made a CD of my fav tracks back when I was a shorty, compared to having to buy decent songs on crappy discs, I would have been in hog heaven!

09/Finally, here is a rundown of the final stories I felt should get some burn: You'd think being robbed whilst naked and superguled to an exercise bike is bad enough: no, your robbers also have to drink up your Chivas Regal, too!... Why is this lawyer suing this cleaners for $64 million over a pair of lost pants?...

Weird week, right? I'm off to bed now. I just heard De La Hoya lost, and he didn't put up a great fight towards the end... whattupwidat?

Final Thought time:

Run DMC "Ooh Watcha Gonna Do"

[I used to love this video...just came on VH1 Soul]

Until next time...

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