Monday, January 02, 2006

Happy New Year!!!

Cheers! Blogger has been tripping, so posting hasn't been fun. I'm still on vacation until next Monday, however, so I can't complain too much about anything. Being off has allowed me to sit at home and catch up on blog reading. I have even started writing a book!

Well almost everyone and their mama has done a Best/ Worst of '05 list. Here's mine. NOTE: I am using December 20, 2004 - December 20th, 2005 as cut-off dates. Yes I was pressed to include the new Mary cd.

Noteworthy Albums of 2005 (in no particular order)

1. The Breakthrough - Mary J. Blige
I am a true Mary fan, so I have been waiting for this one. Classic already!

2. The Emancipation of Mimi - Mariah Carey
Although I began to tire of the overplayed singles and the constant need to remix and recut, I can't front. For the first month of its release, I was on it! It's actually a very, very good album. The best songs haven't been released as singles (and hopefully they won't be). One of my favorites is Your Girl.

3. Late Registration - Kanye West
I bought it the first day that it came out and I wasn't disappointed. My Way Home, Addiction and We Major are still on heavy ro.

4. The Minstrel Show - Little Brother
Excellent album! There are people who still know what real hip hop is. I can't get enough of Not Enough.

5. Album II - Kem
Kem is the shit! At least once a week, I begin my day with this one. It's so calming to the soul and spirit.

6. The Love Experience - Raheem DeVaughn
Great first album! I like this brother's style and voice. You will be listed on my top singles/songs of '05.

7. Vivian - Vivian Green
Love it! Good sophomore release. A little angry, but very real. Vivian is an excellent writer, plus she can sing.

8. The Cookbook - Missy
I actually really liked this cd; especially, when it was time to get on the treadmill.

9. Be - Common
Now that's the Common that I know and love! I don't know what the fuck was going on with that Electric Circus shit. Testify was my shit from the first listen.

10. Illumination - Earth, Wind & Fire
Classic Elements! Ain't a damn thing changed! I am not sure why Matthew (Knowles; they are on Sanctuary Records) didn't promote this one more. It's a very good album.


Noteworthy Singles/Songs of 2005 (in no particular order)

1. You - Raheem DeVaughn
I Absolutely L-O-V-E everything about this song. It's so sexy! This is definitely one for the Love Mix.

2. Show Me the Way - Earth, Wind, & Fire w/ Raphael Saadiq
I am a fan of both EWF and Ray Ray, so I knew this was going to be the jam even before I heard it. Very sexy, as well!

3. Forever, For Always, For Love - Lalah Hathaway
I am such a fan of this young lady and her voice. This was on a tribute album for Luther. I am usually very hesitant when it comes to Luther remakes, but she kinda made it her own for a second.

4. Free Yourself - Fantasia
'Tasia did it with this one. The best song on the album in my opinion!

5. Still On It - Ashanti
I'm usually not a fan, but I love this song. It's mostly the beat, which is sick! Plus, I loves me some Meth.

6. Supastar - Floetry & Common
Such a sweet song! The words are beautiful and the beat is nice.

7. Oh - Ciara & Ludacris
Still my shit! Luda rips it on this one! I don't know why people don't care for Ciara because I think that she is talented. She is not a singer in the least bit, but I think she has the potential to be an excellent entertainer a la Janet Jackson, her idol.

8. It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp - DJ (From the movie Hustle & Flow)
I could not get this simple song out of my head. It's so catchy!

9. Lighters Up - Lil' Kim
This kinda reminded me of Hard to Earn Kim. Hot beat, too!

10. ASAP - T.I.
My students and I all liked this one. The horns in the beginning hooked me. I love T.I.'s swagger on this one, too.

11. I'm a Hustla - Cassidy & Mary J. Blige
Was there a version before the remix with Mary? Because once she blessed it the other version no longer existed for me.

12. Looking for You - Kirk Franklin
I really like this. It's inspirational and upbeat.

13. Victory - Yolanda Adams
Love the beat and the words! Yolanda rarely goes wrong.

14. Still Tippin' - Slim Thug, Mike Jones & Paul Wall
This was one of the best beats of '05! The strings are haunting!

15. Golddigger - Kanye West
'Ye had me from the very first time I heard it. The chorus could be my part-time theme song. By the time the radio got a hold of it I was about through, though.


You Have Got to be Fu*king Kidding Me Songs/Albums/People/Events of 2005


1. Bluestars - Pretty Ricky
Who the fuck signed these clowns?!?! Somebody at Atlantic Records needs to be fired. These m-f-ers can't even talk, let alone sing or rap! Did anyone see them when they were on Direct Effect on MTV this past summer? Even Clue was looking at them like Y'all are some ignorant muthafuckas.

2. D4L as a whole
I have only really heard Laffy Taffy and the second single that is the same exact beat as Laffy Taffy. Again I ask, who the fuck signed these fools? I think they are somehow related to Iceage Entertainment since Mike Jones is all up in the video. Mike, it's definitely NOT a good look for you or your crew. D4L is a S.H.A.M. - a Shitty Hot Ass Mess! And to top it off, all of those niggas look old enough to know better.

3. Confessions of a Video Vixen - Karinne "Super Head" Steffans

Okay, I'll admit it. I bought and completed the book the first day it was available for purchase. Now I can't even tell you where the piece of trash is. I could do a whole post on this, but I'll save all of that for later. All I will say is...I really wish that some of these females out here would stop telling people that they sucked and fucked for money because their childhood was sooo bad. Save that shit for the birds! Be real! Admit that it was all about the cash! I know that abuse and neglect during the formative years can lead to low self esteem and problems, but sucking dick for cash or for free is a choice. Just tell the people that you decided to use what you've got to get what you've got.


4. Young Jeezy's Snowman
It must be me! I just don't understand hip hop's fascination with the glorification of selling drugs. And I know that one of my favorite rappers made this shit popular. But his true fans know that his intent was not to glorify. Now everyone who wants to be him sold weight! Why brag about your participation in the destruction of people's lives?!?! Please remember that I am from DC, home of the infamous Rayful Edmond, the first person to go down with the Kingpin Laws. Not to mention, I was raised in DC in the 80s and 90s when Crack was being sold in an open-air drug market damn near on every corner. The people I know who moved weight, and I know more than a few, would never brag about that shit. Many of them started in the game because they saw it as a means of survival. A few got caught up in the game (i.e. addicted to the lifestyle). However, most of them wanted out. They either worked to flip it into a real business or they ran for their lives to escape that shit. We won't even mention the ones who never made it out because they were either killed or sent to prison. None of them ever wore a fucking t-shirt that read I Got That Work. At least my favorite rapper told both sides of the story. People who really "put in work" know the horrors of that occupation and would never symbolize it with a jolly fucking snowman. NOTE: Yeah, I'm sensitive about this shit! I have seen Crack/drugs destroy and/or devastate the lives of many friends and family members on both sides of the coin, meaning some from selling them and some from using them. I am the product of not one, but two parents who got caught up in that shit. So I know about the so-called joys that come along with that lifestyle, and I damn sure know about the pains.

5. What would this list be without Curtis "50 Cent worth of Coon" Jackson?!?!
This negro thinks that he and GW Bush have a lot in common and he is proud about it!
50 says: Massa' I wanna be just like you. I'm not tryin' to be like the rest of those niggers. You and me, we the best Massa'.

This negro says that he doesn't know where Kanye was coming from when he said his now infamous George Bush doesn't care about black people!
50 says: Massa' I'own know what dat nigger is talkin' bout.! He sayin' you don't care nothin 'bout no niggers. It's not that you don't like niggers. You just don't like them po' ass niggers.

This negro even went as far to say that he thought that the government tried its best to help the victims of the disaster in New Orleans!
50 says: Massa' you sho' do treat dem niggers good. Dey should be grateful for the table scraps you so good to give 'em. Dem niggers always beggin'. You do so much already, Massa'. You ain't got to do nothing else for dem niggers.

And to top it off, this negro thinks that parents should sit down with their kids and play violent video games!
This time I SAY:If $$$ makes a muthafucka this delusional and out of touch with reality, then maybe I should start being thankful that I don't have too much.

D- Said It@ :: 5:36 PM :: 0 Said Something About It

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